Ellen's POV
Chris and I walk hand in hand into the studio where we are going to watch the show with Patrick and Jill. I hope Talula will be there. But I doubt she will.
I look up at Chris and smile. He smiles back but it's strained.
"You alright?" I ask. He nods and I squeeze his hand. We walk into the room and see Jill and Patrick already there. They both look at us confused.
"Hey Patrick!" I say, letting go of Chris to hug him. He hugs me back and rubs my back before releasing me.
"Hey Chris." Jill says, hugging him. He releases her quickly and she looks at him, hurt. Confused, I sit in between Patrick and Chris on the couch. Jill sits on the other side of Chris for some reason.
"Are you and Jill okay?" I whisper to Patrick. He looks at me confused before slowly shaking his head no. I squeeze his hand and smile at him.
The producer walks in, silencing us.
"Alright! Thank you for driving in today. Who's ready to watch?" he asks happily. I smile.
"So this will air next Tuesday. You all signed a contract consenting the airing of the show." We nod. He grabs the remote and says, "Please direct your attention to the screen."
The lights turn off and the opening credits begin. The show is pretty interesting. It showed the first dinner Patrick and I made and the flour fight that followed. I giggle as I watch Patrick and Talula disappear in the flour cloud.
"You let Tal play with the flour Patrick?" Jill asks harshly. He hushes her without taking his eyes off of the screen. I slip my hand into Chris'.
I watch the screen as Chris and Jill talk bad about Patrick and I. I stare in shock. Why would Chris do that? The screen goes back to Patrick and I as we talk about anything and everything while we sat in the sand on the beach, watching Tal play.
We built a sand castle with Talula and I went swimming with her. We laugh as Patrick splashes us and picks up Talula. I laugh again as I remember the day.
Once again, the screen goes to Jill and Chris who stumble through the door, drunk. I hear Jill and Chris gasp as they watch.
"I didn't think any cameras were there." I hear Jill whisper.
I watch as Chris sits next to Jill on the couch and she scoots closer to him. He calls her beautiful and strikes her cheek. I slip my hand out of Chris' and tears fill my eyes as I fear what will happen.
Chris pushes Jill back on the couch and kisses her. I gasp and quickly stand from the couch.
"Ellen I'm sorry. I didn't think there were any cameras." Chris says, trying to hug me. I move away from him as tears run down my face.
"Chris you didn't tell her?" Jillian asks, pissed.
I look at Patrick.
"You knew?" I croaked.
"You didn't?" he asked. I run my hand through my hair and wipe my tears away.
"Ellen I'm sorry you had to see that. But I forgive you for sleeping with Patrick." he says. I look at him and slap him across the face.
"Chris they didn't sleep together." Jill says. "You told me you would tell her. Were you just hoping she wouldn't find out? That you could keep your relationship?" she asks.
"I...I don't know!"
"You don't know? You told me you love me." she says.
"Damn it Jill. Give me time to think!" he says. She steps back and tears fill her eyes.
"Get out Chris." I tell him.
"El. I'm sorry. We can work through this. I just missed you. I was drunk! It was a mistake. I love you!" he says.
"Get out! Get out!" I yell, my voice cracking. He leaves and Jill stands there, crying. Patrick stands and calmly says, "Get out Jillian. I'll send divorce papers to your hotel room." She looks at him surprised.
"What? My hotel room?"
"Yes. You're not staying in my house. And you're not going near Talula. So find somewhere to stay." He grabs her and gently pushes her out of the room.
He walks over to me and wraps his arms around me. I cling to him tightly and cry into his chest.
"El?" he asks. I look up at him.
"Do you want to stay with me and Talula?" he asks, drying my tears with his thumbs. I smile and nod.
He kisses my forehead and we walk out. The producer stops us before we leave.
"I'm really sorry to bother you. But we recorded what just happened and we were wondering if we could use it in the show. It'll really help both of your guys' image through your divorce and breakup and it will help you, Patrick, with gaining custody in court." he says. I look at Patrick and he looks down at me.
"I think...it would be okay." I say. He smiles and thanks us.
I walk with Patrick to his car and he drives us to his home. I get out and jog up to the front door. I open it and walk inside.
"Talula?" I shout. I hear a door open and footsteps running through the house. Tal shows up at the top of the stairs.
"Ellie!" she shouts. She runs down the stairs and jumps into my arms. I scoop her up and hold her tightly.
I look to the front door and see Patrick staring at us with a smile on his face. I walk toward him, still holding Talula. He wraps his arms around us and sighs.
"Can we picnic on the beach?" Talula asks. I giggle and set her on the ground.
"Of course sweetheart." I tell her.
"Ellie, can we dress like princesses?" she asks. I hold my hand out and she takes it.
"I'll see what I can do." I tell her. "This means we have to go shopping." I tell her.
"Yay! Shopping!" she shouts.
"Will you be okay making the food?" I ask Patrick. He smiles and nods.
"Go have fun." he says, kissing our cheeks. I grab the keys and walk to the car, buckling Talula into the back seat before getting in.
We drive to the mall and go into Ralph Lauren.
