I was crying. I had literally laughed so hard that tears were spilling down my cheeks. I don't remember what had been so funny in the first place, but I felt the alcohol may have added to the hilarity of the joke and that was how I'd ended up curled in the seat laughing so hard I felt a stitch in my side. Eventually I composed myself enough to talk, but the second I made eye contact with Rachel, I burst out laughing again. I'd missed my friend and I hope she'd missed me.
'Donna,' Rachel said between gasps of breath,
'Yes?' I replied in a higher pitch than I thought I could even achieve.
'What is Harvey?' She said, this time managing to get the sentence out in one breath, before buckling over again. I, on the other hand, froze and felt my face fall at the mention of his name.
'What do you mean?' I responded, genuinely baffled by what she could possibly mean.
'Well,' she explained, 'Mike is my boyfriend and I'm his girlfriend. What are you and Harvey, to each other.' I felt my mouth open and close like a fish a few times before it hit me. I had no idea.
Eventually, I replied, 'I'm his secretary. He's my boss.' But Rachel gave me a look that said that wouldn't cut it.
I went through every name I could think to call the man. Boss. Colleague. Friend. Lover. Boyfriend. Soulmate. Brother. None of them seemed to fit but one.
'He's my partner.' I replied, Rachel raised an eyebrow, urging me to go on.
'My partner in so many ways. He's my partner in crime, my banter-buddy, my best friend, not counting you of course. But he's more than that, he's my…' That's when I caught it. That first scent of his cologne was enough to alert me that Rachel and I were not alone, not only did this prove that what I was saying was right, but it also meant he must've heard it all. I jumped from his chair and turned to face him.
'Continue.' He said, but with no hint of laughter in his voice.
'No, that's ok, I was finished anyway. This was great Rachel but I'd really better be going.' I said in a light upbeat tone as I lifted my shoes, set down my glass and pushed past Harvey in the doorway. A moment later someone caught my wrist and I whipped around to see Harvey inches from me.
'What are you doing?' I asked as his face came so close to mine I could feel his breath on the bridge of my nose.
'He's my-' he prompted and I knew he wasn't going to let this go. Well, it was all or nothing. So I went for it.
'He's my everything.' I responded. I'd merely had the words out before his lips were pressed firmly against my own and he was gradually starting to deepen the kiss. I dropped my shoes, and wrapped my arms around his neck. Then he broke away, and I wondered if I'd gone too far.
'Right answer.' He said, and continued to kiss me, more perfectly than I could ever have hoped for.