Count On Me

Part Twenty Four

She nodded, "coming up."

When he smiled watching her retreat, he felt Lizzie's eyes on him, "bloody hell Oscar, talk about embarrassing me."

Smiling he shook his head, "not the intention, but they do a special cocktail here...for the regulars."

She scowled as she read the menu, her head dropped and he wanted to laugh again, but it wasn't the right time, he was here trying to explain things to her, not taking the piss.

Angela returned to the table with two mugs of coffee and the glass of tomato juice complete with its secret ingredients. He'd had more than a few hangovers helped by the concoction.

Before he could speak, Angela leaned close to Lizzie and whispered, "it's a dream, a house secret, but everyone swears by it." She tapped her nose, hinting that it was all a little secretive, and Oscar sighed with relief.

Lizzie in response smiled at her, "thank you so much. So Oscar here is buying me breakfast, what's the most expensive thing on your menu."

Oscar smiled at her cheeks as Angela burst into laughter, "I like you sister. A lot! Steak and eggs...may be a little much for a sensitive...disposition."

Lizzie smiled, "I'll manage that, medium rare."

"Good choice...and for you Mr Oscar?"

"Suppose I should have bread and water after that."

The food was good, and arrived really quickly. Lizzie seemed to find her energy and joie de vivre over the course of it too, and she finally started opening up again, telling Oscar snippets of information from her night out with his sister. And Oscar had to mentally admit that them being on the same page again was what he wanted. A large part of him wanted to sample more with her, but he needed this closeness, this confidence. He had to take his time to push this to another level. That was blatantly obvious.

Lizzie ate the last piece of steak and licked her lips; Oscar watched that motion so intently that he almost missed her words, "so you wanted to talk?"

He almost choked on his own toast, partly because she was being forceful again, but mainly because his body was reacting to that lip-licking. Taking a slug of coffee, he nodded, "I wanted to apologise...again."

She rolled her eyes, "Oscar, this is old news. We shared a kiss...both had a different take on it, that's it."

He nodded slowly, unsure that it was that easy.

"I don't one hundred percent agree with that, but I like this..." he gestured between them. "I like us being friends."

He saw tears well in Lizzie's eyes as she gave a watery smile, "it's important to me too, I don't think I'd have got through the last few weeks without you."

He reached out and squeezed her hand, "rubbish, you are the most sensible, brave and strong woman I've ever met, you could deal with ANYTHING."

And he knew that he wasn't paying lip service, that was the truth, she just managed to adapt to any situation, to see the big picture when he was focussed on himself...she was amazing, that's why he was enamoured with him. He admired his sister, for her values and beliefs, the person she was. But Lizzie was like her in some ways, but a million times more dynamic, more strong...more everything.

She was flustered now, blushing, and that made him smile, "you don't believe me?"

She shrugged, "I don't feel brave, I feel terrified all the time."