Hey! So it's finally up! I've said so many sorrys you guys probably don't care anymore but if you accept yet another one, you're more than welcome to read this chapter! I might be leaving something out that I'm certain I'll remember later but that's fine.
Left it on a cliffhanger last time so here's the next part :D
"Come on, Cor…" Dianna whimpered into her cell as the recording of Cory's voicemail began.
"Still not answering?"
The blonde sighed and pressed the 'end' button. There was no use leaving a message. She had already left about twenty.
"No, he's not." She told Lea who had been with her since her and Cory's fight.
It was hard for Lea to sit and watch her best friend be so upset. She had been right next to Dianna comforting her while she cried and giving her support since Cory stormed out of the restaurant the previous night.
"Maybe you need to give him more time." She lamely said, knowing that no suggestion was going to resolve the blonde.
Dianna sighed again and fell back against her bed.
"But it's been forever! He's had enough time."
"It hasn't even been a complete day yet, Di."
"Oh my god, you're right," She huffed and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "It's only three in the afternoon and yet it feels like it's already been days… I'm so pathetic."
Another stream of tears streaked down her already wet face and she buried into her pillow to hide them.
Seeing this, Lea slowly made her way over to her sniffling friend and rubbed comforting circles into her back.
"Di, you're not pathetic," She informed her with a weak chuckle. "You're upset and you have the right to be. He walked out-"
"Yeah, because I was being a jealous bitch that couldn't control herself and had an outburst at Katie!" Dianna interrupted before slamming her face back down into her pillow, which had become her second comfort.
The petite woman shrugged and internally agreed with what she had said. Yeah, she did get jealous and finally exploded but she couldn't let her friend think what she did was wrong.
"Everyone gets jealous, Di. You're human. You have human emotions. You had the right to be upset with Katie and put her in her place. Cory just showed up at the wrong place and wrong time."
"Who would have thought the wrong place to keep something from a guy would have been the women's bathroom." Dianna deadpanned.
Lea exhaled deeply. "This is my fault too. I should have been better at keeping him away from there."
Dianna wiped her tears on the pillow before she pulled up to look at Lea.
"No, don't think that," She chastised. "Don't think any of what happened is your fault."
"But I feel like it is!" She shot back. "I made it my role to keep him at the table so you and Katie could have privacy."
Dianna let out a light breath of chuckles at the ironic situation they were in now. Who would have thought the comforted would become the comforter.
"Well thanks but it was coming to the point that he would have found out sooner rather than later."
"You're probably right," Lea agreed. "It just sucks it was like that."
"Ya think?" Dianna tried to laugh to make them feel better but it was just too hard. That's when she felt fresh tears arise and she dug her face into Lea's shoulder.
"Shh…" Lea soothingly consoled and wrapped her arms around her best friend.
"I don't know what to do," She cried. "Why won't he talk to me?"
"Just give him a little more time." Lea repeated her previous statement. "He'll come back to you, I know it."
Mean while on the Monte Carlo set…
"Alright, cut!" The director yelled, effectively ending their second to last scene for the day.
"Hey, that was a good take. Totally the one they'll use." Cory told the woman approaching him.
"You think so? I think I threw in a word here and there that wasn't in the script."
"Katie, it was great. I didn't even notice." He promised with a smile, which made her weakly grin in return.
"Thanks, Cor…"
She paused to give him a once over. To be frank, he looked like crap. She could tell he was obviously messed up from the night before. He had bags under his eyes letting her know he didn't get much sleep and there was a slight red tint around the rim of his eyes. He had probably been crying recently, she thought. He seemed like a very sensitive guy so the thought didn't surprise her. And sure he was smiling, but she knew it was a forced one.
It was then, looking into the eyes of the mess before her, that she was completely sure she couldn't keep up with her plan to steal this guy away from his girlfriend, no matter how much she needed someone like him.
"So how's it been going?" She finally asked.
Cory shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "Eh, it's been alright so far. I finished my scene for the day early so I went and grabbed lunch with Selena and Pierre."
Katie let out a breathy laugh. "No I meant, how's it been going with you? How have you been holding up?"
"Oh…" He muttered and his eyes found the ground. "I've been better I guess."
He attempted to laugh at his attempt to lighten the topic with a bit of humor but it came out in a heavy sigh.
"Yeah, I've seen you on better days," She said with a light smile. "Doesn't look like you got much sleep last night."
He shrugged dejectedly. "Yeah, not really… Don't take this the wrong way but uh, I'm surprised you care."
Katie knew not to take offense so she kept her small smile in tact.
