"James!"
The brunette continued to storm off as rain lightly sprinkled above his head, his hands shoved deep inside his pockets.
"James!"
He thrusted his hands deeper into his pockets, biting his soft, plump lips until a bead of blood emerged.
"James! Wait!"
James Diamond's body froze as he felt an icy, petite hand grip his wrist, keeping him in place.
"What do you want, Jo?"
"You love her." Jo gasped, panting as a few beads of rain trickled down her rosy face.
And the rain began to pour a little more, the light pitter patterof the water echoing in James' mind as Jo stared at him with her big brown eyes.
"I… I have no idea what you're talking about." The man cleared his throat, snatching his arm away from the dumbstruck blonde.
"James… you know exactly what I'm talking about!" Jo cried, her voice containing a hint of hysteria. "What I don't understand is why, James? Why now?"
"Jo, don't. Don't make this harder than it already is. Please, Jo."
The brunette began to walk off, despite the fact that the pitter patter of rain was not the only thing echoing in his mind anymore.
You love her.
"Don't you dare walk off, James Diamond! Don't you dare do this to her!"
He continued to walk…the splashing of water as he trudged in the developing puddles, however, was no longer enough to drown out the sound of those words. You love her.
"James!"
Plunk. Plunk. Plunk.
"James!"
Pitter patter. Pitter patter.
"James!"
He couldn't take it anymore. "What?" The brunette hissed, throwing his hands in the air. "What the hell do you want me to do? Huh? I'm walking away. I'm letting her be happy! What more do you want from me?"
Jo blinked, her brown eyes widening a bit more as James snarled at her. When he looked at her expectantly, she sighed. "James… why didn't you realize you were in love with her sooner?"
The man shook his head slowly, his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "I wasn't-"
But it was not true. He froze. He was in love with Katie all along. All those years of asking her if she wanted to double date with him… All those years of walking in the park with her with his arm wrapped around hers… All those years staring at her as though she were the only girl in the room… All those years…
Jo looked at the man in front of her with sad, sympathetic eyes. "Why now?"
He slowly exhaled, as the truth of it all flashed before his eyes. "Because, perhaps… we were never… meant to be…"
"After all those years of loving her… You're just letting her go?"
James hissed once more, "What else can I do?"
And the brunette began to walk away again, to be stopped one last time. "You can marry her, instead."
The man suppressed a bitter laugh. "And how the hell would I do that?"
"Convince her to run away with you. Make her see that you are meant to be, James."
"I can't ruin her wedding."
"Can't you?" Jo raised her eyebrow questioningly. "It's not too late. You can't ruin a wedding if the wedding won't take place."
James stared at the blonde with disbelief. "Isn't she one of your best friends? Why are you doing this to her?"
"Oh, please. You say it as though I were committing murder." Jo grinned. "I'm only doing what's best for her. I know she won't be happy with Tyler. Not in the same way as she would be with you."
"And how do you know this?"
"I'm her best friend. I know everything." The blonde laughed. "Now…what are you going to do? Are you going to fight for her while you still can, or are you going to stand there and watch the love of your life get married to another man?"
James sighed. "Well, when you put it that way,,,"
"Yay!" The blonde squealed. "Okay. Listen closely. Tomorrow is- er, was- Katie and I's coffee date. We were going to discuss everything about the wedding tomorrow, and how we should start. I, however, am going to be sick tomorrow. Understand? You, on the other hand, are going to be healthy and giddy tomorrow. Giddy enough to help Katie plan her wedding."
"But-"
"Shhhh!" Jo hissed. "I'm not done. While you help Katie plan her wedding, you are going to win her over. I'll attend some of our little meetings, but I'll find excuses to have you fill in instead. I'll have Logan and Carlos back off too."
"So, I'm winning her over while I'm helping her plan her wedding to another man?"
"Exactly."
"This is so wrong…"
"But you'll just have to make it work! There is no other way."
"Fine. When and where?"
"Eight in the morning sharp, Starbucks. Call me after, and we'll go from there. This is your last chance. Don't screw this up, James. I'm risking my own butt for you."
With that, Jo gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and scurried back into the house a couple of blocks down.
And yet, James still couldn't get those damned words out of his mind… or out of his heart.
I love her.
SO, what do you think? Please review, and thank you to those who have!
-Loreli