Only you, just you

Listen to your heart

'I have never in my life felt so calm and yet on fire .
All at the same time, knowing deep in my bones
He is who I've waited for all my life. Vera Valentine

   Rey shook off the feeling of Ben's tight hold on her waist  and the look of abject misery in his eyes as she ran down the steps to meet Poe. Why wouldn't the sound of his voice humming her favorite song get out of her head? 

    Damn him!

      She wouldn't let him spoil this for her.  He'd be just fine in the end she told herself.

   Her mood lifted as she drunk in the night. She filled her lungs with the evening air. She almost felt giddy on it.  Like an elixir,   it worked it's Magic on calming her confused and  irritated  mind.
 
        It was balmy and clear with just a slight breeze to make her  gauzy dress to flutter and dance around her .   The moon was full and the stars winked and twinkled down on her head.

  She couldn't help the anxiety creeping back in her stomach and it twisted painfully.  ' I hope I'm not to late' she thought concerned about the hour.

As she neared the bottom of the long flight of stairs , she heard the laughter of people enjoying themselves and the sound of  clinking cutlery.  She caught the scent of delicious  food and the salty -ness of the ocean.  All of this momentarily distracted her.

    Then as if by some trick of the moon, he stepped forward.

  He was breathtaking. Now that he was on land and had taken on human form. He knew how to dress like a mortal with impeccable taste.

       He wore cream colored  linen pants and a white linen shirt  that was open to reveal his tanned flesh.   Rey could see the golden medallion he wore around his neck and she shivered at the sight.

         "Oh my gosh!" Was all she was able to say when they were face to face.  Again her mind went blank at the sight of him.

  "Hey, your late."  He grumbled impatiently.  He was not used to being kept waiting.

     "Oh, I'm so sorry. I got detained."  She thought of Ben dancing with her in the bathroom of all places and felt irritated with him for causing her tardiness.

    And now Poe was upset with her.  Not the  best way to begin her destiny with him. Had he waited that long? She would have to make it up to him somehow.

     He smirked at her , liking her unease and  humiliation.  It stoked his ego. But he'd go easy on her for now.

   "Hey, it's okay. You look gorgeous. I just wanted to see you so badly that a moment without you is torture.  Just don't let it happen again."

   Rey was taken aback by the extreme fluctuations in his mood.  She would have to tread carefully so she wouldn't make another mistake.
  She'd come too far to lose him now.

  They were led to a table overlooking the beach. Rey looked down and saw people strolling hand in hand , boats moored on the dock rocking back and forth and then she thought she saw someone familiar sitting on a stone bench. 

No , it was dark down there. It was just a trick of the street lights.

   The waiter handed them menus and for a moment Rey studied it without really looking at it.  She guessed it was time for some conversation.

   "So I guess you are wondering why I asked you to dinner." 

   He snorted a laugh and reached over and twirled a lock of her hair. " Naw, women ask me out all the time.  They find me irresistible." He laughed again and all she could do was wonder why he would go out with dozens of women when he should have been waiting for her.
Suddenly, she forgot what she was going to say. Somehow their being destined for each other didn't seem to matter anymore.
     
     The evening was spent with him talking about himself and how wonderful he was.  She listened  intently, leaning as much about him as she could. Shouldn't she have know all this stuff already? And why wasn't he asking her questions about herself.  Didn't he care about her? Her likes and dislikes.

   He was proving to be very self centered and egotistical.

     The only things they had in common was they both like fish and were Americans.

  "Huh, you don't like the Opera?"  Rey's hopes were dimming by the second.

   "Oh how boring can you get!"  He insulted her right to her face.  "Now I like a good action movie. The bloodier the better."

     Rey's head was swimming with a stress headache. She couldn't eat her dinner so Poe reached over the table and took her plate.

   "Well, if your not gonna eat it."    Waste not want not.

            He knocked over the salt as he reached for her hand.  "Whoops, my bad."   She let him take it but it quickly became sweaty and sticky. Ick.
    He did have enough  chivalry to insist he would pay for dinner, but suggested that Rey pay the tip. How gallant  and thoughtful was that?

'I have to save this' she thought  desperately.  Well, he's not that bad.  He's so gorgeous I'll have to beat other woman off with a super sonic broom.
I need to give him one more chance.

   "Hey, my friend has invited us to a party on a yacht tonight for our last night here. Want to go?"

   "Will there be free booze?"  He snorted that irritating laugh again and she felt her self  cringe.

   "I guess." Was all she could think to say.

   They took a water shuttle across to the yacht, unaware that they were being watched.

  Ben had taken a long lonely walk along the beach front and found the perfect place to sit and stare up at Rey and Poe.

     Why was he doing this?   Did he like inflicting pain on himself?  Was he a masochist, enjoying the torment of watching another man take what belongs to him?

They looked like the perfect couple. All beautiful hair and skin and smiles.

   Ben sulked then felt his blood boil when he saw Poe reach over the table to take Rey's hand.  She let him take it!

    He was just about to run up there and cause a scene when an elderly fisherman came hobbling over and sat down next to him.

They sat in silence until Ben asked  a question that has been simmering in his stomach and now jumped off his tongue.

    "Do you believe in Destiny ?"

  "Destino?  Si , yes. Destiny is written in the stars.They will shape your future. Lead you to your beloved for eternity."

        Ben smiled but became still when the old man grabbed his arm and shock his head no.

  Saying seriously, " Don't wait for your destiny. You make it what you want it to be. You take it into your own hands. The stars will tell you what you want to hear. But listen to your heart . It will never lead you astray."

   This time Ben had a plan. He would take Destiny by the balls and twist and crush it until it succumbed .

  Until Rey was back in his arms.