Chapter 15

Half an hour later, Erin knocked on William's door as her roommate Kim was unpacking the food she bought from the Indian restaurant near her workplace.

William opened the door, seeing Erin on the hall, smiling at him. "Food is here." she said.

"Oh right? Thanks." William said as he stepped outside, following Erin into her apartment. He stepped inside and saw Kim putting some napkins on the coffee table.

"Kim, this is William. He's our new neighbor from across the hall." Erin said.

William waved at Kim. "Hi Kim. Thanks for inviting me over for dinner." he said.

"No problem, Erin told me she met you last week when you were moving in." Kim said.

"Yeah, my friend Jimmy helped me carry my stuff to my place." said William.

"Well I hope you're hungry because I bought some extra food." Kim said. "Let's dig in." she added as William sat on the couch, facing Kim on her chair while Erin sat beside him. They spooned food onto their plates with Erin helping William with his food, smiling at him.

"Thanks Erin." said William as they began eating.

"So William, Erin said you're going to the university?" asked Kim.

"Princeton. I'm here for my doctorate actually." he said.

"Doctorate? How old are you anyway?" asked Kim.

"I'll be nineteen in a few months." he said.

"Wow, Erin was right, you're really a young genius huh?" Kim said, visibly impressed by William's age.

"You should have seen the whiteboards in his apartment Kim, I couldn't even understand if it's math or something else." said Erin.

"Really?" said Kim. "So how long are you gonna stay here in in New Jersey?" she asked.

"I'm not sure really. Maybe a couple of years." he said.

"So after that, you're back to…?" said Kim.

"After that I'll go back to California I guess." William said.

"So do you like…have a girlfriend back in California?" asked Erin.

"Erin!?" Kim yelled making William a little uncomfortable. "Don't mind her William, sometimes she has no boundaries at all." said Kim.

"What is your problem?" Erin asked Kim. "I'm just trying to get to know him." she added

"It's totally inappropriate Erin. We just met him and you're already making him uncomfortable." said Kim. "I'm sorry about this William, she always does this sort of stuff." she added.

"It's alright. You don't have to apologize." he said. "And to answer your question, yes I have a girl back in California." he added.

"Okay. Is she going to college too?" Erin asked.

"No. She's still in high school." he said.

"Really? And her parents are okay with that?" asked Kim.

William sighed. "We actually hid our relationship from our parents." he said.

"Why?" asked Erin. "You do know that she's underage right?" she added.

"Because our parents are best friends. Like brothers and sisters, that's why we decided to hide our relationship from them." he said.

"Wow. They must be pretty shocked when they found out huh?" Erin asked.

"Yeah. It got a little tense since I had to travel here and leave her back in California." said William.

"So did you like, broke up or something?" Kim asked.

"Uh no." he said. "We decided to wait until I finish my doctorate." William added.

"She's one lucky girl huh?" said Erin. "Can you tell us her name?" she asked.

"Her name's Halley." he said.

"Well I'm sure she misses you." Kim said while smiling at William.

"Thanks Kim. You're very kind." he said as he continued to eat his food. They were silent for a while until Kim decided to speak again.

"So uh, are your parents like super smart like you?" Kim asked.

William nodded. "Well my father's a physics professor at CalTech but my mom is a former actress." he said.

"Your mom is an actress?" Erin asked.

"She used to be. But when my sister was born, she decided to just take care of us and stay at home." he said.

"So what kind of movies was your mom in?" Erin asked.

"Well, her longest gig was this TV show called Parker & Ramona." he said. "Any of you seen that show?" he asked.

"Parker & Ramona!?" asked Kim. "That's like my sister's favorite show!" she added.

"Really?" William said.

"Is it a good show? I've never seen it." Erin said as Kim took her phone and started to search a video of the show on YouTube. After a few minutes, she showed her phone to Erin.

"Is that your mother?" asked Kim.

William moved closer to take a look at the screen. "Uh yeah, that's my mom and the little boy was me." he said casually.

