This is the last part of my Thanksgiving update. I apologize that it’s been slow in coming, but there are good reasons (*Sophie-shaped reasons*) that have kept me distracted. I hope to post about those latest encounters soon, but for now, here’s the rest of what happened on Thanksgiving night. For those new to my Sophie saga, the following backstory will help:
1. [https://www.reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/qthjw2/i_f_was_shaken_to_my_emotional_core_by_my_friends/](https://www.reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/qthjw2/i_f_was_shaken_to_my_emotional_core_by_my_friends/)
2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/qvywbj/my_f_thoughts_of_a_friend_f_continue_to_overwhelm/](https://www.reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/qvywbj/my_f_thoughts_of_a_friend_f_continue_to_overwhelm/)
3. [https://www.reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/r4a73g/ff_thanksgiving_dinner_at_sophies_part_1/](https://www.reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/r4a73g/ff_thanksgiving_dinner_at_sophies_part_1/)
4. [https://www.reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/r6ktx0/ff_thanksgiving_dinner_at_sophies_part_2/](https://www.reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/r6ktx0/ff_thanksgiving_dinner_at_sophies_part_2/)
I followed Katie into the dining room as she jabbered about some K-Drama on Netflix. I’d vaguely heard of it – some drawn out historical fiction about a gender-swapped monarchy, which she was now summarizing at a machine-gun pace, condensing several hours of plot into a single run-on sentence.
With Katie, it was usually a one-way conversation, which suited me fine because she was a charismatic chatterbox, so I just listened, assuming that she was oblivious to my occasional glances back towards the kitchen. Towards Sophie.
Never assume that a talkative person is imperceptive.
“So, when are y’all going to make it official?” Katie said, weaving the question seamlessly into her commentary on gender dynamics during the Joseon Dynasty.
I froze. “O…fficial?” I just about managed to squeak out as a million thoughts flooded my brain, grinding my ability to think and talk to a halt.
“Sure,” Katie said. “You’ve been staring into each other’s eyes like two optometrists in love. Heck, I’d be surprised if you didn’t have every detail of her baby blue eyes memorized by now.”
“They’re more like sapphire blue,” I said, trailing off into a whisper.
Katie crossed her arms, smirked, and raised a single self-satisfied eyebrow.
I glanced over my shoulder towards the kitchen, then whispered back at Katie. “Is it that obvious?”
“You’re both about as subtle as a giant panda in a preschool playground.” Then Katie lowered her voice. “Besides, these walls are thin – just thin enough to hear the buzz of your roommate’s magic wand as she pleasures herself while moaning a three-letter name over, and over, and over.”
I’d never been so embarrassed in my life. I wanted to disappear, or find a quiet dark place and hide there for days, but there was also a strange excitement to that revelation. Sophie had been fantasizing about *me*. And not just fantasizing, she’d been pleasuring herself, moaning, probably writhing in ecstasy as she pictured *me*. I really had to get that thought out of my mind; I could feel my cheeks getting hotter, and Katie was watching me carefully with the grin of a Cheshire cat.
“Don’t worry, Hun. Sophie doesn’t know I know. I just want both of y’all to stop wasting time and get to being happy.” Then Katie winked, switched back to K-Drama summaries, and went back to setting the dinner table.
I don’t remember much about dinner. I was paranoid and anxious after what Katie had said, and every time I caught Sophie’s eye, I glanced down at my plate worried the other guests would see through the obvious connection that we apparently displayed every time we locked eyes. The highlight of the dinner was the traditional breaking of the wishbone. Somehow, Katie and I ended up competing for a wish – a competition that she won, ceremoniously whooping and cheering when she ended up with the larger part of the wishbone.
“So what are you wishing for?” One of the other guests asked.
“Oh, I can’t tell you *that* or else it won’t come true,” Katie said. “But, let’s just say that if it does come true, there will be a *buzz* of excitement in the air.” Then she looked at me and winked. The rest of the table seemed oblivious to her innuendo, even Sophie seemed confused, which helped calm my intensely-beating heart.
After dinner, we all stood around a firepit in their backyard, sipping steaming mugs of hot chocolate with Baileys, and enjoying the last few days of crisp autumn weather. I was torn between my desire to be close to Sophie and my paranoia that my feelings would be transparent to everyone around us. Katie knowing our secrets was embarrassing enough – I didn’t want anyone else to see the churning storm of emotions in my eyes whenever I looked at Sophie.
Eventually, most people left, and Sophie walked over and stood next to me.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” she said, with some concern and disappointment in voice.
“Yeah, sorry. I…” I stumbled over my words, unable to formulate the right words. I didn’t want to lie, but telling the truth would open a new door, a door I wasn’t sure I was ready to step through, yet. “I… didn’t mean to avoid you, it’s just that Katie knows, and…” I trailed off, not even sure *what* Katie knew, or how to explain it to Sophie.
“Oh,” Sophie said, as if she somehow understood. “Katie’s a lot more perceptive than people give her credit for. Did she say something?”
“No! I mean yes, but nothing bad. She noticed us… I guess she’s seen us…” I trailed off, unable to finish that sentence.
Sophie watched me, waiting, giving me time to say what I was obviously struggling to say. “I guess she knows that we’ve been looking at each other, and that… maybe…”
“Maybe…” Sophie repeated, her voice sounding a little more hopeful.
“Oh for *PETE’S* sake,” Katie’s voice interrupted. “Just *tell* each other how you feel. And to think I wasted a perfectly good wish on you two.” Then she stormed off into the house. I looked around nervously, but everyone had left so no one else had heard Katie. When I looked back at Sophie, she was smiling and blushing.
This time I waited for Sophie to say something.
“Katie’s one of a kind,” Sophie said. I nodded, staring at my feet.
“Emi, I like you.”
I looked up, surprised somehow, maybe because she’d said it so casually. She was smiling nervously, waiting for me to respond. I looked back down.
“Me too,” I said, probably too softly for her to hear, but she stepped closer, so we were only inches apart and leaned in so that her cheek touched mine.
Then I noticed her shivering, or maybe it was me shivering, either from the cold or from the nervous and excited energy buzzing between us. I desired so much in that moment – I wanted to hear her voice again – telling me more about how she felt towards me, then me replying and opening up, expressing the emotions that were locked deep inside. But I also wanted us to just stand there silently and for the moment to continue.
After a long silence, I surprised myself by turning and kissing her softly on the cheek. Then I stepped back.
Her beautiful blue eyes were wide with shock. “Emi…”
“Yeah?” I said anxiously, waiting for her response.
Her shock turned into an amused smirk. “Emi… Katie is staring at us through the window, right now.”
I turned and saw Katie’s face pressed against the window pane, her features contorted into curious and goofy shapes. Sophie and I both burst out laughing, some of the intensity of the moment dissipating.
Soon after, I was putting on my jacket and getting ready to go. I thought about staying, or asking Sophie to come home with me, but as much as I wanted it, it just didn’t feel right, at least not yet.
As Sophie and I stood at the door, I realized we were holding hands.
“Promise me we won’t go months without seeing each other again,” she said.
“I promise,” I replied, then turned and left before leaving became any harder.
When I got home, there was a message from Sophie.
*Movie marathon next weekend?*
*Sounds great.* I messaged back.
Source: reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/rt14pe/ff_thanksgiving_dinner_at_sophies_part_3
Thank you, looking forward to read the next part already! :)