|
|
Post by COLIN COX on May 11, 2013 2:49:32 GMT -8
note: none of this rp should count for the activity check post count! jess and bubbles will know what i'm talking about. thank you \o/
________________________
Imagine a candlelit restaurant with high ceilings and dim lights, the sound of Chopin and Mozart playing gently in the background. The soft mutterings of conversation can be heard as a murmur above the heads of their esteemed patrons, not quite dressed in black tie but definitely in smart casual at least, enough to show that the average customer had at least given some thought to what they chose to wear on this night. Lush cushioned seats and teak tables complete the atmosphere, marking the establishment as someplace fancy but not quite overpriced. A special treat for the average student, perhaps, or an everyday dining spot for the well to do.
Now we're done scanning the atmosphere, let's zoom in on our customers of choice. The selected victims are two young blondes, definitely a couple from the way he is holding her hand under the table and stroking the back of it with his thumb. Blonde, both of them, though her hair is several shades lighter than his is, and so long that it falls to her back. They are both small, the male topping out at only 5'4" on a good day, and the female being at least a couple inches shorter than him, countered only by the simple black heels she is wearing. The black dinner jacket hanging behind his seat is a sign that he might have made a rare effort that night; the plaid shirt he is wearing that she has probably seen thousands of times before is not. However, his jeans are ironed and his best, and he has traded his Converse for suit shoes-- let's give him a seven out of ten for effort, won't we. Not bad, but could try harder.
She laughs at something he says, squeezing his palm, and he notices the crinkling up at the edges of her eyes, the lone dimple in the right side of her cheek. Admittedly, he cannot help but feel a sense of pride that he has managed to do so, even though he has undoubtedly cheered her up many times before: yet there is no mistaking the quick flutter in his chest, and the sense of accomplishment as the edges of his lips curl up into a slightly smug smirk. Their empty plates indicate an enjoyed meal, though the two differing sauce stains on the napkin in her lap, and only the barbeque sauce showing on his are probably a sign that she finished his meal for him. Not a rare occurrence, given his waifish figure, but he does not seem to mind. A black-suited waiter passes the two of them, and he calls the man over, parting pouty lips to speak two words that will change their lives forever.
Or at least until the next time they both go out to eat.
"Check, please," he says, raising an eyebrow at the girl to show that this is not a challenge. He has this covered. Once the man is gone and he is done drinking in her expression with amused chocolate browns, he speaks.
"You brought this one upon yourself. Whatever happened to 'I can't believe you'd let a lady pay for anything, Colin, get me The Blade of the Ruined King before I report you to Riot for being a sex offender'?"
__________________________
27th April 2012, 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on May 11, 2013 2:55:47 GMT -8
When he had surprised her with dinner plans, she hadn't quite been expecting something like this. The only hint he had given her was to 'dress nicely,' and she had complied with a sea green dress that complimented her eyes, but she was still taken aback. It was a nice restaurant, beautiful setting and everything, and she was still trying to figure out how he found this place in the first place. But that was just one of many things she appreciated about Colin; he actually put in the time and effort to take her by surprise and at least (try) to be spontaneous.
Julie smiled softly across the table at him. She really was lucky to have found someone like him, as much as he tended to drive her up the wall sometimes. But it was fine, y'know? They just had that kind of relationship, where as much as they bickered, they knew that they still cared for each other in the end. Case in point: when a waiter walked by and Colin asked for the bill, almost instantly the smile vanished from her lips and her eyes narrowed as she glared at him.
"Colin."
She slipped her hand out of his and fixed him with a look, the kind you would expect to see from a married wife of 20 years, not a girlfriend of 2. Still, you could see in her eyes that she was absolutely livid with him, and who could blame her? He had paid last time, this should have been her turn to pay for dinner! And he knew that too, just like he knew that she liked to pay for dinner, and hated it when he took it upon himself to pay for both their meals. And he was going to sit there and gloat about it for the next several hours if she let him.
"Are you seriously going to use that as an excuse every time we go out for dinner?" Of course he'd bring up the time when they had only known each other online, when they had been strangers playing a video game together in the early hours of the morning. If she had known what she said would be used against her years later when she was dating the little asshole, she would have punched herself in the face. Julie crossed her arms over her chest, a small frown marring her expression as her cheeks colored slightly, as they always did when he brought that up. "It wasn't real money, and you were buying me a bunch of pixels, it doesn't count!" She shot back at him, using her age old counterarguement.
It was true, though; online money you earned in a game wasn't equivalent to real life money spent on feeding her. Julie knew she could eat a lot, just like she knew the bill was going to be pretty pricey, so it just went without saying that she should at least pay for her's, if not half the bill. It was fair, but the fact that Colin failed to see that was absolutely infuriating. Honestly, she wondered why she was even dating him sometimes.
|
|
|
|
Post by COLIN COX on May 11, 2013 2:58:39 GMT -8
Admittedly, many of his highest points in their relationship had arisen from his being able to achieve some of these small victories over Julie. While she generally got her way when it came to most things because he was quite inclined to let her do so, and he knew he most certainly spoiled her silly, it was more than occasionally fun to incite an explosive reaction out of the girl through exploiting one of her various idiosyncrasies. He had known from the start that he was going to be paying, and that he would most certainly infuriate her by attempting to do so: she won most of the time, sure, but that was just because he let her. His eyes danced with amusement as she spoke his name with a lilt that suggested that he might be getting into some kind of trouble in the foreseeable future, and he took a sip of the red wine that he had ordered, setting the glass down on the table before responding to her statement.
"Yes, Juliette?"
Even as she slipped her hand out of his and gave him a glare he knew was especially reserved for him, her pupils dilating and her left eyebrow giving an annoyed twitch, the smirk on his face remained constant. Colin knew that he was probably going to pay for this later, but he couldn't help it-- the look on her face was priceless. Besides, she was so independent and self-sufficient most of the time that he did enjoy doing things for her, whether she wanted him to or not. He hadn't had to plough his own way up to where she was the way she had, and he could understand her mentality. However, that didn't mean that he had to subscribe to it. He merely chuckled as she mentioned that he was using the Sex Offender Blackmail Incident (S.O.B.) for something that had happened years ago before they had even had any inkling of romantic attraction towards one another.
