"We have to stop doing this..." Sakura said as she sat in bed, with her back leaning against the headboard. "I mean it this time."
"Yes, you're right." Eriol said. "We have to stop..."
Sakura looked down at her hands. "I mean, this is nice, but we're not... like that, right?"
"No, of course not. We're best friends." Eriol replied after a few seconds.
"Yes. And I don't want to... change that." Sakura said.
"I agree." Eriol said and got up. "It's late. I should go..."
Sakura nodded.
Eriol got up and got dressed. "I'll see you this weekend."
"Yeah, good night." Sakura said and slid under the comforter. She watched as Eriol made his way out of her room. A minute later, she heard her front door closing.
Sakura sighed. She had told herself, and him, so many times that this wasn't going to happen again, but yet, it kept on happening. It wasn't that they didn't date, they did. They had had a few partners, but at the end of the day, none of those relationships worked out and they kept coming back to each other.
"I don't get it..." Tomoyo said when she and Sakura met up for lunch. "Why don't you two just get together and be done with it already?"
"Because relationships fail, Tomoyo." Sakura said. "We're best friends and we don't want to ruin that. Look at what happened to those 'relationships' that we've both had over the years. They failed. I don't want us to end up like that."
"Well, has it ever occurred to you that those relationships failed exactly because of this? I mean, how are you going to have a proper relationship with other people if you keep on sleeping with each other?"
"We never cheated on our partners!" Sakura protested.
"Cheating has different forms. Even if you two aren't sleeping together, you're clearly emotionally involved with each other." Tomoyo said.
"Well, yes. We're best friends." Sakura said. "Of course we're 'emotionally involved'."
"Even more than you are with your partners..." Tomoyo said.
Sakura was quiet as she considered her friend's words. "Maybe we just haven't met the right person yet."
"What if he's the right person for you and vice versa?" Tomoyo asked.
"And like I said, we're best friends and we don't want to change that." Sakura said. "One day, we're going to meet the right person, I'm sure."
Tomoyo sighed, but didn't pursue the subject further.
"I'm done, Hiiragizawa. I'm telling you, I'm done." Li Syaoran waggled his finger in front of Eriol's face.
Eriol rolled his eyes. "You're being overly dramatic."
"I'm not introducing you to anyone, ever again. What's the point? You're just going to dump them in a month and go back to Sakura."
"That's not true. The last one dumped me." Eriol pointed out.
"After you left her in the middle of a date because Sakura called you." Syaoran reminded him.
"She needed help." Eriol said.
"She could've called me. Or Daidouji. But no, it had to be you." Syaoran said.
"It was late, she didn't want to bother you." Eriol said. "Besides, we stay in the same building, so it's easier."
"You were not even in the building!" Syaoran said in frustration. "You were in the middle of a date!"
"Give me one more chance, Li. I won't dump them, or leave them in the middle of a date, promise." Eriol said, smiling innocently.
"Your promises mean nothing to me, Hiiragizawa." Syaoran said. "You want a new plaything? Go look for it yourself."
"That's not very nice of you to call them plaything..." Eriol said.
"But isn't that what they are to you?"
"Of course not!" Eriol looked horrified. "I'm looking for someone."
"You've found that someone. Both of you are just too stubborn to admit it." Syaoran said. "I mean, you're hopeless. One word from her and you'd drop everything. And yet, you two keep saying that you're just 'best friends'..."
"We are best friends." Eriol said indignantly.
"Maybe it's time for an upgrade then." Syaoran said.
"What does that mean?" Eriol asked.
"Please don't play dumb with me. I'm no longer that gullible kid who would play your stupid mind games." Syaoran said and took his phone out. "Hold on... Hey, Meiling, what's up?" He got up and left to talk to his girlfriend.
Eriol glared at his friend's retreating back. Over the years, he and Syaoran had become good friends. Syaoran had stayed in Japan instead of going back to Hong Kong and Meiling had followed him here. They became an item a few years back, and the group had stayed together throughout the years, Sakura, Tomoyo, Eriol, Syaoran, and Meiling.
