More than just a friend.

1st month.

We were friends.

He cried inside. I was facing critical times.

Like all true friends are, we stood by each others' sides. We pulled each other through.

He helped me to be stronger. I gave him joy. We stuck with each other, like all friends do.

I wanted him to be more than just a friend. Little did I know that he felt the same way too.

I thought he liked somebody else. He thought I wasn't over with the past.

So we remained friends. We promised each other we'd be best friends forever.

We talked. We laughed. We had fun.

2nd month.

One day, I told him.

"I like you," I said. "More than just a friend."

"I'm sorry," was his reply.

I was disappointed. I thought he liked somebody else.

Little did I know that thus was his reply, because he thought I wasn't over with the past.

I liked him. But I never brought it up again.

Because I thought he still liked her. Because I thought he'd never have feelings for me. Forever the Best Friend, never the One.

3rd month.

Eventually, I got closer to someone else.

When he saw where I was drifting to, he talked to me.

"I like you," he said. "More than just a friend."

"I'm sorry. You're too late," was my reply.

I didn't want to complicate things, so I did the easiest thing I could think of. Being best friends.

He cried inside. I didn't know.

He told me how happy he was for my new found love.

I told him about my feelings and experiences. He laughed with me and told me he was happy for me.

Didn't he know that deep down, he was the only person I wanted to share all those experiences with?

Little did I know that he felt the same way too. Little did I know that every time he laughed the hardest, deep inside, he was crying the hardest.

4th month.

I regretted telling him he was too late. He never was.

I was always still waiting for him.

Why couldn't I see that in fact, he was the one waiting for me?

5th month.

As the days went by, I grew weary with my new found 'love'.

All I thought of was him.

I wish I knew he was thinking of me too.

6th month.

He talked to me a second time.

"Do you know that I still like you?" he said.

I replied, "I'm sorry."

I didn't say more.

We remained friends. Best friends, like we promised each other we'd be.

We talked. We laughed. We had fun.

But I couldn't hold it in any longer.

7th month.

"I like you," I told him. "More than just a friend."

He was happy. Happy to finally hear me tell him this, after waiting for so long.

We talked. We laughed. We had fun. Most importantly, we knew our feelings. We both enjoyed the mutual sharing of blossoming friendship.

8th month.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked over the phone one day.

I couldn't hear because of the bad line.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked a second time.

I still couldn't hear him.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked again.

"Yes." I replied.

He couldn't hear me over the bad line.

"Yes!" I said again.

He still couldn't make out what I said.

"YESSS!!!" I yelled.

***

After eight months of waiting, he finally heard what he wanted to hear.

I was happy.

He was happy.

And we still are.