Chapter 7
Froze in a rather awkward position -- one arm still outstretched that must of held that bowl of popcorn, and in his other hand, a held out a popped kernel. It all gives Quistis a good impression of what he'd been up to when she got the shock of her life.
While coming to grips with what happened, she try her best to hold in the hilarity of it all.It looks like popcorn snowed all over him from hair right on down.
"I'm beginning to think you're the prettiest walking disaster there is.", was his humorous statement.
"What are you doing here?"
A wary smile as his empty hand begins to brush at one shoulder has him cautiously informing,
"I'm Selphie's replacement. She couldn't make it so she called me wondering if I'd be interested in taking her place. I didn't think I'd give you this sort of reaction. I'm sorry."
He looked a bit unnerved and doubtful, and suddenly all Quistis wanted to do is tell him it's the best surprise she ever had.
Biting her lip trying her best to keep her smile at bay, Quistis take a few steps around the chair and can't help reaching up to ruffle the scattered kernels from his hair.
Loving that Seifer's here, she tried to keep back any traces of humor as she say,
"Is it to late to close my eyes?"
Quistis watched, as Seifer comically propels the popcorn kernel in his hand, over his shoulder.
The corner of his mouth tugs into a playful smile and the doubt she witnessed in the depths of his stare turns warmer. The beat of her heart accelerates as one of his hands lightly circles the wrist of her own that's still brushing away kernels from his hair. Bringing it to rest over his heart, his gaze lowers to linger at the site of her teeth that nip a portion of lower lip.
"Any last requests?" He teasingly asks.
Quistis' heart flutters at the very idea of what that stare suggests.
Thinking it's a ploy to mislead her into an unexpected bouncing of popcorn, she throw caution to the wind, close her eyes, and mask herr emotions into mock seriousness.
"I double dare you. Do your worst."
Moments stretch without any repercussion, and that only feeds her doubts about her off handed challenge. Knowing it's just a matter of time before he grabs a scattered handful of popcorn, Quistis brace herself for its impact.
The feel of fingertips that ascend from her hand that's still against his chest surprises her. The slow trail they make up her arm is suddenly combined by the feel of other fingertips that touch and follow the curve of her jaw.
A gentle touch tentatively brushes away stray tresses along her shoulder, then caresses a path against the pulse at the side of her throat. Venturing further, caressive fingertips brush the nape of her neck that then eases her blindly forward.
"Double dare me huh?"
His whisper breezes against her forehead before the soft flutter of his breath swirls lower. The touch of his lips lightly kiss both her closed eyelids before a wispy one strokes the tip of your nose.
"Dangerous words…"
The touch of his lips against the corner of her mouth instantly scatters butterflies in the pit of her stomach. A marvel of emotional sensations race through her as his tender trail lightly traces across her lips to the other corner. Her lips part to draw in needed air to make up for the sudden lack of oxygen her body lacks.
Soft trails of tenderness slowly turn to warm tempting kisses. Each kiss, a lasting fraction of time that lingers a bit a longer with each passing. Overwhelmed, her senses real on dizzying sensations that delve past the intimate to repercussions of passion.
The fingers of her hand over his heart curl into a fist of shirt fabric. Her other hand weaves into the silk layers of his hair, drawing the kiss deeper, bringing him closer to feel the brush of his body against hers.
As body contours fit together, she heard his own in-drawn breath, feel his own heartbeat match the quickened pulse of her own, and feel the now shared kiss between the both of them change to a sudden forbidden intensity never explored before…
Everything halts. Even more dazed then before, he brakes the kiss, and brakes contact.
Opening her eyes, Quistis find him a foot away, his stare a molten combination of desire and fathomless emotion. Several seconds tick by without a word; silent messages rushing by within the depth of his gaze.
Knowing he was feeling as overwhelmed by what just happened as she was, she tried to tell him in her own way there no need for explanations.
"That does it, from now on I'm buying stock in popcorn."
That makes him smile even though his deep breaths tell her he's still at odds with what just happened.
"I need some air. Be back in minute."
Before she was able to say anything more, he walks out of the room, leaving her there still confused and dazed.
For moments, she unconsciously look around at the scattered mess of popcorn while going over the events of what happened.
All thoughts of that circumstance halt when her gaze locks on the boxed leather music portfolio, beneath it, his diary that's on the floor.
