Chapter two.
She gave a jump when the blond guy hugged her waist, she hadn't heard him coming. The storm had awakened them both, and he knew full well that she wasn't able to sleep during a stormy night. Pretty often, she would stand in front of the bay window and would look at lightings streaking the cloudy sky before crawling in Daniel's bed and huddling a bit more against his chest each time she heard the sound of thunder. He nestled his head in her neck and kissed it.
He breathed the sweet coconut flavor of her blond hair and once again looked at the full of clouds sky. She was cold but didn't care because it was nice to be in his arms, it has always had. Slowly, she freed herself from his hold and faced him. She drew the contours of his tattoo with her finger, as she got the habit to when she thought he was asleep, and raised her head toward him. The blond guy kissed her forehead before he headed toward the stairs to go back to his room, leaving the blonde alone in the living room. He turned around and arched an eyebrow. "Aren't you coming?"
She walked to him and took the hand he was offering her. Few minutes later, he lied next to her, getting as closer to her as he could. The musician put his hand under the shirt she had borrowed to Daniel, which was obviously well oversized for her. They didn't speak. And slowly the blonde began to fall asleep, lulled by her friend's breathing, enjoying this hot breeze on her neck. Everything seemed so simple when she was in his arms. She forgot how hard it was for her to see the bassist knowing full well that she would never be able to taste his lips. She forgot the suffer which was growing inside of her chest day after day and which hammered her heart each time it beat.
The blond sighed. He didn't want to end this moment of calm, he didn't want to break this pleasant silence by asking her the question which had invaded his thoughts few days ago. He didn't want anything to change between them. But little by little, he felt it, deep inside, what she meant to him was against his will changing. And because of that, both of them were tearing apart from each other. He didn't understand her attitude of the past days, she seemed preoccupied but she hadn't come to him and it had hurt him.
Nevertheless he knew that someday the blonde will come to him to speak about it, and that at the moment he was worrying for nothing, imagining lots of scenarios which could explain her unusual behavior. He had his hand going up her stomach and began to draw imaginary circles on it with his thumb. "Why don't you like Frankie?" She was surprised by his question, its answer was obvious. "She does not deserve you." The blond did not add a thing, he had no idea what she was talking about, and didn't ask for any explanations. He will go to Tom in the morning, maybe he would confess what she didn't dare to tell him.
When the following morning she walked out the bassist's bedroom, she saw Thomas who hurried to hug her. "Stop." But stop what Thomas? To believe that one day Douglas could have feelings for her? To believe that if something happened, her brother would accept it? To believe that day after day she wasn't mistaking herself? She wanted to able to do something about that, but whatever she said, whatever she did, she was falling in love with the bassist.
Each time he smiled to her, and only to her, her heart would miss a beat. As soon as he was hugging her in his arms, nothing else mattered. And little by little, it was killing her. He was with Frankie. And her? She was alone. Alone against all her feelings, alone against her brother, alone and unable to resist to Douglas. She quickly freed herself from her friend's hold and rushed into her bed room after having kissed Thomas's cheek. Why couldn't Douglas see the hold he had on her? Why hadn't he noticed the way she looked at him? This melancholic look of their former friendship which had been destroyed by stupid feelings.
But the bassist didn't think that the young woman was feeling so bad. For him, she was still his best friend, the one whom he confessed everything to. Therefore each time he came to her for some advice on his relationship with Frankie, or when he spoke about her and that his eyes were shinning, the blonde hided her pain and tried to seem happy for him. Of course she was glad that her friend was happy, but paradoxically, she felt that their proximity was slowly destroying her. The more the feelings he had for Frankie were growing, the more the blonde was suffering.
"I love you", the brown-haired-guy whispered. She raised her head and anchored her look in the blue eyes which were staring at her. She huddled even more against the drummer's chest and closed her eyes. Why wasn't everything this simple? The had always been happy together, as close as possible. But everything had changed because of the feelings she had for the bassist. Maybe if she dared tell him, put him in the confidence too, everything would go back to normal again, like before. But it was possible too that this revelation would have the opposite effect.
Therefore she wouldn't tell a thing, at least not for now. The regular beating of his heart was enough to distract her from all her worries. Softly, he pushed her back and kissed the top of her forehead. "I'm going to Southend tomorrow, could you come with me?" He arched an eyebrow. He hadn't gone there with her in years. Usually she would go with Douglas, sometimes with Daniel. He contented to smile before he joined the bassist who was calling him from downstairs.
[…]
"You're going to get a cold." He placed his arms around her and closed his eyes, smiling the flavor of the roses which was coming from the hair of her friend. Her heart missed a beat as she felt his lips on her neck. She shivered as he released her from his hold to stand by her side. Slowly he took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers. He didn't know why he had this strong need to be around her, after all, she was his best friend. Nothing more.
She let go of his hand, this contact was only increasing her will of an even more important proximity. The blonde walked toward the sea until the Channel's cold water could almost lick her feet. The air was making her hair fly, and finally she was smiling. Full of a new feeling of freedom, of an intense joy, she smelled the salty air with her lungs wide opened. Southend was deserted, which made it more likeable to her. She didn't like the presence of unknowns when she was with Douglas. It was their moment, to them only. She suddenly turned around to look at him with a spark of a challenge in her eyes. And then she rushed right to the waves, she didn't stop when the water was reaching her waist in spite of the bassist's screams.
He was worried for her, and she liked that. She was provoking him. When she ducked under the waves, he took his shirt off and ran for after her. The water's temperature was about forty-four degrees but he didn't seem to care. He succeeded in reaching her before she went too far from the shore and he couldn't help but to stare at the innocent look she had as he wiped the few salty drops of water which had stuck on her cheekbones which had taken a red-ish color because of the cold. They went out the cold water and she huddle against him.
He looked down on her and smiled as he saw her blue-ish and shivering lips. Why did she have to act like this? But after all, didn't he like her for her spontaneity? He bent over and grabbed his shirt which he handed her. She took hers off and he looked away, embarrassed. And then she took his hand, making him look at her again. He couldn't help but smile.