"I'm not completely heartless, Cor." She joked and it earned her a slight smile from the tall brunette in front of her. "Actually, I'm surprised you're even talking to me."
"I know but, I try to keep my work life and personal life separate." He offered as a response and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her.
"Yeah clearly. It's not like you're dating your costar from Glee."
Cory joined in with a chuckle of his own, thankful to hear her playful teasing because it made the situation a little more bearable. His mom always said humor was always the beginnings of a good cure.
"Well I did say try, didn't I?"
When their laughter died down, Katie spoke again.
"So what's happening with you two?" She questioned and she watched as Cory pursed his lips.
"Listen, I know you're probably asking to see if we've broken up yet but I'm sorry to say we haven't. I'm sure you're disappointed because I finally get what's been happening but I just- I- I-"
He stopped to collect himself and Katie listened intently. She knew where this was going and she could've stopped him to explain herself but she figured she'd let him continue anyway.
"I like you Katie," he finally continued. "I like you as a costar, as a person, but mostly as a friend… You're a great girl but I've loved Dianna for two years before I even started dating her and now I can say I'm completely in love with that girl… woman," He corrected. "And want to be with her, therefore nothing between you and I is going to happen and I'm sorry."
"Cory, I get it-"
"And even though I guess you've been trying to get in between us since we started the movie-"
"Cory-" She tried again but she still wasn't getting through. Whatever, she'd just let him finish.
"And she doesn't trust me," he added bitterly. "Which makes me upset but that's not your fault and Dianna and I may have some issues but it's not enough because… because I'm always going to want to be with her…" He mumbled the last bit to himself more than Katie.
"Are you done?" She finally sounded when he seemed to make none.
"Wha- Yeah." He muttered.
"Good, because like I was trying to say before is that I get it. Yeah, I was trying to get in the middle of you guys because I liked you, Cory. I thought you were a great guy and I wanted you before I even knew you had a girlfriend, but I was wrong to continue to pursue you after I found out about Dianna.
"I'm not really like that I promise, but you were different than any other guy that I've dated. You're sweet, kind, funny, thoughtful; you care for everyone. I just really wanted a guy like that, but I realized that it was really wrong of me to start things with Dianna and try and cause problems. So I get it, okay? I get that you and I aren't going to happen and I accept that and I'm sorry again, Cor."
His lips formed a soft, crooked smile, which she was happy to see.
"I mean, I can't deny that I'm a little upset I couldn't bag my very own Owen, but I'm glad to see someone could… You should go get her."
Getting that she was referring to Dianna, Cory smiled brighter and nodded. He knew even if he tried his hardest, he couldn't stay away from Dianna. After all, she was the love of his life and he'd be damned if she didn't know that in the City of Love.
With one last fleeting thankful look to Katie, Cory spun around on his heels and ran to the exit of the hotel. He had a few stops to make.
It was about six o'clock when Lea had returned to her and Dianna's shared room from the market down the street. She had gone out on a mission to find comfort food like authentic French pastries and a couple goofy berets for them to wear just because they were in France and it'd be a tourist crime not to. She hoped the little things would put a smile on the woman's face even if it were the briefest, but as she returned to her she noticed a small fluorescent pink post it note stuck to their door.
Curiosity took over as she shuffled her purchases into one arm and pulled the note off the door so she could read it.
She didn't even need to the name at the end of the note to know whom it was from. The messy scratch easily gave it away.
Cory.
She eyed it for a second before she read.
Hey Di,
Even though I said I needed space, I'd like it if you'd meet me at the address below at seven. We need to talk.
Cory
Lea narrowed her brows at the last words. 'We need to talk.' Were they the break up kind or the legitimate conversation type? Either or, she found it to be eerie.
As she thought about this while she scanned the note over, she noticed the short bit of writing at the bottom.
P.s. The concierge has something for you. Make sure you check before we meet.
Get something from the concierge? Even if it may be eerie, Lea couldn't hold back her excitement as she slid her key card into the door and flew into the room to meet Dianna, but when she stepped in she didn't see her in the room.
"Di?" She called before she heard a broken voice answer.
"In here."
Lea turned the corner to the bathroom and found her best friend with her hands on the edges of the sink to support her weight as she leaned forward to stare at herself in the mirror. Lea looked on sadly at seeing her tear stained cheeks.
"Hey," Lea greeted soothingly. "What are you doing in here?"
"Just thought I'd take a good look at the stupid girl that lost one of the best things to happen to her." Dianna replied glumly, her stare never faltering from the mirror. "What an idiot…"
Lea subtly rolled her eyes at her. "Oh please, Di, I feel bad but I'm not going to mope with you over this."
