This Ain't a Fairytale

“Happy six months,” Joshua greeted me at the door, a bouquet of flowers in hand. It had been a long week at school – there was a huge fire drill this afternoon so that had put my class behind and had caused some major confusion when two students had went missing. Sidney was away on a road trip, so I’d been sitting by myself trying to calm myself down since I got home at four thirty.

“Aw, thanks; come on in,” I gestured, moving to put the flowers in a vase in the kitchen. Josh followed awkwardly behind me, knowing that while I was where I lived it was Sidney’s house.

“Wow,”

“I don’t know why Sid thought he needed such a big house for himself,” I shook my head as I filled the vase with water and carefully rearranged the flowers in it. I’d already curled my hair and changed into the dress I’d chosen for this evening, so I was basically ready to go.

“Hockey players,” he chuckled, but something in his tone appeared more malicious to me than it should have. I shrugged it off, not wanting to think about it.

“Ready to go? Sorry for being early – I can always wait,” he insisted. I shook my head, slipping into the black pumps and picking up my clutch.

“No, I’m ready to go,” I smiled, letting him help me into my jacket and then heading out to his car. I made sure to turn my phone to vibrate, knowing Sidney would send me a text to let me know he’d got home all right.

Dinner was amazing – Josh had pulled out all the stops, which had all taken my breath away. The conversation never seemed to pause, and finally Josh appeared to be a bit nervous, fiddling with his napkin and catching my attention.

“I, uh, I wanted to ask you something,” I nodded, wondering what he was talking about that could make him so nervous. Josh seemed to take everything in stride – it was uncommon to see him nervous about anything.

“I was wondering if you… maybe wanted to get a place together,” he suggested, catching me a little off guard. “I mean, I know you and Sidney are close and all, and maybe this is moving too fast, but I just think it would be really nice and—” I cut him off with a quick kiss, my heart beating a thousand times a minute with excitement.

“I’d love to,” I whispered, and soon an equally big and bright smile was on his face.

“That’s amazing! I mean, I was kind of thinking about it the other day, but I didn’t know what you’d think…” he trailed off, taking both of my hands in his.

“I think it would be wonderful,” I agreed, feeling my own smile grow as the idea really sunk in. It wasn’t until about an hour later I heard my phone go off. Normally I hate to have a phone on during a date or anything like that, but it was kind of a thing Sidney and I had always done – made sure to text each other so we knew we’d got back safe.

“Who’s that?” Josh asked, and I felt myself blush a little as I read the message and then turned my phone back off.

“Sidney – he just let me know he got back home safely,” I answered, and saw a flash of irritation on his face. He knew I hardly ever answered the phone when I was out with him.

“Oh,” he tried to shrug it off, but I knew he wasn’t completely pleased.

“It’s just something we’ve always done – even when we were kids playing little league hockey. We always phone and made sure we both knew we’d got home safe. Just a habit we’ve always had,” I explained, and he relaxed, his thumb softly stroking my hands.

“I understand,” he smiled, but for the rest of the evening felt a little bit… off.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted once we were in front of the house; Sidney having left the porch light on for me.

“For what?”

“For acting like a jerk. I know Sid and you are close, it just kind of felt like he was intruding on our moment, you know? I really do understand, and I am sorry for acting like that,” he assured me, and I pulled him in for a hug.

“And I’m sorry for letting him intrude on our moment. I just always worry about him, he’s like my brother. You know I’d be the exact same with you – if you were getting in from a flight or a long drive I’d expect you to call or text me too,” I replied, and he chuckled before kissing my cheek.

“Well, I better let you go. Talk to you tomorrow? We can start looking?” he suggested, his voice regaining his earlier excitement.

“Yes – I can’t wait,” I grinned, and we kissed goodnight once more before I opened the door and let myself in, watching him drive down the street. I slipped out of my heels and made my way up the stairs and to my bedroom. There was shuffling coming from Sidney’s room, but I ignored it as I changed into my pajamas and cuddled into my covers, feeling the cold Pittsburgh night.

“How was your date?” I jumped at his voice in the doorway, and then took a deep breath.

“Incredible! How was your flight?” I asked, and scooted over as he came and crawled onto my bed, making himself comfortable.

“Bleh, a long old flight,” he answered, making me chuckle. He rolled onto his side, holding himself up on an elbow to look at me.

“Spill – I want to hear all about it,” he grinned, and I couldn’t help but giggle.

“It was perfect Sid – Josh brought me flowers, took me to a gorgeous restaurant, we had the most amazing dinner, and I have some exciting news,” I gushed, hearing my best friend chuckle.

“That’s where those came from,” he grinned, before raising an eyebrow. “So what’s this news?”

“Josh asked me if I wanted to get a place with him,” I whispered, watching Sid’s expression as his eyes widened and his mouth opened, before he pulled me close.

“That’s so exciting! What’d you say?”

“Well, yes, of course,” I rolled my eyes, and he just squeezed me tighter.

“I’m so happy for you Leigh – he sounds amazing,” he congratulated me, and I just snuggled into his embrace. It felt a lot different than being hugged by him back when we were teens; he’d put on a lot of muscle since then.

“He is Sid. I don’t know the last time I’ve been so happy,” I quietly admitted to him. He sighed, softly rubbing my back. I’d never been much of a girly-girl, and according to Sidney, that was a bit intimidating to guys. I’d only had maybe three boyfriends up until Joshua, and none of them anything near serious. I usually clicked with guys on more of a friend level than anything else. Playing hockey right through until I graduated from Harvard had also made me ridiculously busy, not helping my eternally friend-zoned situation.

“I’m so happy for you Leigh, you have no idea,” Sid repeated, and I smiled against his chest, knowing he fully intended to spend the night with me.

“I know Sid,” I closed my eyes and let his steady breathing rock me to sleep, dreaming of the future.