Eriol sighed. He wasn't lying when he told Syaoran that he wanted to find someone. Someone who would take his mind off a certain Cardmistress, someone who, hopefully, would distract him. He had, a long time ago, acknowledged that he was in love with her, but she didn't want to change what they were and he didn't want to force her. He didn't want to say anything and end up losing her, because it was better this way, for them to be best friends, to love her in secret, than to not have her at all.
"I have to go..." Syaoran said when he got back. "Meiling needs something..."
"Now who's leaving in the middle of a date?" Eriol asked.
"She's my actual girlfriend, not my 'best friend'." Syaoran pointed out. "I'll see you this weekend. And try not to get into any trouble until then."
"I won't." Eriol said, smiling widely.
"Knowing you, I highly doubt that." Syaoran said and left.
Eriol took out a book from his bag. He didn't work, so he had a lot of free time in his hands. He opened the book and started reading.
Ten minutes later, someone bumped into the back of his chair and he felt hot liquid splashed over his shirt.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Someone said. "I'm so clumsy! I'm sorry!"
"Please don't worry about it." Eriol said and turned to find a young woman standing there. "Are you alright?"
"Yes. I'm sorry!" She hastily took out some napkins from her bag.
"Please don't worry about it." Eriol said reassuringly. "May I?" He took the napkin from her and wiped his own shirt.
A few minutes later, he had cleaned his shirt as best as he could, but there was a stain there still.
"Oh? You're reading 'The Red Sand' too?" The woman said in surprise upon seeing Eriol's book.
"Yes, indeed. Have you read this book?" Eriol asked.
"Yes! It's one of the best books I've ever read!" The woman said excitedly.
"Would you like to join me and we can discuss about it?" Eriol asked and gestured at the empty chair across from him.
"Oh, alright. And please, let me buy you a cup of coffee..." She said.
"Alright." Eriol accepted.
Five minutes later, they were sitting together, talking about the book. Half an hour later, they left the café and went their separate ways.
"Sakura, how about we go to the new café tomorrow? Just us, girls." Meiling said.
"I'd love to, Meiling, but I kind of have a date tomorrow." Sakura said.
"Oh? With whom?" Tomoyo asked.
The five of them were gathering together at Tomoyo's apartment to have dinner and watch movie. This had been their ritual, to meet up once every few weeks and hung out at each other's places.
"My co-worker at work. He asked me out yesterday." Sakura said.
"Good for you." Syaoran said. "Hiiragizawa, up for a game tomorrow?"
"I have a date too." Eriol said.
"You too? But you don't have a co-worker." Meiling said.
"No, I met her at the café on Wednesday."
"Wasn't that the day that we went to the café?" Syaoran asked.
"Yes, we met after you left. She spilled some coffee onto my shirt and as it turned out, we read the same book, so we got to talking." Eriol told them.
"Well, since they're going on dates, that leaves the three of us..." Meiling said.
"Actually..." Tomoyo said.
"Is there anyone who's not going on a date tomorrow?" Meiling asked.
"We're not." Syaoran said. "But since everyone is going..."
"We might as well." Meiling said resignedly. "And here I thought we could have a nice girls day out tomorrow."
"Maybe next week, Meiling." Tomoyo suggested.
"Let's just watch the movie..." Sakura said and they got settled on the couch.
"So? How did it go?" Tomoyo asked Sakura when they met a few days later.
"How did what go?" Sakura asked in confusion.
"The date, Sakura. How did the date go?" Meiling clarified for her friend. "Is this one going to last for more than a month or are you going to sleep with Hiiragizawa again at the end of the month?"
Sakura glared at her friend. "I'll have you know that the date went very well and we're going out again next week. Eriol had a date too, didn't he? Besides, we're not going to do that again."
"You said that, and yet every time, you two end up in bed together." Tomoyo said.
"Well, it's going to be different this time." Sakura said. "Speaking of dates, how was yours, Tomoyo?"
"It was good. Not sure if he's the right guy, but we're going to give it a try, seeing that it was only the first date and all."
"See? It's impossible to gauge whether the relationship would last based on one date."
"Yes, but I didn't sleep with my best friend." Tomoyo pointed out.
