It's about time

It's about time
(Bella)

I could feel Dean's eyes on me the entire day and even as I join Calvin in speaking to a few guests, his gaze was still on me.

I refused to meet his eyes, focusing my mind on anywhere but him. And then finally he walks up to Calvin and I, alongside his assistant, Humphrey.

"Dean," Calvin turns to meet him, shifting his attention from a guest to him, a soft smile in place, My heart raced with Dean's closeness but I didn't dare look at him.

Well, not until he mutters. "I'll have to take my leave now, I have an urgent matter that needs my attention," he says but there's an edge in his voice and instinctively my eyes landed on his blue ones.

I see an unmistakable glint of sadness in his eyes as it flickers between Calvin and I.

"Oh, that's fine, Dean." Calvin says calmly, extending his hands.

Dean looks at the hand Calvin was offering and hesitantly he takes it, returning a tiny smile and then he turns but not without giving us both a once over.

My stomach is tied up in a knot as I watch him walk away, my chest heavy.

What is wrong with me? Why do I suddenly feel an ache in my heart just seeing Dean's sad eyes?

This should be for the best but it feels like the complete opposite.

"Bella?" Calvin's voice brings me back to earth and I quickly shift my gaze from the direction Dean left to him, only to meet this look on his face, one I can't quite pinpoint.

I breathe out a sigh and collect my thoughts before pasting a smile on my face. "Yes?"

But then that look is gone, replaced by his usual warm smile. "Well, I wanted this to come as a surprise, but my nerves won't let me," he says and his smile widens.

Okay, now he has my full attention. I furrow my eyebrows at him and smiled.

He holds my gaze for a second, but he still doesn't say anything.

"Come on, out with it, will you?" I say impatiently, still wearing a smile.

"Okay, so we have the deal with Lego," he says and paused, watching my reaction.

My eyes widen. "Wait, for real?" I ask, genuinely surprised. "You mentioned they were being hesitant to sign the final deal," I say between chuckle.

He tilts his head and offers a proud smile. "Well, here we are," 

"Oh my God! Congratulations Calvin, well deserved," I exclaimed, giving him a warm hug.

And when we pull away, I noticed his eyes were darting on me, and before I could make sense of his heated gaze, he blurted out. "Go out with me tomorrow, Bella." He says, his eyes pinned on me. "I want to celebrate this win with you and there's something I've been meaning to tell you," he adds, his eyes lightening up.

My eyebrows raise.

Something he wants to say to me?

My heart begins to pound at the thought of that.

If I'm ever going to clear things up with Calvin, then there's no better time than tomorrow.

The thought of telling Calvin my truth weighs heavily on my mind. He's been nothing but kind and supportive, always there when I needed him. The idea of hurting him makes my chest tighten.

I sure as hell know that this isn't going to sit well with him. It's going to be a hard pill to swallow.

But the least I could do for a man who's been so good to me is to be honest with him.

I know it's the right thing to do, Derrick and Ivy urged me to do so too.

Derrick's words reverberated in my head. "If he isn't the one you want, then you shouldn't go any further than this,"

Damn right.

I bite my lip, and stammer a bit. "Um, actually there's something I'd like to say to you too," I breathed out, but there's a slight tremble in my voice.

Calvin stares at me for a heartbeat before he nods. "Tomorrow it is then,"

I force a smile, trying to hide my anxiety. "Sure, what time and where?" I ask upfront, knowing he'd offer to pick me up.

I don't want him to do me more favors, not when I'd be rejecting his feelings.

He looks at me. "Better still, let me pick you up," he offers.

My response comes quickly. "It's fine, Calvin. Just send the location and I'll be there,"

Calvin looks like he's not okay with it but then after a second, he nods slowly.

I feel a wave of relief wash over me as he agreed without protesting further. But the relief lasted briefly as my mind slowly drifted to how I'm going to bring this up tomorrow.

I sigh inwardly.

It's going to be a really tough conversation with Calvin.

But then, it's about time.