Did he see it? Does he know?
Her heart lurches anxiously wondering if his hasty retreat was done to just that.
Of course if it came down to it, she could explain that she accidentally spilled dinner on it days before, but then again -- no. That wouldn't explain how the diary came to be in his kitchen in the first place.
With a wave of guilt, she pick up the items and uncertainly call out,
"I need to get out of this suit, It'll just be a few."
Berating herself for how unsteady her voice is, she hastily retreat to her bedroom, the excuse not a total fabrication since the suit she was wearing from an early interview was beginning to take its toll.
Before she search for something more comfortable, she immediately scan the diary and groan. More damage, though not so bad this time, catches her attention. There on the cover were a few scattered blotch marks from the popcorn itself.
Oh well, she thought, it was a good thing that restorer does wonderful work.
Scanning the pages, she's relieved that at least there's no damage to be found here. Her eyes open to a page that captures her attention…
"... Sometimes it's so easy to forget the little things in life, yet when the things we depend on are taken from us, it's those little things that stand out.
I walked around the darkness searching for matches to light a candle. Completely lost and confused, I couldn't even decide left from right.
After a day like this, all I really needed was to hear her voice tell me it was going to workout. I grabbed my guitar and sat on the porch as the rain came down hard trying to pass the time by breaking through the silence.
I started playing from that mental set list in my mind of all her favorites. As I sang, my voice filled the night with love songs and contemporary melodies.
After awhile it seemed as if my hands, fingers, and voice had taken over. Notes I've never played before came from the guitar, while words flowed from my lips like a river overflowing.
Losing track of time and space my voice grew louder and louder in hopes to connect with her tonight where ever she was. Just hoping somehow I could reach her and she might hear me.
My body became one with the song as my hands moved across the guitar's body, and my fingertips gently touched her neck.
I remember singing the words 'when I want you - when I need you'. The faster my hands moved, the harder my heart beat.
With a sort of desperation I played with all my senses trying to break through the invisible wall of separation between us, and search for her with my mind, body, and soul.
Faster, harder, deeper, my heart strained until I stopped on the verge of gasping for air.
Suddenly from the recesses of my mind I could sense her clapping and cheering. Had I reached her? Then from out of the depths of my soul came her voice.
"Another song?" I replied, "Of course Angel. Do I write for anyone else?"
The phone rang. In no rush to answer it anticipating only someone from the recording studio checking up on me, I hesitantly picked up the phone only to find out that I couldn't have been more wrong…"
The soft knock on her bedroom door startles her before she was able to finish reading the entire entry, and his voice softly filters through.
"Quistis?"
On the emotional threads of what she had just read, she tried and compose herself once again,
"I - I decided to take a quick shower. I'll just be a couple of minutes, I promise."
She don't know really why she even blurted out those words, she just knew she need more time to get a hold of emotions that were running rampant through her.
Actually, on second thought, a shower didn't seem like a bad idea
Silence stretched for a few moments, but his reply did come,
"Are you sure?"
Quistis feel her own smile form again trying to figure just what that question was:
"sure you'd be a couple of minutes, or sure you wanted to take a shower? Well there's only one answer to both questions anyway." She thought..
"Yes."
A few moments more and his words filtered through with the merest hint of tenderness, "I'll keep the popcorn warm."
As footsteps echo away, she entered the connecting bath, turn on the water for the shower, then trail back into the bedroom with the need to read the rest of his words…
"…It was her and how my heart lurched at her 'hello'. For once the man who always has so much to say was speechless.
I struggled with emotion as I said 'Hi', but as usual she read me like a book. Within seconds she knew I was upset. Slowly as I told her about my day, my heart began to ache all the more because of the many miles between us.
How I yearned to open the flood gates of my soul and tell her everything. How afraid I was of losing her. How much I needed her. How I just wanted to take her in my arms and tell her how much I loved her.
Yet too afraid I'd drive her away, I just continued to hold the phone close to me with my arms wrapped around my pillow listening to her sweet voice that calmed all the doubts I harbored; her own words reassuring that she missed me just as much.
For hours we talked until we made a pact that we'd stay on the phone together till one of us fell asleep. So I pulled back the covers and climbed into bed with my arms still wrapped around my pillow and the phone held close.
