All I'm Asking

Allegro

I perused the aisles slowly, looking for something that struck my fancy. But nothing really looked good to me. I'd already been here for twenty minutes and I hadn't put a single item in my cart. A childlike sense of helplessness settled over me. Well, now what?
"Hey!" Hope sparked when I heard Brett's voice behind me.
"Hey!" I'd been thinking a lot about what he'd said the other day. They may not be in my life forever. But I should focus on making good memories with them while they're here.
"How are you?" Brett seemed a little uncomfortable. My spirits fell a little. Why do I make him uncomfortable? He seemed fine the other day. But now he seems more like the Brett on the bench. Uncomfortable and unsure.
"Umm... honestly I could be better." I was suddenly very conscious of what I was wearing. A dark tan dress with white polka dots fell past my knees. I hope my puffed sleeved don't look stupid.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm feeling really snacky. But I have no idea what to get. Nothing sounds good to me because I can barely read the labels."
"Oh! I know exactly what you should get! Come on, I'll show you!" Without warning, Brett grabbed my wrist and dragged me through the aisles. My strappy white heels clicking behind him.
"These are amazing!" I'd never seen him this excited and energetic. Not even in one of their videos. "Oh! You have to get these!"
"Okay..."
"And these! This is the best pudding in the world."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, trust me!"
"Okay. What about your cart?"
"Oh! These were my favorite as a kid! They're still really good!"
"Brett, as sweet as this is, I don't know if I have enough for all this."
"Don't worry about it! It's my treat."
"Brett, I can't let you..."
I was interrupted by a very dramatic gasp. "We're absolutely not leaving without this."
"Okay." I accepted defeat. There was no way anything was coming between this man and these snacks.
Brett was like a small child at Disney World all the way through the checkout line and all the was back to my apartment. He's walking me back to my apartment, how sweet. He gave me an in depth lowdown on every single snack he'd purchased for me. I think he was more excited for the snacks than I was. I feel bad, he didn't get anything for himself. Should I invite him in for food? What if he says no?
"Well, here we are." I removed my keys from my purse while Brett was dowsed in a sheepish look.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to follow you home. I must've been a little too excited about you trying my favorite snacks." Brett gave a small embarrassed laugh.
"Oh, I thought you were walking me back so I wouldn't be alone." A small bit of disappointment settled into my heart.
"Who am I kidding? I would've offered to walk you back anyway."
"Well, I appreciate it. I also appreciate all your help tonight."
"No problem, apparently I'm very passionate about snacks." His wide blushing smile was so cute.
"Well, I was just getting ready to watch my K-drama and eat these snacks. Would you like to join me?"
"I don't know. I don't want to intrude."
"You're not intruding, I invited you. Besides, I feel a little guilty that you abandoned your shopping to help me pick out snacks. Plus, I'm going to need help eating all these."
"Okay, I guess I can stay for a little bit."
"Yay!" With a little hop, I'd presented a set of jazz hands.
Brett looked down, smiling at the ground. I set my homemade grocery bags on the coffee table while Brett sat very poised on the couch. All of a sudden he seemed very uncomfortable again.
"What's wrong?" I grabbed my weighted blacker off the back of the couch.
"What? Nothing. Why?" A panicked look crossed Brett's face.
"You just look really... uncomfortable."
"Oh, I'm fine!"
"Are you sure? You don't have to stay if you don't want to. I never want to make you uncomfortable."
"I promise I'm fine."
"Are you positive?"
"Y/N. I want to say." Brett sounded serious, almost... intense, as his eyes met mine.
"Okay." I opened the blanket and tossed it over my lap as I carefully sat cross-legged next to Brett.
My face was burning and my heartbeat picked up speed as we sat close to one another. "Sorry if I'm sitting too close. I don't have a TV so we'll have to use my laptop."
"Oh it's okay." I noticed that his face was turning red as well.
"I have to warn you. I'm the worst person to watch anything with."
"Why's that?" Brett turned to look at me and I could believe how close he was.
"Well, I don't just like to watch shows and movies. I like to talk about them."
"How is that a bad thing?"
"Because I pause the show an obscene amount to vocalise my thoughts. I just get so excited and a thought pops into my head! I'm worried that I'll forget what I wanted to say so I pause it. Apparently that bothers a good... ninety-nine percent of the population."
"Well, you're in luck. I'm the one percent."
All I could do was smile wide at the man next to me. I know nothing will last. But he's so wonderful for right now. He leaned forward and grabbed a bag of chips. "Here," he opened the bag, "you have to try these ones first."
   "There's a specific order?" I reached my hand in and grabbed a chip as we waited for the advertisement to finish its course.
   "Of course! Just trust me."
   "I just you."
   "What?"
   "I said I trust you."
   "Say it again." He looked at me with a playfully longing expression.
   "I trust you. I mean, as much as I can trust anyone right now."
