We Could Be Something

16: He Doesn’t Need It

Pushing a hand back through her hair, Adriana spared a glance down towards the instruction booklet, re-reading the same instruction for the third time. She had been at it for a while, since she had gotten back from work, she had been sat in the middle of the nursery, attempting to put together the set of drawers she had bought to place in the room, but she hadn’t made a lot of progress, something which was starting to irk her a little. Studying the information once more, she reached out towards the plank of wood which sat ahead of her before she attempted to do what the instruction told her.

“Remind me again why you didn’t just call that ‘friend’ of yours?”

Adriana, who’d settled the piece of wood on the ground once more, shook her head, her eyes glancing up towards Ella who stood in the doorway, sipping on a mug of tea.

It had become frequent, since Ella had met Iker, she had developed a habit of suggesting that he and Adriana should be more than the friends they were, and it irked Adriana, even if she did think that there was a chance that she liked him more than she should have done, she didn’t want to feel pressured into admitting it. “I am more than capable of doing this myself, Ella” she quipped “I don’t have to call Iker for everything” she added.

Ella rolled her eyes slightly. “You’ve barely got halfway through” she quipped as she sat down beside her friend “And I am sure you’ve been stuck on the same bit for the last half an hour. Why don’t you call him?” she posed.

Adriana offered her friend a small look before she shrugged. “We don’t have to talk every day, Ella” she quipped, her fingers messing shyly with the hem of the shirt she wore.

It had been a little while, after Iker had helped her to paint the nursery, a couple of weeks had past, and things between them felt a little off, something Adriana was sure stemmed from the ‘almost’ moment that they had shared. It had been close, until the baby had kicked, Adriana had been convinced that they were going to kiss, and whilst she knew that it was probably best for them that they hadn’t , she had found herself slightly disappointed that it hadn’t happened, something she had opted to keep to herself rather than share with Iker.

Ella noted the slightly shy look on Adriana’s face before she tilted her head. “Ana?” she posed.

Adriana shook her head. “It’s nothing, Ella” she quipped.

Ella scoffed. “I know you better than that, Ana” she mused, a knowing smile on her face “Something happened, didn’t it?” she posed.

“Nothing happened” Adriana quipped “We’re adults, Ella, we’re just not attached at the hip” she added, awkwardly attempting to push herself to her feet.

Ella rolled her eyes slightly before she moved towards the blonde woman, helping her up. “You two were attached at the hip” she countered “You have been since he arrived. So, why don’t you tell me why you’re suddenly attempting to get out of spending time with him?” she added. It hadn’t gone unnoticed, for a small while, things between Iker and Adriana seemed to be a little odd, and Ella wanted to encourage Adriana to talk to her, not wanting to see her friend lose someone who had come to mean a lot to her in a short amount of time.

Adriana shook her head. “I am not trying to get out of spending time with him” she noted, her tone slightly irritated.

“Yes, you are” Ella countered.

Adriana rolled her eyes slightly before she let out a small sigh. “Fine” she noted “I’ll tell you, but you have to promise me that you’ll be calm, OK?” she added.

Ella spared a slightly uncertain look towards her before she nodded. “Fine” she agreed.

Adriana spared a small sigh before she peeked up at Ella. “We almost kissed” she admitted gently.

Ella blinked. “What?” she squeaked.

“It sort of just happened” Adriana mumbled, her cheeks tinting slightly red “But the baby kicked before we could actually kiss and now things are…it’s a little awkward” she admitted gently.

Ella was quiet for a moment before she shook her head, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “You like him” she announced.

“Ella…”

“Come on, Ana” Ella interjected softly “I’ve seen the two of you together, it’s nothing short of adorable, and I can see you have some sort of feeling towards him. That’s why it is weird, no? Because you like him and you’re disappointed that you didn’t get to kiss him and you’re not sure if he feels the same way as you do” she added, her eyes peeking towards Adriana who shifted nervously.

Adriana offered her a shy look before she shrugged, something which made Ella’s smile widen. “Ana, you should tell him” she noted.

Adriana shook her head. “That’s not going to happen” she noted dismissively.

“And why not?” Ella pressed “Ana, the guy likes you, everyone who’s seen the two of you together could tell you that” she added.

“Because I can’t do it to him, Ella” she noted “My situation…it’s complicated and I can’t stick him right in the middle of it. I’ve got a baby to think about, and then there is my feelings towards Jon…I can’t ask Iker to contemplate starting something with me when things are still so complicated, it’s not fair on him” she explained gently. It was a tempting prospect, the idea of starting a relationship with Iker, but she knew that it wasn’t the right time. Things were still complicated, they would be for a while, and she couldn’t ask him to get in the middle of it. It wasn’t fair on him.

Ella mulled her words over for a moment before she sighed. “You deserve to be happy, Ana” she noted gently “And I think Iker could be good for you. You’ve been so much better since he showed up and I think you’d be making a mistake if you kept on waiting. It’s only a matter of time before someone else stumbles across him” she added tentatively.

Adriana offered her a soft look before she spared a small sigh, shaking her head. “I can’t, Ella” she murmured softly before she moved to pad out of the room, mumbling about needing to take a rest.

Ella watched her out of the room before she sighed, wordlessly wondering what it would take to make both Adriana and Iker see that they had a shot at something special.
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Thanks to Jayme112234 for the comments :)