Life In London – Chapter 5
The next two days passed rather quickly for Betty. Daniel's sudden arrival, though not unwelcome, proved to be rather distracting. More specifically, the dream that she had of him was what she couldn't stop thinking about. She was barely able to make it out of the apartment on time because she spent too much time in the shower getting lost in thoughts of Daniel. She couldn't deny that the way she was feeling around him was more than just excitement at seeing her friend. Something else was at play, but was she ready to admit that she could sense the beginning of something new building within her? It was one thing to be nervous around someone who you weren't sure you would ever see again, but if she was being honest, she had to admit that the sight of him meeting her for dinner did something to her.
Daniel was handsome of course, she had never not seen that, but for the longest time despite how close they had become, she had never believed that there could be real feelings between them. In her heart of hearts, she still saw herself as the little geeky girl with braces. Now that she had grown into the woman she had always wanted to be and no matter how good of a front she put up for the world, she was having a hard time accepting that they were indeed on the same playing field. It was hard in so many ways because with her dating history and the self-confidence that she absolutely radiated to the world, she knew that anyone would be lucky to date her. Yet there was this little, tiny voice in the back of her mind that had always placed Daniel into this box marked "off-limits".
She knew it was ridiculous, and she had always told herself that it was because of their friendship. In the beginning, when she first started at Mode she would never have dated him in a million years because of his behavior and who he seemed to be. She believed that there was more to him, but until he came to her house to apologize to her face to face for how he treated her that first week she truly didn't believe that he was worth wasting her time to get to know, even in a boss/employee scenario. Now she was glad she had gone back, not only because of the friendship they did build, but she wouldn't be where or who she was without Mode or Daniel.
So how was she to reconcile this newfound feeling she was having? It was complicated, to say the least. Friends to lovers could be the best and worst thing to ever happen to a person. One minute you're friends and getting to know a person on such a deep and meaningful level that it almost seems the natural progression for feelings to arise. But when the complications of those feelings come to head, and the worst happens, the friends are left not only losing a romantic partner but a friend in the process. There are occasions where friends to lovers can become friends again, but again it's rare. What are the chances that if things didn't work out that she wouldn't truly lose him forever? She had already been through this before. She had already accepted a life without Daniel in it once, how could she do it again?
All of this was jumping the gun too. She didn't even know how long he was staying, and he hadn't exactly arrived with details or a plan. There it was again, that nagging feeling that he had been hiding something from her. She noticed it every time the subject arose, and he had only been in London one day! One day! How was it possible that after only seeing him again twice she was already down this road? What is happening? The only thing she could think to do was throw herself into work and deal with this later.
What didn't help was that every so often she kept wondering what he was getting up to. There's so much to do in London, and even though she had some ideas about where he might go and what he might try to see she could tell that although he was still Daniel, he already seemed so different from the man she left behind in New York. She started making a mental list of all the places she could take him, and she made special notes of things she hadn't yet had the chance to see that they might go to together. Her colleagues could tell she was distracted but didn't say anything for which she was grateful. She barely knew what was going on, and she most certainly was not going to try to explain to these people about her history with him. Some things are best kept private and out of the workplace.
She made it through her workday and was grateful to get out of there. She needed to think. She decided to stop in at Lawson's on her way home. A cookie was in order and talking to Abi and Jacob always made her feel a little better. She thought of calling Christina, but she wasn't available that week. She was on a hunting trip of all things with her husband. Apparently, they needed some time away as just a couple. For Betty, the timing couldn't have been worse.
"Betty!" Abi's voice greeted her as soon as she entered the shop.
"Hi, Abi!" Betty smiled hugely, happy to see her new friend.
"Jacob's just made a fresh batch of peanut butter biscuits, would you like one?"
"Ooh, yum! Three please?"
"Coming right up." Abi grinned as she prepared Betty's usual coffee order. As soon as it was ready, she came over to the booth Betty always sat in.
The shop was rather empty at this time of day. There was always a somewhat steady stream of business, but Betty was glad for the chance to talk to Abi. She was hoping she could take her mind off things and distract her.
"Here you are, dear." Abi set down the cup and the saucer with three warm cookies on it.
"Actually, could I get a glass of milk too? I always have to have milk with cookies." Betty put her palms together and pouted, cutely begging for it.
"I'll be right back." Abi smiled and quickly poured a glass. "Alright, so tell me…" she said as she sat down opposite the beautiful American.
"Tell you what?" Betty said taking a sip of her coffee first.
"Did your friend surprise you?" Abi's eyebrows were raised precociously and there seemed to be a gleeful air about her.
"My friend? What friend?"
"That handsome American lad of yours!"
Betty's eyes went wide. "You mean Daniel?!" Abi nodded enthusiastically. "How do you know Daniel?"
"Yesterday morning he came in just after you did. I caught his accent and chatted with him, and I mentioned knowing you. Turned out he knew you too and said he was here to surprise you! How did it go?"
"Wow. Um, yeah! He caught up with me, and we went to dinner last night. I had no idea he was coming. We hadn't talked since before I left…" Betty trailed off.
"And?" Abi seemed like she was about to jump out of the seat in anticipation.
"It was nice! We caught up a little bit, and I guess he'll be here for a little while." Betty's cheeks started turning red, thinking about the night before and that dream again.
"Uh-huh. Something tells me there's more to this story. You never mentioned leaving behind a handsome man in New York!"
"I didn't leave him behind! I… it's not even like that! He used to be my boss!"
"Your boss? Now I need to know more. Come on, spill!"
"Abi! No, it's not like that at all. He was my boss at Mode. I was his assistant for years before moving up to editor. We're good friends, that's all."
