My new online business didn't start the way I had hoped, but in the days following my initial flop I studied how to make a more professional web page, and slowly more and more orders started coming in. Obviously, the customers were not always satisfied with the work, and many did not understand why the service I offered was a real thing. They didn’t understand why they could rely on me for their shopping, they considered it a useless payment. Payment was far too big a word, I simply asked for a voluntary donation of at least two or three pounds to support what I was doing, plus the cost of the clothes I had bought for them increased by a small percentage for the gain. But apart from the negatives, most of the orders were accompanied by messages from satisfied customers who were happy with the way I was able to help them. I really hoped that this website could be a launching pad for something bigger, but at the moment all I had to do was wait and hope that an outside offer would come along. In the meantime, William had started paying me what I was owed, and I had at least managed to pay the bills for the month. In addition, I had also started writing articles, turning my site into a blog, and I had discovered that I could earn something from that too. Let's say I was reaping pounds from a bunch of different sources, but every one was fundamental.

***

"And so I was telling you that the cake was amazing. Cream, strawberries and chocolate, absurd." I said into the microphone on my headphones. I had been on facetime with Evelyn for an hour now, and I had not yet finished telling her about the cake I had seen in the window of a pastry shop in town. I was actually just taking my time because I wanted to tell her about my evenings with William, but he was in the next room and I couldn't make myself heard.

"Ok, but let's get to the point..." she insisted for the fifth time.

"He's there in the kitchen, I can't," I whispered.

Just then the subject of our discussion appeared in the background of my call, distracting me. I couldn't help but look at him every time he passed by, he was like a magnet for my eyes. I'm not sure why, but there was something about him that caught my attention like nothing else could.

"Hey!! Are you here ?!?!," my friend called.

"Yes, yes, I'm here," I answered.

"So?!"

"Now I'll tell you, don't worry. I went back to the living room with the dress I tried on for the wedding because I was so focused on thinking about dinner that I forgot to take it off and we ended up watching a movie together. When we finished watching, he noticed that I was wearing the dress and told me that it was beautiful and kept looking at me. Also, after I told him that I still didn't receive orders on my site, he made one himself just to get advice on what to wear at the wedding."

"Noelle, are you kidding?! I can already see you together sharing a slice of the cake at the wedding," she said, laughing. "Kokes aside, he seems like a really great guy. I'm glad you found each other."

"Yes..." I commented in a suddenly dull tone.

"Hey, what's with that tone?"

"I was just thinking, is it possible that so much has already happened in such a short time?"

"There is never a specific time for feelings. You can tell you're interested in a guy after months of knowing him, or after only two days."

"Okay, but I wasn't talking about feelings. We're friends, nothing more."

"I see how your eyes light up when you talk about him."

"I can’t get a crush in two weeks, okay? It's not possible."

"There is something tho..."

"Yes, and that something is friendship. A friendship that is different from the usual because we live together and see each other all the time, but it's nothing more. I mean, I don't understand why he gave me that compliment, and I don't understand why it made me feel like that, but we're friends. Period."

"Alright, alright, I get the point."

"Why are guys so difficult? Sometimes I just wish I knew what's going through his head. Does he look at me because he thinks I'm beautiful or because my hair is messy? Did he compliment me out of pure kindness or is there something else going on? I don't understand," I said exasperatedly.

"But didn't you just finish saying that you don't care if he finds you beautiful or not because you're just friends?"

"You're right, enough about him."

"Look, if you want, we can talk about it again and understand something."

"No, I'd rather not. Can we talk about something else, please?"

"Of course. Then... what are you doing for Christmas?"

"My parents are away, so I thought I'd come to you and Nick like last year. Your mother now basically considers me her daughter," I replied, laughing.

"Okay, it can be done. But you have to help me cook, there will be more people than usual this year. Nick's parents are back from Brazil, and his sister will bring her new boyfriend."

"Count on me."

"Were you thinking of inviting William too?"

"I honestly don't know. In a few days' time he won't really be living with me anymore, and I don't know what kind of relationship we'll be in," I replied sincerely.

"Then we'll eventually find a place for him too, my mother doesn't mind having extra guests."