Dianna scoffed. "Why not? Isn't that what best friends do?"
"Well normally, I'd say yes but not today!"
"Why not?" Dianna inquired as she wiped at her swollen eyes.
"Because I might have just found the start to getting yours and Cory's relationship back on track on the door!" She answered in a sugary tone, leaving Dianna to whip around to face her.
"What're you talking about?"
Lea smiled at hearing the hope in the blonde's voice.
"I'm talking about a note he left stuck to the door," She continued to grin as she pulled the note from her coat pocket. "He even chose a fluorescent pink post it, your favorite color."
Dianna bit her lip to hold back the smile that she knew would grace her lips at just the mere thought he cared enough to give her a note, never mind one that was her favorite color.
Gingerly taking it from Lea's hand, Dianna stared down at the folded piece of paper for what felt like an eternity.
"Are you going to open it or what?" The petite brunette impatiently questioned. Sure, she had already read it but she wanted to see what Dianna had to say.
"Y-Yeah…" She stuttered briefly but began to unfold the note.
Lea waited patiently as possible as Dianna's eyes flew over the writing and then she looked up, her eyes portraying confusion but also worry.
"What do you think he means by, 'we need to talk'?" She worried as her eyes darted frantically to the note and back to the woman in front of her. "Oh my god, he wants to break up!"
"Come on, you don't know that," Lea attempted to relieve her but even she found the note to be potentially ominous.
"No, no that's what always happen when someone says, 'we need to talk.' He's ending it!" Dianna yelled and the salty drops began to pour out of her eyes again but much more rapidly than they had been previously.
"Di, did you at least read the post-script?" Lea asked, hoping to calm her down but it was to no avail. Dianna kept sobbing heavily.
"That's it! I'm not going! I can't- I can't handle being broken up with. I love him, Lea! I won't give him the satisfaction of breaking my heart!"
"Dianna!" Lea shouted, finally pulling the woman out of her hysterics.
Dabbing at her eyes, Dianna looked up. "What?"
"Read the bottom."
"Wha-?" Dianna mustered up enough strength to direct her blurry vision back to the note.
"The bottom," The impatient brunette repeated.
After a few seconds, Dianna opened her mouth to speak.
"Get something from the concierge? Do you even know what that means?"
Lea shifted her head from side to side with a smirk. "Well I assume that means he wants you to go down to the front desk and ask them to give you what he's talking about-"
"You know, you don't have to be such a smart ass," Dianna informed her but with a slight smile showing that she was teasing back. Lea was happy to see even the slightest change of attitude in the blonde. "What I meant was, what do you think's down there?"
With a quick shrug of the shoulders, Lea said, "The only way to find out is to go."
Dianna sighed and left the bathroom to plop herself down on her bed.
"I don't know if I can yet. I'm still debating if I even want to show up to this- this address…" She spoke quietly while pointing to the address written right under the post-script.
Lea narrowed her brows in thought for a moment, realizing that she completely forgot to read the location below.
"Wait, what's the address?"
Dianna pursed her lips into a shrug before she read the location out loud.
"Avenue Gustave Eiffel-"
"Wait a second!" Lea interjected. "I'm going to cut you off right there! Eiffel? That has to be the address of the Eiffel Tower!"
"Why would we be going to the Eiffel Tower?" The woman on the bed queried to herself, completely ignoring the fact that her best friend was swooning on the other side of the room.
"Di, do you realize how romantic that is? He's taking you to the Eiffel Tower!" She gushed, happily in her own world.
"How could breaking up with someone possibly be romantic?" Dianna challenged.
Lea began to glare at her. "Okay first off, you're in Paris, City of Love! Secondly, no guy in their right mind would bring their girlfriend to the freakin Eiffel Tower just to break up with them! Not even the biggest asshole on the earth would do that."
"But he said we needed to talk…" She whimpered, still not letting the idea of their breakup go for some reason.
Lea huffed out a sigh and slumped next to Dianna on the bed.
"Do you want to break up?"
Dianna jumped back away from Lea like she had said the most wretched, offending thing in the world.
"No, of course not!" She replied without a tinge of doubt.
"Then get your ass downstairs! Go get what the concierge has!"
"But-"
"No, he's not breaking up with you!" Lea shouted just to solidify it into her head. Even though nothing in the world is certain, she was pretty damn confident of her statement so she wasn't going to let Dianna be an idiotic no-show at seven.
Dianna shifted her gaze downward and shut her eyes. Upon seeing this, Lea felt the guilt start to rush over her for pretty much yelling at her best friend in her haste to make her believe what she was saying.
"He isn't going to leave you." She assured the blonde in a softer tone.
