Sugar

11. Alex, Seokjin

"And he drove me home after we finished eating. It was amazing, Alex." The corners of my lips pull up and I let out a satisfied sigh, flopping back on my bed. Alex grins up at me from her seat on the floor.

"He sounds great."

"He is. You should see the way he treats me, it's like..." I stop, unsure how to continue, how to describe the gentleness and sweet looks and soft touches, and Alex chuckles.

"The look on your face is so soft."

I toss a pillow at her, still unable to stop my smile. "I know. Seokjin's just such an incredible guy."

"So...how did telling him about your job go?"

My smile falls. "Well...between the food and the kissing..." My voice trails off and Alex raises an eyebrow.

"You didn't tell him?"

"I couldn't." I let out a breath, sitting up, my eyebrows drawn. "It's not worth losing him."

"You're just going to lose him later if you don't tell him now," Alex point out, her lips tugging downward in a frown. "If you let things go further it's just going to end really badly."

"I know." I look away, picturing those perfect lips turning downward, his eyes hard as I tell him. "I can't."

"I mean..." Alex sighs. "It's your choice, but I'd tell him. Seriously."

"A little longer." I speak quietly, meeting her eyes again. "I will in a little while if we're still...having this thing."

"You know you have feelings for him, right?" Alex scrutinizes me and I blink.

"I mean...I like him, yeah."

She rolls her eyes. "It's more than that."

I look away again. "Maybe it is, but it's not like this is going anywhere. It's just a fling." The words pull at my chest and I frown, hating the sound of them.

Alex sighs. "You've got to get over whatever commitment thing you've got going on."

"I can't. You know what I do for a living, it's not like I can have any kind of normal relationship or anything."

"Well..." Alex purses her lips slightly. "Why don't you...just not do it anymore?"

I stare at her. "What?"

"You know, get a normal job. Waitressing or something."

I shrug slightly. "I like what I do. And it's not like this thing with Seokjin is going to be serious enough for it to be an issue."

Alex sighs. "Fine." She stands, stretching, and I can see in her face that she's annoyed at me. "Let's go out for lunch."

"All right."

We walk slowly to the cafe down the street, taking a table close to the window.

"Caramel macchiato?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Alex heads to the counter to order food, and I pull my phone out of my pocket, scrolling through my messages. Yoongi's messaged me about drinks Friday, and Namjoon about a dinner Saturday, but I ignore both for now, instead clicking on Seokjin's name, typing.

Me
Are you free this weekend?

Alex appears, setting two cups on the table, and I smile at her, slipping my phone in my pocket. "I just remembered, how was that date last week?"