Ambivalently Yours

Official

"Why are you smiling at your phone like that?" Kelce asks as he walks into the living room and spots Rafe on the couch, smiling like an idiot.

Rafe, completely absorbed in texting, nearly jumps out of his skin, fumbling his phone. "Shit, you scared me," he says, recovering his phone from the floor.

Kelce laughs, taking a seat across from him. "You didn't answer my question."

Rafe is back to texting. "Hmm?" he asks absentmindedly.

Kelce laughs again, knowing exactly who it is that has his full attention. "Bro just make it official already, damn."

Rafe looks up. "I dunno. Seems too soon," he says with uncertainty.

Kelce rolls his eyes. "Guy, you are head over heels for this girl, and you're worried about some nonexistent timeline?"

Rafe sighs. "It's not that, exactly. But things are going really well, and I really like where we are right now."

"Okay, and what if she thinks you're keeping her at arms length because you're only semi-interested, and she starts seeing other guys?"

A look of panic sets in on Rafe's face. "Does she think that? Is she seeing other people? Did Liz say something?"

"No, but if you're worried, you know what to do."

"Should I be worried?" he asks.

"Oh my god, Rafe, do you hear yourself? No, you don't need to be worried. She adores you, man," Kelce says. "All I'm saying is I've never seen you this hung up on a girl, and she isn't even your girlfriend. Just... make it official."

"Yeah, I should."

Kelce stares at Rafe as he sits there, phone in hand. He points to the phone. "Ask her."

"Through text?" he gasps. "No way. She deserves better than that."

"It's not a proposal, you're just asking to put a label on what you're already doing," Kelce says.

Rafe shakes his head. "No. I don't want to screw this up. I'll ask her in person."

~

With Liz gone, you had the apartment to yourself. She'd decided last minute to go home to visit for a few nights since she had the opportunity. You were enjoying the quiet as you got ready to head to a house party with Rafe and Kelce.

You didn't know the guy hosting, although Rafe had insisted you had been introduced to him at his party a few weeks back. You couldn't put a face with his name, but you decided to go anyway for lack of anything else to do.

The boys walk down to your apartment to pick you up, and then the three of you get an Uber to this guy's house. It's a chilly night, even for October, but even still, people are outside when you pull up.

You cling to Rafe as you head inside, scanning the crowd for faces you recognize. You spot several that seem familiar, but for the most part, you weren't remembering names. One that you did remember, Tommy (the guy who'd actually tried to make a move on you), comes up to the three of you when you enter the kitchen to grab a beer.

He greets all three of you warmly, doing a double take when he notices you and Rafe holding hands. He narrows his eyes at both of you, then directs his comment towards Rafe. "You know, you could've just told me about you were the complication a couple weeks ago. I would've bowed out a little more gracefully," he says.

Rafe chuckles. "It wasn't a thing yet," he explains. "I didn't make my move until that night."

Tommy laughs. "Ah, so the jealousy is what helped you grow some balls. Do you know my address? You can just send the thank you card there."