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“Well don’t you look handsome,” you crooned, opening the door to let Ted inside while you slipped on your shoes. He’d exchanged his tracksuit for khakis and a button down, and he looked great.
“Not as good as you, Lucy Liu,” he responded, kissing your cheek as you closed the door behind him. “You look beautiful.”
“Oh, stop,” you responded, feeling your face heat up at his words. You grabbed your bag before slipping your hand in his and heading out the door.
“Who all are we meeting again? I’ve done a double date before, but a triple? Just feels like too many!” he asked as you walked.
“Well, you’ve already met Sarah and Ben. We went to their wedding last summer, remember?” Ted nodded. “Well they’ll be there, Laura—who I think you met in passing at the office once—and her partner Casey. I think you’ll like them!” He hummed in response.
It wasn’t a long walk from your apartment to the restaurant. You and Ted were the first ones there, so you went ahead and grabbed a table. It only took a couple of minutes for the others to start showing up.
“Y/N! Ted! How are you?” Sarah shrieked as the waiter lead her to your table. Ben followed behind, giving you a nod and extending his hand out to Ted.
“How’ve you been, man?” he asks. He and Ted briefly catch up as you and Sarah do the same. With your schedules clashing against each other and them living so far away, you’d not seen much of them since their wedding.
Not long after, Laura and Casey showed up. You greeted them as well, making small talk as you waited for your food to arrive.
“So, I guess it’s time to let you guys in on a little secret,” Laura began, a small smirk gracing her face. You raised your eyebrows. Sarah leaned in expectantly. Laura threw her hand up, flashing a ring you’d not noticed on her hand before. “We’re engaged!” You clapped your hands up toward your mouth in shock.
“Oh, Laura! Congratulations!” you exclaimed. “Tell us everything!”
“It was perfect! Okay, so you remember how we met right?” Laura launches into their engagement story. Her and Casey had met through work. She was interviewing them for a story about the success of their restaurant, and they hit it off. Two years later, Casey had someone stage an interview about their relationship so that they could propose.
As they recounted their story, you couldn’t help but notice that Ted was unusually quiet. Casting quick glances in his direction, it looked like he was listening; he was smiling, nodding along, but he wasn’t all the way there. He was in his head about something. You made a note of it before returning back to the conversation at hand. They’d moved on from the engagement story, now talking about ideas for the actual wedding.
“Well, Kew looks spectacular in the autumn. You’ll have to get a move on that, though, it books so fast,” Ben suggested.
“Ooh, noted. I do love the gardens.” Casey responded.
“I know we can count on you guys for honeymoon suggestions. You’ve been to far more places than we have.” Laura laughed. “Any ideas?”
That was such a hard question to answer. Dating Ted had led you to visiting so many places; you couldn’t believe all the places you’d gone. Sure, it was because he was working, but it was always still an adventure. You got to see him happy and in his element as Coach Lasso, and then you got to see him happy and in his element as Ted. Your Ted. Once after an away game in Liverpool, you and Ted decided to stay an extra day to take in the city. You didn’t have work and the boys didn’t have practice, so it was the perfect opportunity. Since then, it had become kind of a tradition. Every few away games, you’d take an opportunity to explore the city.
“You know, I think my favorite place we’ve ever gone was actually Liverpool. It was the first place we explored together and it was beautiful. What about you, babe?” You ask. He doesn’t answer right away. You nudge his arm and he blinks hard before looking at you.
“I’m sorry, darlin’. I was just off in my own head. What was the question?” He asked. You repeated the question so that he could answer.
This was just not like Ted, and you really needed to figure out what was wrong so you could maybe fix it. You didn’t want your friends to think anything was up, but you also didn’t want to keep Ted here if he was uncomfortable. You checked the time on your phone and feigned shock.
“Oh gosh, it’s gotten so late!” You turned to your friends. “I’m so sorry. We actually have a really long day tomorrow, so we probably need to start heading out.” He’d been off his game all night, so you silently hoped that Ted would catch your drift and play along.
“What time is it?” He asked, checking his phone as well. “Oh dear.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry we kept you! It was lovely to catch up!” Sarah exclaimed, standing up to hug you as you pushed your chair in.
“Absolutely! I’d love to see you again soon! And Laura, Casey, congratulations. I’m so excited for you two!” you replied with a smile. You exchanged your goodbyes before leaving the restaurant.
As you walked back to your flat, Ted was quiet. As your building came into view, you slowed down. Ted matched your pace, but still did not speak.
“Ted, are you okay? You’ve barely said anything all night,” You asked.
“Are you happy?” he asked. You blinked. He was worried you weren’t happy?
“What do you mean?” You ask, taken aback by the question.
“With…with us? With how we live?” He won’t look at you as he speaks. “I just, I look at your friends, at Sarah and Ben and Laura and Casey, and their lives just seem perfect. Calm. They’re not constantly runnin’ around to meet each other’s schedules. They work in the week and they eat dinner together and then on the weekends they get to just chill out on the couch. And I can’t give you that.”
“Ted…” you begin.
“I wish I could give you that,” he whispers, finally looking up and meeting your eyes with a sad smile as he jams his hands into his pockets. You turn to stand in front of him, pulling his hands out of his pockets and giving them a tight squeeze. You give him a small smile that he tries to return.
“I don’t want that,” you respond, reaching up to cup his cheek. He leans into your touch, a look of confusion flashing across his face. “I like taking off work to follow you up to a game. I like watching you all in your element coaching. I love when we get to wake up and explore some random new city for a few hours before catching a train back here and preparing for the rest of the crazy week. I don’t want calm. I want this. I want you.”
“Really?” He asks, his eyes stinging with hot tears. He tries to blink them back, but you both know they’re going to fall. You smile, wiping the first one away as it falls before reaching up and giving him a soft kiss.
“Really. But if you want to try this whole ‘calm life’ thing, somehow we do have a free weekend. And now we have an early night,” you laughed.
“I was wondering what I forgot to put on my schedule for tomorrow,” he chuckled. “I’d love that.”
You walked the rest of the way to your building, unlocking your door and allowing Ted to follow you inside. It worked out perfectly, really, because he’d put some of his clothes in your bag to save space the last time you’d gone to a game with him and you’d yet to give them back. You both got changed, ready for a night in, and snuggled up on the couch.
“I guess the big question now is what do we watch?” You ask.
“I’m always a fan of a romcom,” he responds, allowing you to lean in closer as he throws his arm around you.
“Romcom it is,” you say, reaching up to kiss his jaw before grabbing the remote.