Sakura was aware of what her friends thought of what was happening with her and Eriol. They even had been urging her to just make it official between them, but Sakura always managed to come up with excuses. It wasn't that she didn't care about him, she did, very much so, more than just best friend. She cared about him so much, she didn't want to risk losing him. She didn't even know how he felt. If she told him how she felt and he didn't feel the same way, then she might lose him and she didn't want that. She couldn't lose him. So, she chose the safe option and loved him in secret because at least, this way, she'd still have him.
"Oh, I know! How about we have a group date?" Meiling suggested suddenly.
"A group date?" Sakura asked.
"Yes, this never happened before, when all of us have partners, all at the same time. And neither you nor Hiiragizawa ever brought along your partners to hang out with us. Now that everyone has one, let's go on a group date!"
"That actually sounds pretty interesting." Tomoyo said. "I'm in."
"Oh, well, then I guess it's okay." Sakura said, albeit reluctantly. While she knew that Eriol was dating other people, she had never met any of his girlfriend before, so it was easy to ignore that or even pretend sometimes. She definitely wasn't looking forward to actually meeting one, to be honest.
"It's going to be fun, Sakura!" Meiling sad excitedly.
"This is my girlfriend, Kyoko Izumi." Eriol introduced her. "Izumi, these are my friends, Li Syaroan, Li Meiling, Tomoyo Daidouji, Sakura Kinomoto, and..."
"Oh! Sorry, this is my boyfriend, Kotaro Tsuji." Sakura introduced him.
After a round of greetings, they went into the restaurant.
"Tanaka is going to be late. He got caught up at work." Tomoyo said.
"No problem, Tomoyo." Meiling assured her friend.
Five minutes later, Tomoyo's boyfriend, Satoshi Tanaka, arrived and were introduced to everyone. They placed their orders and started chatting.
"Hiiragizawa said you two met at the café." Syaoran said to Izumi.
Izumi nodded. "I spilled some coffee on him."
"And what are the chances that you two read the same book? It's just like in the movies." Meiling said. "The next thing you know, you two would be planning your wedding."
"You're getting way too ahead of yourself." Eriol said. "You two have been together for so long and you're not even close to getting married yet."
"You never know, Hiiragizawa. This kind of thing is so unexpected." Meiling shot back. "Right, Sakura?"
"Oh? Um, yes..." Sakura said. She had been discreetly watching Eriol's girlfriend. She looked like a nice girl, quite beautiful too, with light brown hair and brown eyes.
"How about you two?" Tomoyo asked her friend. "You two work together?"
"Yes, we're in the same team and we work closely together, so things just... happen." Tsuji said. "But we're not going to get married anytime soon or anything like that." He hastily added.
"Maybe one day..." Syaoran said.
"We don't know that." Sakura said. "I mean, we just started dating, it's way too early to decide on that kind of thing."
"But it's so romantic! You two met at the café and read the same book. You work together, a classic and perfect office romance." Meiling said.
"How about you, Tomoyo?" Sakura tried to turn the attention away from herself. "How did you two meet?"
"Our moms are friends, so they introduced us." Tomoyo said.
Their food came and they started eating.
"What do you do, Izumi?" Meiling asked the girl.
"I'm a nurse." Izumi said.
"A nurse? One of our friends is a nurse too. She's currently working at W hospital."
"I work at G hospital." Izumi told them. "How about you all? What do you do?"
"I'm a fashion designer." Tomoyo said.
"That's cool!" Izumi said.
"Thank you." Tomoyo smiled widely. She loved her job and was very proud of it.
"I'm helping my dad run his company." Tanaka told them.
"I'm a junior marketer with S company." Sakura said.
"Yeah, me too. Obviously." Tsuji said, chuckling slightly.
"I run a family business." Syaoran said.
"And I sell things online." Meiling said.
"Oh? What kind of things?" Izumi asked.
"Make up, clothes, stuff like that," Meiling said. "I'll give you my website if you want."
"How about you, Hiiragizawa?" Tsuji asked.
"I play the stock market and have some investments." Eriol said.
"Oh, you're a broker?" Tsuji asked.
