Becoming More than Friends

Four qualities/characteristics

1.) Polite
2.) Caring
3.) Sensitive
4.) Understanding

She climbed the stairs to his third floor apartment and waited for him to open the door; eager to see her old friend. They had over twenty years of friendship under their belts, and now, when their lives were falling apart, they needed each other more than ever.
She smiled when he opened the door to let her in, took comfort in the hug he gave her, even if he made her feel like she needed to stand on a box to look him in the eyes.
"How are you?" his deep voice rumbled as they sat down on the soft and super comfortable couch. He resisted the urge to reach for her hand to stop her from playing with the hem of her shirt.
"I'm doing okay," came her soft reply, looked up at him as he hugged her again.
It had been months since they had seen each other, the last time in the movie theater while they waited in the long line to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. They were going to be in different theaters and his now ex-fiancee was with him. The friends spoke for a few minutes before his ex pulled him away to wait in the line that they needed to go wait in leaving her on the floor, her back against the cold wall, alone.

It didn't take long for them to fall into their old routine and become comfortable with each other once again and they climbed in his F-150, drove to Meijer and picked up some Near East Long Grain and Wild Rice and broccoli to have with the chicken he had marinating in the fridge. She looked at him in surprise when he held the door to the truck open and closed it once her feet were safely inside. Her ex-husband never did that for her, not even when they had gone on the few and far between dates.

When they arrived back at the apartment, they started the rice and returned to the couch where they curled up together to watch a movie and to talk.
"I wanted to ask you out in high school," he murmured as he massaged her back, grinned when she moaned as a knot dissolved from her shoulders.
"I know, you've told me," she replied, sitting up and stretching after he finished the massage.
He wanted to say more, but he knew she was vulnerable so instead, he just took her hand while they finished Edward Norton's The Hulk. When the movie was over, she glanced at her watch, winced when she saw it was nearly ten thirty.
"I should go, the headlights on the car aren't very bright and I have to work in the morning," she said with a sigh. She'd been enjoying herself, talking with her friend and just being around someone who was going through something similar to what she was going through.
"You could stay, if you're too tired, or its too dark," he offered.
She gave him a small smile but shook her head. "I didn't bring my work clothes or a tooth brush with me, or I would. Thank you for offering," she murmured.
"The offer stands, any time," he told her. He held her jacket open for her as she slid into it and walked her down the stairs to the main door to the building and hugged her before she left.

It was two more weeks before they saw each other again, and she was nervous; she'd gone out on a limb and asked him if he was still interested in her. She didn't want to risk the friendship they'd had for the last twenty years, but she didn't want to spend the rest of her life wondering, what could have been. And when he kissed her, gently, tenderly, she knew his answer; he was, without a doubt, still interested.


This blog post was the easiest part of the assignment; I'm having a really hard time with the second story to write and turn in. The first story I've submitted is a story that I wrote previously, I just tweaked it a little. I hope they're all okay.
I forgot that the blog was also supposed to include To After That