Ada Johnson's P. O. V

Tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, I clear my throat and smile meekly as Eva's mother, Flora, frets about in front of me.

"Okay if you're sure you can carry this." Flora trails off suggestively while my meek smile turns into a genuine one at her overly worried mothering nature.

"I'm sure. Don't worry." I coax as I grab the stack of dishes discreetly, eyeing a waiter who flits passed me. One part of me wants to dump the overload into their hand just so I don't end up into the kitchen but the other part of me feels guilty for even doing that and so with a final huff, I turn in the direction of the kitchen. Desperately praying to God above that Gregory has vacated himself from the kitchen after I ran as soon as our lips parted for the second time.

Blowing air past my lips, I square my shoulders and plaster a faux smile on my shoulders as I see Eva bustling her way into the kitchen with her own stack of stuff crammed into her arms. Hopefully Eva will get the unsaid hint and act like the buffer I so desperately need her to be. My smile falters in place slightly as I trudge my way into the kitchen only to find Greg still there, glancing down at his phone with a frown on his face as he scrolls through it.

The sound of plates grating against each other reaches all of our ears as Eva winces, letting the plates drop into the soapy water filled to the brim of the sink. My eyes snap from hers and over to the other person in the room only to find his baby blue eyes already fixated on mine. I gulp almost threateningly as I'm unable to tear my eyes away from his.

"Ada?" The voice of my best friend speaks up as my own eyes begrudgingly stray to hers as she watches me with a raised brow. I chew on my lower lip, pretending everything is fine and dandy as I school my face into a nonchalant expression. This doesn't seem to deter Eva as she gazes from me to Gregory and then back again, something to akin to understanding settling on her face as she clears her throat.

"Just place the dishes here. Let them soak for a while and then I'll do something about them later on. Or mum will." She adds after a pause as an afterthought. Nodding at her, I edge my way passed Greg who places his phone in his pocket, crossing his arms across his chest as I can practically feel his eyes boring into my very back, following my movements.

"Sure thing." I mumble a little late as I place the dishes down in the huge sink, making sure to not let the water overflow and get everywhere as I rinse my own hands off, making sure to not get any remnants of food on my hands, I think with a shudder as I almost gag at the thought.

Drying my hands off with a paper towel, I lean against the sink as I ball the paper up and throw it in the bin, sliding in easily. Crossing my arms over my chest, I catch Eva's eyes darting between Gregory and I once more who causes me to glare at her. Hoping to God, Gregory doesn't notice the both of us giving each other weird looks. If he does, however, he doesn't say anything as the both of us settle down once more.

"You guys didn't eat. Did you?" Eva breaks the awkward silence as I glance at her, my face turning red for reasons unbeknownst to me.

Eat each others faces? Yeah sure.

Food? Not so much.

"No. We didn't." Gregory speaks up as my face reddens further. Not sure if it's just me but I swear I just heard Greg put emphasis on the 'we'.

I shake my head in answer to her question as I try to avoid Gregory's gaze. The feeling of guilt hitting me like a freight train. Oh God.

It's only just hitting me.

What kind of a friend am I? I'm supposed to be helping Gregory. Helping him with getting Chrissie, not making things complicated by practically robbing the man of his maidenly virtues.

Crap.

I am a bad bad bad friend.

He probably thinks I like him. I know he thinks I like him now! I mean it is the truth. Clear as day to everyone but him. But now he probably knows it as well.

My red face seems to be catching fire as I tilt forward slightly, letting my hair cover my face and obscuring it from everyone's sight.

"I'll order some food for us. We can chill out for a bit and then you can piss off." Eva says in a sickly sweet voice which I know is directed at Gregory since she'd never speak to me in that way.

The man himself just lets out a snort but, unusual for him, doesn't snap back with a retort as he leaves the kitchen. Mumbling something about going to see if Mrs. Rodriguez needed any help with anything else.

The man's feet barely step out of the kitchen as Eva pounces on me. Her thumb jabbed in Gregory's direction as she looms in front of me. Or well tries to.

