"Sugar, please..."

"Talk to me, Spice, I know keeping things bottled up is never good. You taught me that. You always tell me to open up with those I can. So? What's going on in that pretty little head of yours, huh?"

He hesitates as he looks at me through his lashes, biting his lip hard, his right-hand rubbing over his left hands ring finger. "I..." he starts but shakes his head and drops his gaze. Sighing, I stand from where I'm sat and make my way over to him, pulling him up into a hug. "I'm sorry. I know we made a truce to always be open but... I... I can't. Not that I don't want to but I'm not ready, Sugar, the words just get caught in my throat if I try to." He pulls back slightly to look up at me, eyes begging to understand, and I do, kind of. When I give a small nod, he continues. "With... what's going on in Blue Hog, I think I need to handle it on my own. I think I am starting to understand it myself but... If I run into difficulty, I have Charles to advise me when needed. He is one of the best lawyers after all." He says with a slight proud smile threatening to make its way onto his face.

I can't help the laugh at that and hug him even tighter in a playful manner. "Yes, about Mr Charles Dawson... Never mind some random lawyer from the firm but the bloody CEO? How the hell did you manage to pull that one, huh? and you called my service expensive?" He blushes at my words but laughs with me regardless, a bright genuine smile showing.

"Long, long story... One for another day." Smiling lightly up and me, he leans up to give me a small kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for what you found over the week, I really owe you for that."

"You, my little Spice, owe me nothing. Privileges of being my best friend. Don't tell Papi Pollito, though." He throws his head back laughing, his chestnut curls bouncing around. I smile in response but take a step back out of our embrace once he relaxes. "Promise me one thing though..." I start, receiving a small but knowing nod as his eyes close slightly. "Whatever is going on, stay safe. And... If you want to, you know, talk, I'm here for you. Always. Even after this work thing is done... Even if it's about her..." I trail off, not wanting to directly ask him to tell me everything.

He smiles again but opens his eyes to watch me. "I will. Once this is over, I'll tell you everything there is to tell. Everything."

With final kisses on the cheek goodbye, I eventually leave the apartment with worrying thoughts about what my happy, bubbly friend could be going through.

Once I'm outside, my eyes are instantly drawn to the car parked right outside. Although I am not a big fan of cars, this is certainly one that I know of. A black 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Flat sits outside, a satin finish to the paint. Holy hell now that's a vintage baby! And although I shouldn't be surprised by who the owner is, I still am when I see Charles leaning up against the hood, arms crossed over his chest. Although his ageing lines aren't that noticeable, probably due to how expressionless his face can be, the deep frown causing them to become much more prominent. Revon stands a short distance away from the building, talking quietly on the phone.

I had expected him to leave, and only be greeted by Revon upon my departure from the small talk with my friend, but as the door closes behind me, the older man's head snaps up in my direction instantly. So far we haven't spoken at all besides the brief encounter we had upon first meeting, but this time he doesn't hesitate to walk directly up to me and voice his concern.

"How is he? Did he say... anything? Should he be up there alone right now? Maybe I should check on him..." He trails off, his deep voice much louder when this close to him. Although the concern lacing in his words shows how much he cares for my friend and dampens down the worry I had a few moments ago for him, my new concern is how much he cares, and if it is simply because he is his client, or if it is more than that, especially knowing that my friend is now engaged.

I push those thoughts aside and watch the man having an internal debate within his head it seems. I place my hand upon his shoulder to grab his attention after clearing my throat and failing but his cold eyes snap to mine instantly, causing me to drop my hand in response. I could get some tips off of him with how intense that stare is...

"He's fine. No. He's a big boy. And again, no. He claimed that he needs to do it whatever it is he must do on his own and sort this out himself." I tell him, watching as he continues to hesitate regardless of my words. I wait a moment longer to observe him before continuing. "He did say though, that should he need advice, he knows who to go to."

Charles' eyes light up at my words and he exhales a silent breath. The curve of his lips tilts up slightly as he nods. I know I could have told him that Rodney said Charles specifically but it seems as though my words were enough for him to know.

"Good, that's good. Great." He tries the keep the growing curve of his lips in check but fails as a small smile breaks free. "Right, well... I'll be off." And with that, he abruptly turned and made his way to his beautiful car. I guess we both need a man in our life to crack that cold facade we show.

And seeing that little bit of emotion breakthrough, I can now understand the man a little more. Though I don't know how happy I am that the man that makes him crack is my close, to-be-married, best friend.

As the car speeds away from my line of sight, I draw my attention back to Revon who is now walking towards me as he puts his phone away. He smiles when his eyes meet mine and the odd fluttering in my stomach and tightness of my chest decide to show themselves again.

"Everything ok? I had expected Mr Dawson to leave but he insisted on making sure all was ok before leaving. How was Rodney? Are you ok? Let's walk and talk, shall we?"

I almost smile at his concern but catch myself when I realise I'm now outside, many people passing by us up and down the street. I give a brief nod of acknowledgement and glance at the offered hand that he has extended towards me, a small smile playing on his lips. My mind flashes back to our small date together last week and how easy I found myself being around him. How being close to him didn't affect me in the slightest. But last week, we were under the night sky, we were within the shadows. Not standing in broad daylight. And as I watch Revons smile flatter slightly, hand starting to lower itself back to his side, I start to feel the tightness in my chest turn from one that I cherished earlier to another that I dread. A slight burn taking its place in my lungs and the ache begins in my throat. A drop in my stomach that makes my body start to ache from tensing in ways I can't control.

Since I was younger and this wall came up around me, it has been rare that I was put into a position where those boundaries were tested. If someone confronted me, I would simply give them a bored stare or ignore them. I had the power to control the turmoil bubbling within without a care about any other peoples feelings, as cold as it may sound. I was lucky that those that I cared for understood me, though there was a time that they had to learn about it, of course. But I spoke to them, I explained to them, they understood and accepted it.

I care for Revon's feelings, maybe not as much as those close to me yet but he has joined them, and those feelings are spiralling out of control. I know that I could explain right now, and he wouldn't judge me, he would help me. But I can't. The burn in my throat intensifies, blocking my attempt to speak when I open my mouth, and as I continue to watch him as his hand finally falls to his side, the nervous and upset frown that he shows makes my heart ache along with everything else.

For the first time, I want to embrace this horrible feeling eating me up inside and not push it aside to make my life easier. For the first time, I care about the individual's feelings before me with how my cold nature affects them. For the first time, in a long time, I want to reach out and embrace my feelings full on.

But when your mind and body is fighting with each other, it's never as easy as it sounds.

Instead, I find myself walking, needing to move my limbs before they locked up from the tension. Relief immediately floods me when I notice Revon walking alongside me, not too close but close enough that our hands brush every few steps. It eases the tension within and as the burn starts to fade when I even out my breaths, the small warmth that spreads through me from the slight touches gives me a surge of confidence to do everything that I wanted.

And before it can disappear, I reach out slowly to link my pinky with his, glancing his way slightly just in time to catch the relieved and shy smile that lights up as his face as he glances down at our intertwined fingers.