The next morning I woke up on my couch, head pounding. The light was pouring in through the wall-sized window overlooking London, in my living room. I groaned and rolled over, searching for my phone. On my phone was a sticky note that said, "You probably won't remember this so I wanted to tell you I had a good time. Don't worry, you'll find yourself. Let's do this again soon. x Teddy" I smiled, remembering all that I could of the night before. I began to flush with embarrassment. Shit, I can't believe I let myself get that drunk. After reading the note, I decided to check my phone. 6 text messages and three missed calls. All of the calls and 5 of the texts were from my best friend. The 6th text was from Ed, or Teddy as I've now decided to call him, apparently. I decided to ignore the calls and texts from my best friend, Lucy. Instead I read Ed's and text him back
Hey, sorry to bother you. I think I left my hoodie in your kitchen and my bag from the record store. I was a bit tipsy when I left as well, hahah. Hope you're not feelin too shitty. Really enjoyed last night.
Yeah, they're both here. You can swing by and get them or I can bring them to you, whichever is easiest :) And yeah, I'm hanging a bit. But I'll be okay. How about you? By the way, absolutely mortified that I got so drunk. I'm so sorry. Just been going through a lot, which from the note I take it I filled you in on...yikes.
Hahaha, you're totally fine! It's nice to talk to someone once in a while. I enjoyed our night, I had fun. And can you drop them off by chance? I'm hung up with some work today. My apartment's on the corner of sixth and 3rd.
Yeah, I can swing by :) What time do you want me to?
How's about 1:30?
Sounds good, I'll text you when I'm there.
See you then, thanks so much x
It's already noon, so I have to rush to get ready. I feel like I should make myself at least a little attractive since he's only seen me at my worst...hell, why do I care to impress anyone? I shower and dry my long, curly, blonde hair. I put on some make up and throw on a pair of black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, a pair of white vans and a black hoodie and I'm out the door. It's so hard to get used to driving in London after growing up in the states. The traffic is worse than it is back home, that's for sure. I'm running late, stuck in what you would think is rush hour, so I shoot Teddy a text.
Stuck in traffic. Be there soon x
Take your time, no worries :) x
Finally! We're moving. I get to his apartment around 2. He's standing outside waiting. "Hey! Sorry, traffic was awful," I explain as I bring him his stuff. He laughs, "It's okay, I totally understand. It's like people here don't have a clue how to drive. It drives me mad." He takes the stuff from me and I give him a shy smile. "Yeah, it takes some getting used to."
He smiles back, "Thanks for bringing me my stuff."
"Oh, no problem. I guess I should let you get back to work," I say.
He frowns, "do you want to come in? Maybe have a cup of tea?"
I look around, not really sure what I'm looking for, then finally reply, "Yeah, sure. It can't hurt."
I follow Ed up the stairs and he opens the door into a beautiful foyer. There's a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling. In front of me is a large staircase, to the right I can go into the kitchen and to the left I can go into what looks like the living room. "Wow, is this your house?" I ask. He smiles, a proud smile, "yeah, tea?" I smile back, "Yes, please." I follow him to the right and into the kitchen, which is equally as beautiful as the entrance. He has a large kitchen, much bigger than I'd think one man needs. Off the kitchen is a long hallway with several doors. It also had a set of sliding glass doors that lead out to a gigantic backyard. I definitely didn't expect to see this in the middle of London.
I sat down at the breakfast bar as Ed made our tea. He handed me mine then asked if I wanted to sit in the backyard and drink it. Since it was actually nice out today, we decided to. We walked through the glass doors and onto a deck. The deck overlooked a massive pool, with a waterfall and hot tub attached. There was still lots of room to run around even with the massive pool. Dang, what does this guy do for a living?
We sipped our tea in silence for a while. "So, what are you doing for work since you just moved here?" Ed asked. I smiled, "I'm a make up artist. I am currently working at a salon, I have a booth. I'm saving up to open my own studio," I explain. He grins, "that's amazing. I'm sure you're very talented." I haven't been wearing make up any of the times I've seen him, so he's obviously just trying to be supportive. "Yeah, I try. What about you, what do you do?" He laughs, "the infamous question. I'm a musician. A singer song-writer." This is embarrassing, I don't even know who he is and he's obviously famous. "That's awesome," I say with a smile, trying to keep it cool. He gives an awkward laugh, "yeah, I like it. I'm currently on a break from touring. I bought this house about two years ago and this is the first time I'm really getting to stay in it for any amount of time. I'm writing and recording for my next album." Would it be dumb to ask him what music he plays? No, of course not.
"What songs do you sing? Anything big? I'm sure I sound so stupid but I'm really unaware of who you are," I explain, embarrassed. He giggles, what a lovely sound, "It's totally fine, most don't have a name or face to the voice. I sing The A team, Thinking Out Loud, Don't." I feel my face turn read, "oooooooh, yeah, I know your music now that you say that. Don't is a solid jam." He smiles, "want a tour of the rest of the house?" He asks. I smile back, "Sure!"
We go back through the doors and down the hallway off the kitchen. He shows me four rooms: His studio, which is decent sized and fully equipped, a room where he keeps his guitars, a room where his plaques and awards are stored, and a room where he keeps sentimental things from touring, such as gifts from fans. "This is my musical hallway, basically," he explains, proudly. We go down another hallway, this one empty. It's small and leads to a longer hallway. This one also has four rooms off of it. The four rooms are all bedrooms, equipped with their own small bathrooms and closets, "These are some of the guest bedrooms," he explains. We finish going down that hallway and are in the living room. "Living room," he says, and we're back at the foyer. We walk up the massive stair case and into the room at the top of the stairs. Inside this room is books, a pool table, a fooseball table, and some gaming systems. "This room's more for my mates than myself," he laughs. We exit that room and take a left. There are three bedrooms up here. "For kids, probably. Might as well start preparing now," he says with a shrug. I smile at him. We walk back down the hallway and to the right of the stairs and into the last bedroom. It's massive with high ceilings, a california king size bed, and massive tv. "This is my room," he says with a huge grin. He shows me the bathroom, it has a huge tub, a massive shower, two sinks, and a toilet. We go to the other side of the room and there are two huge walk in closets. "I'm sure my future wife will love this," he says referring to the closet that's the size of my flat. Quickly he says, "Not that I have one lined up or anything, just saying, when I do meet someone." He gives me a shy smile, which I return.
"This place is incredible, Teddy," I say as we walk back downstairs. "Thanks, I've tried to make it as well equipped for a family as possible. I can't wait," he says with a smile.