A/N: I noticed that there were not a lot of stories regarding New Year's Eve. I wanted to help change that by writing this one-shot about Paul and Ingrid. They were my absolute favorite couple in the movie. I like to think that they became an item.
Enjoy!
He couldn't believe how lucky he was.
He couldn't believe how beautiful she was.
She stood about twenty feet from him, laughing as a dog came bounding up to her and jumped in her arms. She immediately began petting the dog and giving him a treat.
Her own dog rubbed his cheek against her leg.
But still, he watched her. She gently put the other dog down and it ran away. She bent over and pet her dog, fishing out a treat for him too, before picking up the toy he had dropped at her feet.
She threw it and he ran off like a fool, determined to bring it back to his mama. His tongue hung outside his mouth as he breathed in all these wonderful scents.
She turned to look at him now. Him, sitting there on that bench watching her intently. She smiled warmly at him and he returned it. Her smile set him on fire. He couldn't believe that she was his.
She almost wasn't.
As she turned to follow after Pepper, Paul reflected back on that New Year's Eve.
He had thought it absurd that she wanted him to help her fulfill those resolutions. Absurd, then rewarding. He was never one to back down from a challenge. Still, he found her pathetic at times. She was so timid, so afraid. He had made the mistake of voicing his thoughts where she could hear him. She made him realize that he was the pathetic one, only helping her out to score tickets to some fancy party. She then walked away from him.
It was that moment that he fell in love with her.
He realized he would do anything to make her happy. So he went to find her. He apologized and then blew her mind with the rest of his ideas on her resolution tour. But what blew his mind was what happened at midnight.
He kissed her.
It had been on her list, a kiss at midnight. No big deal. And that was what it was intended to be. But the moment their lips connected, something happened. He realized that he had never felt this way before. Of course, he had dated girls. Plenty of girls. But he had never felt such a spark, such a connection as he did during that moment. It was as though Ingrid Withers was his soul mate.
He couldn't resist spending the rest of the evening with her. He took her to the party; she was, after all, the reason why he got to go. They spent the time laughing and dancing. They shared champagne and chocolate truffles. He fed one to her and she looked so sweet as she accepted it. He learned that Ingrid loved dark chocolate and was allergic to coconut. A piece of chocolate had smeared in the corner of her mouth and he stared at it. He wanted so desperately to lick it away and then proceed to kiss her again. He wanted so desperately….
She realized that he was looking at her mouth, but thought there was something there. Which there was. Mistaking his staring, she grabbed a napkin and wiped the corners, effectively removing the mark. She chuckled afterwards.
"Yeah, I am pathetic."
But he did not hear her. His mind had left the building. He had pictured kissing her there, at the Ahern Party, and then whisking her off to some remote cabin for the weekend. He couldn't believe that in just a few short hours, he had completely changed his opinion on this woman.
Snapping out of his revelry, he turned and took a sip of his drink. His mouth had gone dry and he desperately needed to stop his train of thought. Then he took her hand and led her back to the dance floor. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that she loved to dance and although didn't do it as much now, was still extremely agile on her feet.
He wanted to know everything about her.
He wanted to know where she grew up, how she became the way she was, what she liked to do on her days off, what she was going to name her dog….He was hooked.
She did not realize that.
She figured he was still providing a service, so she allowed herself to be swept up in the party. They had fun. They talked, laughed and shared a drink. She hadn't been out this late in so long.
He made her feel young again.
He took her home on that scooter of his, and she invited him in for a moment. He was overly eager to accept the invitation and she made some coffee. They were still laughing about an incident at the party, where one waitress was trying to get the attention of some mogul by placing olives in her cleavage. But they kept rolling down her shirt and so she had to get more. She went through about twenty olives before giving up.
They talked easily, about their dreams and desires. Ingrid found out that Paul was an aspiring artist and worked as a courier to help pay the bills. His best friend and roommate, Randy, was trying to get him to go into cartooning, but he found sculpting to be more his forte.
"Don't ever give up on your dreams," Ingrid said.
Paul looked into her eyes. They were sad.
"Why?"
She sighed. "Because I gave up on mine."
He gently placed a hand over hers. She smiled and squeezed it.
"I was just out of college, with a major in criminal justice, when I broke my leg during tennis practice."
Paul listened intently. He wanted to know everything about the woman that he was falling in love with.
"Because of that, I was laid up and couldn't make it through the program of becoming a FBI agent. I was so heartbroken about it that I just gave up. I realized that my dreams were stupid and I stopped trying."
She smiled sadly. "And that is why I am this pathetic woman you see today."
Within a moment, Paul was at her side. He wrapped an arm around her waist and she looked up at him questiongly. "You are not pathetic, Ingrid. You were dealt a bad blow. But, like your resolutions, it's never too late to go for what you want."
She shrugged. "I guess." She hadn't realized how blue his eyes were.
"I'm going for what I want now."