We find a beautiful pink poofy dress for Talula that she fell in love with. We found matching sandals and I even bought her a plastic tiara.
I found a simple coach dress. It looked like a very beachy dress. It was baby blue and ended just under my knees.
"Ready to go?" I ask Talula. She nods. We get to the car and drive home. When we get home, I see that we have an hour until our designated time to be on the beach.
I quickly curl Tal's long blonde hair in loose curls and leave mine wavy. I helped Tal into her dress and placed her tiara on.
She watched me as I removed my clothing and slipped my dress on.
"Ellie?" she asks.
"Yeah Hun?"
"When will I get boobies like you?" she asks. I giggle and pick her up.
"When you get older, you will get boobies." I tell her as I carry her down the stairs. I look for Patrick in the kitchen but don't find him.
I glance out the window and see Patrick sitting on a blanket with a basket and a candle.
I walk out there holding Talula's hand. Patrick turns around and sees us. He quickly stands up and smiles. He bows and says, "My princesses. You both look stunning."
Talula giggles.
I sit on the blanket and the other two follow.
"What's for dinner daddy?" Tal asks.
Patrick digs through the basket and pulls out salad, sandwiches, a juice box for Tal and wine for us.
"Wow." I say. He smiles and hands me a sandwich. We eat in silence as the wind lightly blows across my skin and the ocean waves hit the shore.
When we finish, Talula slips off her dress revealing her princess bathing suit. She runs toward the ocean.
"Tal!" I call. She turns and runs back to me.
"You need sunscreen dear." I tell her. I rub a little on her face and shoulders before letting her go.
"You really are good with her." Patrick says, propping himself up with his elbow. I smile at him softly.
"Thank you. I love her." We watch as she runs away from the ocean waves, screaming and giggling. I giggle involuntarily.
"Patty. We are gonna be okay right?" I ask.
"Of course El. We have each other. We'll be okay." Talula runs back to us and I wrap her in a towel. We all lay back on the blanket, Talula between me and Patrick. We stare at the sky as it slowly gets darker as the sun goes down.
The stars show themselves one by one.
I look at Talula and see that she fell asleep.
"Patrick." I whisper. He looks at me and then Talula. He smiles and sits up, picking her up.
"I'll be right back." he whispers. I nod. I watch him walk into his house and stand. I pull my dress a little higher from the ground.
I walk alone the shore of the ocean as the tide rolls in, rushing over my feet. I walk a little deeper until the water reaches the middle of my shin.
"She's asleep." Patrick says. I look up and smile. He pulls off his shoes and socks and rolls up his pant legs. He walks out to where I am, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
"You look very beautiful El." he says.
"Thank you. You look very beach boy." I say giggling.
"Beach boy? Is that a good thing?" he asks chuckling.
"Well you pull it off well so yeah." I say, staring at the part of his chest that is showing. His button up shirt is only halfway buttoned.
I look up at the stars and smile at the beauty. I feel Patrick push my hair behind my shoulder and rub it slightly. I shiver as chills cover my body.
I look at him and see him looking at me. I turn toward him and smile at him.
"Patrick, I want to thank you."
"For what?" he asks.
"For being so kind to me. For taking me in when I have no where else to go. For letting me look after your beautiful daughter." He runs his thumb along my jawline.
"Thank you Ellen. For being my best friend and sticking with me even through my mood swings." I giggle and we stare into each other's eyes.
"Patrick." I whisper. He leans toward me and rests his forehead on mine. I place my hands on his neck, playing with the ends of his hair.
"Ellen?" he asks.
"Yes?" I whisper.
"Can I kiss you?" he whispers.
Without answering, I lean toward him and kiss him softly on the lips. He moves his head back and looks into my eyes, smiling.
I feel a drop of water land on my forehead and run down my face. I look up at the clouds moving in. Another drop falls from the sky hitting my arm.
I smile at Patrick as the rain comes down harder. He kisses me again, longer this time. He runs his tongue along my bottom lip. I part my lips and taste his mouth.
His hand on my back pushes me closer to him. My hand tangles into his wet hair and the other runs down his exposed chest.
I bite his bottom lip and smile against his lips. He breaks the kiss and kisses my forehead.
"I've been waiting to kiss you for so long." he says.
"Kiss me harder." I tell him breathlessly. He does as I say, playing with the straps on my dress. I let him remove the clothing and it falls into the sand.
I unbutton his shirt and it falls on top of my dress. He removes his pants and we stand their in our undergarments. I push him back into the water until we are waist deep in the ocean.
He picks me up so my legs are wrapped around his waist. The water begins to speed up and the sound of thunder fills the air.
I look up at the dark sky and laugh. He laughs with me and I kiss him.
"Ellen, I want you. So badly. But I want us to last. I want to be with you forever. We have forever. So let's not rush. Okay?" I kiss him quickly.
"Okay." I whisper.
"Okay." he says back.
"I love you." I say. He smiles wider than I've ever seen him smile.
"I love you too Ellie. So much." he says before kissing me in the pouring rain.
And we stay there, glued to each other, talking and laughing until the world around us begins to wake up.