"Good friends? I don't believe it. You didn't see the way he looked when I said your name." Abi looked over to Jacob who was smirking behind the counter. Betty's cheeks went an even deeper shade of crimson.
"Really? No, I'm sure he was just happy to hear that you know me." Betty affirmed it with a nod of her head, a wave of her hand, and a bite of her cookie. Inside her head, she was screaming. She came here to escape thoughts of Daniel, not have a conversation about him!
"Sweetie, you're going to have to give me more information here. I need the full story. You said he's staying for a while? If he was your boss, does that mean he left his job?" Abi was definitely being nosey, but it didn't come across as rude, in fact, it suited her personality perfectly.
"I guess he did." Betty wasn't even sure what he was going to do, how was she supposed to tell Abi what that was? "I honestly don't know what he's doing here."
"Do you not want him here?" Abi's brows furrowed in worry.
"No! No, of course not. I'm happy he's here. I just don't really know what's going on with him. He said he needs a change." She shrugged her shoulders as if that should clarify anything.
"Betty, you're going to have to tell me everything." Abi placed her hand on Betty's forearm, gently trying to get her to open up. Betty could tell that if she was ever going to get Abi to stop pushing it, she was going to have to explain it all. She took a deep breath and began her story.
The coffee was gone, as was the milk and cookies. Most of the patrons had left, and Jacob had started the closing procedures by the time Betty had finished telling her everything from the beginning. It was kind of crazy just how much had happened to her in just a few years, and her story with Daniel was certainly complicated. Abi noticed how much lighter Betty seemed getting it all off her chest. In fact, Betty was somewhat grateful. It felt good to have someone else here know the full history. Except she left out the most recent details; the almost kiss and her very vivid dream. She wasn't ready to voice that aloud just yet.
"Hmm." Abi began. "Well perhaps, just enjoy spending time with your friend, and see what happens?"
"I don't really see any other option. I wish I could read his mind, but for now, I'm just glad that we're back on good terms. I missed him." Betty admitted. Abi smiled empathetically at her young friend.
"Well, he's here now and he obviously missed you too, dear." Abi patted her arm again and stood up to clear the dishes. Betty looked around the room and realized how late it was.
"Is it really that late already?" Betty asked aloud to no one in particular. "Abi, I've got to get going!" she called out.
"Of course, Betty! Stop in soon, yeah?"
"You know I will." Betty started putting her coat back on. "Jacob, I'm so sorry I distracted Abi for so long."
Jacob simply nodded his head no and grinned as he wiped off tables. "No problem, dear." He said in his gentle voice. Betty smiled at him. She knew he had heard their whole conversation, but that was what she liked about him so much. He would never say anything about it, he rarely said much anyway.
"Goodnight!" Betty called out as she opened the door and waved as Abi shouted goodnight after her.
Betty made it back to her apartment and settled in for the evening, but still found herself not being able to relax. There was so much to think about, and although she would take Abi's advice, she knew the truth about how she was beginning to feel, and it was something she wasn't going to be able to tuck away anytime soon. Especially with him being here, and as far as she knew she was the only other person he knew in London.
What had he done today? She already felt bad that she couldn't make time to see him until at least the next day or perhaps even the day after, but he was understanding. He hadn't exactly given her the chance to plan for a visitor. There was this pull within her, like she couldn't know that he was in the same country, and especially the same city, without seeing him. Like she was afraid it had all been in her imagination and if that were true that was scarier than anything. Then she remembered her conversation with Abi, and it helped to know that someone else had seen him, spoken to him, because then she knew she wasn't actually losing her mind.
She was just getting into bed when she heard her phone chime. She had a text message.
Daniel Meade: Hi Betty, I just wanted to say that I was so glad we were able to meet up for dinner last night. If you're free, I was hoping we could grab lunch tomorrow? It's okay if you're not, but I hope we can meet up again soon. ~ Daniel
Betty Suarez: Hi Daniel! Of course we can get lunch tomorrow! I know a great bistro. I'm glad you're here. :) ~ Betty
Daniel Meade: Great! Tomorrow it is. Can't wait to see you. I'll call in the morning. Good night, Betty. ~ Daniel
Betty Suarez: Sounds good. Good night, Daniel. ~ Betty
She put her phone on the nightstand and smiled. He really is here.
Daniel held his phone staring at their little conversation. Sounds good. she wrote. He said he couldn't wait to see her, and she didn't say anything back. Did she really want to see him? No, that's stupid. he thought. Don't worry about the little things. She wants to have lunch. She said she wanted him to call her before they said goodbye the night before. He just needed to relax and breathe. Of course she wants to see me, she said so. She's glad I'm here.
He had spent the better part of the day wandering around some of the places he had already been. He was trying to get comfortable with the city, but he knew that wouldn't happen in just one day. It helped knowing she was here, somewhere in the city. It made him feel like he wasn't entirely on his own. It's not like he had never been in London before, but he had never been able to spend time here, at least not without a purpose. There was always some work event he was meant to go to, or even back when he was in school, he had always gone out with groups of people. He had never had the chance to walk around the city anonymously before. It was refreshing and it gave him time to think about Betty and come up with a plan, but he spent the whole day wishing Betty was beside him.
He stepped into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He turned on the faucet and cupped some water in his hands and splashed it on his face. His cheeks were hot again. It really did feel like texting a crush. Every little detail was immense in a way that it shouldn't be. His hands were shaking he was so nervous. How was she doing this to him? He never thought it would be quite this difficult to stay calm.
I can do this. I've got this. Right?