We Could Be Something

Eyeing the door which stood ahead of her, Adriana spared a nervous sigh, her hands fiddling with the bottom of her blouse in an attempt to make sure that it wasn’t too tight around her small bump. It wasn’t the first time, since they’d met, she and Iker had had dinner together more than once, but the idea of doing it at his apartment made her more than a little nervous. It had been a couple of days, after her talk with Ella, she had been slightly more hesitant in agreeing to spend time with him, but she knew that she couldn’t say no, even if she was nervous at the prospect of telling him about her pregnancy, she had grown to enjoy spending time with him.

Ensuring that her blouse was slightly loose, she spared the door another uncertain look before she tapped her hand against it.

“You’re late” Iker’s voice was warm and teasing as he pulled the door back.

“I’m not” Adriana countered “You said to be here any time after 7 and it is 7:15. I’m perfectly on time” she added, offering him her best smile.

Iker rolled his eyes playfully before he ducked out of the doorway, allowing her to step inside. “I’m almost done cooking” he noted as he led her through towards the kitchen.

“You didn’t have to go through all the trouble, Iker” Adriana noted as she moved to sit beside the counter “I am sure that we could have found somewhere if we’d tried” she added.

Iker, who’d moved to stir a pot on the stove, shrugged. “We probably could have done” he noted “But I didn’t want the hassle. Cooking here seemed like a better idea than heading to a crowded restaurant tonight” he added.

Adriana offered him a little look before she sighed. “Iker” she breathed softly “You know that you and I are…that we’re friends, right?” she babbled awkwardly. She knew what they were doing, as far as she was concerned, their relationship was nothing more than a friendship, and whilst she didn’t want to be blunt with him, she wanted to ensure that he knew it too. The last thing she wanted to do was lead him on and hurt him in the long run.

Iker tilted his head slightly, a small frown playing at the corner of his mouth.

“I mean, you know that we’re not…that this isn’t…”

“Adriana” Iker interjected softly “I know that we’re not dating” he added.

Adriana blinked a couple of times before she spared a small sigh, something which made him shake his head. “Adriana, I am not stupid, OK?” he noted gently “I know that something happened between you and your ex recently and I am not naïve enough to believe that you’d want to jump into something with me when you’re clearly not over whatever it is…”

“He left me” Adriana interjected.

Iker, who’d been cut off in the middle of his sentence, startled a little, his expression softening. “He what?” he babbled softly.

“My fiancé” Adriana mumbled “He left me” she repeated, her fingers tugging at the bottom of her blouse nervously.

Iker mulled her words over for a moment before he stepped towards her, his hand gently moving to take the one of hers which messed with her shirt. “You know, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. We’ve not known one another very long and if you wanted to avoid it for a little longer, we could” he offered gently. He could see that it hurt her, the way her face changed whenever her ex was bought up in conversation confided it, and he wanted to offer her an out, even if he was more than a little curious about it, he didn’t want her to feel as though she had to divulge anything to him.

Adriana watched his hand for a moment before she shook her head. “We have to talk about it at some point, no?” she posed.

“Probably” Iker agreed “But it doesn’t have to be now. Addie…”

“Addie?” Adriana quipped, her eyebrow cocked amusedly.

Iker shook his head, a small hint of pink on his cheeks. “I can’t call you that?” he posed.

“You can” Adriana noted “It’s just the first time I’ve heard it in a while. Most people tend to shorten my name to Ana, rather than Addie” she mused with a small feeble smile.

Iker rolled his eyes a little before he squeezed her hand. “You can tell me what you want to tell me when you want to tell it to me, Addie” he noted softly “I am not going to press you on it, I am not going to ask questions. You can tell me when you want tell me” he insisted gently.

Adriana offered him a soft look before she shook her head. “I think I ought to tell you one thing” she noted softly “Even if I don’t tell you the whole story, there’s something you ought to know now” she babbled softly.

Iker tilted his head, slightly caught off guard by her babbling. It wasn’t like her, since they’d started to spend time together, Adriana had appeared bright and warm, and it made quite the change to see her so nervous. If one of them tended to be a little less sure, it was him. “Addie?” he posed softly.

Adriana blinked a couple of times before she let out a nervous sigh. “I don’t know why I am so nervous” she mumbled, twisting her hair around her finger.

“It’s fine” Iker mused, his tone soft and reassuring “If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to” he added, squeezing her hand once more.

Adriana spared a small glance down towards their hands before she lifted her head, meeting his dark eyes. “Iker” she breathed softly “I…I’m…” she babbled.

Iker offered her a soft look before he shook his head. “Adriana…”

“I’m pregnant” Adriana interjected, her words rushed and unsure.

Iker, who’d dropped his focus towards their hands, stiffened a little at the words before he lifted his head, his expression more than slightly surprised. Adriana spied the look on his face and shook her head, almost certain that what had been a promising friendship wouldn’t quite be the same by the time she left his home that night.