"No. Just a side job." Eriol said. He didn't know why, but he found this guy to be pretty annoying. He had never even met him, but he didn't like this guy already. This was highly unusual for him. Most of the times, he found other people to be amusing. It was rare for him to be annoyed by anyone.
"You're not working?" Tsuji asked.
"No, I suppose not. Any problem with that?" Eriol didn't know why he said that, but he said it and there was no taking back his words.
"Eriol works independently." Sakura quickly said, noting his unusual sharp tone.
"An independent worker? That's highly unusual." Tsuji said.
"It's getting more and more popular these days." Sakura said.
"That's true. We work with a lot of them too." Tanaka said. "It's actually a pretty good job. Flexible hours and they can work in their own terms."
"But there's no stable income." Tsuji pointed out.
"Some people are not obsessed with money." Eriol said tersely.
"How about dessert?!" Syaoran interrupted loudly. "Anyone? Hiiragizawa, the cakes sure look very nice, don't you think?"
"They do." Eriol nodded and turned his attention to the dessert menu.
"Hm, I'm a bit full. How about we share a cake, Kinomoto?" Tsuji asked. "The lemon meringue cake looks pretty nice."
"Ah, um, I..." Sakura didn't like lemon meringue cake. "I'm actually pretty full. I don't think I'd be getting any cake." She finally said. She really wanted the strawberry cheesecake, but she wasn't comfortable sharing with Tsuji.
"Oh, okay then. I'll get the lemon meringue. I don't think it's that big..." Tsuji decided.
They placed their orders and waited for their cakes.
"Are you sure you don't want any cake, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked.
"Yes, I'm full." Sakura said, but she eyed Meiling's cheesecake with envy.
After desserts, they paid for their meals and left.
"It's nice meeting you guys!" Meiling said to Tsuji, Tanaka, and Izumi. "We should hang out again some time!"
"It was fun." Tanaka said.
"What's that, Hiiragizawa?" Syaoran asked when he saw Eriol holding a small box.
"Extra dessert. I like their cakes." Eriol said easily.
They all were going to the station, so they walked together in pairs.
They reached the station and got onto the trains. A few stops later, Eriol and Sakura got off at the same station since they both lived in the same building.
"Izumi seems nice." Sakura said as they walked home together.
"She's okay." Eriol said. "She has a pretty good taste in books. How long have you and Tsuji worked together?"
"About six months or so. He transferred from Fukuoka and joined our team." Sakura said. "He's okay, but he's... Well, I guess, he's the working type. He's looking to get promoted as soon as possible."
"I see." Eriol nodded.
"I'm sorry, for what he said earlier, about your work." Sakura said.
"Not your fault." Eriol said. "Not everyone gets it."
"But that was rude of him to say that. About you and others who choose to work that way." Sakura said.
"I don't really care." Eriol shrugged.
They reached their building and went inside.
"Oh, here, this is for you." Eriol said and held out the box.
"You're giving me your extra dessert?" Sakura raised her eyebrows. "Eriol Hiiragizawa... Giving away his cake. Should I be worried?"
Eriol laughed. "It's not my cake. It's yours. You wanted that strawberry cheesecake, didn't you?"
Sakura smiled widely. "I did. Thank you. You really know me so well."
"You're welcome. Good night, Sakura." Eriol said when they reached his floor.
"Good night, Eriol." Sakura said as the elevator door closed.
Sakura reached her own apartment and ate the cake happily before going to bed.
A couple of weeks later, they all met up again for another group date. This time, they were going to karaoke.
"Oh, how about this song? This is our song, Sakura!" Tomoyo said excitedly.
Sakura agreed and they sang together. After the song ended, everyone clapped.
"That was quite a performance, ladies." Syaoran said.
"Thanks, Syaoran. Now, it's your turn." Sakura handed the mic over to her friend.
"Please excuse me. I'm going to the washroom." Eriol said.
"You always go to the washroom when it's my turn to sing." Syaoran complained. "Do you have a problem with my singing or something?"
"Of course not, Li. I can't decide when I need to go, right?" Eriol said and left before Syaoran could comment further.
When Eriol came back, Meiling and Izumi had just finished their song.
"Oh, you're just in time, Hiiragizawa. It's my turn next." Syaoran said with a smirk.
