All week, Liz had been messaging me, asking how I was and wanting to catch up with me to find out all about the trip. I would always find some sort of excuse not to meet up with her. As well as heading straight back to work, I was still tired and jetlagged, and my body was still getting used to the time difference. I had no energy to go see Liz and she understood that. But mainly, I was trying to avoid Jason.
It wasn't that I didn't want to see him, it was the opposite rather. I was desperate to see him. My biggest fear was Liz finding out and how to keep my emotions in check around her. I wasn't one to easily hide my feelings and Liz would know something was wrong in a heartbeat.
I knew I would have to bite the bullet at some point and the perfect opportunity presented itself not long after. The weekend rolled along, and Liz had another date with Ian. Jason was out of the house, so this was the ideal chance to catch up with Liz without being flustered around Jason.
"How was your week with Ian?" I asked once I had showed her some of the photos of the Scotland trip and caught her up with everything we did and saw, minus the falling for her brother part.
"Rosie, I can't even begin to explain to you" she sighed, flopping on the bed with a huge grin "Having a week without worrying about Jason was so freeing. I had the most perfect week. We stayed up late talking and we went out so much that it felt like second nature. I even stayed over at his place one night" At this I raised my eyebrow, wanting to know more details. "That's a story for another time. I'll tell it to you whenever I'm not running late for a date" she waved off.
"Wow, it sounds like you've had just an amazing a week as I had"
"But I wish I was in Scotland with you. It sounds amazing"
"We should totally go one day. I know you would love it"
"For sure. And who knows, maybe by then, Jason will know about Ian and I and we could all go together"
My heartbeat fast, wondering if she knew something. I'm sure Jason wouldn't have mentioned anything just yet. "I'm sure you wouldn't want Jason and I tagging along on a romantic trip" I brushed off. "Have you thought about telling Jason yet?"
Liz sat upright on the bed and gave a small smile "I think I'm ready to tell him. That's why I'm meeting up with Ian today. We're going to discuss the best way to approach this"
I smiled, so happy for my friend and hugged her "I'm sure Jason will understand. He's really not such a bad guy"
"I guess you should know since you've been hanging out with my brother for a whole week" she laughed. My face heated up, Liz not realising how close to the truth she really .
"Where is it that you're going today anyway?" I asked, trying to divert the conversation away from Jason.
"Just on a dinner date. I figured that would be the best way to have a talk about Jason and how to move forward with it"
"Everything's going to be fine. How does Ian feel about it?"
"He also hates keeping this from his best friend, so he's ready to tell him too" Liz pursed her lips, glancing my way briefly before looking to the ground.
"Is everything okay?"
"There's something else I didn't tell you about last week" she said, a smile slowly spreading across her face.
"Liz, you know you are contractually obliged to tell me everything" I raised an eyebrow.
Liz rolled her eyes and smiled even wider "I told him I loved him"
"What!" I squealed out "and you waited until now to tell me this" I screeched, grabbing the nearest cushion from her bed and throwing it at her. "This is very vital information to tell your best friend"
"Hey, I don't need to tell you everything" she laughed, skilfully dodging the cushion. "But I just needed to tell someone else"
"So, what happened next? What did he say?"
"He said he loved me too and then-"the ring of her phone cut her off. "Sorry, that's Ian here, I better get going"
"Fine" I huffed "But you have to tell me everything soon"
"I promise" she smiled and skipped out of the room, to the love of her life.
I couldn't believe how much Liz and Ian's relationship had blossomed over the past few months. I'd never seen Liz happier and was immensely happy for her. I just hoped she would feel the same for me.
I trudged down the stairs, wondering what the future held for me. I had come back from such a magical week; I didn't want it to end. I entered the kitchen where Liz's mom was clearing up "Hey Natalie, that's me just going home"
"Okay hun. Did Liz finally decide on an outfit to wear for her date?"
"Eventually, after her millionth outfit change" I rolled my eyes.
"When is she going to realise that boy would love her in anything she wears. She could be wearing a garbage bag and he would still be head over heels for her" she laughed.
"They do make a cute couple. Are you okay with them keeping it a secret from Jason?" I asked, sitting down on their kitchen table.
