But we’re best friends

“What can I get for you, Lena? The usual?” The bartender asked as I took my usual seat at the bar.

“Yeah, thanks Pat,” I replied, nervously clasping my hands together and leaning on the bar.

I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. I’d never been this nervous about anything in my life, especially with Bradley. He was my best friend, and had been for over twenty years.

We met in first grade, when he moved into the house next door to me. I was so happy to find out he was the same age as me. We got put into the same classes and hung out all the time, quickly becoming best friends. We shared everything together, including all of our secrets. We just kind of assumed when we were kids that we’d eventually marry each other when we grew up. Unfortunately things didn’t quite work out that way.

We made pacts together as we grew up. Like if neither of us had had sex by the time we were 18, we would take each other’s virginity. But Bradley broke that one when he had a girlfriend that took his at 16. We also said that if we were both still single by the time we were 30, we’d actually marry each other and start a family. But then I found a guy who I fell in love with and married when I was 25.

But we stayed best friends even through high school, college, and into adulthood. We still saw each other fairly regularly and had drinks at The Oak Barrel once a month. We hadn’t done that yet this month, and I really needed to talk to Bradley, so I texted him asking to meet me there about “something important.”

He showed up as Pat, our mutual high school friend, slid my mojito to me. Bradley took the stool next to me.

“Gimme an old fashioned, Pat, neat,” he said.

Bradley turned to me and his expression turned concerned.

*Shit, he can tell something is wrong.*

“Everything alright, El?” He asked, using the nickname for Elena that I allowed only him to use.

I took a sip of my mojito with a shaky hand.

“Umm, not exactly. I’m not even sure where to begin, Bradley,” I said. “I have something that I need to ask you, but I guess I should explain what’s going on first.”

“Whatever you need, El, you can ask me anything,” Bradley said. “I’m always here for you.”

“It’s not exactly as simple as that,” I explained. “So remember when I told you that Jason and I were going to try starting a family?”

“Yeah, how’s that been going?” Bradley asked as Pat gave him his drink.

“Well, that was two years ago,” I continued. “We’ve tried just about everything we can think of, but we still haven’t been able to get pregnant, and it’s starting to affect our marriage in a negative way. It’s at the point now where the intimacy is almost forced, and I hate that.”

“Jesus, El, I’m so sorry, I had no idea,” he apologized, still with a concerned look on his face. “I know how much you’ve been wanting to start a family. Have you seen a doctor about it?”

“I’ve been to a fertility specialist,” I explained. “They said there’s nothing wrong and I should be able to conceive with no problems. But Jason went to see one recently and we just heard back a few days ago that he has a very low probability of getting me pregnant.”

“So what are you gonna do?” Bradley asked, sipping on his drink.

I turned to him, holding my drink unsteadily in both hands, and looked him straight in the eyes.

“That’s kinda why I needed to talk to you today,” I said, my voice starting to shake like my hands. “Please promise me that you won’t judge me for this.”

Bradley took the drink out of my hands and set it back on the bar. Then he took both of my hands in his, returning the eye contact.

“You know I’ll never judge you for anything, El, I promise,” he said. “You’re my best friend, and nothing will ever change that.”

“Bradley, will you father my child?”

* * *

Thank you for reading through my prompt. I hope you enjoyed it. The premise behind this RP is that Elena, who is unsuccessfully trying to have a child with her husband, makes an agreement with her best friend Bradley (name negotiable) to get her pregnant. There are several different ways that this can play out, from being a completely awkward one night stand between lifelong best friends, to having them both confess their love for each other. If this scenario interests you, please send me a PM and I would be happy to discuss details and talk about which direction we want this RP to go.