"No take backs," he said as the waiter returned to the table with the check. His debit card was strategically located in his pants pocket, and he slipped it out and handed it to the older man. It was moments like this when he couldn't help but compare them to Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, though he had admittedly never been able to picture himself as the aloof, cold anti-hero until recently. But it worked, if their banter was any indication. They had the same level equality in their relationship despite traditional gender roles, and while the framing of women in the novel was problematic for modern-day standards it was one of the more feminist romances of the time. Could his own romance be called feministic? In a sense, perhaps, seeing as he was the one who was watching out for her as she did whatever she pleased. It wasn't as though he hadn't chosen to do so by choice, however.
Because moments when he acted like his not-so-closet chauvinist were absolutely priceless. He nodded at the waiter, the smile on his face more out of wicked glee than politeness, though the poor other man would never have been able to spot the difference.
"It's her birthday," he said in a voice just loud enough so that it sounded like he was trying to whisper. "Don't let her convince you otherwise." He had been tempted to tack on a "she's embarrassed because she's growing old", but decided against it. He was tempting fate as it was, and he did plan to leave with his life intact that night."
__________________________
27th April 2012, 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on May 11, 2013 2:59:49 GMT -8
Please. She won most of the time because he let her? More like Colin knows he isn't going to win half the time, so he gives up early on and tells himself he's just letting her have her way to make himself feel better. It was moments like these Colin should be thankful his girlfriend couldn't read his mind, because if she could she'd be laughing herself sick at the moment. Sadly, she was just pissed off, just like he knew she would be. After all, he had orchestrated this entire ordeal to play out for his own sick amusement. She was playing right into what he wanted, but she didn't really care; her pride was on the line here, and she wasn't just going to back down from what she considered a slight against her.
Especially from someone who should really know better.
(It was for that exact reason that she liked this though, that she liked him. Because she could get mad at him over small, silly things, and it was okay. She could let her smile drop and her guard down, and she could speak her mind without worrying about the repercussions. She didn't have to wear a mask around him- she could be herself, and for that she was always going to be eternally grateful. He was the reason why she was so much more open than she used to be, why she was so much better now then she was.)
Which was why it was okay for him to push her buttons like he did, as much as it grated her nerves. It'd be boring otherwise, no? She couldn't imagine herself with anyone else but him. "No take backs? What are you, a preschool-" She stopped short and didn't quite finish her sentence as their waiter returned to their table, a polite smile gracing her features as she faced him. She opened her mouth to say something, to ask him to split the bill like she had so many times before, but he beat her to it, cutting in and making excuses for her. Okay, now he was just asking for it. She gave him another one of those looks before giving him a sharp kick under the table, hitting him right in the calf. If anyone was going to wipe that smug look off his face, it was going to be her, rest assured of that. He only ever seemed to smirk around her, and she still couldn't quite decide if it was a good or bad thing just yet.
"It's really not my birthday," she told the man cooly, a chilling smile on her lips now as she pointedly ignored Colin now. "You'll have to forgive him, he can't even remember what he had for breakfast this morning." Julie trained her gaze back on Colin and gave him a dazzling smile made out of razor blades. "Isn't that right, honey." The way she said it didn't make it sound like a question at all though; it was more like a promise, something along the lines of 'keep this up and I swear to god I'll make your life a living hell and you'll regret this moment until your dying day.'
|
|
|
|
Post by COLIN COX on May 11, 2013 3:00:46 GMT -8
The kick to his shin hurt. The blonde winced, hoping that she wouldn't realise, but then of course she probably had. Nevertheless, he had reason to suspect that it would not have hurt nearly as much as the kick to her ego, and he took comfort in that fact. Colin decided to ignore the hidden threat to his life in his girlfriend's words, just like he had done so many times before. She could say what she wanted, but the waiter had merely nodded in her direction, mouthing a 'Happy Birthday' at Julie and giving her a wink. And before she could say anything more, he had whipped out the card machine, handing the terminal to Colin so he could input his PIN number.
He did so with an undeniable sense of triumph, eyes fixated on Julie the whole time to fully appreciate her adamant rage. Whatever punishment she was planning to dole out to him later, he was almost certain that this would be worth it. Besides, she could pay for him the next time: he had long since given up on trying to pay for every meal and every single thing they did. For one, it had once gotten to the point where she had been more than momentarily mad at him, and for another, it made times when he sprung things like this on her completely worth it. Once the waiter's back was turned and his card had been returned to him, he gave her a little wink.
"Happy birthday, Julie. I love you." Again, he allowed a moment to gauge her reaction, before getting up from his chair and picking up his dinner jacket. "Shall we?"
He had had the evening planned out weeks ago. While he wasn't exactly the most spontaneous person on the planet, he did know that she enjoyed being surprised; so even if it meant that he had to do so through careful planning rather than spontaneity at least it meant that she was happy. They'd had a conversation about her always being expected to be the spontaneous one at the start of their relationship, even when she didn't feel like it-- and it had stuck with him, to the extent that he tried to be spontaneous in his own way too. He of all people knew how difficult it was to pretend to be someone you weren't, just for the sake of maintaining a certain image of yourself that you projected onto others.
Even if it meant that she wasn't always free at the times he had planned his surprises for, he had learned not to take it personally. People couldn't be available all the time, and he understood that, but it didn't change the fact that when it came to most others, he strongly disliked rejection; then again, Julie wasn't most others. He was infinitely more comfortable around her than he was with almost everybody else in the world, to the extent that he was actually going to be sharing a house, and a room with her starting the next day, and he was actually excited. It was probably foolish to think that this was it, that she was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but then again, common sense had never really been his strong suit despite all outward appearances. The couple walked out of the restaurant, Colin putting his jacket on as he stepped out into the considerably cooler Los Angeles night, then glancing up to the sky to take a quick look at the stars.
"Clear day today," he muttered. Perfect-- his plans were working out. "So, what next?"
__________________________
27th April 2012, 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on May 11, 2013 3:01:37 GMT -8
Of course she knew that kick would hurt, it's why she did it in the first place. It was the least she could do, after all, since it looked like he was going to win this time and there was nothing she could say or do to stop it. And as if to add insult to injury, the waiter winked and smiled at her, as if he was in cahoots with Colin and she was some pouting child. It was infuriating, but she couldn't say anything, not with Colin entering his PIN number into the card machine and watching her the entire time.
