The story of a Lonesome ol'Jerome

68- Worked over by the ol'Biersack charm

*Gwyn's POV*

"Please, babe?" Andy's blue eyes, a lighter blue-grey surrounding his pupils with a deeper blue at the edges of his irises, were positively effervescent. He broke with a smile, tilting his head to the side, and I felt my insides melting. I would probably have given him anything he wanted. I couldn't concentrate or even remember why it was such a bad idea.

"Yeah, sure," I said quietly, biting my lip, looking self-consciously away. Andy was so incredibly good-looking, it was a little bit much, almost. I was hoping I would adjust, with time. Not that I had much time. That thought was upsetting, but it was the way things were. Best to just be in the moment and enjoy it for what it was. A small voice, the one in charge of releasing the butterflies, said that Andy's attractiveness was not the only reason I felt conflicted, there was something else at play. I knew the voice was unwelcome and immediately buried it.

Andy reached for me, bringing my lips to his and holding me in a sweet, chaste kiss. He leaned his forehead against mine and rubbed the tip of his nose against mine, making me laugh, as he held my face and caressed my cheeks with his thumbs. We were quiet, smiling at each other for a while, before he said, "Fuck it."

"What? Uh, did I say something? Andy?" He didn't look pissed, but he looked worried; he had been fine a minute ago. Had he gotten a text, and I hadn't noticed, or something?

"No. Or, well, yes. I mean, Gwyn, I like you. I like you because of you being you, and I don't know what that means, but it doesn't matter. The point is that I don't want to say goodbye to you tomorrow."

He had been looking at me steadily, the way I had seen him so far, fairly confident.But then he paused, swallowed hard, and looked at the ground for a full count of five before going on.

Andy took my hand, and interlaced our fingers, then looked me hard in the eye. He had lightning in his gaze, the electricity gave me goosebumps. "Gwyn, come on tour with me. We have five weeks left to go, come for as long as you can."

My eyebrows shot up my forehead, and Andy put my hand on his chest and pulled me against him as he started talking faster, flustered. "Please, even for a week! I can't stay here to get to know you better like most people would, and I think you're special."

I don't know what look I had on my face, but he actually started looking really distraught. "I know it's fast, I'm sorry; please don't be angry with me, please just come..." He paused, and collected himself, clearing his throat and furrowing his brow, looking worried as he stared into the covers of my bed for a few seconds. Then he bent down to kiss my cheek. "Tell me what you're thinking?" He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and waited for my response.

Well. We needed to talk. Andy had no idea what he was getting into. I was really unwell. He would, ultimately, reject me, at some point, because of that, sooner or later. Did I really want to go through it again? It might kill me.

I did have some vacation... Though it would be somewhat pooh-poohed for taking it so suddenly, without prior notice, Dr. Cameron had wanted to come back a little earlier than anticipated from her maternity leave, and this would provide a good segue for that... I could call Dr. Gray and ask for the time off, if Dr. Cameron was game...

"Andy... I'll say maybe," his face brightened like a mercury vapor bulb for a desert reptile enclosure, "but we have to talk first, ok?" He nodded enthusiastically, then kissed my hands. "I have around two weeks of vacation I could possibly take."