Today Was a Fairytale
Chapter 1: Be Mine
"Hello, My Love!" I said as my boyfriend appeared at the door. I pulled him close, and kissed him sweetly on the lips.
He put his hands over my waist, and kissed me in return. "Hello, Beautiful."
I stepped back. "Come on in. I'm all ready for once!"
He stepped inside. "What? You mean I don't have to wait ten extra minutes for you?" He put his hand over his heart and gasped. "You better call 911. I think I'm having a heart attack!"
I shut the door, then turned to face him again. "Ha, ha! You try being on time when you have to get two kids ready to go to their fathers, and then get ready yourself. It takes a while to look this good you know." Of course, I was only teasing at the last part. I primped my hair for show.
"You don't need any time at all. You're naturally beautiful!" he said to me.
I grinned. "Keep talking like that, and this date is going to go very well for you." I kissed him again.
He smiled, and kissed me yet again. "I'll most definitely keep that in mind!" He winked. "So, how are those adorable little babies of yours today?"
"They're great! Their father is taking them out to the dinner, then he is going to buy them both a new toy at the toy store. I think he's taking them out for ice cream after that. He spoils them so rotten, it's no surprise that they are thrilled when it's time to spend the weekend with him. I just hope his new girlfriend isn't planning on stopping by while they are there. I always worry they'll get attached to her, and have two mothers that they love," I confessed.
He shook his head, and placed his hands around my waist again. "No one is as good of a momma as you! You're their only momma, and they know it!" He kissed my cheek.
I gently stroked his cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too!" he said, kissing my lips this time.
I smiled, then grabbed my purse.
"So, how was work today?" he asked as we headed out the door.
I smiled, and took his arm. "It was wonderful! Ed said something—I don't even remember what it was now—that had me laughing hysterically. Matthew then started to laugh because I was laughing so hard, and it made me laugh harder, which in return made him laugh harder. Ed looked at us both like we were crazy, and that made us laugh even harder yet! We both had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard."
He seemed to stiffen a bit.
"What?" I asked.
"Hm?" he asked in return.
I looked him in the eyes. "You suddenly just tensed. What's wrong?"
He shrugged. "I didn't even noticed I tensed. I must have gotten a chill or something."
"You should have worn a heavier coat!" I said as I shut and locked the door behind us.
He shrugged. "I have my scarf to keep me warm."
"If you say so," I said.
He put his hand over my lower back. "Do you want to walk or take a cab?"
"Well, since it's a little cold out today, let's just take a cab," I answered.
He nodded, but didn't say anything.
Something was off. "Is something wrong?" I asked him.
He looked at me. "No. Why do you ask?"
"I don't know. You just seem off all the sudden," I answered.
"Because I'm cold?" he asked with a smirk.
"No, you just..." I sighed. "I don't know. I'm just being paranoid. Let's go eat."
He smiled, and then walked with me.
We walked a little ways in silence, then he hailed a cab, and we got in.
He told the cab driver where we were headed, and then we were off.
"I'm starved! Are you?" I asked, turning to him.
He shrugged. "A little I guess. I had a late lunch."
"Well, I hope you can eat something anyway! It's no fun eating alone," I told him with a wink.
He smiled. "Don't worry. You know me. I'll probably be hungry by the time we get there."
I laughed. "True!"
He grinned, but that was the end of our conversation until we got to the restaurant.
When we got there, he paid and tipped the driver, then helped me out of the car. She shut my door, and put his arm around me.
We walked into the restaurant, and they seated us in front of the fireplace.
"This is nice and cozy!" I said with a happy smile.
"Yeah. It will feel good to be nice and warm while we eat," he said, taking his menu and looking over it.
"Definitely," I agreed. "Matthew was so jealous when I told him we were going to eat here. He's been wanting to try this place out for a while now, but never got to it."
He glanced at me from the top of his menu. "You discuss what we do on our dates?"
I was a little shocked at his tone. "Well, no. I just casually mentioned that you and I were going out tonight, and he asked what we were doing. I told him we were going to eat here, and then I told him about the movie we were going to see. I only told him because he asked."
"Why would he even ask that anyway?"
I stared at my boyfriend, wondering if an alien had come down and taken his place. This was so unlike him to act that way!
I sighed, "Marcus, he was simply making conversation. I sometimes ask him what his and Leyla's plans are. It's no big deal. We're friends. Friends are curious about each other's lives."
Marcus shrugged. "I don't go asking my colleagues their plans for the night."
