#theduplexpart17

Anna pulled into the shared driveway of the duplex one Tuesday evening in early April. She looked utterly exhausted. She'd had a bad day at work today. All she wanted was a hot meal, have a glass of wine and go to bed. She hoped that Kristoff had made them dinner. She parked in her garage, shut the door then went over to his side of the duplex, since it was her turn to spend the night with him.

Kristoff was on his patio, grilling some gourmet Hawaiian inspired chicken sausages for dinner. He'd changed into a pair of black basketball shorts and an L.A. Guns concert T-shirt from their debut album days, his long golden blond hair pulled back into a low ponytail. A cozy hammock was tied between two royal palm trees by the patio, a soft breeze blowing. Today marked exactly one year since Anna had moved into the duplex. He smiled, reminiscing in his mind how they came from being not friendly with one another to boyfriend and girlfriend. He looked when Sven let out a happy bark, Anna stepping out onto the patio. She'd changed into a pair of pale blue shorts with little navy blue hearts on them and a T-shirt that had a basket of kittens on it, her long strawberry blonde hair pulled back into a low, messy ponytail. He went over to her as she petted Sven.

"Hey, babe," Kristoff said, taking her into his large, strong arms. His smile faded when he saw how worn out she looked. "Are you all right? You look so wiped out." "Hey, sweetie," Anna said, her slender arms around his trim waist. "I've had a bad day." She looked up as he looked down, their eyes meeting. "Well, our dinner is almost ready. Have a seat and tell me all about it." She sat at the picnic table as he worked at the charcoal barbecue grill. She grabbed a Mike's Hard Lemonade from the mini cooler on the table, opened it and took several long gulps. "It was the day from Hell," Anna began. "Three tellers had called in sick, so it was only me and Jessica. The lines were non-stop. The managers were of no help. Drive-thru customers were pissed. Customers that came into the bank were pissed. Five customers had closed their accounts. One businessman had yelled at me because his deposit ticket was not filled out correctly."

"Wow! That sucks! I'm sorry that you had a horrible work day," Kristoff said as he took a swig from his Mike's Hard Lemonade. "My day was okay until one of our new mechanics nearly lost his fingers on an engine block because he didn't turn the car off before he worked on it. Had to take him to Heart of Florida. He'll be okay but those rookie mistakes will get him hurt." "I'm hoping that tomorrow will be better. Sorry about your newbie mechanic." He nodded as he put the completed sausages onto a plate, putting them on the table with the buns, onions, peppers, mustard and potato chips. He sat across from her and they ate. She noticed a package of gourmet Belgian chocolates on the table, along with a bouquet of Stargazer lilies. "What's this," she asked, leaning forward to sniff the lilies. "For you," he said, popping a potato chip into his mouth. "Today makes a year since you'd moved into our duplex." She smiled. "Aww. You remembered. That was so sweet of you." He smiled. They finished eating then soon went over to the hammock. He laid down on his back in the hammock and she laid in the hammock on her right side facing him. He held her as she laid her cheek against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He placed a kiss on the crown of her head.

"I can't believe that it's been a year already," Anna murmured. "I know. Look how far we've come together in one year," Kristoff murmured, Sven laying on Anna's chaise lounge as the stars shone in the night sky. "I didn't think we'd even be friends, let alone lovers, when we'd first met. You were grumpy." "I didn't embrace change too good but I'm happy that we'd gotten past that." "I am, too. Yes, you look like someone who could totally rip someone's arms off but you're really a sweetheart." "At first, I thought you couldn't hold your own but you're the woman that's full of surprises." She looked up at him as he looked down at her. They pressed forward. Their lips met in a series of tender kisses. "I love you, princess," he said. "I love you, too, Kris," she said. They soon laid there, happy to be together and glad that they'd blossomed from awkwardly uncomfortable neighbors to the best of friends to true lovers. They'd not have it any other way.