privacy • g.gustin

XXIV. real life

Emy

I waited for him patiently at the table. I had reserved a secluded place for us at one of our favorite restaurants. I picked a table outside that was mostly covered from the rest of the restaurant due to the overgrown rose bush next to it. I sat at the table, eyeing the fairy lights as they twinkled overhead. The small bunch of flowers in the middle of the table were big and bright and colorful, I pulled a petal off, messing with it in between my fingers in the hopes it would calm me down. I tapped my foot on the floor and glanced at my phone.

6;53

I was early. Too early?

I then hear his voice, and my head shoots up.

"Uh, Emilia Hennig?"

"Right this way, sir." The waiter begins walking Grant towards my table, he then notices me and smiles. I smile back.

"Hi," I breathe out as soon as he sits.

"Hi," he says, smiling brightly. God, why is he so cute.

"Grant, I'm sorr-"

"Wait, just, let us at least get something to drink before we start this." I nod, swallowing hard.

"Okay." Why was I so nervous?

The waiter then came by to ask our order. Grant ordered an Iced Tea, while I ordered a drink with a complicated name that turned out to be strawberry lemonade. The drinks quickly came back and I silently thanked the waiter on interfering in the awkward silence.

"Okay." Grant says, looking at me. I take that as my cue.

"Grant, I- I really like you." His eyes open in surprise. "And I'm sorry I've been ignoring you, I just- I just needed time to think if this was what I really wanted."

"What do you mean?"

I cough as I roughly pull at the napkin in my hand. "Before-Before I met you, I was in another relationship."

"Yeah, I know. With Bradley."

"Yeah, Bradley. Well, that relationship didn't- it didn't end well." He looks at me then, his eyes steady but a question was in them.

What did he do?

"He- He-" I cough again, feeling the sting in my throat. The tears wanting to escape.

"Em?" I sniffle. No, no. I was done crying over him.

"He cheated on me." I say simply, looking at him in the eyes for the first time. I watch as he bites down, his jaw becoming more prominent.

"Em-"

I shake my head. I needed to get this out.

"He was the first guy I actually loved. The first guy I actually cared about. I-I wanted to be perfect for him. I didn't want to give him the idea that I was- I was boring. I didn't want him to leave me."

He looks at me, concern written all over his face.

"When he- he cheated, I didn't know what to do. I had done everything for him. Everything. And he just drops me like I was nothing."

"Em-"

"I thought I could never trust again. I didn't want to be hurt again. It happened once and I sure as hell didn't want it to happen again." He had his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes sad.

"I tried to hide it. The pain. But, hiding it only made it worse. When- When I met you, I thought I had found the right person for me. But then I remembered that I couldn't let my walls down. For anyone. But you being you,  You made me weak. You made me happy. Vulnerable to get hurt. And I couldn't do that. Not again."

"I would never hurt you, Em." I smile then. Of course he would say that.

"You will. In one way or another. But I've learned that that's how life is. And I can't change it. I will get hurt. But I have to learn from that. So I've decided to risk it. I like you Grant. A lot. And if you want, I hope we can take this risk together." I look up at him, he still had his arms crossed over his chest, his jaw set.

"That bastard." He finally said.

I chuckle. "Yeah, he is one. A huge one." He laughs as well. Our food then arrived. I had totally forgot we had ordered. The rest of the night was filled with laughing and smiles from both me and him. And silence at one point. But not awkward silence, a silence that was happy, a silence that said I like just being with you.

When we both finished our food, we payed and began walking back to my apartment. I watched as the local business shut off their lights, closing for the night. We walked in a comfortable silence until we reached my apartment.

"Well, this is me." I say.

"Em, I would love too." I look at him, confused.

"What?"

"You asked if we could do this risk together." I then nod, a small smile crossing my face.

"I want to. Risk it." He chuckles. He takes a step forward, grabbing my wrist and pulling me closer to him. I looked into his eyes, clouded with happiness. He pulls a piece of stray hair behind my ear before slowly leaning in. His lips meet mine, and they move together in sync. He pulls me closer, his hands now on my waist. I wrap my arms around his neck and lean into the kiss more.

He slowly pulls away, his eyes still closed, a small grin playing at his lips.

"Yeah," I breathe out. "Let's risk it."

;

AND THATS A WRAP! Guys, this is the end of 'privacy'. I'm sorry for not giving you guys a warning lmao, but I like ending it like this. The rest is up too you. I'm so happy with the ending. This was my first social media fic and the reviews from all of you make me so happy. Thank you all for reading this and dealing with my bipolar updating dates. Thank you :) - kat