3:14am he arrived at Lila's.
It was a small brick building, smushed between two other small brick buildings. One was a pawn shop, and the other was some sort of Jazz club.
The store was closed, of course, and the Jazz club was silent.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and exited his car. He noticed a small figure sitting on the steps of Lila's, and made a beeline for her.
She looked up, looking just as sleepy as him, and smiled. Her smile looked like that of a dream, distant and warm with a soft curl to her lips.
"You came," she commented, getting to her feet.
Eye to eye, he finally noticed the difference.
"You cut your hair," he whispered.
"I did," she moved closer to him, "Do you like it?"
No, no he didn't. He loved her fiery mane, her crazy auburn curls. She had chopped all of it off, to her shoulders. It didn't look bad, it wasn't possible for her to look bad in his eyes, but he didn't prefer it.
"Yeah," He replied weakly. She smiled and slung her arms around his neck.
"No you don't."
"It's not bad . . . "
She laughed, leaning her forehead to his chest. "You don't have to like it. Be honest."
"Honest?"
She lifted her head to look at him, nodding.
"I just have to get used to it." He finally said, with a small grin. "You still look beautiful."
She blushed, her cheeks matching her hair. He gingerly reached out, tucking a strand behind her ear. He rubbed it between his fingers, and drew himself closer to her.
"Did you make your choice?"
He sighed softly, their lips inches apart. "Yeah."
She waited for him to elaborate, their steamy breaths colliding in the little space between them.
"I . . . " he paused, smiling to himself, "feel a bit silly saying this, but . . . I forgive myself?"
"Don't fraise it like a question." She scolded playfully, and his smile broadened.
"Then I forgive myself. For you, and only for you."
He could have kissed her. They both were undoubtedly thinking of it.
But he didn't. It'd somehow ruin the moment. He pushed away the urge to do exactly that, and took her hand, linking his arm with hers as they began to walk. They talked, oh how they talked, about topics that would be long forgotten when the sun rose . . . like a dream.
Gemma couldn't help but notice the way he looked at her; the way every man should look at the man or woman they love, the way the eyes shout for words unsaid. Noah gave her same feeling that she would get when watching her favorite tv show OTP share a moment together.
She loved every second of it, and from that look in his eyes, he was thinking the same.

YOU ARE READING
Sip by Sip
Romance(Lowercase intended on cover) "The simple things in life are never meaningful, and the meaningful things in life are never simple. So maybe I don't want meaningful. Maybe I just want someone who cares enough to listen." Gemma Summers and Noah Han...