I nervously walked to the stove to turn off the pasta and began to toss the salad. Sidney was sitting behind me and I could feel his eyes burning a hole through my back. I took in a deep breath and forced a smile on my face. I handed the plate to him and he kindly thanked me. I sat down across from him and began to eat.

“I hope you like the salad. It’s very, very simple.” I poked a piece of lettuce with my fork.

He nodded and smiled. “It's good though.”

We ate in silence for a few minutes and he was done with his plate while I had barely touched mine. “Are you done?” he nodded and I took his plate starting to serve the dinner. “So,” I paused, thinking. “What’s your favorite movie?” I looked at him over my shoulder.

He seemed confused but answered. “I don’t really have one, but if I had to pick I’d say maybe 300.” I nodded. “What about you?”

I shrugged. “I’m an old movie lover. Casablanca, maybe. But I’m also a big Willa Wonka fan.” I turned around and handed the plate.

“This is delicious. You made all this?” he looked at me while taking a giant bite.

“Yeah, I’m a big cook. I love it. It sort of calms me down.” I took a drink of water. “So, what’s your favorite band?”

Sidney shook his head. “I don’t really have one.”

“Any favorite type of music?”

He put his fork down and thought for a moment. “I’d say rock. That’s mostly the music playing in the locker room.”

I took a bite out of my chicken, feeling a bit more relaxed. “Okay, so if you had to see someone in concert, who would it be?”

“Well,” Sidney began, putting down his fork and taking a drink of water. “Probably Three Days Grace or someone like Metallica. That Muse you were playing wasn’t bad either.”

I smiled and held up my glass. “Well I applaud your above average taste in music.”

He looked at me for a moment, before a grin grew on his face and he clinked our glasses together. “Thank you.”

I laughed and felt the tension between us start to fade as he began to laugh as well. Eventually the laughter died and everything became quiet as we looked at each other. I stared at his eyes. They were sweet…kind… warm…safe. I snapped out of my trance and cleared my throat. “Are you done with this?”

He looked down and nodded slowly. “Yes, thank you,” a serious tone in his voice.

“So what do you think? Still have enough room for desert?” I placed the dirty plates in the sink.

“I honestly don’t think I could eat anymore. I really shouldn’t have desert.”

I grinned walking over to the fridge. “Ahh, but this isn’t just some fatty desert. It’s healthy, or sort of.”

“I’m not sure if I should.” He gave me an uneasy look.

“Yes, but you haven’t tried my carrot cake,” I grabbed the cake and placed on the table.

He stared at the cake and glanced up at me with an amused look. “Okay, you’re on.”

I could only smile.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An hour and several pieces of cake later, Sidney and I were sitting on the floor of the living room with two forks and a half eaten carrot cake between us. The Cure was playing in the background. And surprisingly, the awkwardness had disappeared and we were actually having a decent time.

“What do you think? Are you liking The Cure?” I took another bite out of the cake.

He chewed on his piece of cake humming. “Yeah, I actually am. It’s soft but not too soft. I like it. But not as much as I like your chicken parmesan.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Really? Well that’s very kind of you to say. Are you a chicken fan?”

He shook his head. “I’m actually not much of a fan. I’m more of a steak guy. And lobster. But that was really delicious.”

I let out a small laugh as we fell into silence again. I looked up at him as he ate some more cake. For the first time, he wasn’t so serious around me. It seemed almost as if he was having a good time. I didn’t realize I was staring until he looked up and raised his eyebrows.

I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. It’s been taking me this whole time to realize that I’m having dinner with you,” he looked a bit serious at this comment, so I added. “In the sense that I never thought you’d have dinner with me.”

He still seemed confused but nodded anyway.

I eyed him for a moment, unsure if I should ask the question that had been bothering me for the past few days. I should’ve decided against it, not wanting to ruin the normal evening we’ve been having but I needed to know.

“So,” I picked at the crumbs near the cake before glancing up at him and stuttering. “Can I ask you something?”

He stopped, mid-bite as he nodded, a small smirk on his face from how nervous I seemed.

“Did you not like me? Before? Or, now?” I looked down at my hands, only focusing on them.

He sat up a bit straighter. “What do you mean?”

I played with the loose threads on my shirt. “I don’t know.” I sighed. “I mean, I’m not accusing you of anything, it’s just before you seemed to have some sort of dislike towards me. Whenever we would be alone together, you’d become very serious. I get that you don’t talk very much to people you’ve just met- I’m the same way, but you just seemed to not like even being around me, that’s all.” I took a breath after speaking.

I looked at him for a moment as he looked down. I was regretting saying anything. I should have kept my mouth shut.

“No. I don’t not like you. I’m not sure why I got like that. I mean I’m sure there’s some explanation, but that doesn’t matter. I’m sorry if you felt that way.” He looked up seeming very sorry.

I shook my head. “It’s okay. How about we just move past this and be friends?”

He nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Okay, so from now on, no more awkwardness. We’re friends. You say hi, I say hi. You tell me stuff, I’ll tell you stuff. You can count on me for anything, deal?” I stuck out my hand.

He seemed unsure of what to do, but took my hand and shook it. “Deal.” We both smiled at each other.

“So Max tells me you’re the editor at the same magazine Peyton works at?” he leaned against the couch.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m the layout editor. I just decide where everything goes to make it look pretty.”

He slowly nodded. “Did you always know you wanted to do that?”

“Did you always know you wanted to be a hockey player?” I winced mentally slapping myself for the stupid comment. “Sorry, ignore that last part.”

He laughed, amused by my apology. “It’s okay. So did you?”

“No, not exactly,” I paused, pursing my lips. “I never really knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” I admitted. “I mean I never really found something I was passionate about. I have hobbies that I love, but not really a passion. And I love my job. It’s fun, not a hassle like everyone in this world seems to think of their job.”

Sidney nodded, pressing his lips together. “What are your other hobbies?”

I bit my lip, thinking. “Photography, cooking, baking, reading and eating if that counts.” I laughed.

“Well maybe one day you can show me how to cook or bake something. Although I’m not promising it’ll come out edible,” he commented.

I laughed. “Just say when.”

He looked at his watch and sighed. “I should get going, we have a 9 am practice tomorrow.”

I nodded looking at the microwave clock seeing it was midnight. “Wow, it is late. Time really went by fast.”

He let out a small laugh. “Yeah, well that’s what happens when you’re having fun.”

I raised my eyebrows, a smirk making its way on my face. “You were having fun?”

He stood up slowly. “Yeah, you’re easy to talk to,” he shrugged casually.

I stood up and stretched. “I think I’m going to like this whole friends thing here.”

He laughed picking up the cake and forks. “Do you need my help with anything?”

I put the cake back into the fridge. “No, it’s fine really. You were my guest. You don’t need to do anything except go get some sleep for tomorrow.”

I followed him to the door as he put his shoes back on and pulled on his jacket. “Thank you for dinner. It was great.”

“And thank you for saving me from eating alone tonight, again.”

He gave me a confused look. “Again?”

“Yeah, there’s been like four other times these past two weeks. Peyton’s always getting caught up at work.” I shrugged.

“Well if you ever need company, I’m here friend," he smiled zipping up his jacket.

“Thank you friend.” I opened the door as he walked out. “Goodnight,” I called to him. He waved at me and walked to the elevator.

I closed the door and began to clean up the mess Sidney and I made, humming "Friday, I'm in Love" to myself.

Notes

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