That Night
Amanda: Are you home yet?
Freddie: Yeah, I'm back
Amanda: Are you mad at me about before? You left pretty abruptly
Freddie: No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come onto you. Don't be mad at me ☹️
***
Monday
Freddie: Are you awake?
Amanda: Yes
Wanna chat?
Ugh, not really
Tough!
Can I say something then?
Sure
I really love having you as my friend
Got it
OK, good
So can I see you at the weekend? As friends? The kids will be at their grandparents as I've got a manic day at the restaurant Sunday. But we could do something Saturday night
Well, I am extremely busy
Is that a yes?
Yes, OK
***
As the working week drew to a close, Amanda felt sick at the idea of Freddie paying a visit. Their awkward exchange the weekend before and the brief back-and-forth messages had left her feeling uncertain about him and their friendship. Had she ruined things? He'd no doubt get frustrated with her soon if he wasn't already. Her actions and feelings made no sense to her so they definitely wouldn't make sense to him. She hoped he wouldn't show.
But he did, with his usual box of food. He seemed different somehow, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Was it she had seen him in a new light? He was transitioning from fantasy-Freddie to real-Freddie and she'd begun to consider that real-Freddie was hot too. Despite the writing and the low-level stalking, she hadn't prepared herself for this.
She managed a smile as he looked at her, or perhaps into her, as he stood on the doorstep. She wondered what he saw.
"I'm glad you came," she said, overcompensating for the part of her brain that wasn't glad.
"Good." He stepped inside, taking the box through the house.
"Did you want to do anything this evening?" Amanda asked as she followed him.
"Did you want to do anything?" Freddie responded, raising an eyebrow.
She dropped her eyes and shook her head.
"You prefer to just stay in? Watch a movie?" he suggested.
She agreed, relieved he wasn't about to coerce her into going out again, and they settled down in front of the TV. The sofa was plenty big enough for the two of them so they stretched out and scrolled through their options.
With the events of the weekend playing on her mind, Amanda sat awkwardly, conscious of her body position and facial expressions, while pretending to first be engaged in the film choice process and then the chosen film. Freddie, by contrast, seemed perfectly relaxed with her, slouching back on the sofa, his hand regularly dipping into the bowl of popcorn that she could now eat. She savoured the salty taste of each piece on her tongue, rolling it around her mouth before biting into it, crushing it into nothing before swallowing.
YOU ARE READING
Struck by Lightning
RomanceCOMPLETE Freddie and Amanda are both confident and successful business people in their own right. In their thirties, Freddie runs his own restaurant and Amanda heads up a team of engineers at an aerospace company. Their lives are on different traj...