"I thought you've had your turn?" Eriol asked.
"Well, you never got to enjoy my singing, so I decided to let the ladies go first and wait for you." Syaoran said.
Eriol shook his head and sat down. He grabbed his drink from the table and took a sip of his iced tea as Syaoran got ready to sing.
Syaoran started singing and Tanaka, Izumi, and Tsuji's jaws dropped to the floor.
"Is he drunk?" Tanaka leaned over and whispered to Eriol.
"No, this is the way he sings." Eriol said.
"No wonder you went to the washroom." Tanaka said.
Eriol chuckled. He genuinely liked Tanaka. He had a good sense of humour. He was smart and open-minded.
Sakura took a potato chip and ate it. Then Tsuji put his arm around her shoulders and she discreetly moved away from him, towards Tomoyo.
After the song, everyone clapped and Syaoran handed the mic over to Eriol. "Your turn, Hiiragizawa. I've got your song lined up for you."
"Thank you." Eriol accepted the mic and went to the front. "Daidouji, shall we?"
Tomoyo stood up and joined him at the front. They pressed 'Play' and started singing.
"Oh wow..." Tanaka said in awe.
"Yeah, those two are so talented in music, it's ridiculous." Syaoran said.
After the song, everyone clapped.
"Beautiful as always, guys!" Meiling said.
They took a break from singing and started chatting instead.
"So, you all have known each other since you were kids?" Tanaka asked.
"Yes, well, Syaoran and I are from Hong Kong. He stayed here throughout elementary, junior high, and high school, but I only stayed here briefly. But then, I came back here a couple of years ago." Meiling told them. "But generally, we've known each other since elementary school."
"That's great. I don't even know where my high school friends are now." Izumi said.
"Me neither." Tsuji said. "But then again, I didn't grow up here, so there's that."
"Oh? Where are you from?" Syaoran asked.
"Fukuoka. I transferred here for the job. Better pay, better position, better opportunity, and all that." Tsuji said.
"Tokyo has a lot of opportunity. We moved here for work too, mostly." Tomoyo said.
"You're not from Tokyo?" Izumi asked.
"No, we're from Tomoeda." Tomoyo said. She thought Izumi knew, being Eriol's girlfriend and all that.
"Are you planning to go back there someday?" Tsuji asked.
"I don't know yet. I opened my own design house here in Tokyo, so I might move here permanently. It really depends on what the future brings." Tomoyo said.
"How about your families?" Izumi asked. "Are they here?"
"No, my dad and brother are in Tomoeda." Sakura told her.
"My mom is too." Tomoyo added.
"The rest of our family are in Hong Kong." Meiling said.
"I, for one, think that you shouldn't go back there. It's a small town, right? There are not many opportunities. But then again, after you get married, then you might want to settle down there." Tsuji said.
"Why is that?" Tomoyo asked.
"Oh, you know, it's going to be difficult for married women to be in the workforce. Then you'll have kids and all that, so it's going to be better if you could settle down somewhere quieter." Tsuji said.
"Are you saying we can't work after we got married?" Meiling asked.
"Of course you can. I'm not saying you can't, but it is, after all, the man's job to bring home the money and all that. The woman's job is to stay home and be a housewife, but of course, if you want to work part-time, you could." Tsuji said.
"I think that's everyone's individual choice whether they wanted to work or not, regardless of relationship status." Eriol said. "There's no rule that said that women have to be housewives, or that the men have to be the sole earner in any household."
"I just don't think it's necessary for the woman to work after she gets married. Unless the man is not working and can't provide for her. If you're working a proper job and have a stable income, then you should be able to provide for your family."
Eriol's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"I think it's time for another song." Sakura quickly intervened. "Eriol, how about we sing something? Come on." She got up and went to the control panel.
"Very well." Eriol got up and followed her. They chose a song and took the mics. The song started and they started singing.
After the song, they decided to call it a day.
"It's quite late and I'm tired." Izumi said. "Hiiragizawa, can you please go with me?"
"Alright." Eriol said after a brief hesitation. "Good night, everyone."
They parted ways and Eriol walked with Izumi.
