Never In A Million Years

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Lili?" Drew looks confused opening the door and finding me here. "What are you doing here?"

I clasp my hands together and offer a small smile. "I think we should talk."

He raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh... Okay."

"Sorry, it's kind of out of the blue but..."

"No, it's okay. Come on in," he says, stepping back to allow me inside. He looks a little nervous as he leads me to the living room.

We sit side by side on his couch and he waits patiently for me to begin.

"I can't hold it against you anymore," I say. "I need to forgive you. So I will. Drew, I know you never meant to hurt me. I know this was not the purpose. You're happy with Mandy. I understand that. And I don't want to ignore each other any longer. I truly want us to forget about all this and go back to being friends."

He looks genuinely shocked by this sudden request and change of heart. He stares at me for a few seconds, eyes wide. Then he nods, a smile growing on his face.

"That sounds wonderful," he says, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to this earlier, I just..."

"I wouldn't blame you if you never forgave me, Lili. What I did was wrong. I know that. But I am very glad you've forgiven me," he says with a smile. "I've missed being your friend."

"So am I," I say. "How have you been lately, I mean I haven't exactly talked to you..."

"I'm great. I'm just gettin' on with life. Or, at least, trying to. Anything new with you?" Drew asks me, leaning back on the couch.

"Not exactly," I say, suddenly going red. I look away.

"What happened?" He asks with a smirk. "You're not telling me something. I can see it in your face."

"No, I'm not hiding anything," I say, looking him directly in the eyes and trying to be convincing.

"I don't believe it for a second. Tell me now," he says, leaning closer.

"No! No, you tell me about Mandy. I want to hear about you two. How's it going?" I ask him, quickly changing the subject. I don't know why, but I feel awkward having the first conversation back speaking to him about me and Brendan kissing...

"We're great, I think. I've taken her out on a few dates. She's nice and really funny. I actually think you'd like to meet her. If that wouldn't be too awkward," he says.

"No, that sounds great," I tell him with a smile.

"Now, back to you. You're not telling me-"

Someone rings the doorbell.

Drew goes over to the door and opens it.

"Hey," he says with a smile at the person on the other side of the door. "How're you doing?"

"Great," says the other. I recognize his voice immediately. It's Brendan. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. Thanks for calling."

"I thought it'd be nice to hang out," Drew says.

Then Drew looks over his shoulder at me. His eyes widen a little and steps away to let Brendan inside. He's wearing a grey jacket and dark jeans. May I say that he isn't easy to take my eyes off of. He doesn't notice me at first, just walking inside.

"Uh, yeah, so I have a visitor," Drew says, smiling at me. "Came over unexpectedly."

Brendan's eyes fall on me and I see him smile slightly. Then he walks over to where I sit on the couch, sits down next to me, and leans in to give me a light kiss on the cheek. I feel my cheeks go red and I avoid Drew's gaze.