Author's note: I had stated in part 1 that the short dinner scene stood on its own, but I also promised I'd consider writing a second part if there was enough demand. Since almost all comments were clamouring for a continuation, I had to cave.
I finally found a way to keep the story going in the same playful vibe as the first, while remaining as authentic to the characters as possible. I wrote this as I wrote the first scene, riding on a short burst of inspiration for a few hours. I hope you enjoy it!
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We stood next to each other in the elevator, a little closer than friends should, a little farther than lovers would, with our hands barely touching. The electricity from the contact was slowly spreading through my body, neither overwhelming nor subdued, but more like a slow and unstoppable underlying current, just like the sexual tension that had me alert but not fully ready during dinner.
And ready I still wasn't. Kate was my best friend, and the thought of losing her... Well, it just wasn't on the cards. Now that the impish excitement that took us during our double date was gone, now that we weren't in a public setting where the teasing was innocent and cute, what were we supposed to do? Forget all that happened and move on as friends, or tumble inside her apartment like horny teenagers and fuck each other's brains out?
As appealing as the second option was, I had to admit that it just wasn't ideal. But the way we were standing now had me certain that we weren't going to forget about it either. So there we were, stuck somewhere in the middle and that made it all the more complicated.
I didn't want complicated. It had always been easy between us, simple. Unlike with other people, it didn't take an effort for us to try and meet in the middle. There was never a "me" and a "you", it had always been a "we". Losing that simplicity meant losing who "we" were. I needed to keep reading her like an open book and for her to do the same, just like we somehow both headed towards my car after our double date, and I didn't find it strange that she had decided to ride home with me instead of Tim. We both knew we had to address what had been said during the dinner.
I was taken out of the whirlwind of my thoughts as I felt her lean sideways toward me and nudge my shoulder. I turned to see her grin but failing to hide how terrified she was. Maybe there was a chance for us after all. If she was as scared as I was, she must care as much as I did.
"What?" I smiled and nudged her back.
The elevator sounded its ding and the doors opened, just as we were about to burn our first awkward bridge. The open hallway between where we stood and her apartment's door seemed like a minefield to me, full of potential errors and bombs waiting to explode and destroy us both. Instinctively, I grabbed her hand and she squeezed it tightly. I saw the same apprehension on her face that I was feeling in my heart. We can do this, I thought. Together, we can do this.
We walked slowly out of the elevator and toward the door, her palm sweating in mine - or was it mine in hers? It doesn't matter, there was sweat, slight trembling and little squeezing all mixed together.
We stopped in front of the door, she fumbled for her keys but found them quickly and turned to open it. She suddenly swivelled back and looked me right in the eyes with resolve. Her sharp determination had the magical effect of quelling my own fears and in an instant, I was ready for anything.
"Do you want to come inside?"
I don't know how or why I had switched back into my playful nature, but I found myself quickly replying, "oh sure, I'd like to have some privacy when I come."
I giggled and watched her as she processed the perverse meaning of my answer. She smiled and dismissed it by quickly asking again, "I meant do you want to come for a drink?"
"I was hoping that I'd come and you'd drink." Where did that come from? As the embarrassment of the answer hit us both at the same time, I realized that I didn't want to spook her so fast. I smiled and hoped for the best. "Oh, I'm sorry, that was taking it too far."
"Honey," her eyes lit up with a mischievous spark, "I'm pretty sure you can take it as far as I give it."
