Page 28 of Welcome to the Friendzone

“What do you mean?” He asked, confused.

Oliver leaned back a little to look her in the eyes and when he saw the tears in them, his eyebrows furrowed in pain. He hated seeing her like that, especially after he had kissed her.

“I can’t. It’s not right.”

“Did it feel bad for you?”

“No… it…”

But Marta couldn’t find the right words to describe it.

The emotions were overwhelming her. Love, guilt, sadness, grief, and happiness. This combination didn’t feel right, and it wasn’t. She shouldn’t feel like that after such an amazing kiss.

“I don’t understand,” Oliver whispered and she saw the confusion dominate his expression.

“You’re my best friend. I can’t.”

“And you’re one of my best friends. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t be a couple, can’t explore the feelings between us. Come on, Marta, you can’t tell me that you don’t feel the same,” Oliver pleaded.

It sounded more desperate than he’d wanted it to be but he’d always been bad at hiding his feelings.

“You’re my best friend,” Marta repeated a few times.

Oliver sighed, knowing that he had lost her to the rabbit hole of her mind.

“Marta…” he began, but her repetitive mumble didn’t give him a chance to really reach her.

Instead of talking to her he grabbed her face a little tighter without actually hurting her. His thumbs started to draw circles on her cheeks again and the moment he saw her finally look at him properly, he spoke.

“There you are.”

A wide smile was on his face once more although his heart felt like it was made out of ice. Her reaction had hurt him a lot but he saw that she was struggling with the kiss way more than he was. And he was the one who’d initiated it, so he felt guilty for confusing her. He knew what she’d been through with Frank and that she'd probably never be ready to love someone again.

But still, here he was, kissing her out of nowhere.

Overwhelming her.

Oliver felt incredibly guilty.

“I‘m sorry, Marta, I shouldn’t have done that.”

He pulled his hands back, stepping away from her to give her some privacy.

She looked at him, still confused and shocked.

“Oliver…” she mumbled, her eyes filled with tears again.

“No, it’s okay. I’m so sorry. That was a stupid idea. I thought you'd feel the same but that’s obviously not the case. I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me now.”

Tears started to form in the corner of his eyes and Marta stepped closer to him while placing one of her hands on his waist.

“I do feel the same, but I can’t. It’s okay that you kissed me. In a different world, in a different universe, this would have been perfect. But I can’t. I don’t hate you. You’re still my best friend.”

That was enough to let the tears fall down Oliver’s face and he turned his head to the side so that she wouldn’t see them. She quickly grabbed his chin and turned his face back towards her.

“I am sorry,” he whispered.

“Oliver McGreen,” Marta said with a stern voice, letting Oliver’s eyes widen slightly while he looked at her with furrowed brows.

---