She paused thoughtfully.  "No, wait, I got confused. Our families will be there for the Sunday before Christmas, on the 25th it will be just me, you and Nick. At this point I would say that you have to invite him, we would be very few otherwise."

"I'll see if I invite him or not. Why won't Nick's family be there for Christmas?"

"His mother has planned a trip to the mountains, but he prefers to spend Christmas here. My parents decided to go on the trip, but I'm not leaving Nick here alone."

"I see. So it's going to be me, you, and Nick at Christmas," I recapped.

"And maybe William," my friend corrected me.

"And maybe William, too," I replied.

"No, wait... I don't believe it..." she said laughing.

"What now?" I asked, confused.

"It literally feels like a double date."

"I just finished telling you we're just friends and you're talking to me about dates?"

"I'm sorry, I was joking. Then it's going to be a date between me and Nick and you're going to do the spare tires."

"Perfect, we've moved on to machine analogies."

"Yes, and when you and William are together, remember who gave you the keys to start that car."

"EVELYN!"

"Okay, I get it. No more cars and no more talking about William."

"I have to go anyway, I have an appointment."

"Okay. But before you go, tell me the truth."

"What truth?"

"Are you really just friends?" she asked me again.

"Yes, we're just friends," I repeated for the hundredth time.

"I think you like him..."  she answered.

"Evelyn, bye," I replied, ending the call.

I had to get ready to go out and I knew that the questions about William were not over for today, considering the people I was about to meet. I had organized a meet up with Sheila and Valérie, two friends of mine. I didn't have a close relationship with them like I did with Evelyn, but I had also met the two of them in high school. Although we had lost touch with each other during our college years,  we crossed paths again at the high school reunion and, since then, we had decided that we would see each other once a month to keep up to date with what was going on in our lives.     

***

Once I arrived at the bakery I found them already sitting at the table waiting for me. When they saw me approach, they got up and after kisses, hugs, and ordering, we were ready to catch up.

"Okay, okay, I'll start," Sheila began.

"About two weeks ago I was walking down the street when I noticed a box moving. I got closer and saw that there were two adorable kittens inside. They seemed to have been there for a long time, they were scared and trembling. So, I decided to take them to a vet and then adopt them. I can't really explain how beautiful it is to see these two fur balls walking around the house, when they play together they are even cuter.”

"Shay, that's beautiful.” I replied almost moved.

"What did you call them?"  Valerié asked.

"Gigi and Milo.”

With that, she took her cell phone out of her bag and showed us a picture of two gray kittens with dark eyes. After staring at the photo for two minutes straight, Valerié took the floor.

"Girls, I have news... important news to give you. It's about something I've been working on for a very long time.”

"Tell us everything.” I said.

"I'm not sure how to say it without getting emotional but... I recorded my first song and from next week they will play it on the radio.” she announced enthusiastically.

"Val!!! I'm so happy for you.” replied Sheila.

"Ever since we were teenagers you've dreamed of being a singer and look how far you've come.” I replied.

"Thank you girls, your support is everything to me.”

"We're always here for you.”

"Oh, I have one more thing to share, too."

She lifted her sleeve, already full of drawings, and showed us the last addition, the date she had finished composing the song.

"I wish I had your courage to get tattoos too.” Sheila said.

"One day we should do one all together.” I replied.

"It's not a bad idea.” commented Valérie.

"And what about you? What do you have to tell us?” Sheila changed the subject, turning to me.

"Yeah, we've noticed that you keep looking at your phone with that smile.” continued Val.

I couldn't deny that, while my friends were updating me, William was flooding me with messages. He kept sending me silly selfies from the gym, and I couldn't help but hide my laughter. I didn’t know if that fit into the "friends" category, but I loved the relationship that had created between the two of us.

"It's a long story, so I'll be brief. I was fired, so I started looking for a roommate to save some extra money. Only instead of a girl, I found William.”

"You mean, you're living with a guy?"

"And when did you think you'd tell us?!” Shay exclaimed, turning the whole bar towards our table.

"It's only for three weeks, which by the way are almost over.  Nothing special.”