Despite the kick and her words, he had a self-satisfied expression on his face. She glared at him, fuming in her seat with her arms still crossed and a telling glare fixed on Colin. If looks could kill, he would have been a smoldering crater in the floor by now. Alas, she couldn't shoot lasers out of her eyes, as much as she'd love to right now. Especially after that wink he gave her. Just who did he think he was- she instantly opened her mouth to offer some retort to that 'happy birthday' comment, because oh man, did she have a few things to say about that one---
But then he said the three magic words, and almost instantly her shoulders relaxed and her eyes softened, as if of their own accord. Oh don't get her wrong, she was still mad at him, but... when he said he loved her, even given the context of the conversation, she couldn't help it. It was involuntary, and it just went to show how much he affected her. She broke her gaze away from his and got to her feet without a word, a tiny smile quirking the edge of her lips that she tried to hide, but knew that he'd see it anyway.
So she couldn't win all the time, but that didn't mean she had to like it.
They stepped out into the cool LA night, and she turned to face him. "I'm still mad at you." She warned, although the small smile gracing her lips seemed to say otherwise. She could never stay mad at him for long, save for the one time they had had their first (and last) serious fight, that had ended with her storming out in tears. All their fights after that had been fleeting at best though, simply because they were in sync with each other. He knew her in ways no one else did, not even her best friend, and the thought set off a swarm of butterflies in the pit of her stomach.
"What, you mean you don't have anything in mind?" She asked lightly, teasingly, the smile on her face widening as she laced her fingers through his. The fact that he remembered that conversation from so long ago, and he put in so much time and effort to surprise her with these dates, was just one of many reasons why she loved him so much. Julie knew all too well that Colin was the least spontaneous person in the world, but he did all this for her, which made outings like this all the better. Except when he takes it upon himself to go out of his way to be the little asshole he really is, which slightly diminishes the gesture. Seriously, what an asshole. Nevertheless she squeezed his hand as she remarked, thoughtfully, "I'm not sure to be honest, I've never really been in this part of the city before."
|
|
|
|
Post by COLIN COX on May 11, 2013 3:03:18 GMT -8
She said she was mad, but she definitely didn't seem it, not with the way her shoulders had relaxed and her gaze had softened just a few minutes ago. The blonde smiled as she laced her fingers around his, pulling her close to him with his free hand and giving her a kiss on the forehead before ruffling her hair.
"Do I look like I care?" But of course he did. In fact, he couldn't recall a person who he had ever cared for so much, save for his own blood family. To be fair, she was family to him, whether he would admit it or not; and if he had his way, he would be able to seal that in stone somewhere in the future. As for her statement about his not having anything in mind, Colin shrugged. He had thought of something, but he figured he'd give her the freedom of choice before they went ahead and did anything else. It hadn't surprised him when she'd stated that she had no idea though-- he had been the one to plan this date, after all.
"I was thinking we could walk around the boardwalk and just explore for a bit." He had been surprised when Julie had stated that she had never been to Santa Monica Pier before: heck, even he had seen it once or twice in the past, and he had to be the most stationary person that he'd ever known. It was full of shops and other things to do in the day, though, so he made a mental note to bring her back. Besides, she knew that he didn't dislike shopping as much as one would expect from a typical male college student his age. Then again, Colin knew too well that he was the furthest thing from your picture-perfect cookie-cutter mould of the all-American youth. One only had to look at his book collection to realise that he was definitely more obsessive about certain things than most. He was just glad that Julie wasn't one of them. If he had been as fixated on her as he was with good literature, he was certain that their relationship would have bordered on unhealthy.
Then again, he would probably set fire to all the books in the world if it meant that she could be safe and happy, but he wasn't about to tell her that. It was an unlikely scenario, anyway, though it was definitely fun to speculate one in which it might come true. For instance, there had been the Qin Dynasty in China in which the Emperor had burned all the tomes in the country, just in order to unify the Chinese language as one. A harsh measure, and one that hadn't completely worked out in the long run; and he was just glad that some of their literature had been preserved so he could read it, albeit their translations. Unfortunately, he lacked the drive and talent to learn a third language, and even if he was about to Mandarin would not have been his first choice. Though he was trying to plough through Tolstoy's works in their original language now-- he had enjoyed them immensely in English, but in Russian they were almost impossible for him to read without a dictionary on hand. Yet what he had started to understand was absolutely beautiful.
And so was Julie, the skirt of her dress billowing lightly in the wind as they continued to walk to the pier. There weren't many people that he could be dragged away from his bed and his Internet and his books for, and she was one of them. They weren't far from their destination, and he squeezed her hand again, giving her a small smile.
"You can get dessert for us if it'll heal your battered ego."
__________________________
27th April 2012, 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on May 11, 2013 3:03:49 GMT -8
And then her heart melted all over again, and whatever traces of anger she might have had left vanished on the spot. What could she say, it didn't take much to incite her wrath, but it didn't exactly take much to sooth it, either. At least, when it came to Colin it didn't. She grinned a little harder, and a small laugh escaped from her lips as he ruffled her hair. "Not at all." She replied back, although they both knew that was a lie. He'd care a whole lot if she was really mad, but she wasn't, so it was fine. Everything was fine.
She swung their hands between them, shivering slightly at the breeze that tugged at her hair and sent the skirt of her dress dancing around her legs. "Sounds good to me~" What, you couldn't expect her to have been everywhere. She had passed through here, sure, but she had never really had the chance to stop and hang around the pier. There always seemed to be a thousand different things for her to do throughout the day, which was just how she liked it; she liked having a lot to do, unlike some people who would rather veg out in bed with his laptop and a few books to keep him occupied-
But that wasn't fair. He dropped his books and his blog more times than she could count just to spend time with her. She meant a lot to him, more than she probably realized, but he meant just as much to her- she knew that he had a family that he loved dearly, but it went without saying between the two of them that he was the most important person in her life. She had never held any love for her own family, which was why she was so relieved that his had seemed to like her so much right from the start. And she had built herself her own family, of sorts; 'family wasn't always blood,' right? She had made plenty of friends over the years, had forged bonds with people that she considered more like family than her parents had ever been, and she loved them all with all her heart... but in the end, Colin was always going to be the person she loved most.
He knew that already though.
