After frantically making sure my daughter had everything she needed for her week's stay with my family, her first-ever long stay away from me I might add, Taehyung was finally able to pull me away and talk me into getting in the car. Promising me that she will be just fine and there's no need to worry.

Aunt Gigi found it comical that I worried about things such as if she had enough clothes when they have a washer and dryer and left her with a list of everything she does and doesn't like, forgetting that she is also a mother and this isn't her first rodeo. Isabelle on the other hand didn't seem to be as concerned as I was given that she just quickly gave me and Tae a hug and a kiss goodbye before running back inside to play with her cousins. I do wonder if the reality that I'm not around will end up hitting her by the end of the night or sometime tomorrow.

More than likely, she'll be too distracted playing and having fun to even be thinking about it. Just like her first day of preschool when I dropped her off and cried in the car for thirty minutes while her tears dried up before I even walked away once she found a group of children to interact with.

By the time we made it back to my place, Taehyung and I plopped down on my couch and just stared at the suitcases in the middle of the living room. Honestly, it can all wait. We were both full from the Gimbap his mother and I had made for us for the trip when Izzy and I visited this morning along with the chips, candy, and soda we honestly should not have grabbed when we stopped at the gas station, but it was fun having a road trip with just the two of us again.

Sometimes I forget that I'm still just a young twenty-four-year-old woman and that it's okay to let loose from time to time, even if I am a mother. Your world may change once you become a parent but it's okay to have a life of your own, too, and I sometimes have to remind myself of this.

"How come you didn't tell me Izzy was staying the week at your parent's house?" Tae asks as he forces himself to stand up from the couch and dig through his suitcase to find his phone charger.

"It was just a last-minute thing." I, of course, leave out all details of Aunt Gigi's so-called master plan to get him and me alone together.

After plugging up his phone to charge, he comes to sit down next to me on the couch again. Ever since I started seeing this man in another way, other things have become more apparent to me as well. The way his fluffy hair bounces whenever he moves too abruptly, the way his natural masculine scent is subtle yet still the sweetest nectar to my senses, the way his veins are visible in his forearms, and his muscles almost unnoticeably flex with the tiniest movements. Just him existing was becoming overwhelming. He was the forbidden fruit I craved to taste.

Taehyung looks over at me curiously, "What do you want to do this weekend since you're free? We could catch a movie or go to a restaurant this weekend. Or both! My treat."

I notice the slight shakiness in his tone as if maybe he was nervous but it was barely detectable, a slight change in pitch and his wide eyes giving him away. Just as I was about to agree to do those things or agree to anything else entirely as long as it meant I got to spend alone time with him, there was a knock on my door that forced me to unlock my eyes with his and reluctantly get up to answer it.

"Oh, hi Andrew." I acknowledge, almost forgetting about him completely again.

"Hey. Welcome home." He smiles and I politely show my gratitude for the greeting, "I was going to call, but since I was about to head out anyway, I thought I'd stop by instead. Are we still on for tomorrow night for date number two?"

Fuck.

"Yeah, of course," I respond with a nod. Taehyung hasn't made a move yet so I can't say no right now and I would honestly feel dumb if this whole thing between the two of us is just being made up in my head and I put my life on hold for nothing. No, it's best I just go on this date as promised, "What time should I be ready tomorrow?"

Andrew peers his baby blue eyes up to the ceiling as he thought about my inquiry, "Let's say seven-thirty. Is that okay with you?" 

"That works. See you then."

"See ya." He smiles happily as I slowly begin to shut the door, not wanting to awkwardly shut it too quickly.

Turning back around, Taehyung's eyes meet mine instantly and I can feel the disappointment suffocating the room. Maybe it's just me that feels the twinge of discouragement, I just can't be too sure.

"I forgot for a moment that you said that you two had plans. Sorry. We can hang out some other time." He mumbles as he stands up and goes to collect his phone and charger, "Maybe I should go ahead and head back to my place. I need to wash my clothes and unpack anyway."

"You could just stay here. It would be weird for me to be here alone at night, you know. And you can just use my laundry facility. I have detergent, too." I do my best to ask for him to stay without begging too much. I was looking forward to seeing what alone time with the two of us had to offer - if it even offered anything.

Stopping in front of me still standing in front of the door with the handle of his suitcase in his grip, he smiles at me without it reaching his eyes, "If you need me, just call. You know I'll be here."

