Garrett and Addison sat together on her bed, Garrett lost in a novel and Addison doodling something in her old sketchbook. Garrett had come over to hang out with her, regardless of the fact that they weren’t really doing anything together. April air blew in steadily through Addison’s open window, the perfect temperature to keep the house cool, albeit a little humid.
Just as Garrett was nearing the end of a chapter, his phone buzzed, cutting through the silence and startling Addison almost to the point of falling onto the floor. Garrett shut his book and picked up his phone with a quick, friendly greeting.
Addison went back to her drawing and pulled back her hair so it would stop getting caught in her face. She was a young woman, tanned with thick, dark hair that was cut just above her shoulder. She had a defining square jaw and thick brows, with round brown eyes that you might compare to old pennies, dark and reminiscent of something you can’t quite put your finger on. She idly eavesdropped on Garrett’s conversation, hearing him repeat “Okay,” and “Sure!” several times.
After a few minutes, Garrett put down his phone and beamed at Addison. He had the kind of smile that made anyone smile back at him, regardless of the mood they were in. His black eyes gave away what he was feeling at any moment, which tended to be carelessly happy. He had very dark skin, even in the cloudy Winter months, and a grown-out buzz cut that was a little unkempt but still fit him well.
“Justin invited us over for dinner!” He quickly stood up, picking up his phone and wallet. Addison stopped drawing, speaking softly.
“I thought we were gonna do takeout, though…”
“What if I told you,” he turned to face her, a teasingly smug smirk on his lips, “that Carmen was coming, too?”
“Wait, are you serious?”
Garrett simply nodded.
“Alright, let’s go.” Addison stood up, pulling on her jacket and grabbing her purse from her desk.
The two of them left the house and hopped into Garrett’s car. Justin’s apartment wasn’t too far away, and the weather was still clear, so they drove with windows open to feel the wind on their skin. Addison took her sunglasses out of her purse and put them on, turning to Garrett.
“How long have they been dating, again? I feel like we’ve been hearing about Carmen for ages.”
“A couple months or so, but the way he talks about her makes it seem like he’s still got some hopeless romantic crush on her.” He laughed, thinking about how head-over-heels in love Justin was with her.
“Yeah, he always rambles about how hot she is,” Addison turned again to look out the window at the horizon, “He’s told me over and over how she has such a great body, but that she’s got this gorgeous doll-face, too. It’s like, alright, we get it.”
“I just hope they don’t PDA the whole time we’re there. If they feed each other, I swear I’m gonna barf!” He made a quick gagging gesture.
Before long, they had arrived at Justin’s building and were knocking on the door to his home, both of them smiling and giddy to meet Carmen. The door opened quickly, with only Justin on the other side, no sign of his girlfriend to be found.
“Hey!” Justin gave a wide grin, stretching his arms out and stepping aside so they could come inside. The two of them slowly walked through the door and took off their shoes.
The apartment wasn’t very big, considering each square foot of housing got more expensive as you got closer to the heart of the city. However, it was decorated well as a classic American style with some modern twists. He had several bookshelves, trinkets and paintings adorning the walls, some that had been made by Addison herself. The whole place was lit with warm yellow lights and sunlight spilling in from every window.
“So, where’s your new girlfriend you’ve been telling us so much about?” she asked, scanning the room while she hung up her jacket.
“She’ll be here soon,” He paused, leading the group into his dining room, “She’s got work right now.”
“Ooh, what does Carmen do?” They both sat down at the table, which had a fine rosewood finish.
“Uh, she doesn’t really talk about it much!” Justin raised his voice a little as he fetched some hors d'oeuvres from the kitchen so he could still be heard. Garrett raised a suspicious eyebrow, before Addison turned to whisper into his ear so that Justin couldn’t hear her.
“She probably works for the government or she’s a dancer, something like that.” He nodded in agreement as Justin came back into the room and set down a plate of small caprese flatbreads in the center of the table.
“I’m so happy you guys came today! I swear, you’re both gonna love her.” He sat down across from them, picking up one of the flatbreads and taking a bite from it.
“Yeah, Garrett told me that she was gonna be here and we came over right away.” Addison leaned back in her chair, a slight smile on her face.
“You’ve been telling us so much about her, we just had to be here!” Garrett spoke enthusiastically as he took one of the flatbreads.
“I’m sorry, she’s just so perfect! I feel like this girl was made for me.” Justin blushed, but Garrett shook his head sympathetically.
“No, I totally understand. You guys are obviously in love!”
“That’s nice to know. My mom doesn’t like her that much, she says that she’s ‘fake,’ but I’m trying not to let that affect the relationship.”
“Your mom probably just wants her son to be a mama’s boy forever, since you’re her only kid and all.” Addison rolled her eyes, trying to dismiss his mother’s disapproval.
