No Regrets, Only Memories

Firsts

Daniel

I stared at the door that Max had just walked out of for just a moment before turning to Maeve. She hadn't looked back at me. Her shoulders slumped slightly, wavering as she was now fully crying over the events that transpired so far in this room. It broke my heart to see her upset. Telling Max was supposed to be the best day, our friend finally knowing what had happened between us. Max had wanted that for us forever. He spoke to me multiple times about how if I'd just man up I would be happier. He was right, but the heartache that came in the terms and conditions wasn't something I anticipated.

"It'll be ok, D..." I moved to walk forward and wrap my arms around her waist as I tried to pull her against my chest.

"No it won't Daniel." She turned, stepping away from my arms before I could fully wrap them around her.

"He's just stressed out from coming back and maybe we should have waited..." She scoffed, bringing her hands up to wipe the stray tears that had escaped her eyes.

"Yeah, because maybe this shouldn't be a thing. Maybe we are taking this too far." her eyes stared into mine, a deep frown settling on her face as I watched her glassy eyes waver.

"No," I quickly reached for her hands," Baby, that's not it at all. He just didn't expect it. I shouldn't have said anything about the wedding idea." I hung my head, suddenly realizing that my outburst had started an issue. Again.

"No, you shouldn't have. If he is acting like this and he's our closest friend, how will Toto or Christian or even Cyril act when they find out? Are we ruining our careers for this?" I shook my head immediately.

"No, absolutely not. Until they explicitly tell us that this is a problem, it's not. Plus, they can't do anything once we're married. It's a legally binding contract. We can't be forced apart after that." She shook her head.

"No, I don't think we should do it anymore. It's stupid and it really isn't that thought out. We were just looking for an excuse. A marriage certificate won't be looked at as a contract."

I opened my mouth to say something, but I stopped when Maeve looked like she could just fall apart right there. Instead, she finally let me wrap my arms around her as she buried her head in my chest.

"Ok, let's hold off on all these plans then and just be us. I'll still want to marry you if it's by December or by the time we're 40. I just don't want this to hurt us...." I tried to explain. She just shook her head against my chest.

"I think I should go back to my room...."She pulled back and wiped her eyes again as I stood stunned at her words.

"I think we should be together right now..." She shook her head again at my argument.

"No, Daniel. I'm serious in telling you that I need some time right now. I want to think about this myself before we talk about it together."

Every part of me wants to argue, to tell her that we should talk about it together. Seeing her with tears in her eyes told me that she was overwhelmed though. She needed a moment alone, the first she had asked for since we started dating in June. Then I realized just how much we depended on each other. At that moment, I needed her. She needed space.

With a single nod, tears coming to my own eyes, I walked her to the door.

"Maeve," I started before opening the door," Promise me that if anything happens... if you start shutting down..." She placed a hand on my cheek.

"I'll come to you if it gets that way, I just need a night to myself." She gave me a small smile before pulling her hand away.

I reached down by my backpack and handed her my team hoodie, not wanting her to walk back to her room in just her sleep shirt and shorts. She gracefully accepted the hoodie, sliding it on as I grabbed the plate with her dinner as well.