April Showers2

continuing....

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April, meet Roger. Maureen gave him a final shove, then flounced back over to the camera guy.

Roger ducked his head. Uh, hi. I'm sorry about Maureen, she's just a diva...

I shrugged. No, that's all right, really. I was bored. I stood, and offered him my hand. April, if you missed it.

He stared at my hand for a second, as if he didn't know what he was supposed to do with it. Then he blushed slightly, and shook it. He still wouldn't meet my eyes. I sighed, but I wasn't about to let an opportunity go to waste. With my best seductive smile, I commented, So, Gorgeous, where you from?

That made him look up. He caught my smile, and after a moment, broke into his own grin. I think that's supposed to be my line, he said.

I won't hold it against you, I replied, getting a good look at him for the first time. He really was good-looking. He had a sort of rocker-artist look to him, which really appealed to me, for some reason. And a fantastic smile. All right, I was attracted to him.

He opened his mouth to say something, but a burst of raucous laughter from my acquaintances cut him off. Hey, April! a guy named Chino called. Get your fine ass over here!

Don't listen to him, honey! a girl, Leila laughed. He's just-- Chino covered her mouth with his hand, and she shrieked good-naturedly.

I glanced back at Roger, and shrugged apologetically. He smiled wryly. Wanna take a walk? he asked quietly.

Sounds good to me. I pulled a few crumpled bills out of my pocket and left them on the bar for my tab, then followed him to the door.

We walked -- I don't know how long we walked. It was one of those beautiful July nights, not too hot, with a clear sky. The streetlamps glowed. Some people are scared of this city at night -- I'd only been here four weeks and already, it was my favorite part of the day.

We didn't talk much. I was never one to talk about my past, and apparently, neither was Roger. I learned that he was a guitarist. He lived in a loft with four roomates -- the loud-mouthed Maureen, her boyfriend (and Roger's best friend) Mark, an anarchist named Collins, and Benny the entrepreneur. All I told him was that I had come to New York to escape my parents, and he just laughed and said yeah, that's what we're all doing.

Somehow, we wound up in Washington Square Park. The large fountain in the middle was still running, and we sat down. The moonlight glittered on the water, enticingly, and I slipped off my sandals and immersed my feet in up to the ankles. I closed my eyes, just enjoying the sensation of the cool water on my tired feet. When I opened my eyes again, I realized that Roger was staring at me.

I asked, a little defensively.

he said quickly, looking away. Then his eyes caught mine, and held them. It's just... your hair in the moonlight, he mumbled apologetically. It looked so...you look beautiful.

A warm blush crept up my cheeks. No one had ever told me I was beautiful before. Never honestly, anyway. But Roger seemed so...earnest. So truthful. He meant it. I smiled, a little self-consciously. I muttered, and looked down.

He misinterpreted my response. Look, I'm sorry, he said hastily, embarrassed. He stood. I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just making you uncomfortable. I'm sorry, really, maybe I should--

Without standing, I reached up and caught his arm, gently pulling him back down to my level. Trance-like, he kneeled. Watch out, he's falling for you, a voice in the back of my mind commented wryly.

Or am I falling for him?

No, don't go, I whispered, leaning forward, earnestly. Please. I like being here with you. He nodded slowly.

Only then did I realize how close our faces were. Roger noticed it at the exact same moment, I could tell. There were only two possible choices, at this point. One was to break the moment and pull away.

We mutually decided on the second option, and kissed.
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any roger/mimi or mark/roger people out there, stop complaining. you know he dated the girl. you can't change the history. aight, i've still got a ways to go, but i'm trying. reviews are manna. no, really, they are!