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She contemplates my comment for a few moments before nodding. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“I know you struggled a lot as a single mom, but what you did took guts and I admire you. All your friends do. You were presented with a difficult decision, and you faced it head-on. We’re all proud as hell.”
She shakes her head and sighs. “I messed up so much over the last eighteen years, but that decision wasn’t one of them.”
“Fuck no, it wasn’t. You raised a kick-ass kid, El.”
She watches me for a few long seconds, and I can tell there’s a battle raging on in her head. I don’t want to push her, but I could probably help sway the decision a bit.
“I know you’re worried about our friendship. I promise you, it will still be there, completely intact. Whether you tell me no right now or we give it a try and it doesn’t work, I will always be your friend, El. No hard feelings. I can’t imagine life without you, and what we have means the world to me.” I take a deep breath and add, “But I can’t help but feel like, maybe, something is missing, and I want to see if there’s more there than just this amazing friendship we have. I’d like the opportunity to take you on a real date.”
“I don’t know what to say,” she whispers.
“Well, you can say yes,” I quip with a chuckle, “but only if you want to.”
“I want to,” she replies adamantly before blushing once more, as if she surprised herself with her immediate response. “I mean, I do want to. Yes, I’m scared of losing you as a friend.”
“Won’t happen,” I reassure her, reaching for her hand and lacing our fingers together. “You’re stuck with me for life, El.”
A small smile spreads across her lips. “Umm, I should probably talk to Brody about this first,” she states, shifting a little in her seat, which I know is something she does when she’s nervous.
“Actually,” I say, turning a little more so we’re facing each other. “Brody is aware I’m asking you out.”
“You asked him?” Shock is written all over her pretty face.
“Well, yes?”
Her eyes narrow a bit. “Why was that a question?”
I run my hand through my hair once more and then down the back of my neck. The last thing I want to do is embarrass her, but I think she deserves to know about the conversation I had with her son. “Brody was the one who encouraged me to ask you out.”
That pink hue to her cheeks turns her a dark crimson color. “What? Oh my gosh,” she mutters, dropping her face into her hands. “That’s so embarrassing.”
“Why?” I ask, reaching for her wrists and gently pulling them away from her face.
“Because!” she bellows. “My son is trying to set me up!”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure I’m the only one he asked, and I’d like to add, him suggesting I take you out wasn’t the reason I did it. It was the nudge I needed to finally take the plunge, but I have been battling with myself for a long time. A really, really long time.”
She exhales deeply. “Still mortifying.”
I shrug my shoulders. “It’s more embarrassing it took me so long. But if you don’t want to, I’d completely understand, all right? No pressure.”
Ellie snorts. “No pressure? My son tried to set me up with one of my best friends.”
“Yeah, but that friend is me, so I don’t see the problem,” I tease, even though I’m not teasing at all. The thought of Brody trying to hook her up with anyone else causes my skin to feel tight and itchy. After a good minute of silence, I ask, “So what do you say, El? Wanna go out with me Saturday night?”
She looks over, and I know her answer. It’s written all over her face, etched in the depths of her soulful green eyes. “I’m probably really bad at dating, TD. It’s been…awhile.”
“Me too, El. That’s the beauty of this situation. It won’t be awkward, because we already know more about each other than most married couples.”
Thinking about my comment, she gives me a nod. “That’s true.” Swallowing hard, she asks a very soft, “Will this be weird?”
“No,” I insist. “If it feels weird or uncomfortable at any point, we call it off. There’s no pressure here, no expectations.”
“I should say no,” she finally states, almost absently. “I need your friendship, TD.”
“And I need yours. This won’t jeopardize it, I promise.”