"Did something happen?" She questions before shaking her head at her words, "Scratch that, I know something happened. What happened?" The way she spits out questions is rather amusing and I can't help the smile that comes onto my face. Taking a much needed step back, I shake my head as I mimic zipping my lips.

Eva's eyes narrow at my actions as I raise my hands in mock innocence of surrendering. "It was nothing. Trust me." I pause as her eyes narrow till they're almost closed, closing me to huff as I glance behind her and to the hallway which is visible from where I'm standing. "Look I'll tell you later. When Greg isn't here." I whisper the last part furiously and quickly as I catch sight of a tall blond coming our way.

Eva luckily catches onto what I'm saying as she solemnly nods her head and pokes me lightly in chest to assure me of what I told her. I nod to which she nods back, acting as if it's some grave top secret that needs to be told before the contrary collapses or something of the sort.

"Eva, your mother is saying she needs the troll to come back to guard her bridge." Are the first words that come out of Greg's mouth. Eva turns her deadly glare onto him as she shows him the bird, her eyes into the tinniest of slits as she thinks Gregory on the chest on her way out of the kitchen.

It leaves the two of us in silence once more as I turn around and pretend to fiddle about with things here and there.

"We should get to ordering something. Otherwise it'll get pretty late." I mumble, mostly to myself as I grab the cordless out of its tray and dial the number to the pizza place.

"What do you want?" I question as he shrugs, "As long as there are no pineapples on it. I'm fine." I smile at his words as I nod, placing the order to Eva and mines usual choice of pizza. Ending the call, I place the cordless back down where it belongs as I slowly turn around, already trying to delay my inevitable doom as much as possible.

Okay maybe there's a chance I'm being dramatic. Just slightly of course but dramatic nonetheless.

I really think I should apologise. I mean it'll be awkward at first but how can I not for heavens sake. He's my boss. I'll have to face him at work every day from Monday to Friday. Oh crap. I'll have to face him during the car rides too. And if he visits at Marjorie's which he nearly always does.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

Okay just take a deep breath. Say the two words. I'm sorry. And you can make a run for it again. No one will judge. Except for Gregory of course which is the main purpose you don't want to be judging you.

Clearing my head of these stupid thoughts, I raise my head till we lock eyes together. The man himself leaning against the kitchen island with his arms crossed over his chest and his head tilted to the side like he's trying to figure something out.

"Um Greg- Gregory?" I start off, holding myself back from cringing at my stuttering which comes out of nowhere. The man raises an eyebrow in question, causing me to continue, "I just wanted to apologise for what happened like half an hour ago. I honestly don't know what came over me. I crossed way too many boundaries especially since you're my boss. Not even counting the Chrissie scenario and that just shows I'm a bad friend. I put you in a compromising position even though I don't feel for you like that. Like that's just ew. No offence to you of course I mean you're-," my blabbering gets cut off as Gregory let's put a little chuckle, straightening himself up. He takes a step towards me as my eyes dart this way and that, feeling way too awkward to make eye contact with him since all I want to do is dig myself a hole and never come out of it.

"What?" I question as the mirth in his eyes grow. The man stepping even closer to me as he grips my chin in his hand. I freeze in place, especially when he drops my chin and his hand goes to the side of my waist, tugging me into him as his lips claim mine once more. He kisses me shortly but with an aggressiveness I never thought would ever be there. It's chaste and to the point but when he pulls back, I'm already gasping for hair.

"Don't worry about it Ada. It was a one time thing." His eyelid drops into a wink before he releases the grip on my wait, gently pushing me backwards as he takes numerous steps back himself till he turns around and goes back down the hallway once more.

Leaving me completely stunned and still gasping for breath.

It takes me a long time to clear my mind from all thoughts of Gregory. That seems to be quite a difficult feat indeed since the man continues to be around us even after Eva and I slip into more comfortable clothing, getting rid of our makeup and whatnot up and until the three of us settle down and devour every last inch of the pizza. Running around after people with the help of the waiter's really does tire us out. It starts to get late as Mr. And Mrs. Rodriguez head upstairs to bed after the house is tidied up while the three of us continue to the living room and put on some movie that I barely get through fifteen minutes of before I'm falling asleep against the arm of the sofa, the blanket being tugged around me as comfort and warmth envelopes me.