I wished her sweet dreams and blew a kiss through the phone just incase she was the first to fall asleep. She wished me a goodnights sleep, and then for hours more we talked.
All during that time those three words were in my heart and on my mind. Oh how I didn't want our conversation to end, but in no time her voice drifted away to soft silence, and I couldn't find it in my heart to be selfish enough to wake her. The moment I had so longed for had finally arrived.
I spoke those three words dearest to my heart.
I love you."
Seifer
Leaning into the spray of the shower, hot water rinses away the last remnants of shampoo while his written words echo in her mind.
The last thing she remembered that night was his voice softly lulling her to the sweetest dreams, then waking up to a warm good morning from him, the phone still nestled close to her ear.
"If only I had stayed awake a little longer…" she thought,
"I wouldn't have missed out on the most important words of my life."
With a frustrated twist of the shower knobs she turned off the water and reached for a towel. Throughout the vigorous drying, her mind plays devils advocate reminding her of the many opportunities there had been to voice her own feelings, but she never had either.
What's wrong with me? All I have to do is tell him. What am I so afraid of?
The answer from the deepest fear her heart harbors is too obvious.
I'm afraid of losing him.
How many months had it been, almost six? And in all that time he had been the perfect soul mate in practically every sense of the word. Yet every time the both of them were together, he held himself in check. Didn't he know how much she ached when both of them were apart too?
Is my inexperience showing? Is he waiting for me to…to…?
The thread of her thoughts stops as the revelation hits.
He's waiting for a sign from me.
Walking back into the bedroom she placed the diary in the top dresser drawer, then walk over to her bed to grab the extra folded blanket on the end. Wrapping it around her, Quistis took a deep breath for courage and walk out the bedroom door.
"Well, he's waited long enough."
She stood there looking at his shadowed silhouette for a very long time while uncertainty tugged at her conscience.
Through the open French doors, she watched gentle evening winds ruffle against his blonde hair and ripple against an open shirt that trailed the end of those breezes. With hands braced along the iron railing of her balcony, his features seemed set between frustration and indecision.
It was an unguarded glimpse of him she knew existed from reading his own words, one she rarely saw.
I can do this...he's waited long enough to know what's in my heart.
The last thing she wanted was to lose everything she held precious in this relationship. Friendship. Devotion. Companionship. Love. Where would they stand after they woke up in each others arms the next morning?
The repercussions scared her more then she was willing to admit. It was enough to rethink her impulsive decision.
In her heart she knew she loved him. No matter what, that would never change.
Her experience though, ended there. The few failing relationships from her past weren't something she could draw on to help her in this circumstance.
Of course being hurt before made her cautious, but by comparison of what she'd gone through, this was love, not shades of the possibility. The risk she was taking was far more detrimental and she didn't want to make a total disaster of it.
Closing her eyes she took a deep breath for courage … then caught by the confession of the moment, thought this would probably be the best time to tell him about the diary as well.
"Quistis…"
She was in the midst of turning back to retrieve his diary when his voice soft and low caught her off guard. Her steps faltered on trailing blanket and the gathered ends she held slipped from her hands.
"Don't panic", her mind screamed, "remain calm and just try and retrieve the blanket…inconspicuously".
She glanced down at folds of blanket pooled around her feet while the night air coming through the doors stirred across her skin.
Now all she had to do was lean down, grab the blanket, and think of what to say.
"I…a…well, I forgot today was laundry day."
"Oh real smart thinking", she silently berated herself further, "how in blazes is bad humor going to help me out here?"
"I've got no clothes…oh damn…that is to say I couldn't find any clean clothes…"
The sound of doors clicking shut followed by slow footsteps stilted her words and kept her frozen in place.
She couldn't look. She didn't have the courage to witness what he actually thought of her actions right now. Maybe in a minute she'd scrap up enough nerve, but she felt far too vulnerable to face anything yet.
"Hey, it's only me, remember?" The rough huskiness of his voice was nothing compared to the fragile trace of fingertips against her cheek that brought her eyes to his.
"You never have to be anything but yourself."
His gaze was a fathomless whirlpool of emotion. His nearness, an intoxicating aphrodisiac that caused her body to tremble.
"Surprised?" was all she could audibly bring herself to say.