Dianna brought her eyes to Lea. "You're sure?" She asked so quietly that it was almost a whisper.
"I'm sure," She promised with a light smile and hugged her. When they pulled away from each other she smiled brighter at Dianna. "You should really go down and see what he's talking about."
"Can- can you come with me?"
Lea could see the uncertainty all over her face, so like a supportive friend, she nodded.
"Of course. Let's go."
Dianna inhaled a deep breath, which came out shakily as she and Lea made their way through the grand lobby over to the front desks where they were quickly met with the amicable eyes of the man behind it.
"Bonjour!" He greeted politely to which the girls spoke a quick bonjour in return.
"How may I help you beautiful ladies today?" He wondered in his thick French accent.
Dianna just stared at the man for a few moments debating if she was sure she wanted to go through and ask what he had for her, but when Lea noticed this, she gave her a quick nudge, ordering her to speak.
"I was told to um, to pick something up from you…" She responded in a questioning manner and he smiled freely.
"Oh yes, a Mister um," He paused to collect his thoughts. "Oh, Monteith! A Mister Monteith left us with something. You must be Miss Agron!"
She gave a curt nod. "I am."
"Ah, you are going to love it! It is beautiful!" He called back as he shuffled to the door behind the desk, which they assumed led to some type of storage room.
"Hear that? It's beautiful." Lea noted the last part in her best French accent. Dianna giggled.
Surely a man that was about to dump his girlfriend wouldn't give her something beautiful, right? Then her mind fell deep into the doubt trenches.
'What if whatever he's giving me is just something he thinks will dull the pain of us breaking up? What if it's so beautiful it works? No! No, Dianna, that wouldn't ever happen. You'd be heartbroken either way. What if-"
"Di," Lea interrupted her, successfully stirring her from her dread filled thoughts. She stared at the brunette for a second before she nodded towards the concierge who had reappeared.
Getting the hint, Dianna turned her head to look at the man but that only lasted for point two seconds before her eyes locked onto their target.
"Oh shit," she muttered softly to herself, "It is beautiful."
Being held up on the counter in front of her was the most gorgeous dress she had ever seen. It was a true red, sequined dress that judging from where it fell on the counter, looked to be a longer one that would easily fall to her ankles. She would need heels…
Next to her, Lea literally had to push her mouth closed because her jaw had dropped! Who would have thought Cory could pick out something as amazing as this? She thought briefly, but he did pick Dianna right?
"This is- this is gorgeous!" Lea announced as she took it from the concierge and held it all the way up so Dianna could see. "You are going to look aaa-mazing in this!"
Dianna let out a breathy chuckle and nodded.
The brunette turned back to the man. "Are there any heels back there by chance?"
The concierge ducked his head. "No I'm sorry, just the dress."
"Damn."
"No, Lea I think I actually have shoes that will go great with it." Dianna said. What luck, right?
"Then I think we're all set!" She turned to the concierge. "Merci beaucoup!"
The man laughed. "You are very welcome."
Once they were back in the room, Dianna immediately went to try the dress on in the bathroom even though she still had a weird feeling of doubt about all of this while Lea dug through the blonde's suitcase for the matching heels she said she had.
"Aha! I found them!" Lea shouted in victory after a good five minutes of searching. Dianna came out just then and with one look to her, Lea melted with joy.
"Aww, Di! You look so great! So pretty!" She gushed and Dianna did a spin for her.
"You think?"
"Oh I don't think, I know!" She emphasized and continued to smile adoringly at her best friend.
Dianna bit her bottom lip to hold back an embarrassingly large grin.
"Let's go! It's already five-thirty, we need to get you ready!"
"I should take this off and shower first."
"Right," Lea agreed. "Yeah you haven't taken a shower since yesterday morning and frankly, you kind of smell."
"What? No I do not!"
Lea arched her brows up in a challenging manner.
Dianna rolled her eyes playfully and let out a huff. "Alright, I'm going!"
The petite woman smiled whole-heartedly as she watched Dianna shut the bathroom door behind her and then skipped around the room.
She couldn't wait to see two of her best friends happy again.
Cory glanced at himself in the mirror and exhaled a quick breath.
"You alright there, buddy?" Selena chuckled as she came up from behind him. They were all in the main area of Cory's suite helping him and wishing him luck on his date with Dianna.
Cory put on a lop-sided smile as he continued to stare at his reflection.
"Yeah, just a little nervous." He chuckled.
"Don't be," she told him. "I think she'll love it."
He shrugged. "I hope she will but mostly, I'm really hoping she shows. I don't know if she's still really upset with me."
