A/N: This idea was from my friend Renata so the credit goes to her!
It had been a week since he moved back in and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why he had moved out in the first place. The idea of being on his own had appealed to him since he never had before. All his life he had lived with someone so when Mona had suggested that he live in her apartment while she was in New York visiting her brother the chance was too good to pass up. So he moved in and made what was Mona's former bachelorette pad into his bachelor pad. At first things had been great. He loved being on his own and he was still close enough to the house so he could always drop in and check on them and the house to make sure everything was going well. But after a while things weren't so great anymore. He missed them and their day to day interaction with each other.
But the person and interactions he missed the most was with Angela. When she had come to his housewarming party or pad warming party as they said in Brooklyn he had been so excited. Yeah, he loved his friends but it was Angela who made the party special. If it were up to him he would have asked everyone to leave so they could have spent some time together alone. But he knew that wouldn't have been fair to his friends. So he just enjoyed being with her until she decided to leave. After he had escorted her back to the house and she had waved goodbye to him behind the window, the curtain enveloping her delicate features like a lace wedding veil, he had felt his heart speed up and then sink like he had just lost the most precious thing in his life.
He knew he had feelings for her. He wasn't sure if it was just a crush or love. All he knew was that when he was living on his own even though it was only ten feet away he felt like a huge piece of his heart was missing. And that piece could only be filled by Angela. So when she had asked him to move back in he had agreed. Even though he had pretended to be disappointed about giving up his bachelor pad he had been secretly relieved that she wanted him to come home.
Home. Like the 101 Dalmatians. He loved that movie and as he had told her his favorite part was when they had finally all come home after being lost for so long. And that was exactly how he had felt. While living in Mona's apartment he had felt lost and now that he was living in the house again he finally felt found like all those adorable puppies had. And now later on this evening he would be taking Angela to the movie theater so they could watch those sweet and cute Dalmatian puppies find their way home like he had.
He had spent hours-no days agonizing on what to wear. He knew a suit was too much and jeans and a t-shirt was too little. Finally he decided on a pair of khaki pants with a light blue button down shirt with the collar opened at his throat. It wasn't overly dressy but just casual enough for a movie theater date. Not that this was a date of course. She was his boss after all. But he couldn't help the excitement that kept building every time he thought about the two of them going out together. He wanted her to be proud to be seen with him. He even decided to surprise her with a bouquet of pink roses. He wanted to tell her without telling her how much she meant to him without actually saying the words. And knowing that she knew that he knew that pink roses were her favorite flower because she mentioned it once was all the incentive he needed.
It was an hour before they were supposed to leave so he showered, changed, and put on his best cologne. He was excited, nervous, and a little bit scared. But he knew how excited she was too about their date-well non date and he knew she probably had been agonizing over what to wear just like he had. Though he had no doubt she would like perfection. He took one last look at himself in his mirror and brushed his fingers through his hair.
"Okay Micelli. Remember this isn't a date-date. It's just two friends- best friends going to see a movie together. Just act casual." He picked up his jacket and went over to her door which was closed and knocked.
"Angela? Are you ready?"
Silence.
He knocked again.
"Angela are you in there?"
More silence.
"Okay, I'm uh coming in." He slowly opened the door just in case she wasn't dressed and peeked in but the room was empty. He went farther in and noticed the bathroom door was ajar. He called her name again but she didn't answer.
"Okay, it's obvious she isn't here. She must be downstairs waiting for me!" He chuckled and left her bedroom and raced down the stairs like a kid on Christmas day. But she wasn't in the living room or the kitchen either. Then he remembered she had a new account and was probably working in her office until it was time for them to leave. He walked down the hall to her office and knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
"Hey! Are you ready to go?"
Angela looked at him in confusion.
"What are you talking about? Go where?"
"UMMM we were going to go see 101 Dalmatians." He realized with a sinking feeling she had forgotten.
Angela gasped and put her hand to her mouth.
"Oh my gosh! Tony, I am so sorry! I was just working so much on this account it just completely slipped my mind!"
"Oh. It's okay. I know how important your work is. "
"No! It isn't okay! Tony, you would never forget about me. I can't tell you how sorry I am…"
"Angela, really it's no big deal."
Angela held her hand up. She stood up and walked around her desk.
"Tony, seriously, I want to go with you. Just give me twenty minutes to get ready?"
"Okay." He smiled. They left her office and she raced upstairs to her bedroom.
"Oh my God! I can't believe I forgot!" She went to her closest and poured over her options. A cocktail dress was definitely too much and jeans and a t-shirt too little. She finally decided on a golden yellow sundress with a pair of yellow and white hoop earrings and a slender gold necklace. She brushed her hair and put on some makeup. She took one last look in the mirror, grabbed her purse, a light sweater, and then proceeded downstairs.
"Okay, I'm ready."
Tony stood up.
"Wow! You look beautiful!"
"Thank you!"
"So, shall we?"
"Okay. So whose vehicle are we taking?"
"Oh, how about the jag?" He said remembering he had the pink roses in his van. He didn't feel right giving them to her now.
