Chimon - This Moment

Chapter 11

After arriving back at Cheryl's estate, Simon walked into the house carrying five bags full of clothes. It had been a long day and it was nearly dark out.

"See, that wasn't so bad now was it?" Cheryl asked as she took off her coat and threw it over the ledge of the couch.

"No, but it would have been even better if we didn't have to spend countless hours filling up four and a half bags of YOUR clothing." Simon grumbled.

"Oh put a sock in it! It was nice to get out for a change. Besides, a girl can never have too much clothes. You would do well to follow suit Simon."

"Like that Damien bloke..." Simon grumbled rashly under his breath.

"What'd you say?"

"Err...nothing."

"I could have sworn I heard you say something."

"I did not." Simon answered while shifting his eyes left and right. Like Cheryl, he wasn't a very good liar.

"Jealousy isn't a good color on you." Cheryl teased while sorting through some of the bags.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Simon shot back.

"Whatever. Anyhow, I fully expect you to wear all the clothes I picked out for you today."

Although he was actually quite fond of all his new clothes, he wouldn't admit it to Cheryl's face. He didn't want to give her another reason to be smug.

"I'm sure I would cause quite a stir with the paparazzi. I could just picture the tabloids now. 'Simon Cowell taking fashion tips from fashion Queen Cheryl Cole.' I don't think I'd ever hear the end of it." Simon said with a scoff.

After his words, Simon froze in place. He realized that he just called her CherylCole and it didn't go unnoticed by Cheryl herself.

To her surprise, it really didn't have too much of an effect on her. Sure, it stung a little bit and it nearly pulled her back into the abyss of melancholy, but she was adamant to not let him ruin this for her. Today was going fabulous so far, and more importantly, she felt fabulous for the first time in a long time.

Cheryl walked over to Simon and gave him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder to reassure him that everything was fine. She felt his shoulders relax into her touch.

"I'm sorry Cheryl. A little slip of the tongue there." 

"Hey, don't kick yourself over it. I'm sure I'll be getting a lot of that in the next couple of weeks anyway. I best start getting used to it."

"Yeah." Simon agreed. "That's unfortunate."

An awkward silence lingered between them for a few moments.

"So, how's everything going with your girlfriend then?" Cheryl asked.

Immediately after her words, she wanted to kick herself for sounding like a blatant journalist. The least she could have done was transition the question from a normal conversation. Luckily for her, Simon didn't seem to think the question was intrusive in the slightest.

"You mean ex-girlfriend." Simon corrected.

"What?" Cheryl nearly shouted out. She cleared her throat and calmed herself down. "But I just read the other day about your supposed engagement and how you finally met 'the one' or something like that."

"Well I thought so, but we didn't want the same things in life."

"Oh?" Cheryl probed.

"Well to sum it up, I envisioned a family for us but she didn't want it, so I ended it. After all, I'm not exactly getting any younger."

A million thoughts rushed through Cheryl's mind as she acknowledged his answer. Although she felt bad for Simon, she couldn't help but feel happy for all the wrong reasons.

Now that the girlfriend was out of the equation, the limits of their relationship were boundless. It was a frightening thought but exhilarating all the same, and she was unsure whether or not it would be worth it in the end to test the waters of their relationship. If it all went down in parts, there would be no turning back.

It was a frightening thought, but the temptation just too strong to ignore. At this rate, it wouldn't take very long for him to strip her of her restraint, and even though the risks were high, she was more than ready to hop on and enjoy the ride.