(She sometimes wondered if she was moving too fast, if she was falling a little too quickly and making assumptions, but if she was going to be honest with herself, she had completely fallen for him a long time ago, and there was no chance of picking herself back up again anytime soon. Home wasn't a place for her anymore; it was a person.)
She had to stop herself from kissing that smile off his face though; his smiles were rare when it came to other people, but she noticed that he smiled a little more around her, whether it was a smug smirk or a lighthearted grin. She noticed, and she kept it to herself- if he took pleasure in surprising her and making her laugh, she took it in stealing smiles off his lips. "Ice cream." She said it before he had even finished his sentence, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she glanced up at him with a cheeky grin. Ice cream was the only thing that could heal her wounded soul at the moment, and Colin wasn't going to say a peep about it, or she might just have to change her mind about being mad at him.
|
|
|
|
Post by COLIN COX on May 11, 2013 3:04:39 GMT -8
"Thought so." His girlfriend had an obsession with the confectionery that rivaled his love for books. He debated making a sarcastic comment about it, but dismissed the thought, deciding that he had certainly made enough snide remarks to last the rest of the day. Instead, he toyed with her fingers, pulling out his iPhone with his other hand to Google the words 'ice cream Santa Monica beach'. Colin frowned as the load bar made two small steps towards the end, before realising that Yelp might have been a better idea; in a few minutes he had found a place just a few blocks away from standing. He tugged at Julie's hand.
"Found a place. Let's go," he said, holding the phone in front of him so that he wouldn't get lost. His sense of direction wasn't awful, but the last thing that he wanted was to get lost in the middle of Santa Monica and get mocked endlessly by his girlfriend. That, and he was certainly the more security-conscious of the two. Santa Monica was a fairly safe area unlike some of the more run-down places in town, but he didn't want to think of the consequences if he ended up taking a wrong turn and landing in a dark alley. He wasn't sure whether he'd be able to defend Julie, or even himself if it came down to it. So he led the way in silence, the sea breeze that blew against them crisp and clear. It was a comfortable kind of quiet, the type that he enjoyed, the kind that told him that she was okay with there not being any words between the two of them. Good thing, too: Colin had never been good at small talk. That had always been Julie's job, but it was nice to know that between them it was not even necessary. It wasn't long until the two of them ended up at the ice cream parlour, situated right next to the beach. There was a surprisingly long line for such a small establishment. He turned towards Julie, breaking the silence, voice low but clear amid the chatter.
"It's supposed to be good. Yelp gave it a four out of five star review." Sometimes, it was questionable as to whether Colin really did believe that the Internet held the answers to everything. He was intelligent enough to question the important things, like news sources or rumours, but when it came to mundane things like how good a restaurant was the online networks he was so familiar with were his best friend. Yelp was fairly reliable anyway, the few times he had used it. "Since you're paying, you can get me a single scoop of chocolate chip ice cream, no cone." Not that he really needed to tell her that, of course. She knew his order all too well by now.
Then again, this was the girl who had declared the first time that they had met up that they were going for ice cream, and had forced him to sit down with her (okay, he had done so quite willingly) and finish the Ice Cream Extravaganza challenge at the place they had gone to. Twelve scoops between the two of them, and by the end of scoop three Colin had felt like he was about to puke. Julie of course had finished whatever he couldn't and declared that the challenge was tame, and the two of them had gotten a full refund, their faces immortalized in a Polaroid shot on the wall, and a pat on the back. What he had also gotten was sick. But he'd learned that day you couldn't be too careful when it came to her, especially when it came to ice cream.
It was certainly serious business.
__________________________
27th April 2012, 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on May 11, 2013 3:05:09 GMT -8
She watched in amusement as he pulled out his phone, Googling where to go as he played with her fingers. (If she knew just how much he relied on Google for relationship advice, she'd probably die laughing.) Yup, least spontaneous person she knew. If it had been up to her, she would have just led the way into the unknown and found whatever was in store for them. Technology tended to take the fun out of adventures, but she didn't mind this though; it was nice to have this taken out of her hands, to be the one led around and taken care of for once instead of the other way around.
So Julie followed behind him, watching him as he walked ahead of her, the glow from his phone throwing his features into sharp relief. He was concentrating so hard on not getting them lost she almost wanted to laugh; instead, she turned her attention to their surroundings, enjoying the quiet of this part of the city as they walked. The wind tousled her hair and she grinned to herself- the night was cool and the smell of the sea was lingering on the breeze, and she was with someone she loved with all her heart, and at the moment she couldn't imagine anywhere else she'd rather be.
They finally arrived at the ice cream parlour Google had told them to visit, and she was surprised to find so many people there at this time. It must be pretty good then, if the line was any indication. "Only four?" She asked in a mock haughty tone, a single brow raised as she turned her gaze on him. She glanced back at the establishment, before heaving a heavy sigh, rolling her shoulders as she replied, resignedly, "Oh well, I guess it'll do."
She flashed him a grin as he gave her his order; of course, it was the usual. "Aww, no triple chocolate sundaes?" She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout, before letting go of his hand and knocking her hip against his. "Coming right up, sir!" With a laugh, she spun away and skipped into line, a tiny thing compared to everyone else within her vicinity. She couldn't even see the start of the line from where she was; there was a wall of bodies blocking her view. Short people problems. Oh well, it wasn't like it was a big inconvenience.
When she finally reached the counter and placed her order ("One single scoop of chocolate chip, no cone, and one triple scoop of pineapple, cookie dough, and strawberry, with sprinkles, no cone, please!"), it took almost no time at all for her ice cream to be ready. She paid and grabbed the two bowls, before carefully making her way to where Colin was waiting for her. Sitting down at the table with a plop, she handed him his ice cream and a spoon. "Miss me?" She didn't wait for a reply before immediately digging into her dessert, a shiver of pleasure crawling up her spine as she bit in. Yum!
|
|
|
|
Post by COLIN COX on May 11, 2013 3:05:46 GMT -8
"Please." He raised an amused brow as Julie questioned why there were only four stars out of a possible five. "Nothing's perfect, and this is just about as good as you're going to get in this vicinity. I hope the line is enough indication for you. Stop complaining and go get our ice cream, I'll find a seat." So much for being a gentleman, he couldn't help but think as she knocked her hip against his and skipped into the crowd. Then again, he had lost all semblance of manhood long ago. It was nice to not constantly feel as though he had to assert his masculinity like he had once feared he would in a relationship: being with Julie felt natural, it felt nice. Dare he say it felt almost as though he had found the missing piece within himself? Dare he say that he was so enamoured that he was spouting clichés left and right, ignoring everything he'd ever hated in fiction because of his inability to find the correct words? He knew why authors invoked phrases so commonly used now: why so many amateur writers compared their lovers to a summer's day in lieu of anything else.