"Why did you ask me out?" Izumi asked as they walked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Eriol asked.
"I mean, why did you ask me to be your girlfriend?" Izumi asked.
"Well, we have similar taste in books, so..."
"Do you even like me, Hiiragizawa?" Izumi asked boldly.
Eriol said nothing.
Izumi sighed. "You know, we didn't have to go out to talk about books. We could just... talk. No string attached."
"I just thought..." Eriol tried to explain himself.
"I just don't understand why you asked me out when you're already in love with someone else." Izumi said.
Silence.
"I'm not stupid, Hiiragizawa. You like her, a lot." Izumi said. "I mean, it's pretty obvious. I'm not naïve, you know. You're not my first boyfriend or anything and it's pretty clear that you're not interested in a relationship. I was just curious as to why..."
"I'm so sorry." Eriol apologized. "It was wrong of me to do this. I just... It's complicated."
"Because she has that jerk as a boyfriend?" Izumi asked.
"We're... close friends and she doesn't want to... I don't think she feels the same way. So I thought..."
"You're looking for a distraction." Izumi concluded.
"I'm sorry." Eriol apologized again. "I didn't mean to deceive you."
"You did, but that's okay." Izumi said. "In all honesty, outside of that one book, we have nothing else in common and I think we'd make better friends than a couple."
Eriol sighed. "I don't have the best track record when it comes to relationship. I didn't mean to hurt you. I had hoped that, that we might be able to make it work somehow. But I guess, it's just not going to happen..."
"It's okay. You can't force your heart to feel something that's not there. A bit of advice though, please don't do this to anyone else. If you know you can't give your 100%, it's better not to do it in the first place. You might end up hurting others, including yourself."
"Thank you. I apologize again. For everything." Eriol said and bowed.
"I did have fun. And like I said, I think we're better suited as friends. So, why don't we just be friends?" Izumi said.
"I'd like that." Eriol smiled softly. "Thank you, really. I'm being a jerk."
"Well, to be honest, I don't feel that way about you either, so I guess, we're even." Izumi said. "After the initial excitement died down, I realized that we're not that compatible after all."
Eriol chuckled. "You can tell the others you dumped me."
"Oh, I'm totally going to do that." Izumi smirked. "I do hope I still get to hang out with the others though. They're really a fun bunch. Although I might follow your lead and go to the washroom the next time Li takes the mic. That guy can't sing to save his life."
Eriol laughed. "I'll be sure to invite you when we hang out."
They reached her house.
"Good night, Izumi." Eriol said.
"Good night, Hiiragizawa." Izumi said and waved as he walked away.
"Well, well, well... You actually managed to be in a relationship for more than a month. Granted, it's only been a month and two days, but still..." Meiling said.
Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Now that you've broken your record, it's time to break up with him." Tomoyo said.
"What?" Sakura was surprised. "I thought you wanted me to go out there, meet people, and be in a relationship for more than a month?"
"Yes, of course we do. We want you to find a nice guy, be happy. But instead you found a jerk who would fight with Hiiragizawa every chance he gets." Meiling said.
"He's not all that bad..." Sakura said.
"Sakura, this guy managed to fight with Hiiragizawa. Hiiragizawa, out of all people! The guy who lets every single comment slide and finds everything to be amusing is actually fighting with this guy." Tomoyo said.
"To be fair, his own personal feelings might've been involved." Meiling pointed out.
"Yeah, okay, he's a jerk." Sakura finally admitted. "I should break up with him. But we work together. I just don't want it to be awkward..."
"This is why office romance is the worst." Meiling said.
"You called it... classic, perfect, and romantic." Sakura recalled.
"It could be, if the guy was actually half decent." Meiling said.
"Sakura, you're being biased here, you know." Tomoyo suddenly said.
"Why is that? I thought him being a jerk was your idea?" Sakura asked.
"Oh, he's a jerk, alright. But that's the thing... You're willing to give this jerk a chance, knowing that if you do break up, you're still going to work together, awkwardly, but you're not willing to give Hiiragizawa a chance."
Sakura fell quiet. "It's not that simple." She finally said after a few seconds.