"Okay." She went over to the desk and opened the drawer and removed her keys.
"Here you drive." She handed him the keys.
He opened the door for her and closed it behind them. They walked over to her jag and he opened the door for her and then got into the driver's seat and pulled out of the driveway. On the way they kept the conversation flowing with the kids, work, and how happy they were that Mona had decided to come home. Of course they were mostly happy that he was living in the house again but like so much of their relationship that was left unsaid.
They arrived at the theater and he insisted on paying. She nods her okay and follows him to the ticket booth. He pays for their tickets and is about to suggest they get some snacks when a couple of people yell Angela's name.
"Angela Bower! Is that you?"
"Oh my gosh! Lisa! Tim! How are you?"
"We're fine." Tim said.
"And who is this?" Lisa gave Tony a once over.
"Oh, this is Tony, he's my housekeeper and best friend."
Lisa and Tim exchanged a look.
"Okay, well it's nice to meet you. Enjoy the movie!" They walked away leaving a very confused and disappointed Tony.
'Is that all that she thinks of me? I'm just her housekeeper? Well yeah he was but he thought he was way more than that.'
He shakes himself out of his thoughts and suggests they go and get some snacks. They walk up to the snack counter where they order a couple of pretzels, a few candy bars, some jujubes, and a large bucket of popcorn light on the butter, and a couple of sodas. They go into the theater room and find a couple of seats in the back and sit down.
' I can't believe how nervous I am! I mean it's only Tony and I feel like we're on a date or something. No, don't think like that! Tony is your friend and this isn't a date. It's just two friends watching a movie together.'
But as much as she tried she couldn't help from feeling nervous and excited. She knew she had feelings for him but whether it was a crush or more she didn't know. All she knew was that she was happy to be here with him. She looked over at him but he was looking over at some women that she had noticed when they were getting their tickets. He was looking at them, his eyes pensive. She realized with a sinking heart he probably wished he was with one of them instead of with her. His uptight and conservative boss.
'Oh who am I kidding? Of course Tony would rather be with one of them. Look at how he is ogling them!'
The truth was though Tony barely noticed the other women because he was so disappointed over how Angela had just casually introduced him as her housekeeper.
'She really doesn't want to be here with me.'
'He really doesn't want to be here with me.'
The movie started and they tried to enjoy it and each other as much as they could. But the feelings of disappointment and insecurities overwhelmed them. When the credits rolled and the snacks were devoured they left the theater and got back in her jag.
"Thanks for taking me tonight."
"You're welcome."
"I just love when the puppies all come home."
"Me too."
That was all they said on the way home.
'I was right. She didn't really want to go with me!'
'I was right. He wanted to be with one of those women instead of with me!'
They arrive home and went back inside.
"I had a lovely time. Thank you again." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
He felt his heart speed up and he swallowed hard.
"Uh you're welcome."
"Good night Tony."
"Good night Angela."
He watched her climb the stairs each step she took feeling like a pull on his heart.
"Oh my God! I better get the roses!" He went out to his van and removed them and went back inside. He took the crystal vase that he had gotten her for Christmas off the hutch and went into the kitchen and filled it with water and placed the roses inside. He went down the hall to her study and set the vase on her desk. He closed the door and went back into the living room and then upstairs to bed.
Angela couldn't fall asleep no matter how much she tossed and turned. Her emotions were all jumbled like tangled Christmas lights. She still couldn't believe that she had forgotten he had asked her to go with him! And he had been so sweet and understanding when she told him that she had gotten caught up with her work. She knew of course that he knew her work was important but not as important as him and their friendship.
"Well I'm not going to get any sleep. I guess I'll try and get some work done." She got out of bed and quietly descended the steps and went into her office. She turned the lights on and gasped when she saw the pink roses sitting on her desk.
"Oh my gosh! Pink roses! He got me pink roses!" She walked over and took a deep appreciative breath.
"Wait! Did this mean he thought of it as a date? Oh! He must have!" Her eyes teared up with the knowledge.
"Okay, tomorrow we'll talk about it." She realized then she wasn't in a working mood anymore so she decided to go lie on the couch and watch some T.V. She took one last whiff of the sweet smelling roses and left her study and went back to the living room.
To her surprise Tony was already there flipping through the channels.
"Tony! Hi! I guess you couldn't sleep either?"
"Ummm no. I couldn't." He realized that she had come from her office which meant she had seen the roses.
She sat down beside him.
"Tony?"
"Yeah?"
"I just wanted to thank you for the roses. They're beautiful."
"You're welcome."
"Tony, can I ask you something?"
"Sure you can. You can ask me anything."
"What was tonight? I mean was it just two friends going to see a movie together or was it a date?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I mean I guess we could call it a date even though we're not dating. Does that make sense?"
Angela smiled. "Yeah for us I think it does."
He smiled back and finally settled on an old episode of Bewitched. After a while she felt her eyelids getting heavy and she ended up falling asleep with her head on his shoulder. He gathered up the blanket and tucked it up under their chins and followed her off to dreamland.