"That girl cried all the way back to the hotel, Cor," Selena enlightened him and he still couldn't help but feel like an ass because it was him that made that happen. "She'll show, trust me."
"Hey!" Luke walked up from behind them. "Almost ready? It's six-twenty. You did tell her seven, right?"
"Yep," Cory confirmed as he tugged on the lapels of his suit jacket. He had decided to go with a simple white button up- no tie- and a black suit jacket with matching pants and dress shoes. He wanted to wear something that would look fancy yet casual enough and it had to go with her dress.
That reminded him.
"Hey Katie!" He called the woman that had pined over him ever since they started filming. She crossed the room with a smile.
Once she was at his side he faced her.
"I really appreciate what you did."
"Hey," she threw her hands up in front of her. "I can't take all the credit. You helped pick the dress out."
Cory smiled and laughed. "Don't even try to act like I had any fashion sense that moment. I picked out- to quote you- a 'hideous vomit green dress that not even a blind person would wear and it does not match her skin tone' end quote."
She chuckled. "Well you got an A for effort, but I guess it was good I was there then, hmm?"
"Gee thanks," He kept grinning. "So you think she'll like it?"
"I already know she loved it. I went down a half hour ago to talk to the concierge and according to him, she swooned over it." He was pretty happy to hear this. "And your other friend really like it."
He chuckled lightly at the thought of Lea gawking at the dress.
"Well thanks again. I owe you one."
"Okay, how about you take me on a date after then?" Cory raised an eyebrow and looked at her sternly causing her to laugh.
"I'm kidding!" She admitted, still laughing. "Maybe it's a little too soon for those kind of jokes but all in all, I was happy to help."
Cory visibly calmed down and laughed a little himself. "Okay."
"I'll find my Owen one day." Katie gushed as she stared up to the ceiling with dreamy eyes and an accompanying teasing smile.
"Oh god," Cory playfully groaned about her making comparisons to the movie. "I'm sure you will."
"I think you should start downstairs, mate," Luke spoke up from the back. "We just got the call your car is here."
Cory nodded and made his way out of the room but not without one more thanks to his amazing cast mates. They were all pretty awesome.
He checked his watch when he got into the car.
Six thirty-five. It was a good thing the Eiffel Tower was only a few minute drive from their hotel. He wanted to get there early and make sure everything was set. Tonight would be an important night; they'd make up, eat a little dinner, maybe he'd bust out some of his sweet dance moves and on top off all that, he'd finally tell her he loved her; that he was in love with her.
Now all he had to think about was if she'd come. Please tell him she'd show up.
"Here we are, Di!" Lea squealed excitedly as their taxi pulled up to the corner of the street where the Eiffel Tower was.
When Dianna asked why they had to pull up down the street rather than in front of the tower itself, Lea simply told her that it would seem more romantic if she walked under the lamplights to the tower instead of stepping out of a cab. It was more picturesque or movie-esque or however she had described it. She just remembered shaking her head at her dramatic Lea.
"Are you sure you do not want me to pull up to the tower?" The driver inquired and Lea answered before she could even open her mouth.
"No, this will be perfectly fine," She turned to Dianna once more. "Ready?"
Dianna took a few calming breaths to keep the nerves at bay before she nodded and was practically pushed out the door.
"Then go! You look fine as hell, girl! Go, your love awaits!" She finished her sentence off in a dreamy tone.
Oh god, she really was a romantic slash drama queen. Dianna was surprised that when the girl opened her mouth puppies and rainbows didn't fall out.
"Oh I'm going... going to where my love awaits!" She teased with wide eyes and it made Lea briefly glare at her.
"Oh just go." The brunette returned with a shake of her head and shut the door.
Dianna chuckled lightly to herself before she began to get feelings in her stomach again but this time, butterflies accompanied the nerves.
When she pushed them down, she turned to make her way down the sidewalk toward the tower. Gracefully as ever, she walked past the cars driving by and under the illumination of the lamplights. She had to say thanks to all those award shows and events that made her wear heels so in result, could actually manage a graceful strut.
Twenty feet down the sidewalk later; she was coming up to the opening of the tower and what she saw made her stomach run amuck.
Standing at the front of the tower looking as charming as ever, was Cory with hands in his pockets.
She began to get extremely nervous when she saw him and the feelings of doubt rushed through her mind. Was or wasn't he breaking up with her? Was he going to yell at her more? Why was she wearing this insanely gorgeous dress? God, she was so confused… and worried.
But she started to feel a little better when she noticed the rather large smile on his lips as he walked towards her.
"Hi," He simply greeted.
Still a little nervous but decreasing by the second, she smiled. "Hi yourself."
