Page 19 of Welcome to the Friendzone

“Sure. You want more pizza?”

He rose from his position on the couch, grabbed both of their plates, and stepped towards the kitchen. The pizza might have been cold already, but it would still taste good.

“Yes, please. I’m actually starving!” She chuckled.

Oliver came back with loaded plates. With an amused look on her face, she could see another slice of his chicken barbecue pizza on her own plate. It was a sweet gesture. His way of showing her that he liked her and that he cared for her.

Both of them grabbed their slices before Oliver tried to clink them together like you would with glasses. Marta looked at him confused, but heard him say:

“Cheers to remembering your husband Frank today. Let’s never forget him. And your baby. They made you who you are. They’re a part of you. Let’s never forget their part of you. Especially not today.”

Marta had tears in her eyes again, but for a different reason now. She was touched. Touched by his big heart and wonderful words.

“But also cheers to everything that lies in front of me. I’m curious and excited about what it’s gonna be,” she whispered, seeing Oliver’s eyes lit up.

“Cheers to that,” he nodded.

For the rest of the night the smiles never faded from their faces. Despite the circumstances, it was a wonderful day. With good company.

In Oliver she had found a true friend. Someone she was happy having in her life. Her new life. She was still adjusting, but he was there, and he made her happy. That was definitely something worth exploring.

Comfort

NOW

June 2nd, 2022

It had been a rough day for all of them. Burying someone was never easy but the last two weeks had been a living hell for Marta and Oliver. Oliver’s best friend Nate was mentally and physically destroyed and everything between him and his girlfriend, Lynn, was on the verge of collapsing. Lynn had joined the CIA at the beginning of the year as the CIA’s resident doctor.

Alongside her regular job, patching up injured Agents, she’d decided to start helping Nate improve his PTSD. Oliver had been really grateful for her support, especially as it seemed like she was the only one who’d really made any progress with his best friend. With every passing week he saw more and more glimpses of his old best friend, the carefree, smiling man who was the most loyal friend he had ever known. That was until a terrorist took Nate hostage, tortured him for three months, breaking him in more ways than Oliver could ever imagine. After that, Nate suffered from PTSD every day until Lynn started to help him feel better.

For the last few months, Oliver’s life had been almost perfect. His best friend didn’t need his help every single day and he was finally dating the woman he’d loved for years. Every day felt like a blessing, but of course it was too good to be true.

A week ago they’d discovered that Lynn hadn’t been entirely honest with them, a fact that had broken more than just Nate. Oliver and Marta had been just as devastated and there had been endless discussions about the situation and how they could have handled it. Instead of forcing them apart it had brought them even closer together than before. They’d both immediately agreed that they would have done the same as Lynn and were relieved that the situation wasn’t going to drive a wedge between them.

Today they were mourning Lynn’s sister Ann, who had been the biggest victim in this whole tragedy. She hadn’t done anything to be involved in it but, in the end, she was the one to give her life. Not Lynn. Not Nate. And definitely not Oliver and Marta.

On a day like this nothing else mattered more than supporting each other to get through this day. Marta and Oliver were standing in the back, observing the interactions between Nate, Lynn, and Lynn’s parents. Not many people from the Agency had come but, as none of them had actually known Ann, this wasn’t surprising. She’d been nothing more than a chess piece in the cruel games of an insane terrorist. Even when az-Zawahiri lost his life at the end it felt like the CIA had been the true loser.

The sky was dark, blanketed by leaden clouds, while they watched the service take place. Watched Lynn fall apart with Nate by her side the entire time. Oliver was more than tense next to Marta, he had the urge to grab her hand or touch her back. Anything. Physical touch was his love language but, as their colleagues Tia and Birdie were standing right next to them, he couldn’t risk it.

When the service was complete, all of their colleagues hurried to get out of the graveyard, expecting the heavens to open up any minute. But Marta hesitated, still standing in their spot under the huge oak tree.

“You okay, Sugar?” Oliver asked from the side, carefully placing his hand on Marta’s lower back.

They were alone now, except for Nate, Lynn, and her family, who were having a discussion in front of Ann’s grave.

“M’kay,” Marta mumbled, but her words were anything but convincing.

Oliver let his hand slip down her back until it rested on her butt, his thumb drawing small shapes over it.

“Okay isn’t enough for me. I wanna make you feel good. Let’s head back to the compound.”

Oliver leaned toward her, whispering the words in her ear.

The hairs on the back of Marta’s neck rose with the thrill of his closeness but she couldn’t give in to him yet. Although things between her and Oliver were amazing and she was pretty sure the whole mess around Lynn’s incident would be sorted out soon, today had been an emotional day for her.

“I can't,” she breathed, her eyes filling with tears, but she turned away from Oliver trying not to alarm him.

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