His Tangled Web

"So here you are." He brushed the hair away from my face and cupped my face with his hand. "Do you mind?" he breathed. "Do you mind me touching you? I've wanted to touch you for so long."

"We can't, Mike." I took his hand from my cheek, leaving it far away in his lap. "I know we're friends and we can hold hands, and touch and hug every so often, but we can't do anything else. You're married. I'm not hurting another wife and I don't want to be the 'other woman' again. You know that."

I poured myself another cup of tea to buy some time to gather my thoughts and think where to go next.

Here was someone I knew so well from the inside. I knew his hopes and fears, his secrets and his joys, but now it felt as if I knew nothing about Mike Roche, the person. I would have to start again from the outside in until I found the man I thought I knew.

"But we're still friends?" His eyes held the fear of losing something he truly valued, but he steeled himself in case my response was to get up and walk away.

I put down my tea cup. "Yes, Mike, we're still friends. I don't know how long it will last, but I'm happy to continue the friendship."

I smiled, watching him sigh with relief. I wasn't saying goodbye. This was going to be a very different relationship from the one I'd imagined, but it felt right at this moment in time. What was important was the friendship. With that as the building block, we would see what would grow in the future.