Love Song – Part 2
Acepilot

AN – The ending to this chapter was rewritten from the original version. I hope this fic still works without the lyrics.

--------

Ever since she got divorced, it's been a thousand times harder to come to these things with a smile on my face.

Almost a year ago, I was in pain because she was married, and now I'm overcome with guilt, due to the knowledge that, on some level, I was responsible for her marriage falling apart.

Call me egotistical if you like.

I haven't really spoken to her since that night - which has got to be some kind of record for the two of us, as we used to be practically inseperable, but as I told her then, that changed a long time ago.

I love her. I think she still loves me. But how do you proceed from here?

I remember the day that Tommy told me she'd left her husband. It was probably the oddest day of my life. I'd contemplated going to her parents place, where she was sure to have holed up, endlessly. When Lil dropped by to visit and found me standing on the other side of the front door with my hand on the doorknob but not doing anything, I think she'd thought I'd cracked.

But you can't go up to someone and say "Hey, wanna go out with me?" on the day they get seperated from their spouse, even if you're pretty confident you're the reason why.

And so I've waited. And it's been nine months and fourteen days. Not that I'm counting.

And I'm still waiting.

I wonder if she is as well.

It's an eerie sense of deja'-vu, actually. I'm listening to Tommy tell a joke (I think it might even be the same one as last time), but I'm watching her chat with Lil and Angelica, and the afternoon sunlight glints off her wedding ring, still in place on her finger, despite the time apart from her husband.

Maybe I'm chasing after a long-lost hope here.

My thought process is derailed as Stu's stereo comes to life on a far-too-excessive volume level. I jump and look treacherously at the speaker I'm standing next to, earning a stifled chuckle from Dil. I resist the temptation to smack him across the head.

I laugh half-heartedly as Tommy resumes and finishes his joke, forcing my gaze not to settle itself on her again.
It's surprisingly difficult.

I wander inside to where the drinks are buried under some three and a half kilos of ice in the fridge, and rummage briefly through it looking for something non-alcoholic. I think getting drunk at this party would be nice, but probably something I'd later regret.

I finally emerge victorious with a can of some generic cola that Chuckie's been using as a mixer, with my hand a touch frozen but otherwise no worse for wear. I crack it open and take a quick swig, letting the sugar-ridden drink take the edge off the late-summer heat. As I turn around, I swipe the can across my forehead -

And as I complete my turn, I damn near drop the can.

Because she's standing there, backlit by the sunset, a soft smile on her face, making a dark-blue t-shirt and cargo pants look like the most attractive clothing ever invented.

"Hi," I manage, but barely.

"Hi." And god, I nearly rush across the kitchen right then, drawn to her breathy whisper like a moth to a flame.
I hold back. Again, barely.

"How are you?" What kind of quesiton is that?

"I'm...I'm alright, on the whole." She takes a deep breath. "You?"

I nod. "Yeah, I'm okay."

This is why I haven't gone to talk to her since her seperation. What is there to say?

"What have you been up to?"

Alright, this is getting painful. Small talk isn't working. Her last-ditch effort proves it. I think she knows it.
In response, I simply shake my head, and she seems to understand.

I walk into the lounge and stare out at the partiers in the backyard. Stu's finally gotten the stereo under control, it would appear, and there's dancing going on. Tommy and Lil are holding each other close, laughing at some private moment. Chucky and Angelica are making a brave attempt to move to the music, but the result is - as with all their appearances in public - more humorous than it is romantic. I have to stifle a laugh as they struggle to decide who should be leading. Stu and Didi are off in their own little world.

I feel Kimmi's hand on my shoulder and I realise that the last time that happened, I regretted turning around.
I risked it.

She was standing oh so close, and the instant I turned around my eyes seemed to meet hers inexplicably. The temptation to lean in and kiss her was so strong, and I realised I was a bare instant away from doing just that.
And as a new song starts up, she pulls me even closer, and I instinctively take her in my arms.

We start swaying to the music, and I have a vague memory of a dance at high school - Tommy was going out with Lil by then, and I'd offered to take Kimmi - platonically, of course. I was planning on telling her how I felt about her that night, but of course, I chickened out. My memory may be a little hazy, but I'm pretty sure that this was the same song.

And I wonder if she's realized it.

We dance in silence, but her eyes have met mine and I can't seem to bring myself to look away. I want to say something - I want to say so many things - but the look of love and longing in her eyes is stopping me, for some reason, when I'd have thought I'd find it encouraging.

Again, I find myself unable to make the first move, and resign myself to dancing on in silence, letting another opportunity slip through my fingers.

"I have something for you," she whispers, the breath flowing over my face like the most beautiful breeze I've ever experienced.

That was probably the last thing I ever expected her to say at this point.

"You do?" seems to be all there is to say.

She pulls away from me for a bare instant and slips her hand into her pocket.

"Here."

She presses something into my palm, closing my hand around it with her own.

It's warm - she must have been holding it in her hand for a while or something - and solid.

I look in her eyes for a moment before opening my fist and looking down.

Her wedding ring stares back at me.

My eyes shoot back to hers.

"I love you," she whispers.

I place the ring on the living room table, cupping her cheeks in my hands. I've been waiting for this for far too long, I'm not about to wait any longer if I can avoid it.

I press my lips to hers, and it's as if the last nine months of waiting didn't happen, like the last three years were a mere hallucination. I slide my tongue over her lips, begging entry, which I'm granted. I feel arms snake up around my neck as my tongue duels hers, and I drop my hands from her face so I can pull her closer. I tug at the band holding her hair in a ponytail, and it comes loose, allowing me to run my fingers through it.

I finally pull back and look at her, simply staring in admiration.

"I love you," I return at last.

"Still?" She asks.

"Are you surprised?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

She shakes her head slowly. "Sort of. But mostly I'm grateful."

I kiss her softly on the forehead. "I fell for you long ago. I don't think I could have stopped loving you if I wanted to."

And so we stand there, swaying gently to a love song, and I feel like things have never been better. I never want to let go of this beautiful angel. I look out the windows at the couples dancing on the lawn, and for once I don't feel envious.

I feel complete.

"Let's go outside," I suggest.

She's watching them as well. "That sounds good," she agrees. And as I reluctantly let go of her, I grasp for her hand the instant she leaves my embrace. And as we step out the door to face our family and friends, I can't wipe this stupid grin off my face.----

please review! I would be very appreciative.