Long moments full of heated undercurrents made wondering what the spontaneity of the moment would bring increasingly difficult. Then, as a muscle flexed along his jaw, his gaze slowly descended.
Without a word, his body followed. So close that stir of his breath and the slight graze of hair against her skin was a revelation while he crouched down to where the blanket lay.
No, his actions weren't a practiced seduction to further incite her, but the implied sensuality of it caught her breath as he came back up to drape the soft folds of blanket around her shoulders and gather them at the base of her throat.
His breathing was as shallow as her own, and with what looked to be conscience effort he whispered,
"I'm speechless."
A wave of understanding along with the first threads of humor overwhelmed her. Looking away from his stare hoping he wouldn't see just how self conscience she felt, she relied on her trusted humor once again.
"I think you're at a disadvantage."
His hold on her blanket tightened a fraction as he steadily pulled her towards him.
"Are you sure about this?"
"More than I've ever been in my entire life -- about anything."
"I need you in my life in every way "
The softest of kisses whisked across her forehead.
"I'm glad you cleared that up, I was beginning to think we wouldn't get anywhere because I snored in my sleep."
The soft trail of a kiss whisked against her cheek with a trace of tenderness,
"Actually," came the stirring whispered swirl that laced her ear,
"you talk in yours."
The indulgent sensation slowly had her tilting her head as his lips lightly stroked the outer shell of sensitive skin.
"And it's the sweetest sound my heart's ever heard."
Gasping softly, her body leaned closer as that light trail further ventured tentatively along the side of her throat. When her hands began to reach for something a bit more steady to hold on to, her palms contacted heated skin that tensed while he issued a ragged whisper,
"Quistis…this is your only chance. If you don't pull away, I won't have the will to stop. Not this time."
Her fingertips tested the heated plains of his chest hesitantly, feeling the slight tremble from his own body as she continued to lightly caress.
"Isn't this what love does to two people? Make them want to share their heart in every way possible, throwing intentions out the window?"
She wasn't sure if that came out right but it wasn't moments later that his gaze captured her again, the startled impact of her words sinking past a passionate haze that further fueled courage enough for her to clarify.
"I've loved you since the moment I saw you. Don't ask me why it took me this long to say it, but I'm telling you now."
Another stretch of silence literally unnerved her when words of his own didn't follow.
"Speechless again? Tell you what, you go on over and take a seat and I'll get you a glass of water or something stronger for 'shock purposes'."
She tried to pull away gently, while her thoughts lingered that she might of botched up this whole situation. But then moments later his husky voice whispered,
"Say that again."
Staring up into the fathomless depths of his gaze once more, she asked cautiously,
"About falling in love with you, or that you look like you need a glass of…"
One hand released folds of blanket so that fingertips gently pressed against her lips putting her words to an end.
"I've waited all my life to hear those words Quistis, and it felt like forever hoping they'd came from you. I just needed a minute to make sure I wasn't dreaming."
Fingertips swirled over her chin, curved along the side of her throat, as she smiled.
"You mean I'm offering you water in your dreams too? Now there's a really sad thought."
Biting her lip, she tried to reassure herself that the words she longed to hear would come...
His fingers curled around the nape of her neck, drawing her closer so that lips a fraction away whispered huskily against her's,
"In my dreams I'm showing you exactly what this little habit of yours drives me to do…"
Brushing kisses coaxed her into a slow tender temptation that made her heart pound faster and her soul take flight.
This time when the blanket around her shoulders fluttered away, she was lifted into his arms.
"Tonight we won't be dreaming Quistis. Tonight I'm going find every possible way I can to express just how much I love you."
Startled by the impact of his words as well as the swiftness of his actions, it took her a moment to gain her bearings,
"What did you say?"
His eyes filled with teasing tenderness that almost too innocently mocked her words moments before.
"Which part didn't you get Quistis, being in love with you ,or showing you in every possible way?"
Her eyes misted with emotion as her arms wrapped slowly around his neck
"Maybe I'm the one that needs that glass of water."
He murmured huskily against her lips,
"I think our hearts can handle the shock just fine..."
then kissed her tenderly as he carried her off to her bedroom.
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Author's notes:
Geez….i dunno how to end this….This fic already gives me the eyebugs! =_="
Juz scroll down and submit your review okei? ^_^
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