"You ready?" Rob called from the living room.

"Yeah, two minutes," I yelled back to him.

I stood in front of my mirror, trying to work out whether I looked good enough to see Larissa. I tied my hair up into a pony tail, then took in down again. After a few more seconds of deliberation, I pulled my long blonde hair up into a messy bun, and decided it was the lesser of several evils.

I was wearing my black gym shorts, and a blue sports bra, with a grey hoodie, which I left unzipped. I decided that my appearance was adequate, and hoped that I would get a chance to speak to Larissa. Alice said that she would be working.

I walked out into the living room, and saw that Rob was waiting with his car keys in hand. He smiled at me.

"Don't panic, Ivy. You'll be fine," he said.

"I'm not panicking," I frowned.

"Your hands are shaking," he grinned.

"It's cold," I lied, quickly steadied my hands.

Rob laughed as we walked out of the apartment. We got into his car, and he drove to the gym. My pulse quickened, as we got closer, and the drive seemed a lot longer than usual.

When we finally arrived, we got out of the car and walked into the gym. I was on high alert, constantly looking around to try and find Larissa.

We were greeted by Alice at the desk. Rob gave her a quick kiss, then we both signed in so we could use the climbing wall.

"She's on her break," Alice said quietly, seeing my head flitting side to side.

I smiled awkwardly, then strapped my chalk bag around my waist.

"I'll be over soon," Rob said.

I nodded, then headed to the wall. I started to pull myself up on the holds, not climbing too high, as I needed to warm up slowly. After a few minutes of climbing, I noticed Jade watching me. I gave her a small smile, then continued climbing. She started walking towards me. I still hadn't figured out my game plan, so Jade's presence made me nervous.

"Hey," she said, as I climbed back down to the mats on the floor.

"Hi," I replied politely. "How are you?"

"I'm good, you?"

"Yeah, I'm alright thanks," I smiled. Everything felt awkward.

"You're friend's a little busy over there," she said, looking at Rob, who was leaning over the desk to Alice. "Do you want a climbing buddy?"

"Sure," I answered.

Jade climbed next to me, and we both got pretty high on the wall. Neither of us said much, as we were focusing on not falling. When we got back to the bottom of the wall, we sat down on the mat to take a break.

"You haven't been around too much lately," Jade said finally. "Is everything okay?"

"Did you miss me?" I asked. Her cheeks reddened at my comment. I wasn't intending to flirt with Jade, but it just happened naturally so I went with it.

"Maybe," she answered, biting her lower lip.

I forgot how hot she was.

"Maybe I should come here a little more often, then."

"I think you should. Or maybe we could go for a drink some time."

I opened my phone, and handed it to her. She smiled happily, then typed her number into my phone. I sat cross legged in front of Jade, chatting for a while, before I noticed Larissa staring at me from across the room. My eyes met hers for a brief second, before I unwillingly turned back to Jade.

"I've gotta take my break now," Jade said. "See you after?"

I nodded, and watched her walk away. Larissa was still looking at me. She was standing with another member of staff who kept talking to her, but it didn't look like she was listening.

I stood up, and started to walk over to her. She mumbled something to her colleague, then started making her way to me.

"Hey," I said quietly. My heart was racing, and my hands were sweating.

"Hi, I- it's good to see you."

She looked as nervous as I felt. She seemed to have difficulty keeping eye contact with me.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm sorry about last night," she replied.

My eyes widened at her words. I wasn't sure what she was sorry about, but it sounded like a good thing.

"I shouldn't have kissed you back," she said, quietly. My heart sank.

"What do you- why?"

"Ivy, I'm with Brandon. I should never have-"

"You were with Brandon the whole time you've known me. You didn't seem to have a problem while I was eating your pussy," I said, annoyed.

Larissa stood in front of me with her mouth open, shocked by my words.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I didn't mean it like that. I just, I don't get it. One minute you want me, the next you don't. I can't keep up. Now he's finally moved here, you're done with me? Was I just something to keep you entertained until he got here?"

"It wasn't like that," she answered quietly.

"Well, what was it like?"

"I- I don't know," she whispered. She looked like she was about to cry, and my heart ached.

"Larissa, I love you, and I know I can make you happy. You've told me so much about your relationship with him, and you're not happy. I just- I need you to know that I would do anything to make you happy."

"You love me?" She asked, surprised.

I froze in place. I hadn't meant for that to slip out. Suddenly, all my thoughts turned to mush, and my words disappeared. I felt so stupid for what I said.

"I've gotta go," I finally said, after a few seconds of staring blankly ahead.

"Ivy, wait," she said, grabbing my wrist, and stopping me from leaving. I turned back to face her.

"I don't know, Larissa. I think I love you. I didn't mean to say it, but clearly I was thinking it. I've never felt this way about anyone. From the minute you walked into the coffee shop, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

"I don't know what to say," she whispered.

"You don't need to say anything, Larissa. I know that you like me. No matter how hard you try to convince yourself otherwise. No matter how much you try to make it work with Brandon, there is something between us, and I know you feel it. It could be everything you ever wanted, you just need to stop kidding yourself and allow it," I told her.

The way I spoke made it feel like I was scolding her, but I didn't mean it that way. I wasn't used to talking about my feelings, so everything came out rushed and sounded angry. Larissa looked at me for a few seconds, before speaking.

"He asked me to marry him, Ivy."

My eyes immediately shot to her left hand, and I saw that she wasn't wearing a ring. I took her hand in mine and ran my thumb along her ring finger.

"Where's the ring?"

"I didn't give him an answer yet," she said.

"Do you love him?" I asked. "Can you see yourself spending the rest of your life with him?"

"I don't know. It's not that simple."

"Why?" I asked. It was starting to feel like an interrogation.

"Because I don't know how I feel about him. And about you."

"I think you should probably figure that out," I whispered, and lowered her hand back down to her side, but keeping contact with her for a minute. "Call me when you decide what you want. I'm not gonna wait forever, Larissa, so please put me out of my misery soon."

I didn't let her say another word, as I turned around and walked away.

"I'm going home," I called to Rob, as I walked past him.

"You want me to drive you?"

"Nope," I replied, and walked out of the building.

Jade was having a cigarette outside the entrance to the gym.

"Leaving already?" She asked sadly.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll be back in a couple of days," I smiled, as I walked past her.

It started to rain as I walked away from the gym. I didn't mind the rain. It was refreshing to feel the cold droplets hitting my skin as I strolled back to the apartment. I wasn't happy with how my conversation with Larissa went, but I wasn't entirely unhappy either. At least I was aware that I still had a chance with her.

I would wait a few days before I would go back to the gym. She needed some time to think, and I would give it to her. That would also give me time to sort out the apartment for when my brother moves in with me.