Before saying anything, Cory let his vision drift away from her ever-beautiful face to the rest of her body. Damn, Katie made a nice pick!
"You look…" He began with a now shy curvature of the lips. "You look absolutely… beautiful."
Her cheeks must have blushed a burning red because after he said that she could feel the heat in her face. He always knew how to make her feel special.
"Thank you," Her voice was soft and quiet. "The dress is exquisite."
"I like to think it's the person wearing it that makes it that way," He shared with a lop-sided smile. "Without them it's just a piece of clothing."
Dianna couldn't help but continue to smile from all his compliments but the ever-constant thought of their breakup loomed over her head so she had to stop this and get right to the point.
"Listen Cor, thank you for the dress a-and all of the compliments," Cory's eyebrows perked up and he tilted his head slightly forward to listen. "…but I just need to ask… what's going on? You said you needed space but then I got this note on the door and it- it was pretty cryptic and I didn't and still don't know what to make of it and-"
"Di, stop," He cut in with a sweet smile. "You're um, you're rambling."
She shrugged and rubbed one of her arms with her opposite hand.
"I'm sorry I'm just nervous."
Cory exhaled a breathy chuckle. "I still make you nervous?"
"Yeah but just more so because of what… happened."
He pursed his lips and nodded purposefully. "Right well, I want to show you something and maybe it will make you less nervous." He extended his hand to her.
Dianna muttered an almost silent, "Okay," before slipping her hand into his and he intertwined their fingers.
God she missed this even only if it was after a day.
Still never forgetting the prospects of what could happen in the next minutes to come, she silently followed Cory to the elevator that took people up to the viewing points on the tower. She watched as he nodded to a man standing outside of it, probably an employee of the tower, before they stepped into the elevator.
When the doors closed, there remained a silence as they ascended and through the slits of the tower, the lights of the city illuminated their faces. She quickly glanced up to Cory who had been staring forward but as if he could sense she was looking at him, he turned his attention towards her and gave her a small smile before returning his gaze to its starting position.
She breathed out a big breath quietly and realized that she had been holding it this whole time. Man, she was nervous.
When the ascending finally stopped and the doors opened, Cory led her out onto the viewing platform. Only when they got to the edge did he let go of her hand and place his on the railing.
They stood there for a few moments without a word and she stared at Cory as he gazed to the city.
Was this the moment he was going to break it to her with something like, 'They say Paris is the City of Love and because we've had couple problems in the place that should be the easiest to be in love, we're clearly not meant to be together.'
Or would he say something less formulated and tactless like, 'I know this is awkward being in the City of Love and everything, but I'm leaving you for Katie.'
Ahh! She wanted to scream because of the silence and anticipation. Would he just do or say something already!
"It's a really pretty sight isn't it?"
Oh, and there is what she was looking for... Words.
She tried to chuckle to break the tension she felt in herself. "Yeah it's a beautiful city."
She watched as Cory kept staring out upon the lit up city silently, which made her freak out a lot more internally. She couldn't take the quiet. She needed something to fill in the white noise of the bustling cars and people below. There was so much for them to talk about and yet he said nothing!
Not being able to bear it any longer, she decided to make the first move.
"Not that it isn't lovely up here but um, why am I here, Cory?" She questioned and watched him look down to his clasped hands resting on the railing. "What are we doing?"
He licked his lips. "Well right at this moment, we're sharing an amazing view of Paris together."
No, she needed more than that. God, she wanted to roll her eyes but held back the desire as to not give off the wrong message.
"How about we-" She exhaled heavily trying to get her words out. "Can we talk about the other night?"
"You did always like to go right for the kill," He chuckled as he said as much. "Never wanting to beat around the bush… I love that about you."
She bit her lip and blushed at what he said. He loves that about her, not past tense. She was definitely happy to hear this considering she thought he wouldn't even want to see her anymore.
"Yeah um, I guess…" She shrugged shyly and began to gesture towards the view. "Is this what you wanted to show me?"
"No," The corners of Cory's lips tugged into a slight smile. "Come on."
He took a few steps forward and Dianna began to follow behind when he abruptly slowed down and held out his hand to her again.
She couldn't help but smile as she touched his hand and let him slide his fingers through hers once more. Continuous hand holding. Check. A good sign. A good sign, indeed.
Dianna proceeded to stare between their locked hands and the city enjoying both views but as they turned the corner to step onto the other side of the tower's viewing area, her eyes lit up from an even more magnificent sight.
There, a few feet ahead of them, was a café like, iron wrought table for two and draped over it, a magnificent, white tablecloth with dishes of food spread on top. Oh! And she couldn't forget the beautiful vase of roses sitting on the table as well.
