Jonathan was trying to read through the report but was failing miserably. He read through the words but his mind failed to register them, all he could think of was about Liza and the guy she went out with. It was frustrating and disappointing at the same time. It had already been a month and he had failed to hold a civilized conversation with Liza, how was he supposed to make her fall in love with him if he couldn't even get her to talk to him. He peered into the adjacent empty office. Liza had forgotten to close the blinds in her hurry, so instead of the usual pale pink and beige blinds, the glass wall was transparent providing Jonathan with a view of her office. Liza's laptop was closed, some manuscripts that Liza had read were scattered around it, Liza's coat hung on the back of the chair and a coffee cup from valentine's sat on the table. Jonathan felt like a creep for spying into Liza's office but he couldn't help himself it was the only way he could get some clue about Liza. H
Jonathan stood in front of Liza's office. He was tapping his foot nervously against the hardwood floor. The other employees looked curiously at him as they passed by him. It was unusual for them to see Jonathan out of his office. In the past few days Liza and Jonathan had shared more than a smile, they had made small talks, shared some laughs and he had even made her blush once or twice though he was pretty sure it was out of embarrassment rather than shyness. Their relationship was going steady and dare he say that they were almost friends. So here he was standing in front of her office, trying to gather the courage to ask her to go to the celebratory ball with him.He knocked on her door once. "Come in," she said distractedly. Jonathan stepped into her office. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as she read through the script in her hands. She irritably pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as it fell in front of her eyes. "Um Liza, do you have a minute," he said.
Liza stood in front of the mirror, her hair was piled up on her head, leaving a few curls to frame her face, her midnight blue chiffon dress hugged her curves perfectly and her feet were encased in silver stilettos. She felt beautiful. There was an impatient knock on the door, quickly giving her reflection a once over she rushed to open the door. There in front of her stood a handsome Alex dressed in a gray tux, his hair slicked back. "You ready?" Alex asked taking Liza in and releasing a slow whistle. A warm blush crept into her cheeks and Alex chuckled. "Yeah sure, just let me get my wrap and clutch," Liza said as she quickly grabbed her clutch and silver silk wrap. "Come on let's go," she said. "You are looking really beautiful Liz" Alex complimented her. "Thanks, Alex, You are looking dashing too" she replied as they made their way out of the building.After a few moments of silence had passed Alex cleared his throat. "How are you holding up Liz?" he asked, his eyes full
Alex stared at the girl in front of him, she was wearing a rose gold-colored gown, her auburn hair fell perfectly on her one shoulder, leaving the creamy skin of her other shoulder exposed. He couldn't believe that he was finally meeting the girl he had dreamt about since he had met her in Paris. It was fate, he knew it. Their eyes met and he was at a loss of words. He was speechless and that had never happened to him, not since he had gotten over his crush on Liza. He saw as she smiled shyly at him, her blush making her glow even more. He was about to say something when her smile dropped from her face and her eyes held a look akin to pain. He was confused. Why would Alice be pained to see him? He thought that she had enjoyed his company at the restaurant. No, it had to be something else."Hello, it's nice to meet you," Alex said extending his hand. "Hi" Alice spoke giving him a nod and ignoring his hand. "I can't believe that we are meeting here. I mean what are the odds tha
Jonathan and Liza had spent the last forty minutes sitting on a chair, Jonathan glanced at Liza as for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes she refused to dance with someone. Jonathan was happy that no one else was going to be holding his Liza tonight but he was also worried about her. Liza loved to dance and although she had two left feet, she could waltz-like nobody's business. He could see the wall of defense she had built around her and he knew that he was the reason behind that wall. He knew that even when she was talking to him, she had her guard up. It felt as if there was a glass wall between them. It was painful to watch her fake her smiles whenever she was with him, she rarely laughed anymore, and even if she did it was merely a remnant of her laugh.Liza had been enduring Jonathan's burning stare for the last five minutes and she was getting increasingly irritated by every second. Her body acted as if it could feel his eyes on her and goosebumps rose on her fl
Liza was once again sitting beside Jonathan, she could see that Alex was talking up a storm while Alice was just nodding at whatever he was saying. Liza's eyebrows furrowed with concern. Was something wrong with Alice? She was not her usual self. The Alice she knew was chatty and had an opinion about everything but seeing from afar it looked like Alice was holding herself back. Liza turned to Jonathan who was busy with his phone. After Steve had left, things had been awkward between them, not that they had been friendly before but at least they had sat in comfortable silence but now the silence had become painfully suffocating. Liza had half expected Jonathan to at least rave about how she couldn't go on the date with Steve but instead, he had kept his mouth shut and had altogether ignored her. Frustrated by his ignorance, Liza punched Jonathan on his arm "Ow!! What was that for?" Jonathan shrieked, rubbing the now sore spot on his arm. "What do you think is going on between Alex an
Jonathan spun around on the heels, trying to catch if someone was watching him. He knew that if someone saw him, it would be the end of the cold ruthless businessman image he had created but at this point, it was all worth it. He turned back when Liza tugged his sleeve, willing him to move ahead. Liza was wearing a brown cap with her hair covering her face, her forehead was scrunched with concentration as she spied on Alice and Alex. Jonathan laughed at her antics. The way Liza was acting was probably all crazy and stupid but Jonathan loved it. He hadn't seen this side of her in a long time. He loved the way her eyebrows were scrunched together as she tried to hear what Alice and Alex were talking about and the way her eyes lit up with excitement when Alex made Alice blush but most of all he loved that they were now spending time together out of the office and Liza was somehow going back to the woman he once knew.Liza was having the time of her life spying on Alice and Alex.