I glared at him. "Well, Matthew and I are closer than you are to your colleagues."
I wondered why he was acting so funny. He hadn't even told me how beautiful I looked. I'm not a vain person. Don't get me wrong. It's just, I had on a new purple dress, and my hair was down in sexy waves. I thought he'd at least say something about either one.
"Exactly how close are you two?" Marcus muttered under his breath.
I shot him a look. "What was that?"
"Nothing," he muttered.
We looked over our menus in silence, then ordered once our waiter came to take our orders.
He ordered the veal parmesan, a salad with French dressing, and a glass of red wine. I ordered the grilled chicken with green beans and white rice. I also ordered a glass of red wine.
"So, tomorrow's Valentine's Day," I said with a smile after the waiter had left. "It's a shame we both have to work." I took his hand in mine from across the table, and gently squeezed it. "It would be nice if we could spend the whole day together."
"Yeah," he said, though he didn't sound all that sincere.
I decided to call him on in. "What? You don't sound like that would be something you'd want."
"I'm just thinking how you might not really mind working since you'll be working with Matthew," he stated.
I didn't like his tone. "Well, yes, I do enjoy working with Matthew. He is a good friend, and he and I enjoy working together very much!"
He snickered. "I know that's right!"
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"Well, I don't think it's any secret how Matthew feels about you. Your fans all see it, and your fans are all for you two being together. To me, I'm just the bad guy old fart who's dating you," he said bitterly.
I smiled. So that was it. "Who cares what the fans think? True, you look a little older than you are, but you're only four years older than I am. I think you're incredibly sexy, and certainly not a bad guy or an old fart!" I squeezed his hand again.
He smiled at me. "Darn my stupid premature greying! I should dye my hair. Maybe that would help."
"I think grey is sexy—like George Clooney!" I said with a wink.
He smiled brighter yet. "Still, the fans clearly see the chemistry between you and Matthew."
"Well, a good share of them just think of us as the real life Rufus and Lily. They don't know either of us, and they don't know you. They just don't like you because, like you said, they want Matthew and I to be together. I wouldn't take it personal," I assured him.
"The thing is, I see it too. You two seem so happy together. In fact, sometimes I look at pictures of you two, or see you two together and think, gosh, why doesn't she ever look that happy in pictures with me? Why doesn't she laugh that hard when she is with me?" He sighed. "I torture myself sometimes."
I let go of his hand. "Well, you shouldn't! I think I look pretty darn happy in pictures with you! Besides, I should know better than anyone how I feel. I remember many times that I laughed so hard with you that I had tears streaming down my face."
"I know Matthew has feelings for you. There is no denying the way he looks at you," he said then.
I sighed. "Marcus, Matthew and I are just friends. You can't play into the hype of the media, or what the fans say. He's happily dating Leyla, and I'm happily dating you. He and I work together, and we've become very close. That is all there is to it."
The waiter came with our drinks then.
Marcus held up his hands to me. "You know what? Forget I said anything. You're right. I guess I just need to stop reading your fans' Twitter pages."
I smiled, relieved that he seemed to be dropping it. "That you do."
The waiter took off again after promising that our food would be out shortly.
I took both Marcus' hands in both of mine. "Listen, it's you that I love. You make me very happy, and I don't care what my fans say, or what I look like in pictures, okay?"
He smiled, and gently squeezed my hands in return. "Okay." He kissed my hands, and then asked how my day was.
I smiled, and told him how it had gone, being careful not to mention Matthew too much. I just hoped the previous conversation was over with, because frankly, it was making me rather uncomfortable.
~Be Mine~
Dinner had been rather uncomfortable to say the least. Things were going well in our conversation again, and, hardly thinking about it, I wanted to talk about the fashion show Matthew and I had recently gone too. However, Marcus hadn't seemed the slightest bit interested in hearing about it. He had grown quiet, and picked at his food. He had grunted a response here and there, but, for the most part, he kept quiet. Half the time, he didn't even look at me. His face did light up when I asked him how his day had gone, and, also when we talked about how we were eager to watch the movie because a favorite actress of ours was in it. Still, it was just uncomfortable.
"Shall we order dessert?" I asked though I didn't know why I was asking. Dinner had been awkward as it was. At least in the theater we didn't have to talk.
"You can have some if you'd like. I think I'll pass. I'm kind of full. I'm sure we'll be getting snacks in the theater anyway," he said, patting his stomach.
"I don't want to be a pig. I'll just eat at the theater. Movie theater popcorn is always filling anyway!" I smiled. I didn't want one of our date nights to turn into an argument, so I tried to salvage it.
