“No, no. You weren’t stupid, Oscar. You’re sweet.”
He shakes his head. “Sweet… that’s just what a guy wants to hear.”
“But you are…”
He turns to me with such vulnerability in his beautiful brown eyes. “You were going to say no, weren’t you?”
I really don’t want to answer this question, but the least I owe him is the truth. “I… I… yes, I was going to say no.”
His whole body slouches, and his face falls. I might as well have just punched him in the gut. I’m sure he’d much prefer that.
“It’s not that I don’t care about you, Oscar. It’s just that I care about you too much. I don’t want to risk it,” I struggle to explain. "You know me and relationships… I suck at them. And what if we get married, and it doesn’t work out. Then I’ve lost my bestest friend in the whole wide world.”
He nods, but he’s clearly not happy. “I see… it’s not me, it’s you.”
“Well, yeah… itisme.”
“I’m forever destined to be ‘the friend’, the hook-up. I’m just not good enough for you, not marriage material. I’m sure someone like Matt would be more up your alley. Who wants to marry a coffee boy?”
My jaw is hanging. “It’s not that. At all,” I insist. “What kind of person do you think I am? You know it’s not that.”
He springs off the bed. “I’m going for a walk.”
I scurry after him, like a jittery little mouse.
He grabs his jacket, and slips on his shoes. “Don’t follow me.”
I watch him as he slams the door and heads out. I stand still for the longest time, staring at the door.
Corrie is suddenly by my side. “What happened?”
I shrug. “Oh,nowyou’re paying attention. Do you realize we cleaned the whole kitchen while you just lazed about and watched TV?”
Her eyes are wide. “What? I thought you guys were having fun… chatting and giggling like teenagers. I didn’t want to be a third wheel.”
I cross my arms. “How convenient.” I turn on my heel, and head to my bedroom.
She nips at my heels… of course. “What happened? I know you’re not mad at me. What happened with Oscar?”
I sink onto the bed and cross my legs. My eyes well up. Corrie settles right next to me… she’s not letting this go. “What happened?” she asks again. Seriously, the woman is relentless.
“I… I messed up,” I tell her, now officially sobbing.
She takes me in her arms. “What happened?”
If she asks me that one more time, I will clobber the woman. “He bought me a ring,” I tell her. “And I found it.”
She pulls from me, her eyes full of excitement. “Really?”
I gesture to the suitcase. “See that sweater over there?”
She nods and ventures over. She picks it up. “Yeah, this old thing?”
“Look in the pocket.”
She digs the box out, and eagerly pops it open. “Wow,” she says as soon as she sees it. “It’s gorgeous. It’s so you.”
“I know… Oscar knows me well. I love it.”
