#endlessbravery

[redemptivexheroics]

Ellis nodded as he cradled the beer in her hands; it was tough; she came to New York for a new beginning to start the next chapter in her life after high school; at least when things got rough, she had her best friend, Kyle, there to back her up and his bar was never far away. "You know, you and my friend Kyle who runs this bar actually, would get along, you're both pushers," Ellis commented looking at the bar for a second as if her best friend was behind the counter encouraging this situation.

"You're right; you'd think there would be a Relationships for Dummies book out there that would help or something that can tell me how to balance a career and a relationship, I definitely would pick that one up." Ellis said as she took another sip of her beer.

"Well, if you're willing to put up with me, then I'll give it a chance; probably gonna be a lot of late nights, and we probably only get to see each other on the weekends, if that."

"No, I don't blame you at all, actually. It's fucking hard out there, and the more times shit goes wrong, the more likely you are to boost those walls up, to wanna protect yourself. Watching everyone else experience the things you want is just an extra shot to the chest, trust me, I know." Mateo's family practically all left him behind, he'd never had a long term relationship end well, and his friend circle wasn't quite as deep as he'd like it to be. He could absolutely put himself in Ellis' shoes, at least a little bit. Which was exactly why he was trying his best to be patient with her, to not push her too hard in this.

"Okay, that's totally fair. But it doesn't have to be one or the other. There's no reason to choose between your career that you love and a person you could love. There's a way to balance both, especially if the person is understanding and doesn't mind not being a priority 24/7. This guy right here has zero problem with it, Ellis. I wanna be your biggest cheerleader, actually, always rooting for you. Whatever you're able to give me will be enough, I promise. I'm really not asking for a lot." All he wanted was for her to give him a try, to stay. If she couldn't do it down the road that would be fine, he'd deal. He always dealt. His feelings for Ellis were too strong not to try though, he wanted to so desperately.