Breaking Barriers - S.R.

2

As I waited for Miles to arrive at my apartment, I scrolled through Netflix, my mind wandering to Dean's words of warning from the other night. I never got the feeling that Miles may like me as more than a friend, but I certainly didn't want to give him the wrong impression. We teased each other just like everyone else, but maybe Dean noticed something in Miles' reactions that I didn't. I could be sort of oblivious to that sometimes, after all. I figured that I would cut back on the teasing tonight and try to make sure he knew our relationship was strictly platonic.

It's not that I didn't like Miles. He's a great guy, but he just wasn't my type. Also, I didn't want to risk the chance of ruining our friend group if things went sideways. As I continued to mindlessly scroll through low budget movies that I had never heard of, there was a knock at my door, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Hey." I offered a smile as I let Miles inside, closing the door behind him. He was dressed in jeans and a hoodie instead of his usual suit and tie for work. His job consisted of something to do with politics just like his family, but Dean's fake snores every time he talked about it kept us from knowing too many details. "What's that?"

He held up what looked to be a very expensive bottle of wine. "We're drinking tonight."

My eyes narrowed in on him, a playful smile on my face. "One glass."

"Oh, come on! You're in the safety of your own home. You have nothing to worry about." He stated, following me into the kitchen.

I gestured to the take out menus on the counter, ignoring his comment. "What do you want to eat?"

He pointed at one of the menus and I nodded, picking up my phone. He placed a hand over it. "You pour the wine, I'll order the food."

I chuckled lightly as I took the bottle from him, setting it on the counter before reaching for a couple of glasses from a cabinet. I listened as he ordered the food, leaning against the counter as I took a sip of wine. I cringed slightly at the bitter taste of alcohol, causing him to chuckle. I was never big on drinking. I couldn't get used to the taste.

"So what do you want to watch?" I asked, after he had hung up the phone.

He picked up the other glass of wine and took a swig of it. "Doesn't matter to me."

Miles followed me to the couch and sat down on one end while I sat on the other, leaving a space between us. We made small talk while searching for a movie again until the food arrived. Miles insisted on paying despite my protests and we ate our food while talking about the events of the past week. The conversation flowed easily and I was much more relaxed than I was when he initially arrived. I started to think that maybe I allowed Dean's words to get into my head a little too much and that Miles and I were still friends and there was no reason for me to be uncomfortable around him. He hadn't done anything out of the ordinary all night, after all.

A couple of hours passed and we were on crappy movie number two now, just making fun of the low budget sets and terrible acting at this point. Despite my words from earlier, Miles had just poured me glass number three and I was definitely feeling it. He laughed when I shook my head at the refill, setting the almost empty bottle on the coffee table and picking up his own glass again.

"You're definitely feeling it now." He chuckled at my mumbled words and random bursts of giggles.

"You've had more than me. Why do you seem fine?" I asked, a slight pout on my face.

"I have a tolerance of more than one sip." He joked.

I sighed dramatically, my eyes glued to the television screen in front of us. "This movie is awful."