I've always wanted to do those 007 moves--you know, the covert handshakes, the secret passing of information from one agent to another. It's childish, really. But what can I say? It's an unfulfilled childhood thing. So, in the spirit of realizing my childhood dream job, I decided today was the day I'll be James… or, Janes Bond. Whatever. You get the picture.

I watched the corridor just outside my office and waited for a certain dimpled guy to come out. It's great, really, working from a managerial position. You get to see everyone's movements. (Shush. It's not called stalking if your windows are glass panels, okay?) So there he was, just making his way out of his office. Alright. Now's the time.

Man, I feel like a secret agent. So, I surreptitiously made my way out, all casual, you know? And bam, what a coincidence! We're walking towards each other. Lay smiled to say hi. I smiled back, and step by step, our hands were within holding distance. Perfect. I brushed my hand against his before grabbing it and sliding the note into his hands. I let go quickly and walked past him like nothing happened. I am officially a five-year-old. But I can't help the wide smile on my face. One more thing crossed off my bucket list.

Lay turned around to watch me, a weird expression on his face.

"What?" I looked at him innocently. I willed him not to wave the note around. That'll blow my cover. (Don't ask me why it's so important. I know it really isn't. Just let me live my dream, okay?)

He just continued looking at me. I gave him a wide grin before walking away. I could have told him instead, but as I've said, I'm a five-year-old.

Fifteen minutes later, he knocked on my door before stepping inside. Well that was anticlimactic.

"Do you want to go to dinner before? I can cook instead." He leaned against the door, hands in his pockets.

I never realized how long and lean and beautiful his silhouette was. Then again, I never realized a lot of things about him before.

"You were supposed to pass me a note secretly, too, you know." I gave him a mock annoyed look.

He waved my comment away. "So. Dinner outside or inside?"

I let it go. "Inside. We can go grocery shopping together." I smiled at the prospect of that. In all six years we've been friends, I've never done that with him before.

"Sounds good." He smiled--not the polite smiling on the corridor. It's the smile that shows his dimple, the smile that reaches his ears, the smile that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

For all the thinking I've been doing, it only took a second to turn the switch from friendship to more than friendship. We still act the same, for the most part. Maybe in the back of our minds, we knew we were headed in this direction, anyway. So I guess the affair's very low-key. No sudden epiphany, no flowing confession. It's a silent understanding that we're together now. Not in the 'together' way that best friends are. Just. Together. It's one of the perks of being in a relationship with someone you've known for six years--verbal communication isn't the only way you talk.

At exactly five o'clock, Lay's waiting for me to get my things together. We carpooled this morning, which makes the grocery shopping convenient. Another perk to being best friends before being in a relationship? Nobody suspects a thing. We've carpooled before. We eat lunches and dinners together. We can openly invite each other to watch a movie, and nobody would ask questions.

"Let's go?" I asked Lay.

He nodded, shifting his briefcase from one hand to another. He waited for me to pass through the door before walking out himself.

"What's on the menu?"

"Depends on what you want. I could make pasta, or maybe grill something. Do you want to go Korean food?"

"Hm.  I'm actually feeling the pasta. Let's do angel hair spaghetti, okay?"

"I don't know what you have against elbow pasta," he shook his head at me.

"I don't feel as full," I stuck my tongue out.

"It's the same amount of pasta."

Maybe we don't have the spark that other couples have--we don't have the honeymoon period. We're more like an old married couple. The great thing about that is we move in unison. Think of it this way: it's like two veteran dance partners who instinctively know how their partner moves. They take their steps together, and they move as one. Despite that, though, it seems like we're learning all about each other over again. I see him differently, at least. I love how he takes care of me. I love how he thinks about dinner 'inside' instead of 'outside.' I love how he can actually cook, because I can't. I love how he didn't push me to a decision. I love how he lets me be my own person, movie references and all. I love how he chose me despite the number of girls who chose him.

I love how easily we move around each other. I love how our hands were on top of each other's while pushing the cart at the grocery store. I love how smoothly he took all the bags from me after we finished shopping. I love how right it felt to hold the hand that was resting on the driving stick.

I love watching him cook. I've told you how he's good with his hands, haven't I? It's the way his fingers move, or maybe the simple gracefulness he has even when he's just chopping tomatoes. I love how he knows just the right timing to sauté the garlic, or to drain the pasta.

I love how normal we are. I love how nothing seems to have changed in the relationship, except everything's somehow changed. I still don't quite understand this paradox, but sometimes, things don't need to be explained or understood. It just happens. It just works.

--

How have y'all been? I haven't talked to you in a while...

So. Classes have officially started. I think I'll survive. Haha It's a lot of reading, tho. OMG hahaha homework on the first day of classes? Welcome to college. But I have pretty interesting classes, so not to worry :D

I'm not sure where I'm going with this anymore. Should I just call it quits right here? Is this a decent enough ending? Give me a yes or no. I might mark it as "Complete" if you think it's okay. Because my writing is just getting steadily worse. I don't want to give you guys crappy updates just so I can say that I did. That's unfair to y'all.