Yes
Pulling her scarf tighter around her neck, Mia walked towards the door. Ted lazed against the door frame, looking down at his phone obliviously. Mia couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at him; dressed in a black jacket with his hair styled gently in natural curls, Ted was once more her epitome of the perfect guy.
But they’d been friends since they were kids, and Mia couldn’t threaten that by admitting the feelings that had started to infiltrate her thoughts over the last year. She had no way of knowing if he felt the same way, so she wasn’t going to risk ruining their friendship over the slim possibility he might feel the same way.
“Hey.” She called over to him, waving slightly.
“Oh hi.” Ted looked up from his phone with a typically charming smile.
“Shall we go in?” Mia indicated the door. “I could kill for a drink right around now.”
Ted laughed, opening the door. “After you.”
They walked together through the bustling pub, struggling to find a place to sit.
“I’m surprised it’s so busy in here on Valentines.” Ted commented as he crossed the room, spotting a high bar table to lean on.
Mia shrugged. “Well I suppose it’s as good a place as any.”
“If I had a date, I wouldn’t be bringing her here.”
“What’s this ‘if’? You’ve got me, haven’t you?” Mia poked him in the shoulder, smiling.
Ted laughed. “Well no offence of course, but you’re not exactly the first person I thought I’d be spending Valentines with.”
Mia looked down at her hands, finding herself unable to say the same. In fact, when Ted had messaged her that morning, asking her to meet for a drink, she’d been rather relieved. It beat sitting at home alone after all.
“What about you? Didn’t you have any hot dates lining up for this evening?” Ted teased.
Mia laughed lightly. “None that were more tempting than drinking with my best friend.”
“I consider myself honoured then.” Ted smiled. “I’ll get the first round in.”
The night wore on, and the pair laughed and joked their way through the hours. After several rounds of drinks, they finally found seats towards the back of the pub.
Through her slightly tipsy haze, Mia couldn’t help but think how handsome Ted looked as he sat opposite her. Deciding it was better to nurse her drink for a while to avoid any truth serum effects to drinking too much, Mia looked at her phone briefly whilst Ted went back for another drink.
“You know,” Ted said authoritatively, sitting down with his pint, “I’m fed up of dating.”
Mia laughed. “It’s a fact of life I’m afraid.”
“No, you know what I mean. All this pointless meeting new people, seeing them for a few weeks or months, then deciding it’s not quite right. It’s just tiring.”
Mia nodded. “I get what you mean, I guess. It’s a bit repetitive, but it’s the only way you find the right person.”
“Yeah but why can’t I be one of those people who gets it right reasonably quickly?” Ted turned to face Mia. “I mean, look at some of the relationships our friends are in; they found the right person for them on the first try.”
“I guess it’s just luck of the draw.” Mia shrugged, turning back to her drink.
“Have you ever been with someone like that?” Ted asked.
“No.” Mia laughed darkly. “I wouldn’t still be single if I had.”
“I don’t even know how you’d know something like that though.” Ted shook his head. “You know, what if I’ve already let someone special go, and I don’t even know it?”
“There’s a difference; you’d know.” Mia affirmed.
“I’ve never spotted a difference.”
“Then you haven’t had your yes yet.”
“What do you mean by ‘your yes’?” Ted smirked Mia.
Mia shrugged with a smile. “I don’t know, it’s probably a silly way of thinking about it. It’s just my way of referring to someone you love I guess.”
Ted frowned. “But I’ve had my fair share of girlfriends, and I've had varying feelings for all of them.”
“It’s not how many girlfriends you’ve had that matters.” Mia turned to him with a slight sigh. “When you know that the answer would be yes no matter what they asked, that’s when you’ve found your yes. That’s the real love.”
“That just sounds overly romantic.” Ted smirked, taking a swig of his drink.
“Well overly romantic or not, I know that that’s how it is.” Mia paused briefly, wondering whether she had the confidence to admit the truth. “I... I know what a wholehearted yes feels like, and it’s different to everything else you’ve ever felt with anyone else you’ve ever been with.”
“I thought you said you’d never felt like that.”
“I said I’d never been with someone like that.” Mia corrected him. “Doesn’t mean I haven’t felt that kind of emotion before.”
“So, who was your ‘yes’ then?” Ted smiled.
For a second, Mia felt frozen in time. She couldn’t breathe her heart was beating so fast. She knew there was no backing out now. Spurred on by the confidence alcohol had given her, she knew it was now or never.
“You.” She exhaled.
The longest seconds of Mia’s life followed that statement. Ted freezing as he registered the words, putting his drink down in slow motion, and finally turning to look her in the eyes.
“Me?
Mia nodded.
“How... how long have you been keeping that to yourself?” Ted stuttered.
“I don’t know.” Mia mumbled. “These... these feelings just kinda crept up on me and one day I realised they were there.”
Nodding slowly, like the information he was trying to absorb was not going in easily, Ted stared into space for a few seconds.
“Look, this doesn’t need to change anything Ted.” Mia reached across the table to touch Ted’s forearm. “Forget I even said anything.”
Ted looked up. “Mia, this changes everything.”
Heartbroken by the look in his eyes, as it told her everything she needed to know, Mia swallowed hard, looking down.
After a short pause, where neither of them said anything, Mia rose. “I’m going to go.”
Striding through the crowd as fast as she could, her mind exploding, Mia felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes. She could not have imagined this conversation going worse.
Why the hell had she even said anything?
“Mia!”
Mia turned at the sound of Ted’s voice, taking a deep breath as she saw him jogging up behind her. He stopped short in front of her, a small gap between them.
“You didn’t let me say anything.”
“It was clear what you were thinking from the look on your face.” Mia stated. “I thought it was kinder to the both of us to not make you say it out loud.”
“Mia.” Ted took her hands. “I won’t lie; I was shocked at first. It’s a lot to take on.”
Mia looked down. “Yeah I get that. Don’t worry about it.”
“That said, it wasn’t exactly an unpleasant surprise.”
Mia looked up, but before she could process his words, he pulled her in closer and gently pressed his lips to hers. Fireworks exploded at the back of Mia’s mind at the touch of his lips, and for a few seconds, she didn’t know what to think.
Wrapping her arms around his neck gently, Mia felt herself smile against Ted’s mouth. As they parted, she kept her hands locked around his neck, resting her forehead gently against his.
For a moment, they were both lost for words, simply smiling at each other. Touching her face gently, Ted whispered. “Yes?”
Mia practically beamed. “Yes.”
