The Word Love

XXXII

"Let me through, Aimee."

I remained defiant and stood my ground. "No."

"Aimee..." he gritted through his teeth.

"Eric..." I mocked.

"I did not cheat on her."

"That's what most cheaters say," I retorted.

He ran his fingers through his hair and gave me a look. "I'm not kidding, Aimee. I have to talk to her. I have to explain what happened."

"And I'm not kidding either. Rose is crying her eyes out for you because you couldn't keep your thing in your pants." I closed the door in his face and locked it.

"I'm not leaving until I talk to her," he shouted from outside.

"Well, have fun freezing your ass off," I shouted back before walking back into the living room where Rose was sitting on the couch. She remained expressionless and kept her eyes on the wall in front of her. The ice cream in the tub on her lap had melted and now looked completely gross.

Sighing, I sat down next to her and placed the tub on the ground.

"What did he want?" she asked quietly, her voice barely a whisper.

"He wanted to talk to you," I answered while eyeing her warily.

She sniffed, pulled her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her leg. She laid her head on her knees and closed her eyes. "I hate the effect he has over me. I hate this feeling."

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

"Maybe it's because of me. I didn't give him what he wanted, so he found someone else. Someone who made him happy."

My lips pulled down to a frown and put my hand on top of hers. She reopened her eyes and blinked away the tears that were threatening to come out. "Do not blame yourself for his mistake. You are the most selfless, nicest, genuine, and beautiful person in the world. If he doesn't see that then it's his loss."

She managed to let a small smile on her face. "Thank you, Aimee."

"You're welcome. Now, lets put on a movie instead of staring at a blank wall. It's driving me insane."

She laughed and wiped away the tears from her eyes. As I stood up to walk over to the television, the doorbell rang. I groaned quietly and glanced over at Rose. She was looking at the direction of the sound with sadness.

"I'll be right back," I mumbled to her before walking to the front door.

I slung the door open. "Eric, I a- Douglas?"

Eric was sitting on the steps behind Douglas. His back was facing me as he shivered from the cold. I almost felt bad. Douglas was holding a box of chocolates in one hand and tissues in the other.

"I-uh didn't know what to bring to these situations, but I hope chocolates and tissues will be fine?" he said but it sounded more like a question.

I smiled gratefully and invited him in. I glanced at Eric one more time before closing the door behind Douglas. "Yes, chocolates and tissues will be fine. Thank you."

He smiled and leaned his lips down to meet mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. My skin felt hot when I touched him. My lips have been yearning for his, and now it feels so good when it's pressed against my lips. My heart thumped at an increasing speed as I parted my lips. I grabbed a fistful of the back of his shirt when he parted his lips. My cheeks warmed up when I felt his hands caressed my cheeks. I stood up on my tippy toes to reach his height, and he pulled my body against his. I reopened my eyes as we slowly pulled our lips away. His beautiful blue eyes stared down at me as he quietly tried to catch his breath. I was also trying to regain my breath from the kiss. I would have forgotten about Rose, which is really horrible but true, if my foot hadn't hit the box of chocolate that somehow ended on the ground with the tissues. Douglas picked up the two items and handed it to me.

"I love you." He pecked my lips and grinned.

I smiled and pecked his lips. "I love you too."

"I'll talk to you later, okay?"

I nodded in response, and he kissed me one more time before leaving. Biting my lip while grinning, I returned to the living room. Rose looked up from her lap and raised an eyebrow when she saw the chocolates and tissues.

"Douglas brought them over," I told her.

She smiled at the thought of her brother coming here to make her feel better with these two items in my hands. I sat down next to her and she pressed something on the remote. The television clicked on, and Rose chose a movie to watch while I opened the box of chocolates. As I lifted up the top, a white paper was found on top of the chocolates. Curiously, I opened the note and could already tell it wasn't from Douglas.

I nudged Rose with my elbow and handed her the note. She furrowed her eyebrows as she read the note out loud.

"Rose, I know you're hurting right now because of me, and that's the last thing I want you to feel. What you saw wasn't what it looked like. I don't say that to sound cliché, but it was an accident. The girl had spilled her drink on my shirt, so I went upstairs to change out of it. She followed me to make sure I was fine, and we talked for awhile. After that, we were just about to leave, but she tripped and fell on me, That's when you walked in. You might not believe me, and I don't blame you. I used to be the kind of guy who cheated and used girls to satisfied my needs. I just want you to know that I'm not that guy anymore. I fell for a beautiful and smart girl. I fell for someone who made me into a better guy. I fell for the girl who always seem to have a bubbly personality which annoyed me at first, but I've come to love it. I've come to love everything about the girl. That girl is you, Rose."

She dropped the paper on her lap and stood up. "I have to go talk to him."

Smiling, I pointed to the door. She gripped the note tightly in her hand and headed towards the door.  Well planned, Douglas. Well planned.