Emma came home from a wonderful day out.
Her boyfriend, ever the gentleman, had taken her to the park for a romantic picnic. She had worn her favourite yellow summer dress for the occasion, as the couple enjoyed their sandwiches, strawberries and champagne in the warm afternoon sun. As she lay on the soft rug, enjoying the food and the ambience, Emma couldn't help but feel her life was perfect.
She couldn't wait to tell her roommate all about her wonderful day, and the beautiful man who had shared it with her.
"Hello!" she called, as she walked into the living room. "Michael? Are you home?"
No response.
"That's odd," She chuckled. "He's rarely ever out of the house."
Emma shrugged and began to look for a vase or similar container for the bouquet of flowers her boyfriend had bought her. She was sure Michael wouldn't mind her keeping them in the kitchen, besides, she was always complaining about the lack of decor in their apartment.
"I'm going to put these in some water, okay?" She said to the empty room.
After searching through the cupboards and finding a single large glass vase, she filled it with water and placed the flowers in it, arranging them as nicely as she could.
"Much better!" she giggled. "I'm sure Michael won't mind."
Just at that moment, Emma heard the rattling of keys from the front door.
"Speak of the devil!" she giggled to herself.
The door swung open and the young man entered, looking tired and sweaty from a hard day's work. Michael was known to drop by the gym after a long shift at his boring office job, and today was no exception.
"Hey, Michael!" Emma said happily, greeting him from the kitchen. "How was your day?"
Michael just nodded, dropped his gym bag by the door and grunted in reply. He didn't look too happy, but Emma never let that dampen her spirits. He strolled through the kitchen, barely giving Emma a second glance, pushing past the girl to open up the fridge.
"So, how was work?" Emma asked again, trying to start a conversation. "Did anything interesting happen today?"
"Nope," Michael said, still facing the open refrigerator door. He pulled out a bottle of orange juice, shaking it to make sure there was still some left. Satisfied, he unscrewed the cap and drank straight from the bottle, ignoring the presence of the girl next to him.
This was one of Michael's habits that annoyed Emma. She had asked him repeatedly not to drink straight from the bottle, and yet he continued to do it anyway. While she could never get mad at the man, she still found herself a little frustrated at his disregard. In response, she just sighed and rolled her eyes, projecting her disappointment.
"What?" Michael asked, either oblivious or uncaring of the situation. Before Emma could respond, Michael noticed the vase on the counter. "When did we get flowers?"
"Oh, they're from my boyfriend," Emma said happily, trying to lighten the mood. "He got them for me this today. Aren't they beautiful?"
"Sure," Michael said, clearly disinterested.
"It was so sweet," Emma continued. "We had a lovely picnic date this morning. The weather was perfect. There was a little breeze, but it was nice and warm. You know, it's a shame you had to work today, I'm sure you would have enjoyed it."
Michael gave Emma an unamused look and continued to down the last of the orange juice. He placed the empty bottle on the counter and shut the refrigerator door. Once again, Emma sighed, picking up the bottle and placing it in the trash.
"What's with you?" Michael asked, confused.
Emma smirked at the man's lack of awareness. While Michael wasn't the perfect roommate, he was her best friend in the whole world. She'd long gotten used to his quirks and tidying up after him had become second nature. Any minor annoyance he caused her was completely overshadowed by the joy his company brought her.
"Nothing," she said, giving a teasing smile. "Just realising how badly you stink right now."
It was a joke, but there was some truth in her words. Michael did have a rather strong musk emanating from his body, added to that, all the beads of sweat covering his face and shirt were reason enough to make Emma take a step back and mime a disgusted look.
Michael just laughed, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Sorry," he said with a shrug, not sounding apologetic in the slightest. "It's hot outside."
"Uhuh," Emma replied, still looking the man up and down. "Why don't you go take a shower, and then I'll tell you all about my wonderful day."
"Does this 'wonderful day' involve more flowery descriptions of a boring date with your boring boyfriend?" Michael asked in a very deadpan tone. "Because if it does, then I think I'll pass."
"Don't be mean!" Emma scolded, lightly slapping his arm. "He's not boring, you know that. Besides, it was a really great day, I know you'll love to hear about it."
Michael shook his head, sarcastically pretending to think about the offer.