A/N: Sorry this chapter took a littlebit longer- I've been battling a particularly nasty cold since Monday and was in afog until yesterday. I've been toying with the idea of making this the last chapter, but I haven't decided either way yet.
5/22 Edit: I decided not to add more chapters. See you at my next fic!
I woke up and sleepily checked the clock that was sitting on the nightstand. 3:24. Great. While I hovered between sleep and consciousness, I groggily wondered why I was dressed in just my bra and had an arm draped across my hip. Oh, right… I thought as memories of last night came creeping back. Everything after dinner was a little blurry. Some things I remembered distinctly: Bobby and I walking in the park, dancing in the park…kissing in the park.
Did we really do that? I remembered driving back to his apartment, holding his hand in the elevator, and…oh…so THAT was why I was half-naked in his bed. That explained a lot.
A wave of apprehension rushed through me. What if Bobby woke up and regretted it? What if he hadn't felt the same things that I had? What if he didn't want a relationship after all? What if…
I shivered at the possibilities. Through his sleep, he tightened his arm protectively around my waist. "Alex…love…you…" he muttered, still sleeping. I couldn't help it. At that, I melted. Even unconscious, he was adorable. I stopped worrying, because at that moment the worst that could happen didn't matter anymore. I had him, he had me, and that was all we needed. Our own personal Hallmark card of a relationship.
I snuggled into him again. It felt good to have his arms around me, so intimate and comforting. I stopped caring about what the morning would bring and let myself drift back to sleep.
Later that morning
When I woke up again, it was already light out. I smiled, but stopped when I realized his warmth was gone; he wasn't holding me anymore. I rolled over to see what was going on. I smiled in relief when I saw him sitting up in bed, fully dressed with his back against the headboard. "Bobby? What time is it?" I asked, not entirely awake yet. "Good morning to you too," he said with a teasing smile. "And it's 10:15 on the nose."
I sat bolt upright at that. "Oh my God, we have to get to work!" I nearly screamed. I simultaneously got out of bed and wrapped his sheets around my still-undressed body. "Why didn't you wake me? We're going to be in so much trouble…" I said, getting panicky. I hurriedly bent over to pick up my clothes from the floor. I stopped suddenly when I felt his big, strong hands on my waist. I immediately straightened up, still holding my bundle of clothes. He wrapped his arms around me again and pulled me into him. "Sshhhhh…" he whispered soothingly into my ear. "Calm down. Today's Saturday. We have the day off." He reached around me to pull the clothing out of my arms and dropped it back on the floor. I spun around to face him, just as I had in the park the night before. I melted into his arms, savoring his warmth against me. "You can stop freaking out about work. Although it was kind of entertaining…" I playfullypunched him in the stomach.
"That'll teach you to mess with me," I muttered into his t-shirt. It felt wonderful just to stand there and be held, like I was the only important thing to him. I looked up into his eyes and he looked down into mine. He kissed me again, softly and gently at first, but harder as it continued. I wanted that kiss to last forever. All too soon, I felt him pull away. "You should get dressed," he said, still looking into my eyes. He kissed my forehead and stepped back. "You go do whatever it is women do in the bathroom and I'll go make breakfast." He gave me one last quick kiss on the lips and left the room.
I smiled to myself. Even when he was being sentimental, he was still Bobby. I stepped into the bathroom that adjoined his bedroom and turned the water on for a shower.
Once I had sufficiently freshened up, I stepped out of the bathroom and walked down the hall to his dining/living room. He was just coming out of the kitchen and held a platter of pancakes, fruit, and bacon in one hand and a pot of coffee in the other. He smiled and raised his eyebrows at the sight of me wearing one of his shirts. "Mine had alfredo sauce on the sleeve," I told him. Well, it was true. It did have a stain on it. Besides, I liked wearing his shirt. It was big and comfy.
He chuckled and shook his head. "If you say so…" Turning his attention back to the food, he said, "I've got pancakes, bacon, fresh fruit, and coffee here. I've got OJ and cereal if you want some of that too." As he set it all on the table, I looked at him and smiled. "Why are you doing all this for me?" I asked questioningly. I didn't mean to sound suspicious, I was just genuinely curious.
"Because I want to take care of you, Alex," he replied. He moved in towards me again. He kissed me softly and pulled me into a tight embrace. "Because I love you, Alex."
I looked up at him, a bit shocked. Saying that he loved me in his sleep was one thing, but now when he knew what he was doing was quite another. I looked up at him, half expecting him to give me one of those embarrassed retraction-apologies that guys do when they know they've said too much. But he was gazing assuredly into my eyes without a hint of regret. As anxious and unsure as I had been before, it all disappeared when I saw the look of pure sincerity in his eyes. "I love you too, Bobby," I finally responded, giving him my biggest smile yet.
I did love him, I really did. I had for as long as I'd known him. It struck me as oddly humorous that we'd each been repressing it for so long, each one of us sure that the other couldn't possibly feel the same. And now that I knew…it was like a weight was gone from my shoulders. I didn't have to hide it anymore. It felt wonderful and natural and everything else that love was supposed to be.
In the words of someone much smarter than me, "Love really is everything it's cracked up to be. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for."
And you know what? It is. It really is.
P.S. The quote is from Erica Jong, but I don't know specifically what book.