Chapter 4/5

I sighed, resting my head on my arms. I felt Alice's eyes on me.

"Stop staring," I mumbled.

Alice huffed. "Stop sulking! You guys are talking again, that's great!"

I groaned. "We talked about the past five years, Al, that's all."

"But its a start."

"Do you have to be so fucking optimistic?"

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I tapped my phone against my leg nervously.

"Call," Alice commanded.

"No. She said she needs time to think, I'm giving her time," I said.

"Its been three days, Shane. Call her."

I sighed, dialing the number. It went to voicemail. "See," I said, throwing the phone to the table. "Voicemail."

Alice sighed. "We'll try again in an hour."

"God Alice! Fuck off okay?" I left the kitchen, breathing hard.

I stormed out of the house, not knowing where to go, but needing an escape. I didn't even notice the person I bumped into.

"Shane?"

That voice. Her voice.

"Carmen?"

She smiled, and I did too. "Hey," I said slowly.

"How are you?" She was still smiling.

"I'm okay, you?"

"Good. Real good," Carmen said. "I was actually on my way to see you."

I frowned. "Why?"

"I- I miss you. A lot. And now you're back, I just... I wanted to see you," she lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I miss you, too. I tried to call."

"Sorry."

I groaned. "Stop saying that. I need coffee. You coming?"

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"I don't really wanna talk about it," she said softly. "It was hard for me, without you."

"You don't have to tell me what you went through, if you don't want to." I wanted to know. I needed to know how much she suffered, how much I had fucked up.

"I think its gonna be better now," Carmen half-smiled. "You're staying, right?"

I nodded. "If you want me to."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"I uh, I guess I can't stay with Alice forever. We'd kill each other."

Carmen was tearing a napkin to little shreds. "Do you wanna move in with me?" She mumbled.

I took a deep breath, thinking hard. "Don't you think we'd be moving too fast? I mean, we're going slow, right?"

"I just thought, you know, trying to be nice. Sorry I asked," Carmen sniffed.

I got up, crouched next to her and gently put my arms around her. "Please don't cry," I whispered into her sweet smelling hair. "I hate it when you cry."

Then it happened.

I felt her lips on my jaw, soft, warm lips, moving toward my own. I couldn't resist.

Our lips met in a heated kiss, years of unreleased passion exploding as our tongues touched. I gripped her hips tightly, and she leaned into my touch.

She was everywhere. Her hands in my hair, on my face, her breath mixing with mine.

And then she pulled away.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry! This shouln't have happened."

I pulled her back against me, hugging her tightly. "Its okay."

"I don't want to lose what we have," she whispered.

"We have nothing, Carm. Right now, I'm just me and you're just you. There's no us," I kissed the top of her head. "But there can be."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. I'm not running this time," I lifted her face. "Look at me."

"I missed us," she said softly.

"I missed us too."

We kissed again, this time slower. I held her face it my hands, lifting her out of the stupid, unpractical plastic chair.

Wait, what?

We were still in the coffee shop. Around people. Who were staring.

I let out a nervous chuckle, pulling away. "I think we're putting on a show."

Carmen turned away from me, facing the staring crowd. "Come on people! This is Hollywood!"

There's my feisty Carmen.

My Carmen?

"Carm? Can we go somewhere... Quieter?"

She grabbed my hand. "I'm tired of going slow. Its not like we just met. I want you."

A/N: last chapter is the one we've all been waiting for... They get down and dirty (: