Page 55 of Some Things Never Change

I frowned, feeling my heart crack a bit for him. This was a side to him I never even knew existed. I didn’t know Andy could be hesitant when it came to love, but I also didn’t know he was this infatuated with his friend either. I wasn’t sure who this woman was, but she must be incredibly special.

“Tell me about how you fell in love with her. I’m curious.” My voice didn’t sound like my own. It was too airy and light.

Andy turned to me with a shy smile with his beautiful, lit up eyes. God, he was just so happy, and I smiled back at his bittersweet happiness. My eyes burned as I tried to hold back the way I almost became misty eyed in front of him. Andy was in love with another woman and I never even knew.

He was never much of a talker when it came to his personal relationships. He would mention mundane things here and there. But, whenever he had problems, he would resort to asking Shoua for advice instead. He was never open with me about his romantic endeavors and I hated how private he was until now.

“We were friends for a while before I realized what kind of feelings I had for her. I used to think that I was just simply attracted to her because she’s an incredibly beautiful person and that was it,” explained Andy. “So, I dated around. A lot. I tried to find a girl who would make me feel the way she did, but I never did.

“Took me a long time, but I finally realized why I’ve been in love with her for so long. It’s because she lets me be me—just Andy, who’s a boring and stupid guy who likes to play around with Legos and watch horror movies all day. Andy, who likes to do and say stupid things,” he continued. “I always feel right and comfortable with her. She doesn’t judge me for the things I enjoy. She genuinely cares about who I am and my family. She sees me for who I am and for who I’m not. She’s… my safe place. That’s why I’m in love with her.”

My heart became heavy. As great as we are friends, there were a lot of things I also didn’t know about him. I didn’t even know he dated a lot in college. I just assumed he wasn’t dating at all because he never mentioned much about it whenever I asked back then. I watched the way he started to play around with the Legos blocks in front of him as if he was nervous.

“Exactly how long have you been in love with this woman?”

“Hmmm, we met when we were eighteen… But, I didn’t realize I had feelings for her until we were twenty-three. So, I guess it’s been at least seven years.”

I let out a low whistle. “That’s a long time to be in love with someone.”

He threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh that resulted in a coughing fit. He still had a residual cough left from his flu. “It is.”

“Who is this woman?” Now I needed to know.

Andy smirked, more to himself than to me. “That’s a story for another day.”

“What? Why? I’m curious now.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Nope.”

“Oh, come on! I’m barely finding out you’ve been in love with one of your college friends for the last seven years. I deserve to know who she is, at least!”

He turned to me with a small smile. “Sorry, Tink. I know I dropped a bomb on you, but I’m not going to tell you who she is ever. For all I know, you’ll probably cyber stalk her all night.”

I felt myself flush because he hit the nail on the head. “Even if that’s true, I would still like to know how amazing this woman is. I can tell you’re in love with her just by the way you talk about her.”

His brows slightly creased together. “How do I talk about her?”

Despite a heavy heart, I knew I was happy for him. I plastered a bright smile at him. “There are changes in your voice, in your expressions, down to the way your eyes light up when you mention her. Andy, I’ve never seen you like this before.”

I leaned in a little more to peer into his intense, almost piercing gaze. It was as if there was a fire that was lit from within him. He was wearing a small smile as he leaned a little closer into me.

“Maybe it’s because you’ve never taken a moment to notice.”

Ba thump.

I immediately let out a shaky laugh. “Come on, Andy, you flirt! Don’t joke around with me like that! Save all of that for your special woman!” I nudged him playfully on the side with my elbow.

I swallowed hard. A wave of heat overcame me despite my forced reaction as my weighted heart began to drum harder. Andy’s words sent shivers down my spine as I felt his warm breath against my skin. He, on the other hand, wasn’t laughing. He turned away and stood up.

Before he could say anything, I spoke up. “So, you were jealous of Eric, huh?”

His eyes quickly averted from mine. There was a firm edge to his gaze, annoyed I mentioned my date again. “Maybe.”

“I didn’t even know you had it in you, Andy. You’re not the jealous and possessive type, especially over a friend.”

I smiled softly at him as he finally looked back down at me. The edge in his eyes was gone as he stared back with a soft warmth. But he wasn’t smiling back.

“Well, you don’t know me all that well.”

---