"You're not a pig! You have the figure of a model! If you want something, go right ahead! Maybe I'll feel like splitting with you once I see what delicious thing you got!" he said with a grin.
I relaxed a little, for his bad mood seemed to leave him. "Well, I'll only eat if you share. How about we get the cheesecake?"
He raised an eyebrow. "With chocolate sauce on top?"
I licked my lips. "Sounds good!"
And so we ordered our dessert.
We laughed and joked, and had the best conversation of the night as we waited for it to arrive. When it did, we continued talking, joking, and laughing, and enjoyed our dessert.
"So, are you ready to go see the movie?" he asked me once he had paid the bill and left the tip.
I linked my arm with his. "Lead the way, Kind Sir!" I said, goofing around.
He chuckled, and we kissed.
Then, we walked arm-in-arm to catch a cab to the theater. I just hoped his mood would stay improved. As much as I loved him, and as fun of a person he was for the most part, when he was in a bad mood, he was the very last person I wanted to be with!
~Be Mine~
The movie was really romantic. It was a great movie to go to see with your boyfriend. Marcus and I split a popcorn, and we had our own sodas. We cuddled together during the movie, and everything felt normal again.
However, I made a mistake upon exiting the theater. I was't thinking, and I brought up Matthew again.
"I wonder if Matthew would like that movie or not. He isn't always into the romance movies, but I think he'd still like it." I don't know what had compelled me to say it. I was just thinking about our fun time we had at work today, and wondered what he would have thought about the movie.
Of course this made Marcus tense up again. He turned to me. "We need to talk."
I was quiet for a moment. "Okay..." I didn't really know what else to say. "About what?"
"Let's just wait until we get back to your place," he said coldly.
I sighed. "All right."
So, we caught a cab, and rode all the way back to my place in silence. It was the most awkward ten minutes of our whole relationship.
By the time we got back to my place, I was just eager to have our talk and be done with it. I couldn't stand the awkward silence any longer.
I sat down on the couch, waiting for him to speak.
He sat down on the arm chair in front of me. "We need to talk about us."
"What about us?" I asked calmly.
"Well, we've been together for a year, and not much has changed since when we first started dating. True, we now go on weekend trips together a lot, but that's basically just doing what we do here, only with different scenery, and different places to do things," he began.
"Well, where do you think we should be in our relationship?" I asked.
He sighed. "I don't know. I guess it's more of..." He trailed off, then began again. "I thought by now we'd be closer emotionally than we are now. I mean, it's been a year, and, sure we love each other, but, do we really feel all that more passionately about each other than we did a year ago?"
I thought about it for a moment. Now that he mentioned it, I couldn't really think of that much of a difference. "Well, now we get together more, we go on trips together, and I feel we know each other better now as well."
"But, do you feel the passion?" he asked me.
"Well, I know I love making love with you, and I love kissing you. You're great in both aspects." I grinned and winked at him.
He smiled. "I love making love to you and kissing you as well. Trust me, you're amazing in both aspects." His expression turned serious then. "But, do you really feel head over heels in love with me? Do you feel like you can't live without me? That you'd be lost and miserable without me? Could you actually see yourself ever marrying me one day?"
I thought about it hard. I didn't want to say out loud what I was thinking. The truth was, I did love Marcus, but it wasn't to the point where I'd go into a deep depression if I didn't have him anymore. Sure, I'd be upset for a while, but I knew I'd make it without him. I didn't need him to be fulfilled. I loved having him around, and I loved having a boyfriend. But, would I die without him? No. Did I feel the absolute need to marry him and be with him forever? Well, I guess I could see him being my boyfriend forever, but did I want him as my husband? The fact was, right now, that really wasn't what I wanted. I had already been through two marriages, and didn't really feel like complicating things anymore. Why couldn't things stay the same between us? Why did marriage have to be a factor?
"Your silence says it all," he said sadly.
"It's not that I don't love you. I do. It's just... I don't know if I ever want to be married again. I'm happy just having you to hang out with and..." I cut myself off, not wanting to say it out loud because I knew it would come out badly.
"Fulfill your needs as a woman?" he asked. "I stop you from being lonely, and fulfill your womanly needs when we make love. I'm basically a companion with benefits."
I shook my head. "I love you. I'm not just using you."
He scooted closer to the end of the seat, and took my hands in his. He kissed them. "I know you're not using me. We just want two different things is all. I want to be with someone who wants to get married and have the white picket fence. Who knows? Maybe down the road it might even be nice to have a child."
