Somebody Like Me

Sparing a small look towards the door of Cassie’s apartment which stood ahead of him, Sergio let out a small sigh, trying to settle the nervousness which twitched in the pit of his stomach. It had been arranged for a couple of days, with Sergio keen to be as involved as he could be with Cassie’s pregnancy, he had insisted that they spend a little time together, but still he found himself slightly apprehensive about the prospect of spending time together, even if he did want to make the effort. He knew that the evening was likely to prove awkward and slightly uncomfortable.

Offering another glance towards the door, he briefly contemplated the idea of turning and walking away before he carefully lifted his hand, tapping it lightly before he took a step back, waiting for a couple of seconds before Cassie pulled it open, a slight frown pulling at the corner of her mouth. “Sergio?” she posed softly “W…What are you doing here?” she added.

Sergio quirked a small smile and lifted his hand, showing off the bag of food he held. “I bought dinner” he mused softly “And you said that you’d not mind me dropping by tonight. Did you forget?” he quipped, his voice caught between awkward and teasing.

Cassie blinked a couple of times, slightly surprised by his words, before she shook her head “It might have slipped my mind” she mused softly “Do you want to come inside?” she added, her green eyes not even making the slightest attempt to look up at him.

Sergio admired the slightly uncertain expression she wore before he shook his head. “I don’t have to if you don’t want me to” he noted gently “I mean, I’d like to spend a little more time with you but if you’d rather…”

“Come inside, Sergio” she interjected softly, a brief smile passing over her face “It’d be a shame to let that food go to waste” she added, stepping out of the doorway slightly in order to allow him to step inside.

Sergio offered her a slightly dubious look, wordlessly offering her the chance to back out, before he stepped passed her, flashing her a small awkward smile before he padded through towards the kitchen.

He knew that it was going to be awkward, from the way Cassie was avoiding his gaze, he knew that the night ahead of them was likely to be more than a little tense, but he knew that it was something he merely had to handle, even if he did miss the way things had been between them before they’d discovered her pregnancy. He knew that they simple had to persevere.

~#~
“So, how are you feeling, Cass?”

Cassie, who’d been absently pushing a piece of food around her plate, startled a little at the sound of Sergio’s voice before she lifted her head, her green eyes peeking towards him shyly. It had been a quiet couple of hours, after Sergio had arrived, neither she nor he had found a lot to talk about, and Cassie had to admit that she felt awkward, something which wasn’t aided by Mia’s words which still circled around her head.

She knew that the blonde had a point, until she and Sergio had a conversation about their relationship, things were likely to remain awkward, but still Cassie couldn’t seem to muster the nerve to broach the subject, even if she didn’t like the way things were between them. She simply couldn’t find the words.

“Huh?” she spluttered.

Sergio, who was sipping on his drink, quirked a small amused smile. “I asked how you were feeling” he mused softly “How is the sickness?” he added, his voice soft and concerned.

Cassie shrugged. “It’s OK” she mused softly “I mean, I’m already looking forwards to getting out of the morning sickness phase, but it’s nothing I can’t handle” she added, her green eyes fixed on her hand which fiddled with her fork nervously.

Sergio watched the timid movements of her hand for a couple of moments before he shook his head, a small aggrieved sigh falling out of his mouth. It wasn’t the first time, for the majority of the night, their conversations seemed to lapse into awkward silences or become babbled messes, and whilst he knew that it wasn’t going to go away quickly, it still irked Sergio.

Watching her hand for another couple of seconds, he shook his head gently before he reached his hand out, knotting their fingers together. “Cassie” he mumbled softly.

Cassie, who’d been staring down at her plate, startled a little at the feeling of his hand before she lifted her head, her green eyes meeting his darker ones. “Sergio…”

“Talk to me, Cass” Sergio interrupted softly “I’d like to know what’s going on up here” he added, his finger gently nudging the side of her head.

Cassie spared him a soft look before she shook her head. “It’s…”

“Don’t say it is nothing, Cassie” Sergio interjected, offering her hand a light squeeze “I think I know you well enough to know that that isn’t true” he added softly.

Cassie offered him another look, briefly contemplating insisting that it was nothing, before she shook her head. “It’s awkward” she mumbled softly.

Sergio tilted his head, but didn’t say anything, something which encouraged Cassie to keep talking.

“I mean, we’re awkward, and I think it is something we ought to talk about” she mused softly “I know that this wasn’t the plan, when we started to see one another, we were both very clear that we weren’t looking for it to become serious, at least not this quickly, but now the situation has changed and I guess I just want to know where we stand” she added, her eyes peeking towards him nervously.

Sergio allowed her words to hang in the air for a moment before he offered her hand another soft squeeze. “It’s complicated” he mused softly “I mean, you said it yourself, neither of us was looking for something serious, but that doesn’t mean…it doesn’t mean we can’t try and make something work between us” he added, his voice more than slightly unsure.

Cassie offered him a small look before she shook her head. “I am not trying to push you into anything, Sergio” she mumbled softly “I mean, if you want to tell me that you just want to be around for peanut, then that is more than Ok, but I just want to know, one way or the other. I don’t think either one of us wants to sit through another night as awkward as tonight” she added, a nervy smile twitching at the corner of her mouth. She knew what she wanted, for a little while, she had been pretty sure that she had some depth of romantic feeling towards him, but she didn’t want to push him into something he didn’t want. The last thing she wanted was for things to become more awkward between the two of them.

Sergio admired her small nervous smile before he gently squeezed her hand, a small grin playing at the corner of his mouth. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I kind of like spending time with you, Cass” he mused softly.

Cassie tilted her head. “You do?” she squeaked, her expression slightly surprised.

Sergio chuckled a little and nodded. “I do” he confirmed softly “And before we found out about Peanut, I think things were going pretty well between us. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to push us too far too soon, Cass, the last thing I want is for us to become even more awkward around one another, but there is nothing to say…there’s nothing to say that we can’t try and see if this works” he mumbled, gently motioning between the two of them.

Cassie mulled his words over for a couple of seconds before she lifted her head, offering him a soft look, something which made Sergio smile a little before he carefully leant into her, his hand gently cupping her cheek before he pressed a light kiss against her lips. Cassie stilled a little, not quite expecting the soft kiss, before she tentatively lifted her arms, wrapping them around him softly.

Sergio smiled a little at the feel of her arms before he ducked back slightly, resting his forehead against hers as he offered her a light smile. He knew that it was a small risk, with the baby due in a matter of months, there was a chance that things would only become more awkward if things between them stumbled, but Sergio was cautiously optimistic, even if he knew that it would take a little work. He was confident that he and Cassie could figure out how to make something work.