This was a feeling that left you slack-jawed and tongue-tied and with your stomach tied up in knots, and he had savoured every minute of it to date. Ignoring the sore feeling in his cheeks as he smiled once again, Colin watched as his girlfriend disappeared into the line. He then took out his iPhone and tapped his Adobe Reader app. While he wasn't exactly accustomed to the idea of using Kindles to replace physical books just yet, he could understand why people obtained free PDFs to read while they were in transit. It certainly beat carrying the weight of a physical book around, and while he was awaiting Julie's return he would reread Like Water for Chocolate for something light. The magical realism and gory imagery wasn't exactly what he would have pinpointed as appropriate for this scenario, but the thought of chocolate did sound good. He was just in the middle of the compelling scene in which Tita learned of her nephew's death when Julie returned, and Colin immediately looked up from his phone.
"This book has digestive problems, attempted suicide, and it ends with two humans' spontaneous combustion that leads to everything literally being set on fire. I think it's the more exciting option." Nevertheless, he set the iPhone down next to him, taking the ice cream from her. He took a spoonful of the frozen confectionery, the taste of melted cocoa spreading across his tongue like oozing liquid candy. Definitely worth far more than the four stars it had been given on Yelp, but then again, his standards weren't exactly the highest. No, he would leave the true judging to the resident conoisseur. Julie seemed to be satisfied as she cheerily dug into her bowl, bright greens wide with excitement and fixated on her dessert with utmost concentration. He felt a pleasant glowing in his chest, like the warm coating of air that surrounded a candle when it burned.
"Someone's happy," he said as he scooped out another spoonful of his ice, before using it to reaching out towards her direction in a feeding motion. "Here, try some of mine."
__________________________
27th April 2012, 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on May 11, 2013 3:06:14 GMT -8
"Gee, thanks." She replied dryly, quirking an eyebrow at him as she sat down next to him. She had never taken these insults seriously to begin with, because they were nothing but hot air anyway. Because he put the phone down anyway, just like he had put his books down so many times before for her. She stirred her scoops of ice cream together, continuing by saying, "It sounds way more fun than eating ice cream, I won't be offended if you go back to reading. Sad to say I won't self-combust or set anything on fire any time soon."
She took another bite of her treat, licking her lips and curling her toes in glee. Ice cream could turn her into a kid within seconds, it was ridiculous. Julie looked up and smiled at his comment; like it wasn't obvious to anyone with eyes that she was happy. Of course she was; she was eating ice cream with her boyfriend. She was over the moon. She took another bite of her own ice cream, before he offered her a spoonful of his. Oh no, stupid cute couple stuff.
Her one true weakness.
Meeting his eyes, she gave him another one of her dimpled smiles, before leaning in and biting the ice cream off his spoon in one fell swoop. Mmm, pretty good. She pulled away and pursed her lips together, a thoughtful frown on her face as she remarked, absentmindedly, "7.5/10, could be better." She scooted over and leaned in closer to him, invading his personal space as she did so. "4/5 is fair, in my opinion. They were really quick in getting our orders ready, but I think the ice cream's actually not quite sweet enough?" She let herself babble a bit, before taking another bite of her ice cream, grinning all the while. "It's still delicious though, I like it a lot. Good job finding this place."
"Oh, want some of mine?" She asked in a falsely sweet tone of voice, as she held up her dripping spoon of three different ice cream flavors melted together, with a helping of sprinkles to top it off. It didn't even look a little appetizing, and she knew it, which was exactly why she was holding it out to him like it was the most delicious thing on the face of the planet. The grin on her face spoke louder than words as she regarded his expression. She could be just as bad as him, if not even worse.
|
|
|
|
Post by COLIN COX on May 11, 2013 3:06:44 GMT -8
She smiled, and once again he felt his heart skip a beat. Leaning over so that he could make feeding her easier, his eyes danced with amusement while her lips enveloped the spoon in a decidedly unladylike chomping motion. "The whale swallows its prey," he remarked. "Its victims never had any hope of survival." Many a girl he knew would have been offended by the assertion that they were a whale, but then again, Julie was 5'2" and tiny. The whale joke was more ironic than anything else. But according to him, she was a giant blue whale that was going to sit down on anything and anyone that incurred her wrath. With her sheer might she could crush them, especially when she flopped down on his stomach when they were lying on a couch.
"The gourmet speaks," Colin smirked. "Yeah, I agree. Four out of five, but also because this isn't quite creamy enough. I think the sweetness is fine actually." She scooted in closer to him to invade his personal space bubble, and he tapped his finger on the table, eyes drifting towards the mess in the middle of her bowl that had once been three delicious-looking scoops of ice cream. It was only a matter of time until she tried to feed it to him-- and just as he had thought that, Julie had offered her own spoon up, granting him her puddle of slush with sprinkles as garnish. How lovely.
"I don't know how you can stand to eat your ice cream like this." But he leaned in and took a bite nevertheless, knowing that it probably wouldn't taste all that bad. Ice cream was ice cream after all, and when it came to good ice cream there were only so many ways that you could go wrong. He frowned slightly at the strange mix of flavours, the swirling flavours of pineapple and cookie dough forming the oddest clash of tangy and sweet. How did she do this? Though he would probably get the pineapple the next time he came here, if he didn't decide to try somewhere new after extensive Googling. The bits of fruity sweetness he had tasted had been like a light sprinkling of ice-cream flavoured glitter dancing across his mouth. Colin pulled a face when he swallowed the mixture.
"Weirdo."
