The Captain's Armband

51. Gala - Part 2

I've watched Leah get mad at other drivers, watched her give me the most beautiful smiles and watched her sing her favourite song.
"Car rides with you are never boring, are they?" I ask her the moment she parks the car.
She laughs and looks at me. "I guess not."
"Too bad this car ride was so short though. Felt like seconds."
Leah is still looking at me, deep into my eyes. "I know."
She keeps looking into my eyes, not losing focus, not saying a word. Feelings are rushing through my body, it's hard to control my breathing and my heart starts racing.
"You feel it too, don't you?" She whispers.
"I do." I whisper back at her.
She inhales deeply and exhales slowly, still looking into my eyes.
"Come here." She says.
I lean in and give her a long and loving kiss on her lips. I start breathing heavier immediately.
"God. I can't. I can't control myself." Leah says while leaning back.
Before I can answer she starts to laugh.
"Why are you laughing?" I ask her a little confused.
"I don't know. It's just all these feelings, all this tension. I've never felt like this before."
Her laugh is contagious and I start to laugh with her. Here we are, sitting in her car, laughing together until tears roll down our faces.
She stops laughing and looks at me, a smile still on her face.
"God, I love you so much Dani."
"I love you too Leah." I say while looking into her eyes.
She leans in and gives me one more soft kiss on my lips.
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow baby."
I get out of the car and grab my suitcase from the back, I smile when I see the teddy bear.
I wave at her as she drives off. I enter the building and I walk over to my aunt's front door, she opens it before I can press the doorbell.
She hugs me straight away. "Good to see you Dani. How are you?"
"Feels good to be back here."
We hold each other for a few seconds before Julie steps back and looks at me.
"You look good, tired but good."
"Thanks."
"Come on in." Julie says as she leads the way.
I close the front door and place my suitcase in the hallway. I walk over to the living room.
"Tea?"
"Yes, please." I say with a smile.
"Go sit down, I want to hear everything that's been going on in your life." Julie says as she walks to the kitchen to get us some tea.
I do as she says and we talk until late in the evening, about everything that has been going on, about the past and about what the future might hold, it has been a while since I've had such deep conversations. These conversations with Julie always make me see things clearly for some reason.
"Go get some sleep. Tomorrow is a big day for you." Julie says as she rubs my back.
I hug her goodnight and walk off to the guest room. I grab my phone and I text Leah.
'It's so weird being so close and yet so far away. Sleep well baby X.'
She appears online within a second.
'Are you in bed?'
'Yes. Why?'
She calls me as soon as she sees my message.
"Everything okay?" I say a bit worried.
"Yes. Sorry. I just wanted to hear your voice before I go to sleep."
"Oh my god Leah, you scared me."
She gives me her little typical laugh. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I wanted to call you earlier but I didn't want to interrupt the time you have with Julie."
She is so cute.
"That's so sweet of you.." I sigh.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"I think so, yes."
"Good. Just keep in mind that there are going to be a lot of eyes there."
"Hmhm."
"We really should keep it professional tomorrow."
Her voice sounds cold and formal. Almost like she is making a business agreement.
"I know the drill." I say a bit irritated.
Leah stays quiet. So do I. We are both thinking about what to say.
"I'm not trying to be mean..." Leah says to break the silence.
"I know. You are being professional."
Again, there is a silence.
"You have to understand that..." Leah continues
"It's late, I should probably get some rest." I say, interrupting her.
"Yes, of course. You had a long day."
"See you tomorrow."
"Slaap lekker mijn liefste." She says in her best Dutch.
I laugh softly. "I didn't teach you that."
"I know." Leah says with a giggle. "I did my research."
"Do you know what it means?"
"Sleep well my sweetheart or my darling or something like that, right?"
"Yes. I'm impressed."
I can hear a little proud giggle.
"Sleep well schatje." I say before I hang up the phone.
I don't know why but this conversation didn't feel how it normally does. I feel a bit annoyed although I did like the fact that she tried to talk Dutch. Her pronunciation is so cute.
I sigh as I turn to my side. Time to go to sleep.