And before anything else was said, he pressed his lips to hers. That feeling at midnight was back, full-force. Her lips were warm and soft. She smelled of jasmine and he breathed in the scent. His other hand gently began stroking her hair and he noticed how soft it was.
Ingrid's head was spinning. She was giving into the kiss, partly because of the alcohol consumed at the party, but also because no one had kissed her like that in…ages. She felt the heat between them, but couldn't believe that he would actually kiss her. He had done it for the resolution. For her. That was all.
Right?
Still, his lips were firm and yet soft. They seemed to fit with hers. They were tentative at first, but then grew stronger. He tugged at her bottom lip and her eyes flew open for a moment in shock.
As though he knew, he cupped her cheek and slightly tilted her head, giving him better access. His warm body pressed against hers and felt like it had been there all along.
He cautiously ran his tongue over her lips. He figured she wouldn't allow it, but she did. He smiled as his tongue met hers. They danced and tangled with each other for quite a few seconds before they had to break apart for breath.
And a good thing too, as he was becoming overheated. Much more of that and he would have made love to her right then and there.
Paul smiled at that memory. And then he laughed when he remembered Ingrid's reaction.
She walked over to him and sat on the bench. He immediately wrapped his arm around her and Pepper came bounding up. They watched the other dogs in the park and were silent for some time.
"What were you thinking about?" she asked quietly.
"How we got together."
She smiled and gently pressed the side of her forehead against his. Two years had passed and they were still happy, still going strong. Paul had gotten a job with the Manhattan Museum of Art. He sculpted in the off-hours and was almost ready to sell some pieces. He had a website up and running, though without pieces to show, there hadn't been much traffic.
But he was doing well and was proud of what he had accomplished. And Ingrid always encouraged him.
Ingrid, meanwhile, had gotten another job as a secretary. She really did like filing and the mundane tasks. Her boss was a lot nicer than Mr. Cox had been. She actually encouraged Ingrid to move forward in the relationship with Paul. She had seen how smitten he was with her favorite secretary and wanted her to be happy.
Of course, there were people who didn't approve of them and made snide comments. Paul took it in stride. Ingrid used it as an excuse to jump ship. Twice she shut Paul out of her life. But he would not be moved. He came after her both times and made her see that she was wrong. She found it unbelievable that he couldn't live without her.
"It's true," he had told her one night. "You consume my thoughts. Every day I want to become a better person for you, Ingrid. You have taught me so much."
Indeed, most of the sculptures he was working on were about her. And he gave her one as a present on the night he told her he loved her. She kept it on the mantle place.
One time, she ended things with him and took a trip to Massachusetts to visit a friend from college. She wanted to forget about him, to forget about them. She realized she had been a fool to let it get that far. She used age as the excuse, telling him that he'll tire of her when she can't keep up with him.
But Paul wasn't having any of it. He was at her door the day she returned. He made her see that the only people who should care about what they think were themselves. They talked everything out and though there were still times when she felt like running, he always reminded her of their chemistry.
He gently ran his hand up and down her arm, feeling whole. They had learned from each other. She had done "young things" as she called them, like skateboarding and trying marijuana while he had matured to learn what made her happy. And that included sex.
Randy had crudely pointed out that older women were great for sex because they knew what they wanted. While he approved of the relationship, he still couldn't help but give his best friend a hard time. Paul ignored those comments.
Yet the first time he was intimate with Ingrid, he felt like an awkward teenager. He was unsure how to please her. As Randy had said, she let him know what she liked. And he was able to try new things and discovered just how to make her purr. He used that technique a lot now.
Sex is much different when it's with someone you love.
Paul realized that. The times he had been with a woman, it was just about sex. He wanted something and when it was done, he was gone. Not so much with Ingrid. He wanted to know everything about her, so that included hearing her moan in ecstasy. He craved hearing his name from her lips or feeling her gently tugging at his hair. And he absolutely loved her breasts.
"Wow," she said as she looked up to the sky.
"What?" he said, looking at her.
"I just realized what day it is."
He smiled. "Our day. New Year's Eve. Two years exactly that I did this." He pulled her close and kissed her gently. He wanted to do more but they were in a dog park.
She whimpered, knowing exactly what he wanted to do. "Thank you for showing me how foolish I had been. I am glad I took a chance on us. This has literally been the best two years of my life."
Paul stared into her beautiful eyes. "Mine too. I love you so much, Ingrid. Sometimes I think I will combust because of my love for you."
She laughed. "Well, at least you'll die a happy man."
He nuzzled her again. "Indeed I will."
They stood up and walked home together, enjoying the cool, crisp winter air. They had to get ready for the Ahern party.
As they walked along, Paul kept looking at her. His heart swelled and there was no place he'd rather be. Squeezing her hand, he whispered into her ear before kissing her tenderly.
"Indeed, I will."
A/N: Thanks for reading! Feel free to review if you want.