Smile

14 Chapter

Dear readers, I'm very happy that so many readers share my #TeamRobert passion and thank you very much for your lovely comments so far. I'm sorry that my last updates needed more time than usual, but I'm dealing with some health issues now. Hopefully you will stay with me even if I will not update every week. Nevertheless, I promise to finish all my stories. Enjoy my newest chapter, ClaudiaCleland

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At lunchtime Robert walks to his favorite café "Mudspot" in Manhattan. He planned to meet one of his friends here, instead of the random meetings he has had so far with Finn.

He chuckles thinking of the annoyed face of the waitress as he tried to avoid the letter 'e' on Wednesday. Robert searches for his table in the crowded café and sits down at one of the wooden tables in front of the plain brick wall.

Robert orders a grilled cheddar cheese sandwich and a bottle of water as he spots Colin strolling in with an unexpected guest. He laughs.

"Hi, Colin, I thought I only had called you," he teases smiling.

"Hello, Robert. Well, you know, our friend here was too excited that he would miss something. There was no chance at leaving him at home. He's like anannoying kid sometimes, one you never planned to get in the first place," Colin replies, laughing. He sits down after embracing Robert in a manly hug.

"This is not fair, I was a part of the earlier clues and now you replaced me with our most stuck-up friend."

Robert chuckles at Finn's comment. He likes both guys, but he's closer to Finn, "Come on Finn, sit down and I will explain my newest clue. Afterward you will understand why I chose Colin this time."

He pats Finn on his back before Finn sits down on the vintage chair, still pouting.

Colin smirks. "Pouting, Finn? Are you kidding us? You behave like a child sometimes. If you're nice I might treat you to an ice-cream as a reward."

Finn's face changes, "I love ice-cream, can I get one now? Please, Col?"

"I have no idea how you can live with him," Robert replies, earning a new pout from Finn.

"You get used to it," Colin replies, ignoring Finn and pointing to the dessert part of the menu.

"Okay, guys, I need help with the last clue of my Scavenger hunt..." Robert starts before Colin interrupts him.

"Finn already told me about your mysterious girl, but now I'm curious too. Do we know your lovely new lady?" Colin asks. All his friends know Robert loved Marissa more than his own life, but they're happy now that he might have finally found a new girl to open up his heart again.

Robert replies hesitantly, "Yes, you know her too," while avoiding the surprised gaze of his two friends. One day he needs to tell them about Rory, but he fears the consequences. Marissa was probably the same to him as Rory was for Logan. Or still is? That's his biggest fear about revealing his secret to his best friends, especially Logan. His heartbeats speed up as he notices Finn and Colin thinking about the possibilities of who she can be.

"Juliet?" Finn starts guessing. He continues as Robert shakes his head. "Oh, you managed to convince the lovely Rosemary?"

"Smiling Robert shakes his head again. Thinking about the endless unsuccessful trials of Finn to convince Rosemary to have sex with him while they were students at Yale, he laughs.

"Stephanie?" Finn guesses again.

Colin angrily interrupts Finn, "Are you kidding me? Robert would never start something with my girlfriend!"

"Okay, relax, mate, I just tried every female Life and Death Brigade members we were close too. It seems like the mysterious girl knows a lot about our secret society," Finn tries explaining his choices and calming down an extremely annoyed Colin.

Robert smiles at his bickering friends. Sometimes the two behave like an old married couple.

"As I already told our childish friend," he points his finger at Finn and gets another pout, "I'm not ready to reveal her to you now. But I promise I will do when we're getting as close as I hope we will get."

He blushes a bit. Admitting his feelings for Rory to himself was hard enough after his loss of Marissa but revealing them to Colin and Finn is a big step for him. He begins to fidget with his hands, he hopes they understand that it might be too soon for a new woman in his life.

"We all know how much you loved Marissa, Robert, take all the time you need," Colin answers.

Robert clears his throat; it's still awkward talking about Marissa. Every time he thinks about her he loses his ability to breathe. Losing her was the most traumatic experience in his life. He tries to concentrate on his breathing to avoid having another flashback. He takes a sip of his water and takes a deep breath. Smelling the aroma of the sandwich, the waitress brought two minutes ago, he tries hard to concentrate on where he is and not let his thoughts drift back to the past.

Finn watches Robert and remembers their talk on Monday about Robert's latest flashback. He is the only one who goes with Robert to his therapist when he becomes too depressed to leave his apartment. Finn hopes the mystery girl will be patient enough to understand Robert and his fears. He knows how hard it is for Robert to talk about Marissa and talking about her with a new girlfriend will probably be much harder. Finn worries about Robert. However, this week is the first he saw him happier than he has in the last two years. Finn hopes that everything will work out for Robert and that his fears of scaring her away will not come true.

"Bloody hell, we need some alcohol," Finn jokes and tries to lighten the mood.

He waves his hand to the blonde waitress and orders three beers. A smile plays on his lips as he thinks of the redheaded waitress from last night.

Colin admires the way Finn can change the tension at the table with a smile. He sometimes acts childish, but this skill was a lifesaver at this moment. Finn knows exactly when his friends need a joke.

Thanks to Finn, Robert begins to talk about the newest clue of his Scavenger hunt. Colin smiles at the way Robert's face lights up as he explains the clue. He deserves to find happiness after Marissa's death two years ago.