I once again took the painting in my hands and looked at it. It looked like a collage, with little pictures of us painted all over it, and lyrics from songs that meant something to us, like "this love is difficult, but it's real" or "just to see you smile, I'd do anything". Right in the middle of the painting were the words "right where I need to be" since that was a song that meant something to us as a 'couple' and that we both loved. At the bottom of the painting was "forever started the moment I met you" and scattered through the whole thing were the words "it's a love story, please say yes". Oh, and we can't forget about "All or Nothing" written at the very top, which was our actual song. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked over it again and again. How I could say something like she didn't care was beyond me.
But honestly, I trusted her. With everything. And I didn't even think anything happened after the initial shock wore off. Even if she was drunk, I knew she wouldn't do that. So here I am, totally ready to forget about everything, and she tells me that she isn't sure if it happened. That she doesn't remember and couldn't tell me whether it happened or not. And when I heard that, it was like a stab to the heart. How was I supposed to trust her when she didn't trust herself? She did apologize, but then she just said do whatever you want to do. And honestly, I had no clue. At this point, I was ready to say, 'I don't care if it happened or not, you weren't in the right mind, let's forget about it'. Because on top of everything, I wanted to be with her! I didn't care what happened, I just wanted to be together. But it felt like she had given up, like she figured we were over and didn't want to try and fix it. And that hurt more than anything. Once she showed me the painting, I knew that it wasn't true. As I sat on my bed, I knew nothing would be solved if this was the way that we handled it. Plus, I couldn't stand the thought of Brittany out there hurting. So, I slipped on some flip-flops and grabbed my keys and a couple of hoodies, then walked out the door, locking it behind me. The red Mustang was still in the driveway, so that marked that out. The only other thing that made sense was the beach, so I began walking to where I knew one of her favorite spots was. I began jogging down the beach barefoot, hoping to find the blonde before the sun set. I missed her so much already and I needed to be with her.
Before long, I slowed my pace slightly and took a few deep breaths. I knew that I had already run at least a couple miles and still there was no sign of Brittany. I finally stopped and placed my palms on my knees and crouched over. I was starting to think that I went the wrong way all together and I wasn't going to find her. I began to start walking again. Still trying to catch my breath. After I walked for about two minutes, I heard sniffing ahead of me, and I knew I had found my girl. Sure enough, I saw her sitting on the beach with her back leaning against a log and her arms wrapped around her legs. Her chin was resting on her knees, and she was shivering. I walked up to her, dropped to my knees, and slowly wrapped my arms around her, hoping that she wouldn't push me away. When her legs started to lower from her body, I have to admit, I thought she was just about to shove me off of her, but I was pleasantly surprised when she wrapped her arms around me and buried her head in the crook of my neck. I pulled her closer to me and I couldn't help the tears that flowed down my cheeks. We stayed like that for quite some time, until finally I pulled back just a little, but still kept my arms wrapped around her. She raised her eyes to meet mine and the sadness in them overwhelmed me. If there was one thing in the world that I hated the most, it was to see Brittany Pierce sad. At the same time, each of us whispered 'I'm sorry'. We were sorry for different things, but sorry nonetheless. I sat beside her, up against the log, but kept her hand in mine. I explained what I thought to her, and why I thought that, and I think she did understand, and she was quick to tell me that that wasn't the case at all. She didn't want to continue to say how sorry she was because in her past relationships, when someone said that to her, it meant nothing. She didn't want me to feel the same way. Then she told me that she didn't think there was any way that could have happened, and that she would never do that to me. That was all I needed to hear. I apologized for how I acted, since it was completely unreasonable. After she shivered once again, I handed her the hoodie I had brought for her, it was actually mine, her favorite of mine that is. I put mine on and we sat there under the stars, since the sun had set long ago, and tried to unwind. Sure, there was still some tension there, how could there not be. But I trusted her, no matter what, and I knew she would feel the same if the roles were reversed. Thankfully, she managed to forgive my behavior and my lack of trust.
It was obvious that we both felt horrible about what had happened, so instead of dwelling on it, we cuddled up together and sat there, staring out at the ocean and the stars. Not many words were said, I think each of us were just thinking. I couldn't help but to think of how frustrated I was with the whole thing, you know, us being together but not together, having to worry about stepping over lines, it was all just too complicated really. None of our friends understood it, they pretty much thought we were crazy, and I was beginning to think the same thing. Why put ourselves through this when we could be together, really together, and not have to worry about any of that? Sure, we both said that we were happy with the situation, but I knew that each of us wanted to take that next step. If we were happy now, who's to say we wouldn't be even happier if we were actually together. I had enough. I wanted to be with Brittany, she wanted to be with me, what in the hell was stopping us?
"Baby," I whispered and squeezed her side a little, causing her to look at me. She tilted her head, as if to say 'what' and turned her body a bit towards me. I took a deep breath, and spoke before I could change my mind. "I, I'm tired of running around in circles. Worrying about stepping over lines, or boundaries, whatever. I want to be with you, with you and only you. So...I was wondering if you would make me the happiest girl in the world, and be with me, officially?"
To say that I was nervous as I waited for her reply was an understatement. I mean, I don't know why because she was going to ask me out, but still, it was nerve wracking. I swallowed the small lump in my throat, and finally she spoke.
"Ye-..yeah. I- of course," she stumbled out, and I have to say, I do believe it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. A bright smile lit up her face, which I'm sure matched mine, and she quickly wrapped her arms around me tightly. I was just as eager to embrace her, and I really think that will always be one of the happiest moments of my life. She pulled back a tiny bit and slowly met my lips with hers, and gently kissed me. Well, you know how these things go. They start out slow and soft, but soon enough hands were tangled in hair, mouths were opened to allow our tongues to meet and slowly explore the other's mouth. As we began to pull away, I took her bottom lip between my teeth, and refused to let go. She only grinned, well, the most she could, and mumbled something that I couldn't quite make out. I let go of her lip and gently pecked her lips once more, leaning my forehead against hers. Smiles like those of a fool adorned both of our faces, and neither of us could stop. I don't think we were complaining either.
"What does my beautiful, amazingly stunningly gorgeous girlfriend want to do now?" I asked with a smile that felt like it was going to break my cheeks. I couldn't help it though!
"Well, your girlfriend thinks we should hang here for a little bit?" Brittany asked me with a smile equally as big.
"That sounds perfect baby," I told her as I wrapped my arms tighter around her and felt her lay her head on my shoulder. Perfect. That's exactly what I was feeling right now. It felt as if nothing could touch us. It was us against the world.
TBC…