"Okay, you go," Liza said. Her voice strong, never wavering as she silently accepted the challenge posed by Jonathan's eyes. "Are you sure about it?" Jonathan asked, "I won't be asking you about your favorite color." He warned. Liza's determination wavered a bit. She knew that his questions would be related to their past and their future. It would be like opening the Pandora box' Did she want to go down that lane, again?' Liza asked herself. She was tired of her and Jonathan's weird relationship, they were civil for a moment, friends even and at that moment she felt like she was back with the Jonathan she had once loved but then she remembered all those months of pain and her walls locked her in again, far away from the potential threat to her heart. She didn't want to risk the barrier that she had built but she was tired of all the skirting around and her hot and cold behavior with Jonathan. Maintaining her cold composure took a lot of energy out of her and she wasn't sure about wh
"Do you still hate me?" the question hit Liza like a ton of bricks. Had she been standing, she would have stumbled back into the wall. She didn't know what to say. She definitely didn't like Jonathan but did she hate him? She had forgiven Jonathan for what he had done, for the sake of her mental peace but had she really forgotten about it? Or more importantly, could she ever forget about it?Jonathan watched as confusion swam in Liza's eyes, he waited for the answer with bated breath. He knew that it would take time, that it will bring back unpleasant memories but he needed to know. he watched as Liza scrambled through her mind trying to find an answer. all the memories that she had tried to bury inside with the happy moments she had spent with her loved ones, rose to the surface and filled every nook and cranny of her body. All the pain and heartbreak that she had experienced was choking her, rendering her unable to move. And it was at that time when anger rushed to her as h
Jonathan stood there like a block of ice, unmoving and frozen. He couldn't make sense of what was happening, one moment Liza was standing across him and the next she was kissing him. He hesitantly moved his lips against her. Liza's taste filling his senses. It had been so long since he had kissed Liza. He realized that what he remembered of kissing Liza was only a faded memory and the actual kiss felt so much more. He was getting into the kiss when suddenly Liza pulled away, a blush coating her cheeks."Sorry, I didn't mean to do that," Liza said backing away a bit, she was slightly out of breath and her voice was raspy. Jonathan's heart shattered at her words and the light on his face dimmed. Liza's eyes widened as she took in his crestfallen expression. "No... No...No, don't get me wrong. I didn't regret the kiss. I just meant that I didn't want to attack you." Liza said in a rush. Her blush deepening as she said the last few words. She was still wedged between the table and
Liza groaned as Alice nudged her with her footagain.They had been going over this for the past week and even though Liza wanted nothing more than to acknowledge the truth in Alice's words, she was still hesitant. It had been almost a year and a half from her break up with Steve. She was over him. She hadn't lamented on the loss of her almost perfect relationship with Steve for as long as she thought she would have. They had really fallen out of love, she guessed. She had seen Steve's picture in a magazine with some supermodel, the magazine claiming them to be an item now, however instead of feeling jealousy she had merely felt a slight tug of missing her friend. She had instead focused her attention on Jonathan sitting in front of her, stuffing his face with cupcakes she had brought. They had been flirting with each other for months now. An occasional wink, a suggestive remark, smooth comments by Jonathan making Liza blush, and of course his sincerity which was
It had been four years since Liza started dating Steve and one week since they decided to call it off. It had been a mutual decision. With Steve continuously wanting to and having to travel around the globe and Liza's desire to stay rooted in the place she called home, it had gotten too difficult for them to maintain their relationship. It wasn't that they didn't love each other anymore but they had drifted apart along the way and both of them realized that it was better to part ways as friends rather than to crash and burn later. Liza still remembered the day they had decided to break up. Liza had just gotten home from the office to find a brooding Steve sitting on the couch. She kept her purse on the table and pecked Steve on his lips. It had become a sort of homecoming ritual for her whenever Steve was in California. She loved the feeling of stability, of knowing that she would come home to find him sitting on the couch or in his study. She loved the domesticated life that they h
Liza looked at the place before her in amazement, as Steve glanced around uncomfortably, his smooth and slick mask melting away and being replaced by a man trying to impress the woman he liked. Steve had shown up at Liza's house with potted roses in his hands and a handsome smile on his face, sharp at 7:00. He was wearing black jeans with a forest green button-down, which somehow matched perfectly with the color of Liza's dress. His hair was messily styled and the way he presented the potted roses to Liza with a flourish, no one would have assumed that he was the author of a bestseller. Liza looked at him and her heart fluttered, not with excitement but with uneasiness, as to what was to come.Liza had taken the flowers from him and had handed them to Melanie, who had gushed over how cute they look, effectively embarrassing Liza and making her feel like a sixteen-year-old teenager going to prom instead of a 28-year-old grown woman. Steve had opened the door with her, with a c
