A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other. Maybe temporarily…

"Sing the banana part in Hollaback Girl for me."

I heard him choke on air on the other end of the line before hissing in disbelief. These strange requests shouldn't have been new to him, really, not after years of being my friend and succumbing to other bizarre requests with little to no objection. (Not that I would even give him a choice).

"W-what?! No!"

"Oh c'mon! I'm teaching my nephew how to spell it in a fun way so he'd remember it, but I forgot the tune."

"No."

Silence.

"C'mon, please?"

Silence again.

Just a little push...

"For me?"

There was a sigh before he in a deep breath.

"B IS FOR BANANAS. B-A-N-A-N-A-S!" repeating the line, he raised his voice three octaves higher for the cheerleader echo, staying true to the song indeed. I was pretty sure he had a hand over the speaker of the handset, trying to channel his voice through the phone without alerting anyone else in the office. And if I guessed right, he was probably even bobbing his head to the beat of the song in his mind.

Muffled chortles escaped my lips as I slapped my hand over my mouth. His singing cut off and I bit my lip, hoping it would contain the laughter bubbling within me.

"...that wasn't for your nephew, was it."

There went my restraint. I laughed wholeheartedly, letting the loud guffaws echo within the four walls of the room.

"Yeah and I recorded it. This is total blackmail material right here!"

"What the , man!"

"Love you too!"

Screaming my parting words, I ended the call, but not before catching the faint ‘you little ’ as I pulled the phone away from my ear.

Maybe at the wrong time…

The tears I’ve tried to hide run down from my eyes, tracing a path mixed of dejection and relief. The tears are endless, and pour down my skin like rain on the valleys. And I turn my head away, and although it’s an awkward position what with our fingers still interlocked, I didn’t want him to see me like this.

I wanted to scream and curse at the skies, to blame someone, anyone, but I still find myself just staring at the stars with no one else to condemn but my own damn heart. 

Maybe too late…

I watched as he smiled that smile that made everyone turn heads and wonder did the sun emerge from the earth.

I watched as he took her hand with a gentleness that made even the Romeo of Shakespeare’s time wish he did to his beloved.

I watched as he got down on one knee and pulled out that ring he told me to pick a few weeks before, the one that seemed almost perfect for my finger instead of hers.

I watched as she jumped into his waiting arms, rivers of happiness flowing down her cheeks and that adorable pink blush on his.

I watched as the angels perched on the clouds above seemed to sing in joy of the wonderful union of two souls in love.

I watched—

“They really are meant for each other. Just like us, don’t you think?”

His thumb rubbed against the top of my hand in soothing circles, and his voice broke me out of my damning thoughts. I turned away from my best friend and his girlfr- fiancée, and faced the man that I had surrendered my heart to. The man that seemed to hold endless love in his russet eyes, and in that moment, I had never been more thankful to God for giving him to me.

“Yeah, I think so too.”

or maybe forever.

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Listen to Foul For You: The Playlist and immerse yourself in the music that inspired the story