"That was you!?" asked Erin, surprised at seeing the young William on the screen.

"Oh my god! You're so cute!" said Erin, looking closely at the phone making William smile a bit. Erin then faced William, smiling at him. "I can't believe that our next door neighbor is a TV star!" she said.

"I'm not a star and that was a long time ago and I only did it because my mom made me." said William.

"Well in any case, I still think you were cute back then." Erin said giving him a lovely smile.

"Thank you." said William, smiling back at her.

"So was your mom always been an actress?" asked Kim.

"No. She was a waitress when she met my dad." William said.

"I'm a waitress!" Erin said. "Well, mostly bartender but sometimes the restaurant manager asks me to wait tables." she added.

"That's nice. So how about you Kim, what do you do?" he asked.

"I'm an accounting assistant at a small law firm." Kim said.

William nodded. "Cool!" he said. They finished eating as William put his plate on the coffee table and started to clean up as Erin touched his arm.

"William don't bother. You're a guest here. Let me get that." Erin said while taking the trash and putting them in the paper bag the food came with.

"Thanks. Well I guess I better get back to my place now." he said as he stood up. "Thanks for dinner guys. I appreciate it." he added.

"You're welcome William. Let me walk you to the door." Erin said while opening the door. "Hey uh, we're having a party here next Saturday. You're more than welcome to join us." said Erin.

William looked at her. "Uh I don't think I can. I mean, I want to but I'm not old enough to drink." he said.

"Then don't drink. We have other stuff. And it's only a party." she said. "It's not like one of those frat parties where they burn a car or something. Come on, what do you say?" she said giving him a hopeful look.

William took a deep breath. "Yeah sure, I'll come over." he said. "Uh is this a regular party or a theme party? You know, like costumes and stuff?" he asked.

Erin laughed, amused by William's question. "You're funny William." she said. "It's just a regular party. Just come as you are." she added.

William smiled at her. "Okay. Got it." he said. "Bye Erin. Thanks again for dinner." William added.

"You're welcome William." Erin said lightly touching his cheek.

"Bye Kim! Thanks again!" he said waving goodbye to them as Erin closed the door.

After closing the door, Erin turned around and saw Kim staring squarely at her. "Uh, why are you looking at me like that?" she asked her roommate.

"Really? You have no clue?" Kim said.

"I don't know what you're talking about Kim." said Erin as she picked up the last trash from the coffee table.

"So you weren't flirting with him?" Kim said folding her arms.

"What!?" Erin exclaimed. "I am not flirting with him!" she said defensively.

"You're so funny William! You're so cute William" Kim said, somewhat mocking Erin.

"I am not flirting with him Kim! Jeez!" Erin said. "I was just being nice!" she added.

"Well you better not be flirting with him." Kim said. "In case you weren't listening, he has a girl back in California." Kim added.

"I know Kim. Jeez, you sound like my mother!" Erin said.

Kim slightly raised her arms. "Okay, I'll stop talking now." she said.

Erin then went to join Kim in the kitchen sink to help her with the dishes. They were finished drying the plates when Erin decided to speak again. "Well you can't deny, he is cute right!?" Erin said.

"Ha! I knew it!" Kim exclaimed. "Please don't tell me you're not thinking what I'm thinking?" Kim said.

"Like what?" Erin said trying hard not to giggle.

"Oh I don't know. Maybe seducing him or getting him drunk just enough to make out with him." Kim said.

Erin glared at Kim. "I am not trying to seduce him! God what is wrong with you!?" she said.

"Fine. I'm sorry for saying that." Kim said. They were quiet for a while when Kim decided to speak again.

"I guess you're right about one thing." Kim said.

"About what?" asked Erin.

"He is kinda cute." said Kim making Erin laugh out loud.

"Ugh, you're unbelievable!" said Erin, hitting Kim lightly on the arm. They continued cleaning up in the kitchen until they went to their separate bedrooms to turn in for the night.