“Yeah, you’re probably right…” Justin looked up with new courage before suddenly picking up his phone. “Oh, she’s here!” He shot up out of his chair, heading toward the door back to the main hall. “I’ll just go get her real quick.” He left, leaving the other two alone. Addison crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.
“His phone didn’t buzz.”
“Huh?” Garrett tilted his head.
“His phone didn’t buzz. Or ring.” She just stared at some point on the other end of the room, remaining perfectly still.
“Please, you’re just being silly!” He smiled, shaking his head.
“That’s what you think-” Just then, she was interrupted by Justin opening the door again and peeking through the frame, with a wide, almost maniacal grin on his face.
“Well, are you guys ready to meet her?” Garrett and Addison both nodded enthusiastically. Justin opened the door all the way and stepped inside the room. On his right arm was not a woman, but a doll. No, she was not a doll in the figurative sense of being a beautiful girl, but was an actual, silicone, life-size, human doll. She had pale white skin that almost looked like porcelain, with overtly blushed cheeks and lips that were perpetually parted. Her dead china blue eyes never blinked and her long scarlet hair would have been gorgeous if someone would bother to brush it. She wore a tight-fitting green zip-up dress and was barefoot (She didn’t need to wear shoes, considering she never did any walking herself).
Meanwhile, the two guests just sat there, their mouths agape and speechless. After an uncomfortably long silence, Addison finally spoke, her expression remaining unchanged.
“Jesus Christ…”
“I know, I’m so blessed to have her!” Justin was still his upbeat self and obviously didn’t see anything strange in the current situation. He picked his “girlfriend” bridal-style and carried her over to the seat across from Garrett, setting her down and pushing her chair in before sitting down beside her. Garrett and Addison turned to each other, sharing a worried and slightly fearful glance before they both forced smiles at their host.
“Alright, I’ll go get the entrée! You guys can get yourselves acquainted.” Justin left to the kitchen, leaving the other two alone with Carmen.
“Is this what he meant when he told us how much of a doll she was?” Garrett frowned.
“And what he meant when he said she was ‘made for him’, I guess.” Addison used her eyes to gesture toward Carmen, causing Garrett’s face to twist up even more.
“Addison, I wanna get out of here.”
“Yeah, and how are we gonna do that without being rude?”
“Ugh, you’ve got a point.” He let out a defeated groan.
“Just grow a pair and deal with it, I guess.”
“And never come here again.”
“Ever.” She nodded. Meanwhile, the doll continued staring at the other two with her uncannily detailed, stoic features. However, Justin returned soon enough with multiple platters of hot food. The main course consisted of ribeye steaks topped with blue cheese, seasoned mashed potatoes, and fusilli noodles with a creamy sauce. He grabbed a spoon and fork and gave everyone generous servings, even the doll.
“Okay, dig in!”
Garrett and Addison started to eat quickly, partly so that they would make minimum eye contact with Justin and Carmen, and partly so they could get out of there as soon as possible. Before long, though, Garrett finally looked up to see Justin shoving spoonfuls of mashed potatoes into her mouth hastily. It seemed that she could fit a vast larger amount of potatoes in her than she looked like she could. Eventually, Justin stopped to plant a kiss on her cheek and turn her head (Her whole body had fully-functional joints) to his ear, as if she was telling him a secret. After a few seconds, Justin then turned to face his guests.
“She really likes you guys!”
“Aw, thanks, Carmen!” Garrett flashed Carmen a smile that was visibly fake before shooting a wink at Justin. “She’s a real catch.” The four of them continued eating in a forced silence, and because of that they finished their meal rather quickly. The group then withdrew into Justin’s living room, where they sat on two loveseats perpendicular to each other and drank c***tails.
“So,” Addison cracked her knuckles, “How did you two meet?”
Justin gave Carmen a loving glance, which she did not return.
“Actually, we met online. I wasn’t even looking for a girlfriend, but I saw her and I just had to meet her.” Addison nodded with a strained smile on her face. Meanwhile, Garrett had just swallowed the rest of his drink and stood up.
“Well, it’s been so great meeting you, Carmen, but we have to go now.” Addison exhaled with relief and rose from her seat as well.
“Yeah, I’ve got brunch with my mom in the morning.” She nodded as she made her way toward the door, with Garrett and Justin following behind. She and Garrett put the shoes back on as Justin watched with a sweet, almost innocent smile.
“I’m so glad you guys came! I love having you over.”
“Of course! We always such a great time at your place, Justin. Have a nice night!” Garrett spoke a little louder as he walked out of the apartment so Justin could still hear. Addison, however, stayed a little longer to put her jacket on, and got a few more words in that Garrett didn’t quite catch.
“I just love how comfortable we are around each other, Justin. Like, I don’t even have to worry about putting on a bunch of makeup or getting dolled up to come see you. Unlike your girlfriend.”
And, just like that, Addison had made her way out the door, refusing to look back at that apartment ever again.