Then again, he was really one to talk. If anything, she was probably much more normal by societal standards. To put things down on paper, he was a plaid-wearing, cereal-obsessed bibliophile, and almost anyone standing next to him would probably look like a functional human being. Early in their relationship he had constantly wondered what she was doing with him of all people, but he had come to realise that he made her happy, just like the way she made him. The part he liked most of their relationship was how they both knew it was equivocal give and take. There was no sacrificing, nobody bending over backwards, just two lovers who really cared about each other. He jostled her left foot with his right, unable to resist the urge to play footsie with her under the table. They were just barely out of their teenage years, anyhow, and could certainly stand to have some juvenile fun. Whoever said that he was twenty-one going on a hundred all the time, anyhow?
"So, boardwalk next?"
__________________________
27th April 2012, 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on May 11, 2013 3:07:10 GMT -8
Some boyfriends call their girlfriends by cute nicknames, like honey and sweetie and baby. Colin called her a whale. She had long since gotten used to the nickname though- in fact, if she remembered correctly, her reaction to the first time he called her a whale was to roll her eyes and kiss him. According to him she was a majestic blue whale, but honestly she'd rather be a killer whale, if only for the sole reason that it had the word 'killer' in it's name. But blue whale worked too. Being compared to the largest known animal to have ever existed was an honor, and one she accepted graciously.
That's not to say that he didn't call her by stereotypical nicknames though. The only time he ever called her 'babe' was when he was being sarcastic, or when he was trying to catch her offguard, which he managed to do surprisingly often. She usually laughed them off and shot something right back at him, but there was one nickname in particular she would never get used to under any circumstances ever. He had only to whisper it in her ear to turn her into a blushing, stuttering mess, which is exactly why we're not mentioning it!
She snorted in a very unladylike fashion at his comment about the way she ate her ice cream. "Because it's the only way to get it just right." She retorted, though that was a lie and she knew it. Remember how ice cream turned her into a literal child? She was just a disgusting eater when it came to ice cream, what could she say. Wine and dine her, and she could fool the entire restaurant into thinking she was raised in Buckingham Palace. Place a bowl of ice cream in front of her? You got something like... well, this.
Julie grinned at the expression on Colin's face as he ate the blend of flavors, her mouth curled up in an attempt not to outright laugh at him. As much as he didn't like to admit it, or accept it for that matter, he was undeniably cute. Which was exactly why she couldn't resist any longer, and she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "Shut up, you like it." She replied with a cheeky smile, plopping another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth as she raised her brows at him. She did have her strange habits, but then again, didn't everyone? Some people were just better at hiding them than others.
His foot jostling against her's made her grin, and she replied in kind, knocking her foot into his without comment. She swallowed her mouthful of ice cream before replying with, "Yup!" She was already nearly done with her ice cream, given that it had degenerated into a swirling puddle at the bottom of her bowl, topped off with a few remaining sprinkles. She scrapped her spoon along the bottom of the bowl, humming under her breath as she finished off the last of her ice cream. Definitely a 7.5/10, but she'd secretly give it an 8/10.
Just this once.
"Ready whenever you are, captain." She said lightly, talking around the spoon still in her mouth as she looked at him expectantly.
|
|
|
|
Post by COLIN COX on May 11, 2013 3:07:56 GMT -8
He flushed lightly as she kissed him on the cheek. Okay, she had won this round, like she did most of the time, though admittedly his victories tended to be bigger. He said nothing in response when she declared that he liked it, because of course he did. He really did like how silly she could sometimes be, among other things. If she was aware of the extent to which he was completely stupid for her, she would probably laugh-- no, wait, not knowing didn't stop her anyway. Colin rolled his eyes, trying to pretend that the little flush hadn't happened.
"Keep telling yourself that." Now it was his turn to give her foot a little kick, though it would probably end up feeling like a light tap to her instead. It was okay, though, as long as she understood the sentiment behind the gesture. He had always been a fan of symbolism after all, as evident by his choice in literature, though he could write books about his hatred for over-interpretation. Books were to be analysed, certainly, and the reader would take from them what they would, but to discount the author's intent completely destroyed the point of analysis or any attempt to understand the context in which a story was placed. Either way, their little game of footsie had turned into some sort of nuclear foot war, and he wouldn't have had it any other way. He took a couple more mouthfuls of his ice cream, but not while keeping his concentration on their little battle under the table. Part of the fun in the relationship was the endless banter and half-joking attempts to win out. And so they continued to duel as they ate, Julie polishing off the last of her three scoops in the same time it took him to finish one. He was surprised that her existence wasn't the cause of worldwide food shortages and the famine in Somalia.
"All right, let's go." Colin got up from his chair, picking up his phone as he did so and slipping it into his pocket. Normally, he wouldn't have been too attached to the little device, but ever since he had discovered that it could hold PDFs of books inside it was almost a child to him. Besides, it was the closest he would ever come to caving into buying an actual e-reader; he still felt a little dirty whenever downloading a book illegally, but he justified it with the thought that he would buy a physical copy as soon as he could. Publishing was unfortunately a dying industry, and the only people he could blame were non-readers and the creator of the Kindle. The two of them walked out of the store, the crisp air of the night blowing in their faces as they strolled closer towards the boardwalk. The blonde took in a deep breath. Ah, how he enjoyed the sea, but he wasn't about to admit out loud that there were places outside his room that he liked being in. Then again, this was a fairly recent development. Four years ago he would have balked at the thought of spending a few hours away from his books and laptop, and he had Julie to credit for that.
The two of them slowly strolled to the boardwalk, Colin's pace slowing down to take in the sights of the pier at night. They were there in a matter of minutes, and he found himself relieved that he had decided to come here at night. It was a lot less crowded than in pictures now, as many of the rides were closed, leaving only the stalls with games that held prizes he could earn. "Okay, princess," he said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible despite the smirk that curled up at the edge of his lips. "Let's go win you a stuffed animal. A noble steed."
__________________________
27th April 2012, 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on May 11, 2013 3:08:27 GMT -8
Don't worry Colin, she caught that flush. She smiled to herself at the sight of it too, a little smug herself. She had long since discovered that it wasn't that hard to make him blush, but as time wore on he had gotten used to her tricks, and it wasn't quite as easy as it used to be. It was fun though, and she kind of liked the challenge. "Sure thing." She responded to the light tap against her foot with another jab of her own.
And then suddenly foot war. She pretended not to be engrossed in what was going down under the table, because it was a fierce battle between the forces of good and slightly better. There was no clear winner in sight, not with the pit stop for dessert now drawing to a close, but Julie decided she'd be the better person and give Colin the victory. She got to pay for their ice cream after all, so it was the least she could do. Besides, that was just one battle in the ongoing war that was their relationship. They fought and bickered to no end, but that was just another facet of how they expressed their affection. It was all very slap slap, kiss kiss, and she loved it.