Of course the next morning when I wake up, my back is in spasms and full of cramps as I stretch my sore muscles, glancing at the other end of the sofa where Eva's legs are tangled up in mine. Untangling myself from her, I rub my eyes as I sit up, taking note of Gregory's absence which one part of me feels incredibly thankful for especially since I haven't figured anything out. My eyes catch sight of the time and once I realise it's only seven in the morning, I slap Eva awake and drag the both of us to more comfortable sleeping arrangements which consists of our old beds in the bedroom.

"What happened?" Were the first words out of Eva's lips as we sit down to breakfast, her parents nowhere in sight. Both of them off probably doing something or other for the business they're practically glued to.

"With who?" I try to act as if I have no idea what she's talking about as I dig into my breakfast, the sound of cutlery echoing throughout the kitchen.

I wince in pain as Eva kicks my shin under the table, her own lips splitting into a grin as I kick her back only twice as hard.

"Fine," I sigh as I pick up my orange juice and take a big gulp, prolonging the conversation I don't know if I even want to have or not.

"I kissed Gregory yesterday." I reveal slightly, cringing as the memory comes back to me. However, one side of me still thoroughly enjoys the feels of his lips on mine. Especially the second time it happened. Glancing up, my face turns grim at Eva's hanging jaw, her fork frozen in place as her eyes practically bulge out of their sockets.

"You what?"

"I kissed Gregory yesterday. Then he kissed me. We kissed. Twice." I add.

Eva's shock seems to wear long as she puts her fork down, her head tilted to the side as her eyes close. Probably wondering how on Earth I managed to screw up so colossally.

"Ew." Is all she says after a long pause, my own eyebrow raising at the simple remark.

"What do you mean?" I utter out slowly, my words not leaving my mouth properly as she finally opens her eyes and resumes eating like nothing just happened. Everything completely normal.

"Greg's like a brother to me. An annoying one at that. You're like a sister to me. So technically, my brother and sister just made out. That's disgusting." She shrugs as she shoves more eggs into her mouth. I let out a laugh at her absurd train of thought as I too continue to eat. Even though I'm slightly weary over how her reaction is that of a nonchalant person. Someone who Eva is definitely not.

"Aren't you going to spazz out on Greg and I kissing or something? I thought I was supposed to evade him like the bubonic plague or something." I say with dramatic effect as Eva rolls her eyes at my words.

"Listen," she says as she puts her fork down, giving me her full attention as I copy her movements, making sure she has my full attention too, "I know I'm not entirely supportive of this whole Greg debacle but honestly it was just one kiss. Nothing more nothing less right?" She questions to which I nod my head solemnly, "Then there's no problem. I mean, the man himself is a player from what I know but as long as you don't get hurt in the process, you can go around sleeping with him for all I care. Just don't get hurt. Or else I'll have to castrate him and that's not something I want to see." She says with a faux shudder as I laugh at her words. The woman completely taking me by surprise.

Never did I think she'd be so completely fine with all of this. I definitely expected her to freak out and tell me to back off before things got any worse. I guess I should always realise she wants what's best for me. As I do for her.

"Just sort through everything okay? If there's more to it and for some weird reason you actually have proper feelings for the man, figure your shit out and see where you stand with Chrissie in the picture. When you're done figuring that out, by all means throw yourself at him." Eva says simply while I shake my head at her.

"Oh definitely not. It's not going anywhere near there. The man is a close family friend of yours, not only to mention that he's my boss. Not only at the firm but with the whole Marjorie situation as well. If I made a complete fool of myself, I wouldn't be able to let it down and I don't need to have him being a living breathing reminder following me around for the rest of my life. It was one kiss. Well two. But that's it. Nothing more."

Nothing more. I have to remind myself. My mind already straying to the kiss for the hundredth time today. Gregory is your boss. Nothing can happen. Never.

Get a grip Ada.

———————

AN: Hope you liked the chapters love! Give me any and all feedback. I read through it all and greatly appreciate it.

Question: What animal are you most scared of?

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