She started to feel much better about the situation than before, most of her fears of being broken up with were diminishing but she didn't want to forget it all. She still felt like she needed to be prepared emotionally for the possibility.
"This is what I wanted to show you." He told her softly and smiled as he led her to the table.
"Cor, this is- this is beautiful," She announced being very impressed. "The view is amazing but this, this is even more so."
All right, so he did good! He was pretty pleased with himself.
"Thanks," He said with a grin and pulled out her chair for her to sit. Once she was seated down, he plucked out a rose from the vase and handed it to her and she swooned.
Boy, did she swoon.
She thanked him as she sniffed the red flower.
"I can't believe you did this," She mumbled but more to herself than anything as she placed the flower down on the table. She was still shocked that things were looking up.
"What's not to believe?"
She looked up at him and fell in love a little more while she stared into his friendly face and gorgeous chocolate orbs that had a certain glint to them tonight.
"I just- I mean, after last night I wasn't exactly expecting something like this or for you to even be talking to me at all."
He nodded his head, understanding her confusion and where she was coming from.
"Right well, I get what you mean," He began and Dianna nodded for him to continue. "To be honest, I wasn't exactly expecting to do this at all last night, or even much this morning. I was still pretty mad," She hated the fact that she made him feel that way so she ducked her head.
Seeing this, Cory felt bad so he leaned over the table and brought her chin back up to him with a smile before he kept going. "But later I realized how stupid I felt for being in a fight in the City of Love…" He paused ever so briefly to gather his nerves. This was it; he was going to say it. "With the woman I love."
Dianna felt the insides of her eye rims get that tingly feeling before you want to cry. He loved her… He fucking loved her!
"With the woman I'm- That I'm so in love with," He finished, a little out of breath. It had been hard to get that out and he was scared to be the one to officially put his heart out there but on the bright side, it sure as hell felt good to finally say it.
After a brief moment, Dianna opened her mouth to speak.
"I am so glad I'm not getting broken up with!" She sighed with relief and even though the moment was one of seriousness and nerves, Cory couldn't help but laugh at her words.
"You get really nervous and feel like you want to die when you get a, 'We need to talk' text or note." She revealed with a giggle and swiped at the rims of her eyes with a finger. "I'm happy it didn't mean that."
"No, it didn't mean I wanted to break things off with you," he assured her. "I guess I need to learn to be more tactful with things like that."
She continued to giggle and as they died down, Cory felt his heart beating fast with nervous anticipation again.
"But um, that wasn't exactly the response that I was uh, that I was hoping to get." He finally said, knowing very well that he still had his heart out there.
Without a second thought to it, the blonde grabbed onto his hand across the table and leaned over to connect her lips to his in a sweet yet passionate kiss. Damn, it felt good to do that again, even if it was only a day in between. She clearly couldn't go even that long without him and neither could he.
As she pulled back, she noticed the goofy look on his face and she was more than ready to return his feelings.
"I love you, too," She kissed him again. "So, so much."
"Really?"
She giggled. He was so cute.
"Yes, really," She confirmed. "I'm more than in love with you too."
He grinned brightly making appled cheeks. "Cool."
She sported the same look. "Cool indeed."
Over the next hour they ate and reveled in their feelings for one another, both being so happy for the way the other felt and Diana especially happy because not only did she still have a best friend and boyfriend in Cory, she had one who was absolutely and utterly in love with her.
"Mmm…" Dianna hummed. The food was delicious. "Is it safe to say you didn't make this?"
Cory placed his fork down and attempted to look offended at her comment.
"How can you even ask that?" He teased. "I definitely could have whipped this stuff up with my master, iron-chef skills!"
"Please, on a good day you manage not to burn DiGiorno oven-ready pizza, therefore there's no way you made roasted duck."
He laughed. Damn her and that challenging eyebrow!
"Well what about the time I handmade that pizza for us on Reid's boat?"
"Oh you mean on our first date?" She remembered it fondly while he nodded. "That was a once in a life time thing or better yet let's just call it an anomaly."
He shook his head at her playfully. "Oh, I see how it is, insult my oven timing skills and then bag on the one thing I've actually done well on? Let's see if I ever make you pizza again!"
They laughed.
"You'll make me some again." She promised him and now it was his turn to arch his brow.
"Yeah, you'll have to get very lucky."
"I think I already am," She whispered and captured his lips once more.
"You're so sappy," He continued to tease as they pulled away. "And I thought I was bad." He smiled and looked down to his plate. "I'm full."
Dianna nodded. "Mhm, same."
"Well I have some choices on what else we could do."
