Chapter Ten:

John headed to the firehouse a few days later. He had thought about Mallie over the last few days. The day they spent together was fun like always. But something had changed for him and he hadn't even realized it. When she was talking about Ted and how they had hit it off, he was jealous. He didn't want her with anyone else. But he also knew they were friends and that was what they would be. He had told her as much after their night together.

"John, hey man." Randy said when John walked in.

"Hey." John replied walking over. "Randy, can we talk?"

"Sure." They headed to the kitchen and sat down at the table. "So, what's up?"

"A few days ago, Mallie and I spent the day together. We went to a museum and out for lunch. It was a great day."

"Okay, so, what is the problem?"

"She talked about the guy she went out with the day before. She says they really hit it off."

"Okay." Randy was trying to follow but not sure what he was getting at.

"I got jealous. I didn't want her with anyone else. I wanted her with me." John sighed. "I never saw Mallie as more than a friend until the other day. I just don't understand what's going on."

Randy smiled. He knew John would eventually realize that he was in love with Mallie. It had been coming for years. "John, you love her just admit it."

"What? I don't love her well not like that." John replied defensively.

"You so do."

"If I loved her like that, don't you think I would have told her?"

"No. Because you're in denial. The night you spend together was amazing wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was. But I told her to forget because of our friendship."

"But that's not what you really wanted was it? You didn't want to forget but you were afraid because the feelings were there."

"I just don't want to ruin the friendship we have. What if we start something and it ends badly, and then we have ruined the best friendship. I don't want that to happen."

"John, you have to take a chance. I honestly don't think that you and Mallie trying something is bad. Your friendship with her is strong enough. You should try it."

"I just don't know. I don't want to hurt Mallie. That's the last thing I want."

"I think you should talk to her about this. She might feel the same as you. And then you can give it a try."

John thought about what Randy was saying. Maybe he was right. He and Mallie had been friends for years. Surely it was strong enough to handle this. "Thanks Randy. For the advice. It really helped."

"Good. John, just talk to Mallie. That's really all you can do." Randy headed to the common area where the guys hung out leaving John alone in the kitchen with his thoughts.

Mallie sat in her office thinking about things. She had another date with Ted the night before. She really liked him but she wasn't sure. She sighed as she got an email alert. It was from Ted asking about a date. She emailed him back and told him that she would have to see because of work.

"Hey, you busy?" Christina said from the doorway. She had stopped by to see if Mallie wanted to get lunch. Christina worked in the art department of the magazine.

"No, what's up?" Mallie said looking up.

"I wanted to see if you wanted to grab some lunch." Christina walked in and sat down.

"Sounds good."

"So, what's up?" Christina knew Mallie had something on her mind.

"I went out with Ted last night and it was fun."

"But?"

"But I'm not sure about seeing him."

"Why? You wanted to find someone. That's why you went to the dating service."

"I know that. But I just can't stop thinking about someone else."

"John?" Christina said knowingly. Mallie nodded. "Mal, why don't you just admit that you're in love with him? It would be easier for everyone."

"What makes you think I'm in love with him?"

"Oh please. You can't get the night you spent together out of your mind. You hadn't forgotten like he said you should. Every date you're been on hasn't worked out. You love John. You're in love with him."

Mallie sighed and moved some of her blond hair out of her face. "You're right. I'm in love with him. But we will never happen. He wants us to be friends only. He doesn't think of me like that."

"He did when you were together that night."

"We both had a lot to drink. That's what it was."

"Mallie, my advice is talk to John. He might feel the same way but he is hiding it. I definitely think you shouldn't go out with Ted anymore. He just doesn't really suit you in my opinion."

"Maybe you're right." Mallie agreed. "Thanks for the talk Chris. I appreciate it."

"Not a problem. Now let's go get some lunch." Mallie nodded and they headed out to a diner not that far from the building.

That night once she returned home, Mallie called Ted and told him that she needed some time to work a few things out with work and she wasn't sure getting into something was a good idea. He said okay and that to call him when things settle down. She knew it was the right to do. She called John who she knew was on shift and asked him to call her when he had a minute. She had just put on dinner when her cell phone went off. She saw from the Caller ID that it was John.

"Hey." She said picking up.

"Hey, you said to call. Everything okay?" He asked worried something was wrong.

"Yeah, things are okay. When is your next day off?"

"Two days."

"Can we meet then and talk?"

"Yeah, I have something I need to talk to you about anyway."

"Great. Call me when you're off."

"Alright. Bye." He hung up his phone.

Mallie sighed when she hung up. She hoped he would feel the same way as she did. If he didn't, she would deal with that. She wasn't going to let anything ruin their friendship. If they decided to not try something with each other, then that would be okay. They would remain friends. She just had to tell him how she felt and see where it led. She couldn't keep it in anymore.

John hung up and headed to the sleep area. He wanted to think about what he would say to Mallie. He had put so much emphasis on wanting to remain friends with her that he was worried it would hinder anything they might have. He would tell her how he felt and how he hadn't realized the feelings he had for her until recently. He realized that maybe they had always been there and he had been afraid of what it would lead to. But he made a promise to himself that no matter what happened, he wouldn't let anything ruin their friendship. He would hold on to it with everything he had.

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