Once they were finally done with their ice cream, the pair exited the parlour and began to walk towards the pier. It was a beautiful night, and Julie glanced at Colin as they walked, once again in amiable silence. He looked happy, and she smiled herself, enjoying the weather as they got closer and closer to the brightly lit pier. It looked stunning, and it was hardly crowded at all once they reached it. She looked around, taking in the sight of all the different stalls and rides, and she was just about to say something when-
Oh.
Now he's done it.
The word had barely left his lips when Julie's face flushed crimson. The one nickname she detested above all other's, simply because it could elicit a reaction out of her every single time. She could feel her face heating up, and with no way of hiding it she punched him in the arm as hard as she could. "Colinyoudickhole." She mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear, even though within the same minute she was pressing her face into his sleeve in an attempt to hide the prominent flush on her cheeks.
She hated hated hated that nickname. Of all the stupid nicknames he could call her, it had to be that one that made her blush and stutter. She couldn't even really explain why it made her react like it did; maybe it had something to do with the story he had once told her, from when he was a kid and he pretended to be a prince? She had jokingly called him her hobo prince after that, but then he had started calling her that, and she lost the ability to form a coherent sentence.
"I-I don't want anything you win me." She declared with a huff, finally removing her face from his sleeve. She refused to look at him, knowing all too well he was going to have that self-satisified smirk on his face that he had caught her off guard once again. At least the breeze managed to cool her face slightly, though she wouldn't have been surprised if steam had come off her cheeks from the heat. If she didn't love him so much she would have murdered him.
|
|
|
|
Post by COLIN COX on May 11, 2013 3:08:57 GMT -8
What was the score that night? Julie - 1, Colin - off the charts. He would never stop relishing how the very mention of her being his princess was enough to turn her into a blushing, stuttering mess, and the blonde took her hand, planting a kiss on the girl's cheek before her face disappeared into his sleeve. It was a certain strategy to win any argument with her, and he occasionally wondered why he didn't deploy it more often: but then again, if he did, it would probably lose its effectiveness. No, he had to pop the word on her sparingly, strike when she least expected, allow the effects of it to linger for a while before disappearing. And then he would repeat the cycle, using the one word on her that she hated most. He gave her a pat on the head, ruffling her hair, before leaning in to whisper into her ear.
"What's wrong, princess? Are you lost in another castle?" She didn't emerge from her hiding spot, though he could feel the heat of her blushing through the sleeve of his navy jacket. This was revenge for all the times that she had managed to drag him into doing things he didn't want to, though admittedly he had enjoyed doing them in the end. "Never mind Julie, you can win the next round." Pulling away from her, Colin set his gaze on the lines and rows of stalls, before hazel eyes landed on one nearby.
"I'm quite certain that if I won a lifetime supply of ice cream, you would be quite inclined to take it off my hands." Sorry? Not sorry at all. He would continue calling her princess for as long as they were together, which he sincerely hoped was a very long time. "But since you seem to have lost all ability to make a rational decision, I could try the hoopla. They've got cute stuffed puppies there. Do I have your approval to make this decision, Your Majesty?" Then again, he wasn't exactly the most loyal citizen of the nation. Once Julie was done with hiding her face like an ostrich Colin immediately walked towards the stall, reaching into his pocket and handing five dollars over.
"Six rings, please." This would be easy. Julie was better at video games than he was, but he was pretty certain that things like this were his forte. Despite his lack of hand-eye coordination, he was surprisingly good at boardwalk games. One of the rare skills that he possessed, along with devouring of books and embarrassing whale princesses. As soon as the man handed him the six rings, Colin stepped back, fixing his gaze on the bottle in the centre with a yellow circle around it. It was for the grand prize, and he wasn't sure whether he was going to get it on his first shot, but he was quite certain that he would manage to win at least on his second go. Taking aim, he fired-- and missed, the ring doing a little spin on the rim of the bottle before falling to the side. "Darn," he said, gritting his teeth, turning to glance at Julie. "Don't laugh at me like that. I'll get it on the next go." Evidently, he'd been doing something wrong earlier; perhaps it had been the trajectory of his aim. Shifting his line of sight just slightly to the right, Colin took aim for the bottle, and sent the next ring flying...
"Got it." True enough, the ring fell square around the bottleneck, and a smile spread across his face. The stall owner had returned to where they were standing, and asked him what prize he wanted; Colin merely glanced over at Julie. "Her choice."
__________________________
27th April 2012, 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on May 11, 2013 3:09:33 GMT -8
He was a jerk and she wanted to kill him but she loved him too much so she'd just have to live with glaring at him until she really did develop laser vision and then they'd see who's laughing then.
"I wouldn't." She replied firmly, glaring up at him with burning green eyes. Not for all the ice cream in the world- at least, not at the moment anyway. Give her a few minutes, and she'd be back to normal, albeit a little more snarky. Anyone watching them would be wonder what in the world he had said to her to cause such a reaction, and if they knew they'd probably laugh. Maybe someday she'd train herself not to react like a middleschooler every time he called her by that nickname, but today was not that day, and tomorrow wasn't looking good either. Next year for sure, though it had been 2 years now and she still wasn't over it yet. What a load of bull.
Julie fixed him with another pointed look as he continued talking, her face heating up once again. "No." She snapped back, though she squeezed his hand holding her's as they walked towards the nearest stall anyway. As much as she was pissed off, she didn't mean a word she said. Although, all body language would indicate otherwise. She stood off to one side and watched Colin with her arms crossed, a frown once again marring her features. Her hobo prince. Huzzah.
She turned her attention to the stuffed animals hanging along the roof of the stall, and, well, okay, she had to admit; they were kind of cute. She wasn't going to be able to refuse if Colin did win one for her, which she was starting to think he wasn't given that he missed the ring on his first try. She let out a snort of laughter, before quickly sobering up at the look he gave her. What? She could afford to laugh at him a little, given what he just did to her.
