Breaking Barriers - S.R.

4

I ran into Spencer briefly again a couple of days after the elevator incident, but it had been over a week since I had seen him. I couldn't stop thinking about our conversation though, replaying his words in my head over and over. I didn't feel like I could say I was afraid of Miles. Intimidated, maybe? Either way, after a couple of private texts asking me to hang out again, it really made me feel like I should bite the bullet and tell Miles I was only interested in being his friend. If I looked like an idiot, so be it.

Which is how I ended up at a coffee shop after work one night, anxiously tapping my foot as I waited for Miles to arrive. Just the two of us. The next ten minutes felt like hours as I waited to get this over with, replaying the script over and over that I'd formed in my head.

"Hey." He smiled, pulling me out of my thoughts as he sat down in front of me.

"Hi." I replied, sliding him a cup full of the coffee he always ordered.

"Thanks, you didn't have to do that." He replied.

"It's no problem." I said softly. "Miles, I think we need to talk."

His eyes darted away from me for a moment before meeting mine again. "Okay. About what?"

I exhaled nervously, looking down at the cup between my hands. "I don't want to jump to conclusions, but lately I've been getting the feeling that you might...want to be more than friends. I could be wrong, but I just felt the need to address it."

"You're not wrong." He said casually.

I looked up at him, shocked by his calm and confident response. "Oh."

"Yeah." He replied.

"I, um...Well, I think you're great but I really only see you as a friend." I said softly.

He was quiet for a moment as he leaned against the back of his chair, his eyebrows raising as he took a deep breath. "Ouch."

A wave of guilt immediately hit me. "I'm sorry."

"I mean, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I could see the signs but I figured you were just sort of nervous, you know?" He muttered.

"I should've told you sooner, I just wasn't sure how to say it. I didn't want to ruin our friendship." I admitted. "But I understand if you don't want to be around me anymore."

"No, of course I still want to be friends. No hard feelings, okay?" He smiled but I could tell it was forced, probably from embarrassment or awkwardness.

I nodded, nonetheless, before taking a sip of my coffee to fill in the silence with something.

"The four of us should do something this weekend. Dinner or drinks, maybe?" He suggested, clearly trying to move past the discomfort.

"Yeah, sounds good." I smiled. "We'll talk to the others and figure something out."

After another half hour or so of small talk, we finally loosened up and I felt like maybe we could actually get past this whole awkward encounter. It was only natural after all, for something like this to happen. Two single guys and two single girls hanging out all the time, there's bound to be some sort of crush or romantic involvement at some point. I just didn't think it would be me.

By the time we said our goodbyes, I was feeling comfortable in the fact that we could move on and continue our relationship as friends. This encounter put me in such a good mood that I decided, on a whim, to stop by and grab enough Thai food for two before heading back to my apartment, but not before knocking on Spencer's door. I heard some shuffling before he pulled it open, a look of surprise on his face at my presence.