Natalie sighed, drying her hands on the dish towel and sat down beside me "That's for Liz to tell. If it was anyone else she was dating, she would have told him immediately, but this is his best friend. I know Jason will be okay with it once he knows, and I told her as such, but she still thinks he's not going to take it well. I think she just needs time to figure out the right way to go about it"
"She was telling me that she was thinking of telling Jason soon"
"That's good to hear" she smiled "The sooner she tells him, the sooner I can start preparing for her wedding"
I laughed "I think its too soon to see if it's going to make it that far"
"Oh, trust me, it will" she nodded and got up of the table. "I need to head into Gabriel's office. He's been working nonstop recently and there are papers lying about everywhere. And guess who has to clean that up?" she chuckled, rolling her eyes.
"I'm just going to head out now anyway, thanks Natalie" I smiled, making my way to the front door. Before I could open it, it opened for me. Looking up, I was greeted by Jason's huge smirk.
"Well, this is a lovely surprise seeing you here" he laughed. He looked around him before sneaking in a quick kiss. I sighed, thinking how much I missed those kisses, and it had only been a week.
"I was helping Liz get ready for her da... I mean, her work thing. Yeah, she was going out with some work friends and we had a catch up at the same time" I smiled, hoping I hadn't given anything away. "I was just about to head out"
"Aww, can't you stay a little while longer. I've just got back, and we haven't seen each other all week" he pouted.
I couldn't help but laugh and stood on my toes to kiss that pout "I could stay for a while I suppose, but only on one condition"
"And what would that be?" he smiled, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me in closer.
I bit my lip, loving the feeling of being so close to him. I leaned in closer to his ear and whispered "You have to give me some Oreos" I let go and laughed, leaving a stunned Jason by the door way "I don't have all day, chop chop" I chuckled, making my way to the living room.
I sat down on the couch and flicked through the television, looking for something to watch, but I doubted we would be watching anything anyway. Jason came in not long after, raising an eyebrow as he handed me a packet of Oreos "Happy?"
"Very" I smiled and opened the packet, offering him one first which he gladly took. "How was your day?"
"I was just out to Ian's playing video games and catching up but he had to go out so I couldn't stay long"
"Oh" I breathed out, hoping he didn't know what was going on just yet "Sounds like fun"
"I feel like I haven't seen you all week. I haven't even seen you around at work"
"Work's been crazy, you know that. There were lots to catch up on once we got back. I'm just glad the week is over, and I can finally relax"
"I'm glad too. It means that I can finally spend some time with my girlfriend" he smiled, leaning in to kiss me.
Hearing that from Jason was going to take some getting used to. My heartbeat faster and my stomach swarmed with butterflies at kissing Jason again. It made me want to tell everyone about us just so I could be with him all the time, without the secrecy. I suppose this was something we had to discuss sooner rather than later.
We let go, breathing hard and I smiled as I laid my head against his chest. He was warm and his cologne overpowered my senses as he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me in closer. "You do realise your mom is home?"
He chuckled "Are you worried she's going to see us?"
I looked up at him "First off, its going to be very awkward if she walks in on us making out" I laughed "And secondly, she doesn't know about us. No one does yet"
Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair "I was wanting to speak to you about that actually. I think we should just tell everyone and whatever happens after, we'll deal with it then"
I pursed my lips, thinking it was a good idea but one I didn't want to go through with just yet "I don't think we should tell anyone yet"
"How come?"
"Maybe we should wait a while and see how it goes first. I want to be one hundred percent sure about this before we tell anyone, especially Liz"
"Are you not one hundred percent sure now?" he smirked, brushing my hair to one side.
"Hmmmm. I'm about ninety five percent sure" I teased.
"Well, in that case, I think I'm going to have to convince you of the other five percent" he smiled, placing his hands on my cheeks and kissing me. I smiled into the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck.
He let go, placing his forehead on mine "Are you sure you want to keep this a secret?"
"I'm sure" I nodded. "I just need some time to figure out what to say and the right moment to tell everyone"
"You're the boss" he smiled. "But just so you know, I am one hundred percent sure about this. I am in this for the long haul" he said, making me smile "I have never felt this way about anyone and all this time you were right here under my nose" he smiled, kissing me lightly on the nose. I closed my eyes, revelling in the feeling.
All too soon, that feeling was gone, and my heart plummeted to my stomach. Wasn't I just doing the exact same thing as Liz? Only this time, we were the ones keeping a secret from her. I had taken my own advice in waiting for the perfect moment. But was there really such a thing as a perfect moment? I wasn't only keeping secrets; I was also lying to two people I cared about deeply.
I didn't know how much longer I would be able to keep all these secrets.