In the Friend Zone

“Zeke, do you see him?” I said craning my neck.

We were in the booth watching as the audience filed into the auditorium before the start of the play. Zeke, my light booth operator, was double checking to make sure the right lights were up.

“No. You weren’t all that specific, though. A tall guy with brown hair…there’s like 25 of those just in the front row.”

“Fair enough.” I said a little crestfallen, “I have to go give the 10 minute warning to the cast, maybe I’ll see him on the way back.”

I handed Zeke my headset and climbed to the door.

I climbed out of the booth which led to the ticket office and then wandered from there into the lobby and then to the backstage area and dressing rooms. I didn’t see Mike on the way there or on the way back to the booth and I’m embarrassed about how sad I was about it. I was excited for him to see the show but I was worried that there was a problem with his ticket or that he wasn’t going to come.

I checked with the Head of House, she told me he picked up his ticket so I went back to the booth and made Zeke help me look for him until it was time to start.

The show went smoothly but I’ll admit that I was nervous. I’m not usually nervous when I call the cues for the show but knowing that Mike was there watching made me get knots in my stomach. When the house lights went up, I let out a sigh of relief as the audience filed out.

“Zeke, do your shut down stuff once the ushers are done cleaning the house. I want to get out of here early tonight.”

“Sure thing boss.” Zeke saluted me as I left the booth.

I didn’t see Mike in the lobby so I went backstage and started shutting lights off and locking doors. The cast was cleared out within 20 minutes and my crew had gotten all the props and costumes locked up by 30 minutes past curtain call. I was happy that we all had it down to a science so I could leave sooner. I put the ghost light out on stage, plugged it in, and gave Zeke the okay to shut the stage lights off.

When I went back to the lobby, I finally saw Mike. He was wearing a black button down shirt over a white t-shirt and nice dark-wash jeans.

“Hey!” I said running over to him. He pulled flowers from behind his back and I was so surprised.

“Oh, these are beautiful! Thank you.” I said.

I gave him a kiss before he proceeded to rave about the show.

“I loved everything! The lights were so cool and the projections they had on the windows? Amazing!”

He followed me as I locked up the doors and grabbed my purse.

“I’m starving,” I said, “Let’s get a cheeseburger.”

“Yes!” Mike held my hand as we left the theatre and walked to a nearby diner. We got two cheeseburger meals to go and ate in a park next to a fountain. Mike told me what he thought about the acting and the set as we ate. He was so animated about it and genuinely excited.

“I want to see it again! It was the best show I’ve ever seen.”

While we were finishing our dinner, I looked up at the sky and was instantly reminded of a less than happy memory. Sean and I were on a picnic almost two years ago, exactly, and he accused me of still having feelings for Kevin because I didn’t press charges against him after the he attacked me at work. I blinked the memory away but Mike noticed.

“Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?”

I shook my head.

“No…no…I just remembered something I have to do tomorrow. That’s all. These cheeseburgers are great, aren’t they?”

We finished up our food and then sat by the fountain and talked.

“You know, your friend Molly did an excellent job. I definitely think she was the best out of everybody-”

“Mike, I lied earlier.” I winced.

“About what?”

“About remembering to do something tomorrow.”

“Oh…You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

I turned my body toward him.

“I do want to tell you. I was…” I took a deep breath, “I was thinking about my ex boyfriend. Actually, my ex fiancé.”

“Oh.”

“We went on a picnic in a park on a night like this, too, and it just reminded me of how unhappy I was in that relationship. I lied because I…I wasn’t sure how you would react to the fact that I was thinking about my ex boyfriend while on a date with you.”

“Why did you tell me the truth?” He asked. It wasn’t accusatory, it was curiosity.

“Because…I…I didn’t like the idea of lying to you. I don’t want that for whatever it is that we have.”

“Do you still have feelings for him?” He asked.

I looked Mike straight in the eye.

“Absolutely not. Our relationship was…not the healthiest for me and it took me awhile to deal with our break-up.”

I had never felt more honest about my relationship with Sean until that moment. I think the relief that washed over me was noticed by Mike, too.

“Okay.” He said and then held my hand.

“Really? You’re just going to…be okay with that?”

He laughed.

“Yeah. You were honest with me. I can see that that was a difficult thing for you to bring up and I believe you.”

I was in awe. Sean never really trusted me when we were together.  He constantly gave me the third degree but we lied to each other a lot. Having Mike’s trust was a new feeling, almost, because I never really had that with Sean.

“Here.” Mike said. He pulled out a quarter and placed it in my palm, “throw it in the fountain and make a wish.”

I looked at it and closed my eyes before tossing it in and watching it float to the bottom. I looked up at Mike and he pulled me to him and kissed me deeply.

“What did you wish for?” He asked when we pulled apart.

“For that.” I said blushing.

“Let’s go for a walk.” He said standing up and holding out his hand for me.

We walked through the park and talked and laughed. We stopped at the top of a big grassy hill.

“Faith, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable but I’m not seeing other people. In case you were wondering.” He said. Mike was nervous and it was adorable.

“Is that your way of asking me if I’ll be your girlfriend?” I asked.

“Yeah, pretty much.” He said laughing.

“Well, then…I’m not seeing other people either, in case you were wondering.” I said.

Mike broke out in a big smile and kissed me again. When we pulled away he looked at the hill we were standing on top of.

“When you were a kid, did you ever roll down hills like that?”

“Um, yeah.” I said with surprise.

Mike looked around mischievously.

“I loved doing that as a kid; I bet it’s still just as much fun.”

And before I knew what was happening, Mike rolled down the hill laughing and goading me into joining him. I stood at the top of the hill and briefly thought about how insane anyone who could see us probably though we were but then I threw caution to the wind and rolled down the hill after him. I landed with a thud next to him and we ended up laying next to each other, holding hands, and looking up at the stars.

“This is a weird date.” I said laughing.

“I hope you’re having fun, though.” He said turning his head to look at me.

“I am.” I said. I leaned over and kissed him again and he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me on top of him. We sat up and I straddled his hips while continued to make out. His hands roved over my back and in my hair. Things were really heating up when I felt him get hard between my legs. He pulled away and blushed.

“I’m really sorry.” He said.

I slid off him and he pulled his knees up to his chest and folded his arms on his knees.

“It’s okay.” I said.

“I don’t want you to feel like I’m trying to rush you into…anything.” He said.

“I don’t feel rushed. I’m glad that I turn you on. I don’t want you to feel embarrassed for that.” I put my hand on his arm.

He looked at me with genuine concern.

“Really, Mike, it’s okay. For what it’s worth, you turn me on, too. We’ll get to the sex part when we get to it. I don’t feel rushed at all.”

“Okay.” He said. He looked relieved.

I looked at my watch.

“It’s getting pretty late, do you want to get out of here?”

He nodded and I went to get up but he didn’t follow.

“Um…I might need another minute or two before I can get up again…”

We both laughed and I sat back down. When Mike was ready he walked me to the train stop and waited with me until my train arrived. I gave him a good night kiss and went home so incredibly happy. Mike is now officially my boyfriend and I feel so comfortable with him. He’s not judgmental about my past and he trusts me and he allows himself to be vulnerable in front of me. I’m going to introduce him to the girls as soon as they can all get together.