The next day they packed up their belongings and headed to the airport. Neither of them could stop smiling. Last night felt so right to the both of them; but both were afraid to tell the other. In case the other thought it'd be best to remain just friends. Besides, it would be a long flight back to New York: why spoil the bliss now?
They arrived home in New York where Tony was waiting to pick them up. He greeted them with a big hug, "You're finally back! How was the trip?" he asked enthusiastically.
Alex and Elaine glanced at each other and smiled. They knew that their night together would be a secret, especially if they were going to remain just friends. Elaine then replied, "It was amazing."
On the way home, Alex and Elaine told Tony about all the different places they went (though Elaine was doing most of the talking). When they arrived at Elaine's apartment Alex insisted that he'd help Elaine with her bags and that Tony wait in the car. Tony wasn't quite sure why- didn't they just spend four weeks together? He didn't give it too much thought though.
After they got Elaine's luggage in, they knew that it was time to decide where their relationship stood. Elaine took a deep breath and began, "So… how are we?" she asked timidly.
Alex grinned at Elaine's shyness. It wasn't necessarily like her. "What do you think?" he replied.
She so desperately wanted to throw her arms around Alex and tell him that she wanted to give 'them' a try; but she was terrified that he would feel differently. "I think…" she finally started, "that you should decide."
"Me?" he questioned, "umm…" Why does she want me to decide? He thought. Is this her way of telling me that our night should be a one-time thing? Or does she want to pursue a relationship and she's too afraid to say so? The silence grew more and more uncomfortable by the second. Finally, Alex decided to go with the most logical decision. "Elaine… I think that maybe…" he paused, "maybe it's best for us to be just friends."
Elaine's heart sank- and she was afraid that Alex would notice. Somehow, she managed to say, "Yeah… you're right." And he was right. They did have a good friendship. And it had to be good if they were able to go through something like this. Then Elaine thought, if I can't be honest with him now it will only lead to trouble somewhere down the line. Though, another part of her argued, But… would telling him that I want to be more than friends cause even more trouble? Won't it be safer to just leave well enough alone? But I can't very well go on with feelings like this… Every thought made her grow more confused and frustrated. Usually when this happened she'd go to Alex for help. Maybe doing this wasn't the best idea. Alex must have sensed Elaine's conflict because her thoughts were interrupted by him uncomfortably saying, "Well-uh… it's been a long trip- I should be going." He started heading out the door, when he reached it he turned to Elaine, "Thank you for everything." He concluded with a smile.
Elaine managed to reciprocate the smile and said, "Thank you for coming with me." With that, Alex left. Leaving her standing in the middle of her living room- still trying to process everything that had happened. That's that. She eventually admitted to herself as she sat down.
Alex slowly walked back to the cab where Tony was still waiting. That was probably your last chance to tell her how you feel… he told himself. When he finally reached the cab he tried to act as if nothing were bothering him. Tony asked as Alex got into the car, "Okay Alex, now that Elaine's gone, I gotta ask. How were those European woman?!"
He wasn't sure how to answer. He didn't know the answer. But he couldn't let Tony know about him and Elaine. "Wonderful… absolutely wonderful." He answered after a few seconds. He asked how they were, not who they were. Or she was. So Elaine wasn't "European"; he didn't need to know.
As Tony continued to ask Alex questions about the trip (which Alex continued to answer as vaguely as possible), Alex could not get Elaine off his mind. She didn't seem particularly relieved with my choice. I know her and I know that if she had been thinking that we should just be friends she would have said so. So that must mean…