Liza knocked on the cherry wood door, as she waited outside. Her face was now clean and bare, free from the disguise and the tears which had stampeded down her cheeks as soon as she had reached the safety of her car. Her dress was a little dusty from sitting down on the floor but she was sure that Melanie wouldn't mind. The door opened to a grinning Melanie with deep blue-dyed hair and a sleepy Keith attached to her hip. Liza smiled at the sight before her as Keith fussed to go to Liza. Taking Max from Melanie, she entered the house. "What's up, Liz?" Melanie asked as she sat down on a chair in front of the kitchen aisle. "I was missing you guys, and especially Keith," Liza replied, tickling Keith lightly as he let out a delighted giggle. Melanie looked over at Liza worriedly. She knew something was up. Liza never came by unannounced, she preferred to spend as much time as she could working and therefore always confirmed her visits. If there was one word to define Liza, it would be
Alice rubbed her cheeks wondering if they were still red. There was an undertone of excitement in the air surrounding her. The plastic cherry blossom tree, with its pretty pink flowers, was looming above them, and for a brief moment, Alice wondered exactly how much paper would have been wasted for making this tree. It wasn't the most appropriate thought for the situation she was in, after all, she had just been kissed.It had happened all too quickly. One moment Alice had been telling Alex how she was uncomfortable with being pressed up against him and how their position seemed to be wrong and the next thing she knew was her face being held by Alex, and his lips descending on hers. The kiss had started with Alex bent over her, coaxing her to respond, and had escalated to Alice standing on her tippy toes refusing to let Alex go. Unlike the usual cliche, Alice had been very much aware of the people around them, she could hear a giggling group of girls passing by, she could feel
They sat still for a moment, as the guard removed himself from the room. The air was still heavy with the words which had been just said. They were sitting across each other, but it seemed like they were at the opposite poles of the earth. Liza's mind was still reeling, scrambling about for more words to throw at Jonathan, to make him see her reasons, to make him feel her pain. The barrier which had been enclosing every memory, every emotion, and every feeling related to Jonathan, had finally broken and now she was lacking words and breaths to express them. Liza had always denied every scrap of feeling that she had felt since meeting Jonathan again, but now even though she had admitted it, she knew that it was something that could never develop further. Not because of her insecurities but because of his choices in the past.Jonathan stared at Liza, suffering from blinding ache which felt far worse than any physical pain he had ever experience. He touched his face, only to fin
Jonathan looked at Liza, her words had painted a scenario in which he never wanted to live in, the moments which he wanted to erase from his memories. He thought about her words and before he could stop himself, his question was out from his mouth. "Will you be able to love me again?" and suddenly the noises of breathing that had filled the room fell silent. He looked at Liza, her eyes were wide after her rant she hadn't expected this question, no sane person would have asked this question, but Jonathan needed to know, he needed some hope, so he fumbled hoping to grasp it as he asked the question.Liza who had stopped breathing all of sudden, regained her breath. This was one question she was dreading. Because she knew the answer and she knew that this answer would end whatever was going on between them. She had enjoyed Jonathan's company over the last few days as she had tried to play cupid for Alex and Alice, it was as if they were back to being friends they were before the
Liza and Jonathan sat in silence as Jonathan gathered back his strength to speak bit by bit. Liza hadn't seen Jonathan like this in the time she had been with him. Even he was apologizing he had an air of collectedness around him but at that moment Jonathan looked nothing less than a mess. Liza wondered how long it will take to get out of the small room they were locked in, it was becoming increasingly suffocating for her especially with the heavy air surrounding them. "It's my turn, right?" Jonathan asked, his voice was rough as if he had screamed at the top of his lungs and had got a sore throat from that. And even though it was silent in that stuffy and dim room, it seemed to be deafening to Liza. Liza nodded as a gesture for Jonathan to go ahead and ask her, his question.The moment he had decided to challenge Liza to twenty questions, he had known that it wouldn't be a simple game, but he hadn't realized either that it will feel like walking on edge of a knife. Jonathan