   Once the ad had ceased to exist, my focus was on keeping up with the subtitles. Brett had deemed himself snack master of the evening and I was perfectly content to dive into this fictional world while Brett placed snacks in front of me to consume. "I'm going to get a soda. Would you like one?" Brett's gentle voice broke my focus.
   "What? Oh, yeah, thank you!" I paused Naruto and watched as he left the couch.
   "You don't have to pause it."
   "I don't want to watch it without you!"
   "I've already seen it."
   "But still..."
   Brett returned with two sodas. When he sat down it felt like he was even closer than before. I found myself complete lost in his gentle eyes. "Do you mind if we share this?" He looked down.
   "Hmm?" I wasn't able to fully concentrate on what he was asking me.
   "Can we share this? I'm a little chilly." His gorgeous fingers tugged at the corner of my dark rainbow throw.
   "Oh, sure." My heart pounded against my ribcage.
   I lifted up my laptop and he moved even closer to me. His thigh was under my knee I was suddenly aware of every movement. Our shoulders were touching and he leaned in to see the screen. I turned my laptop so that he could see better. But he didn't move away. What is happening.
   "Are you ready?" I tried not to stare at him again.
   "Yeah." His voice seemed a little deeper than before.
   I pushed play. We stayed huddled up on my couch watching Naruto for hours. I couldn't tell if he lost track of time, didn't want to hurt my feelings, or just... wanted to hang out? But I was glad that he stayed. I wish we could just stay like this forever. No, you need to stop. You're going to get hurt. This will be Nico all over again and you'll have no one to blame but yourself. Oh, hush up.
   "Okay," Brett got up and headed for the kitchen, "you think you have room for desert?"
   "I think so." I watched him grab two plastic spoons from the box on the counter.
   "Good, because I saved the best for last."
   "Yum."
   "I seriously don't think you're ready for this." He sat back down on the couch just as close as he was before. "This is seriously the best pudding in the world."
   "Sounds exciting."
   "Here." He grabbed two puddings from the box and opened them. "Try it."
   "Wow, this really is the best pudding in the world."
   "Told you."
   "You sure did."
   "What can I say? I'm always right."
   What can I say? I'm always right. That's what I used to say to Nico. It was one of our little jokes. He's not Nico, he's not Nico, he's not Nico.
   "Y/N?" Brett's voice pulled me back to reality. I'd started staring off into space again.
   "Hmm?" I felt panicky all of a sudden.
   "Are you okay?"
   "Yeah, I'm fine!"
   "Are you sure?"
   "Yeah, I'm fine. You ready?"
   "Yeah, I'm ready." Just as the words left Brett's mouth, his phone rang. "Oh shoot! I forgot to tell Eddy that we decided to hang out."
   "Uh oh."
   "Hey bro." Brett looked annoyed at himself.
   "Brett, dude, where are you? It's been three hours." I could hear Eddy's concern and annoyance from the other end of the phone.
   "I forgot to tell you. I ran into Y/N at the market and ended up hanging out at her apartment."
   "What are you guys doing that made you lose track of time like this?"
   "Just eating snacks and watching Naruto."
   "Bro. I'm starving."
   "I'm sorry bro. I'll head home and bring you something."
   "Next time just let me know so I can order something for myself."
   "Alright. Sorry Eddy."
   "It's fine".
   "Awe, well, it looks like you should get going." I couldn't help but be a little disappointed.
   "Nah, we can finish this episode." Brett seemed to have little concern for his starving best friend.
   "But what about Eddy?"
   "We have food at the apartment. If he really gets that hungry he can make himself a sandwich to tide him over."
   "Are you sure? He seemed pretty hungry."
   " Yeah, I'm sure. Eddy's always a little dramatic."
   "Well, if you're sure."
   We finished our episode and Brett helped me clean up. I put some of my leftovers from the other night in a Tupperware for Eddy and walked Brett to the door. He seemed a little hesitant to leave. But maybe this is all in my head. It wouldn't be the first time.
   "Well, I'll see you around I guess." I opened the door for Brett.
   "You could see me around. Or you could see me again tomorrow?" Brett raised an eyebrow at me.
   "What would we be doing tomorrow?" I raised an eyebrow back.
   "Well, I thought we could go furniture shopping."
   "Furniture shopping?"
   "Yeah. You're always talking about how you want to decorate your apartment. Last time we went out you insisted that all you needed was a couch and a coffee table. So let's go get some more stuff for your apartment."
   "Okay. I guess that could be fun."
   "You'll have a blast. I'll pick you up around noon and we can stop for lunch."
   "Okay, then it looks like I'll see you around noon."
   "I'll be here."
   "I'll be ready."
   Brett walked off down the hallway and I closed the door. I settled back down on the couch overwhelmed with excitement. The kind of excitement where you have you're hopes all the way up even though you know everything will most likely burn to the ground in the end.