"I mean, this guy... He, as you've stated over and over again, is your best friend, but you're not willing to give him a proper chance?" Tomoyo said.
"I just don't want to screw up. As you know, I don't have the best track record when it comes to relationship. What if I mess it up? He is my best friend, and I can't... I don't want to ruin that." Sakura said. "I can't lose him." She added in a whisper.
Tomoyo and Meiling looked at each other.
"Sakura, listen... I know it's scary, but you can't do this to yourself, or him. You two clearly care for each other and it's not fair to not give yourselves a chance." Tomoyo said gently. "I don't think you're going to screw up, and even if you do, then I'm sure you two would find a way to move forward, together."
"He has a girlfriend though..." Sakura said.
"Yeah, about that..." Meiling said. "They broke up last week. She dumped him."
"What?" Sakura looked at Meiling in surprise. "Why?"
Meiling shrugged. "Who knows... But my point is, he's single, again."
"Doesn't mean that we could get together. For all I know, he doesn't feel the same way about me." Sakura said stubbornly.
"You're pretty much the only who think that way." Meiling said. "Everyone could see that the guy is practically infatuated with you and vice versa."
Sakura blushed. "You don't know that..."
"Look, we could talk about this later. Right now, you need to think about what you want, Sakura." Tomoyo said. "Where are you going with Tsuji. We can't make you break up with him or force you to do anything that you don't want, so it's your decision."
"I've actually wanted to break up with him for a while now, but I just didn't want it to be awkward." Sakura admitted. "But I guess it's time."
"You do that first and then we can talk about other things, okay?" Tomoyo said.
Sakura nodded.
Three days later, she broke it off with Tsuji.
One month later...
"Sorry I'm late! Eriol? Where are the others?" Sakura asked. They were supposed to meet up with their friends here, but her meeting had ended a bit later than expected.
"They're not here. We're going to meet them later, at the restaurant." Eriol said. After much thinking and with the help and the push from his friends, he finally built enough courage and decided to confess his feelings to the Cardmmistress.
"Huh? So, why are we here? Let's go the restaurant then!" Sakura said in confusion.
"I, well, I want to talk to you first." Eriol said.
"Is everything okay?" Sakura asked.
"Yes, everything's fine. I just... Well, I've done a lot of thinking in the past few weeks and I realized that... I'm done playing around. Those relationships, they're not working and I don't want to hurt anyone or to pretend anymore."
"What on earth are you talking about?" Sakura asked.
"Sakura, I don't want us to be best friends anymore." Eriol said.
Sakura looked at him in shock. "What? Why?"
"That came out wrong..." Eriol muttered to himself. "I mean, I don't want us to just be best friends. I want more. I want us to be more than that. Of course, we're still best friends, but I also want us to be more than that and..." He stopped when he realized that he was rambling. He took a deep breath and tried again. "Sakura, I like you a lot and I want you to be my girlfriend. Will you go out with me?"
"You're my best friend, Eriol. And I was too scared to ruin what we have, too afraid to lose you because I honestly can't imagine my life without you in it. So, I told myself that what we have now, it's good, it's safe. I really don't want to screw it up, you know... So I keep telling myself that this is enough, but it's not. I want more too."
"Is... Is that a yes?" Eriol asked unsurely.
"I think it's time we stop pretending to be just best friends." Sakura said with a smile. "I like you too and I'd love to go out with you."
Eriol's face broke into a big smile. "Thank you."
When they showed up at the restaurant, holding hands, their friends cheered and they celebrated together.
Later that night, they ended up in Sakura's bed.
"You know, I don't usually make it a habit of sleeping with my date after the first date. That wasn't even a proper date." Eriol said as he lay on his side, facing her.
"Neither do I. Or after the second date, or the third. Or even the fourth." Sakura said.
"Hm... And after which date do you decide to sleep with your date then?"
Sakura shrugged. "Don't know. Never made it past the fourth date."
"Neither have I." Eriol said.
They both laughed.
"Well, this time, we're going to make it to date number five." Sakura said and reached to push a strand of hair from his forehead.
"And number six, seven, and so on a so forth." Eriol said and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her nose.
"I look forward to them all." Sakura said and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her to kiss him properly.