She perked up. "Yeah? And what are they?"
"Well…" He smirked. "We could just sit here lazily and digest this awesome food that I got from the restaurant here to answer your question, or… we could hit the dance floor."
She laughed as she looked around. "What dance floor?"
He shrugged happily and responded, "Well, not an official dance floor but how about that little area right there." He pointed to a couple feet away from their table before he stood up and offered out his hand. "May I have this dance?" He asked in his best French accent.
"Oh jeez, you were wrong, you've gone beyond sappy and progressed to cheesy," She told him, teasing about his accent.
He chuckled. "Hey, I'm still honing it. Give me time."
Once they reached their 'dance floor' Cory pulled Dianna tight against him and placed his hands on her waist and they began to sway slowly.
"What about music?" She asked as they swayed and Cory began to smile.
"Don't worry, I got that covered." He answered and pulled out his iPod from his suit pocket and handed her and ear bud while he placed his own in his ear.
It took Cory a few seconds to get to the right playlist but once he found it, music began to pour out of the buds for them to dance to.
As the song played Dianna instantly recognized it.
"La Vie en rose?" She wondered with a quirked eyebrow, impressed that he had such a classic song on his iPod.
He gave her his lop sided grin and shrugged lightly. "Yeah well, we use it in the movie and I thought it was nice song."
"It is," She agreed and rested her head on his shoulder as they swayed gently. "I love Louis Armstrong."
He agreed with the nod of his head and pulled back to look at her again. She looked utterly gorgeous and she was all his.
"I still can't believe how great you look in that dress," He complimented. "It was a good pick."
"It definitely was. You have great taste."
"I um, actually didn't pick it out," He clued her in. "You'd be rather pukey green if you were wearing the one that I chose and a blind person would even be insulting you I'm pretty sure."
"Oh yeah?" She giggled. "Then how am I wearing this dress?"
"Katie helped me pick it out," Cory responded and felt Dianna tense in his arms as he said so. "But don't worry, it was kind of like a peace offering. She's not going to be coming between us anymore."
"How do you know?" She slightly scoffed.
He exhaled deeply. "Because somewhere in her and you can believe it or not, is a great person, plus she gave me her word that she was done."
"Good," She replied with a smirk and lowered her voice to a more stern yet playful tone. "Because I will never let you get away." They shared a cheeky smile. "Be with me forever?" He leaned down.
"Forever sounds pretty good to me," He murmured against her lips and they shared another sweet kiss. "Thanks for meeting me here. I was really hoping you'd show."
"Don't you know by now that I'd meet you anywhere? I mean, I flew to another continent for you."
"You did," He responded being still very happy and impressed.
She smiled softly and lowered her head back onto his shoulder while they danced. He was getting pretty good. Her foot only came close to being crushed once. She was impressed and proud.
A few minutes passed before she leaned up closer to his ear to whisper to him, knowing that the time was right and plus due to the fact that, like Lea, she was also a hopeless romantic.
"I love you, Cory," Her hot breath grazed his ear and he couldn't stop the smile that spread on his lips upon hearing the words he'd never get sick of. "Now let's go back to your room so you can show me how much you love me."
He stopped dancing and she stepped out of his arms to stare up at him with love and lust filled eyes.
"Yeah?"
She nodded seductively as a saucy smile slowly played onto her lips.
He smiled brightly and they began their way back down to street level. "Tonight is totally going down as the best night in Paris!"
Back at the hotel and many rounds later of their love making as they lay in bed with Dianna nuzzled into his side, he decided it wasn't just the best night in Paris, it was the best of his life.
Gently, he shifted his body so he could look at his girlfriend's beautiful and serene face head on; he knew he wanted so much more for them. He glanced down to the white-gold heart pendent that he gave to her when he asked her to be his girlfriend resting just above her breast.
He smiled softly at his next thought. 'I think I have to exchange that for a ring.'
He would, it was only a matter of a short time.
So I'm thinking 2ish chapters left in this because I'm taking too much time in between and I'm busy a lot. Trying to figure out where to end that wouldn't end abruptly and awkwardly.
I said I'd add the summer tour in and I'll try to do a chapter with that included but it won't be the whole tour. And they finally did... IT! I was going to make that more descriptive but then I remembered this was T and I'm not that good with writing that kind of stuff anyway.
Do you like everyone's back and forths and witty banter and stuff? Sometimes I think it's too much but let me know!?
I'd love to reach 300 reviews before the end of this story so let me have 'em! Hit me with your best shot, fire away! Cause you're a real tough cookie... No I won't continue to channel Pat Benatar... Cool, I'm out before this gets too long! Lata!