The next toss won the grand prize, and Julie managed a slow clap as she stepped up next to him at the counter. Yes yes, very impressive, she still wanted to kill him, just not quite as much as she did a few minutes ago. She flashed the man in the stall a perfectly polite smile, before pointing to a chocolate brown dog with black spots. "The dopey looking one with the lazy eye, please. It reminds me of my boyfriend." At that, she turned to Colin and gave him a shark's grin; oh, she knew she wasn't winning anything with that, but it was her own little taste of revenge until she won another round on him.
Once the man had gotten the dog down and handed it to her, she nuzzled it's face, before holding it up to Colin with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Three guesses what I'm naming it. Here's a hint: it starts with a 'c' and ends with an 'olin.'" She beamed at him, obviously enjoying this as they began to walk away from the stall. So she was on a losing streak, no big deal. She'd come back and win again soon, just you wait and see.
|
|
|
|
Post by COLIN COX on May 11, 2013 3:10:12 GMT -8
Of all the unflattering descriptions that he could use to depict himself, "dopey looking one with the lazy eye" was certainly nowhere near the top. Then again, he realised with a scowl, he could kind of see the resemblance. He probably looked like that when he was lazing about in bed, not wanting to leave to face the real world. It didn't stop him from letting out a snort.
"What happened to a sense of gratitude? I expected at least some form of thanks." Then again, if she had been thankful or expressed sincere happiness of any form, Colin would have suspected that the real Julie was abducted by aliens and replaced with a clone. If she didn't sulk for at least the next fifteen moments after he used that name on her, there was certainly something wrong. Letting out a groan as she mentioned that she was naming it Colin, he didn't even bother to fudge a fake guess regarding what she was calling the stuffed dog. Now the two of them were walking away from the stall, he gave her a little nudge in her side. "Isn't one Colin enough for you? Greedy." Okay, maybe he'd just dug himself a hole with that one. "And before you say that you're going to get rid of me and replace me with a stuffed dog, let me remind you that it isn't going to help pay the bills, or the rent."
He stopped in his tracks. Wait a minute. It hadn't really crossed his mind for the whole night until he'd mentioned it though: they were actually moving in together the next day. Without realising it, his features softened, and a small smile creeped onto his face. Somehow, the 28th of April had seemed so distant until then, and he had known it was the next day-- but it hadn't really hit him, even though he had just spent the whole evening hanging out with the person he was moving in with. Colin felt a wrenching in his gut, thundering horses where other people had butterflies. It was one thing to be going out with someone, but to move in with them... He could only hope that she would be able to handle him and his habits. They were pretty in sync with each other in terms of sleeping schedules, and they had certainly slept over at each others' enough, and they had established that she'd be the messier one while he'd be neat. He'd warned her about his book collection, she'd warned him about her shoes, and they'd talked this through. They'd be fine.
It didn't change the fact that this was simultaneously nerve-wracking and exciting all at once. He turned towards Julie, glancing over to the pier. It was empty; he suspected that everyone else was at the ice cream store instead, of something. The blonde took a deep breath.
"Tomorrow, huh?" he said. Colin took hold of Julie's hand, and started guiding her towards the pier. The gravity of what they were going to do had just hit him with full force, and he wanted to sit down for a moment and allow it to sink in. "We're moving in with each other tomorrow. That-- that sounds kind of crazy." It really hadn't seemed like so long ago that they had been messaging one another playing League, before moving on to texting and calling. He should probably have seen their going out coming a mile away, but of course he had been too knee-deep in self-pity at the time to realise it. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but it was largely because of her that he was who he was. Colin waited for his girlfriend to sit down at the pier first, allowing her to choose a spot, before taking a seat next to her. "Wow."
__________________________
27th April 2012, 8:00 pm
|
|
|
|
Post by JULIETTE DUBOIS on May 11, 2013 3:11:51 GMT -8
Now it was her turn to smirk at the expression on his face as he stared at her stuffed dog, which only caused her to hug it closer to her. This was going to be her new favorite thing on the face of the planet. Maybe she should start keeping a tally: 'Colin the Dog versus Colin the Human. Who will win the girl's heart in the end? Tune in next week to find out!' If she started to weigh the pros and cons of replacing Colin the Human with Colin the Dog, she had the feeling she'd end up choosing the dog in the end.
She turned to give him a mischievous look, a single brow raised at him as she smiled coyly. "Thanks? What do you have in mind~?" A question that was very much open to interpretation, and that she was probably going to regret asking, but oh well. He nudged her in the side and she laughed in response, walking into him for a step as she tapped a finger against her bottom lip, as if she was actually muling this over. "True. On the other hand though, it won't buy me dinner or call me princess, and it's probably way better at cuddling, so I think it evens out nicely. My ideal boyfriend is a dog." She nodded as if in agreement with herself, sparing Colin a quick look and a toothy grin. She'd never tell him, but if she had to compare him to any animal, it'd be a Pomeranian puppy.
He would probably die if she told him that though.
Speaking of which, Colin suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing Julie to pause and backtrack a few steps as well. She blinked at him bemusedly, noting the change in expression on his face. He turned to face her, then took her hand, and his question reminded her that tomorrow was, in fact, the day that they officially moved in together. She bit her lip as a wide smile overtook her features, and her stomach twisted itself into knots at the thought. "Tomorrow." She affirmed, squeezing his hand as she tried to control the smile threatening to split her face in half. Tomorrow tomorrow tomorrow-
Tomorrow they were moving in together. Tomorrow they were going to start living together, and- it sent her heart beating a little bit faster just thinking about it. She had lived in a dorms, sure, and had had roommates, but this... this was completely different. She was going to be sharing space with Colin, and it was probably the nicest thing in the world she could think of. On the occassions she had slept over at his place, or he at her's, she had been struck by just how nice it was to wake up next to someone you loved so much it felt like your heart might burst just when you looked at them. And she was going to get to do that everyday, starting tomorrow?
She was the luckiest girl on the face of the planet.
"Good crazy, or bad crazy?" She asked lightly as she followed him down the pier, not letting go of his hand as she took a seat on a bench. She fiddled with his fingers for a moment, her bottom lip between her teeth as she starting smiling all over again. "I know what you mean though, it's- it's amazing." She glanced up at him and grinned. "It's kind of surreal, isn't it? I mean... 3 years ago we were total strangers, and now..." She trailed off, not bothering to finish her sentence. They both knew what she meant. "I can't wait."
|
|