"I certainly don't want another child. I have my hands full as is!" I said. I blushed. It had just come out. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize!" he said. "You're being honest! I never want you to apologize for feeling the way you feel. We want different things in life. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that."
"You just seemed so upset tonight," I said quietly.
He grinned. "That's just me being a jealous old coot! Whether you see it or not, you and Matthew have something between you more than just friendship. I know neither of you would act on it right now. Matthew is dating Leyla, and he is very respectful to me. I also know you would never cheat on me."
I nodded in confirmation. "I would never do that to you."
He nodded as well. "I know. But I also know that Matthew makes you happy. Heck, I know you're happiest with him.You may not see it yet, but I sure do, and I know a lot of other people do too."
"Matthew and I are just friends," I reminded him.
"Let's put it this way. Think of marrying Matthew. How would that make you feel?" he asked.
I thought about it. The thought instantly gave me butterflies. "Oh." I said.
He nodded, a solemn expression on his face. "That's what I thought."
"It doesn't matter anyway. He's with Leyla, and I'm with you. I'm just close to him is all. He's such a good friend, and—" I cut myself off, then sighed. I looked at him, tears in my eyes. "You're breaking up with me, aren't you?"
He nodded. "I think it's for the best. I think we are better off just being friends. It's nothing either of us did wrong. It's just like I said."
"We want different things," I said quietly.
He nodded, then stood up.
I stood up as well.
He cleared his throat. "I'm telling you this because I want to see you happy. If you tell Matthew how you feel about him, I know he'll be yours in a heartbeat."
"But I love you," I told him.
"Who would you save if Matthew and I were drowning on different sides of the ocean, and you only had time to save one?" Marcus asked me.
I didn't even have to think before coming up with the answer in my head.
I hugged Marcus tightly, tears streaming down my cheeks. "Goodbye, Marcus."
He held me tight, then held me at arms length. I could see the tears in his eyes as well. "Don't be sad." He wiped away my tears with his thumbs. We'll both be okay. Like I said, we can still be friends, right?" He smiled.
I nodded. "We better be!"
He grinned.
"Can I just ask what brought this on all the sudden?" I knew it was an odd time to ask, but I had to know.
He smiled weakly. "Let's just say that, ever since we met, the majority of what you had to say included the name Matthew. It's been getting more frequent as of late. You now, a big part of the reason I got a Twitter is so that I could keep my eye on your and Matthew's tweets to each other. The media used to say how you guys would flirt up a storm on Twitter. It wouldn't surprise me if that is why Leyla got on Twitter too. Anyway, like I said, you talk about Matthew a lot, and I've been thinking about it for a while now. I guess tonight was just the last straw. I was going to wait until after Valentine's Day, but why spend the day living in a lie?"
I sighed, and looked away. "Valentine's Day is stupid anyway."
He smiled sadly then lifted my chin up with his index finger, and kissed me slowly and softly on the lips. "Goodbye, Kelly," he said after breaking the kiss.
"Goodbye, Marcus," I whispered back.
And then he walked out my door, and disappeared down the street without ever looking back.
I shut and locked the door behind him, then rested my back against the door. Tears started running down my cheeks again. I then sank to the floor, buried my face in my hands, and sobbed.
It looked like I'd be spending yet another Valentine's Day alone just when I thought I'd finally have someone to spend it with. And for what? A relationship that could never be? Matthew was with Leyla. If he wanted me, wouldn't he have told me? We always just laughed about it when people suggested that we become a couple. Now who was laughing? Not me. I was crying all by myself, boyfriend-less the night before Valentine's Day. And I knew that tomorrow, Valentine's Day, would be no different. How depressing was that? The thought made me cry even harder.
Eventually, I got myself up, and dragged myself into the bathroom. I ran the tub water as warm as I could stand it, poured some bubble bath in, stripped off my clothes, then sank into the tub. A warm bath always helped me forget everything, and, tonight, that is what I planned on doing—forgetting everything. Of course, eventually, I'd have to get out of the water, and my problems would come rushing back to me. But, just for a half hour or so, I was going to just relax, and forget Marcus, forget Matthew, forget Leyla, and just forget the world. There was always tomorrow to be depressed, which being boyfriend-less and alone on Valentine's Day, I most definitely would be.
I sighed. Why did love and life have to be so complicated? Then, a strange thought entered my head that surprised even me. And why can't Matthew just be mine?