"Nothing special? Noelle, you should see your expression when you text him..."

"You like him, don't you?” Val asked me point-blank. It seemed like that was the only thing everyone was asking me that day.

"A little, yes, but I am still very confused about my feelings for him" I admitted. I could have lied to Evelyn over the phone, but Val and Shay would have figured out the truth right away by looking me in the face if I said no. "But we might never see each other again, so I don't want to get carried away. And we were talking about you anyways..."

"No, no, no. Don't even try to change the subject. Noelle, there's nothing wrong with you liking a guy," Val told me.

"But at least show us a picture of this William," Shay replied.

I chose one of the ones he had just sent me and showed it to my friends.

"Where did you find him?"

"I mean, you live with him? You live with these six feet of muscle? You live with these beautiful green eyes?" Shay asked, taken aback.

"Um... Yes...," I replied, halfway between embarrassment and happiness.

"You have won everything and I envy you so much. I think I'm going to leave," she concluded.

"Come on Shay, stop. I'll tell you in a serious way. The guy is handsome. Very attractive. You're lucky to have met him. And I think if something was to happen between you, there would be nothing wrong with it," Val replied.

"You're right. We'll see how things go. But for now we're friends and nothing more," I concluded, to reiterate the point more to myself than to them.

We continued to talk for another hour, then said goodbye and went home.

"Please update us if you get together with Mr. Very handsome guy," Shay said as she got into the car.

"Of course, you'll be the first," I replied with a laugh, walking home.  

***

I was at home quietly working on the computer when I got yet another photo from William. By now he had taken a liking to sending me a selfie after each exercise. This time it was the turn of a photo of him reflected in the gym mirror, with a 20 kg dumbbell in his hand. 

N: Drink a little water before you pass out lifting those things.

W: I thought you'd faint at this sight.

N: It takes a lot more to shake me up, don't worry, I'm perfectly fine.

W: Wait twenty minutes and you'll see.

I read the message and, seeing him disappear from the chat, I decided to get back to work. In the meantime, it began to rain heavily, and my thoughts immediately went to him outside the house without an umbrella. The fateful twenty minutes had almost passed, so he shouldn't have been too far from home. In fact, I didn't have to wait long before I heard the doorbell ring. I opened the door and let William in, and he began to wet the whole hallway, he was soaked from head to toe. My gaze, however, locked on the lines of his abs, made even more evident by the white shirt that had stuck to him after he took of his coat.

"You're wetting the whole hallway.” I complained without looking away.

"And my eyes are up here, girl who doesn't let a mirror selfie shake her.”

Okay, maybe I had more than one weakness when it came to him. I quickly moved my gaze away as I felt my cheeks flush.

"Hey, I was joking.” he replied, spreading his arms, trying to hug me.

"Don't you even dare to try. Go take a shower while I dry the floor."

"At your command, boss.” he said, imitating a military gesture.

I made him move with a pat on the arm and got to work. He came back a short time later fresh from the shower and in a clean tracksuit.

"Can I hug you now?"

"If you want to..." I replied trying to look indifferent, but the closer he got the more my lips widened into a smile.

"Like you'd say no," he commented as he locked me in his arms. For those five seconds I thought of nothing but the two of us, of how a part of me wanted to spend all my moments like this, with him. I'd be lying if I said that the hug didn't confuse my ideas about our relationship any further, but for once I decided to enjoy the moment and not think about it too much.

***

The following day

The rain continued to fall throughout the evening, so I was forced to give up my evening walk. Instead, I started packing my bag for the wedding. After all, it was only two days away. I stuck a post-it note on the mirror to remind myself to take my dress to wash. I couldn't help but think of William's suit. "Maybe he'll need to have it washed, too."

I walked to the door of my room to go out and ask him, when he knocked on my door.

"Come in."

"Noelle, I was thinking... Wouldn't you be able to take my suit to wash tomorrow?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.

"I was going to come and ask you if you needed me to do this," I replied with a laugh.

"Then we're have an agreement," he continued, laughing too. "I'll go back to watching the game."

"William watching television, how strange," I commented.

"I heard you!" he yelled from the other room.