CHAPTER TWO
AT BELLE AND PHILIP'S LOFT
Meanwhile, Belle and Philip are having a very serious discussion about love and sex. Belle's mind was astir with so many feelings and she was having a hard time sorting them out. She was trying to face the fact that Shawn had left her and was never coming back—at least he was never coming back to her or their relationship. She had been in denial for so long but it was just time for her to face reality. No one said that it would be this difficult though.
To make matters more confusing, even though her sister Sami and her best friend Mimi had been telling her for weeks that Philip was in love with her, she had refused to believe that he was anything more than a good friend. A good friend that was always around comforting her and holding her and taking her to dinner, dancing with her... Wait, these crazy ideas must have come from the same land of denial as her belief in Shawn because not only had she really seen it for herself tonight but he had actually just confirmed it by telling her that she was his mystery woman and that he was in love with her.
"Belle, I think you should take some time to sort out your feelings and then maybe we can work on things between us," Philip said after dropping his bomb. He hadn't meant for it to come out that way but sometimes you just can't control these things. He just couldn't hold it in any longer especially after getting proof that Shawn had given up on their relationship. Not to mention that fact that he was your average, young, red-blooded male and living this close to her was driving him nuts.
Belle decided to switch gears and try a new tactic for dealing with this situation. 'I'm a twenty-something-year-old woman and it's time that I start acting like it' she thought to herself in order to build up her courage.
With that, Belle looked up at Philip who was peering at her with longing in his eyes and his heart on his sleeve. She just couldn't resist him any longer and she knew that this was what it meant to let Shawn go for good. She leaned up into his body, wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a very grown up, sexy kiss on him.
Philip, for his part, was initially completely shocked by Belle's behavior but since she would probably come to her senses any minute and declare that it was a mistake, he decided to go with it. She felt better than he ever imagined and having her so real and soft in his arms felt like all he needed in the world.
Belle couldn't explain the connection she felt with Philip at that moment. For a split second she thought of pulling back and declaring her actions a mistake but when he encircled her body with his strong arms and began caressing her so gently she just couldn't resist him. She placed a soft kiss on his lips and pulled away. She could see the effect she had on him and really felt the power of desire as it overtook her as well.
"Philip, I want you to make love to me. I know this is sudden but I don't want to think anymore about Shawn or about being lonely or friendship. I just want to feel...and I want to feel with you."
Philip was speechless. Never in a million years would he have predicted that the evening would turn out like this. Belle so innocent yet willing in his arms begging him to make love to her. He knew she could see the conflict in his eyes but above all else, there was the desire and years of pent up yearning that neither of them could deny. He could do nothing at that moment but take her in his arms and show her how much he wanted to be the one to make her feel.
They were both so wrapped up in their mutual attraction that neither noticed the shimmering mass hanging above their heads. When the couple collapsed on the sofa to begin making out in earnest and when the cloud descended upon Philip, neither could feel anything but the force of their desire for each other.