My heart plummets at how he's so obviously trying to push aside something he's feeling, "Stay... please."

It feels like electricity is coursing through me, both with the thought of him leaving and with the proximity of his body with mine. I want more than anything for him to kiss me, to tell me that he at least feels something more for me than just friendship, but all I can do is hope for it to even be true. Otherwise, I risk being another victim of Taehyung's infamous unrequited love because I am terrifyingly in love with the man standing before me.

Should I just make a move? For fuck's sake, why does this have to be so damn complicated? Why did I have to fall for my best friend?

"I can use your laundry facility?" He questions with a smirk, already knowing the answer.

"Of course, you idiot." I softly reply in a teasing manner as I usually would, feeling the tension between us lingering and softening at the same time.

"I guess I could do that." His smile becomes a bit brighter as the stuffiness of the room seems to clear on his command, "Just the weekend?"

I bite on my lip and my stomach flips when his eyes immediately travel to the action, "Do you only want to stay the weekend?"

"I'll need to go get some of my suits for work before Monday then."

"We can make that happen," I reply just above a whisper, my breath becoming more and more unsteady.

"Yeah... we can." He quietly says as his eyes rise back up to meet my own and I realize that he had taken a step closer.

My phone rings, making Taehyung step back and turn his head away from my vision as I silently curse myself for owning such technology at a time like this. That, whatever that was, was definitely something. It had to be! I'm not going crazy, am I? I mean, that's not how we normally would act with each other.

"Hello?" I answer sharply without even looking at the caller ID.

"Mommy? Are you okay?"

"Oh, hi baby!" I adjust my tone to not only sound much less harsh but also because my heart swells at the sound of her innocent voice, "Yes, I'm okay. We just got home not too long ago."

"Tae Tae's okay too?"

I look back at him sitting down on the couch as he grins at me, knowing exactly who I'm talking to by how I'm speaking, "Yes, Tae Tae is okay too."

"Okay. I love you and Tae Tae."

"We love you too, princess. Are you having fun?" Walking over, I sit down next to him as he wraps his arm around me, pulling me in closer to his warm frame, and I adjust the phone so that he can listen in on the conversation as well.

"Mmhmm, I played in the mud, and Aunt Gigi made me take a bath."

"You played in the mud? What happened to my little girl who didn't even like to chip her nail polish?" I amusingly inquire.

"It was fun! Can I play in mud at home, too?"

"Mm, I don't know about that. Enjoy it while you can." I giggle.

"Okay, I have to go. Food is ready. Love you!"

"I love you, too." I smile as I hang up the phone.

Craning my neck to look up at Taehyung, he shakes his head in disbelief that the same little girl that I brought home from the hospital has grown up so fast already. It seems like just yesterday we were trying to figure out how to stop her from crying or gagging over changing her poopy diapers. Seriously, where did the time go?

"Remember the time she got dirt on her dress from playing outside?" He reminisces, "She was so pissed and was mad at me for a week for letting her play in the park in her favorite dress, to begin with."

"She didn't get over it until you bought her a better one." I chuckle at the memory.

"This is why they say girls are expensive." He nods, agreeing with his own thoughts until I playfully smack his shoulder, making him look at me with a wide, boxy smile, "Would you want to order in tonight? Pizza?"

"Mazzio's!" I shout as I stand up to grab the take-out menu from the kitchen drawer.

Digging through the mess of menus, I try to find the one with the big red lettering and a cartoon pizza slice on the front. I huff when I can't seem to locate it and bend a bit more to try to peer into the back of the drawer. That is until I surprisingly feel Taehyung's front pressed against my backside.

The small walkway in my galley kitchen didn't allow much room and I hadn't realized he was trying to scoot past me until it was far too late. My face flushes as I snatch the menu out of the drawer and quickly shut it to allow me to turn around to look at him.

"I-uh-um-I... beer! I was getting beer. You want beer?" He anxiously questions as he points in the general direction of the fridge. His wide eyes don't leave mine for even a fraction of a second as if he physically couldn't look away.

"Menu. I found the menu." I hold it up as proof, "Beer. Yes."

"Okay." He exhales, taking the first step to scoot in the direction he was already heading.

"Okay," I mumble, feeling like my cheeks were on fire while I fumble with my phone to call in an order for a large pizza for the two of us while Taehyung scoots past me again on the way to the living room to put on our favorite show we hadn't yet finished.

This week is going to be interesting, to say the least, and one hell of a way to bring in the new year.