Patience

Sixteen

After my nap, I got dressed, and Axl took me to a nearby diner that was within walking distance. I had to admit, the location of our apartment was quite nice. We were near a lot of nice restaurants and local shops. The diner itself wasn't too busy, so the wait was short. We got to a table pretty quickly. As we sat down together, I felt the butterflies and the nerves start up.

"Lucy?" Axl asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I asked, twiddling my thumbs.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked. There it was. His soft, comforting voice. I had to admit, I missed the sound of that.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I told him, opening up my menu. We looked through our menus for a few minutes.

"Do you know what you're getting?" Axl asked.

"Probably just a burger or something simple like that. What about you?" I asked.

"Funny," Axl said, "I was thinking the same thing."

A waiter brought out the cokes we had ordered when we first got here, and then took our food orders. As the waiter took our menus, I sipped my coke and gazed into Axl's eyes.

"So," He said.

I sighed and looked down.

"What is it?" He asked.

"You probably don't want to talk about it, but I just realized that I feel bad about what I did to Slash," I said.

"What? A one night stand?" Axl asked. He said it as if it was nothing, which, it probably was nothing to him.

"No," I corrected him, "It wasn't a one night stand. We didn't get that far."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I feel like I should say something to him about it. I still want us to be friends," I said. "Friends without the awkward tension," I quickly added.

"Well," Axl said, thinking for a moment, "I say just be straightforward with him and tell him how it is. Apologize, tell him it was a mistake, ya know."

"Maybe I should. When will I see him, though?" I asked.

"Well, we have a show tomorrow night at Troubadour. You can do it then," He said.

I nodded. "Yeah," I agreed.

We sat in silence for a minute or two, before another though crossed my mind.

"Axl?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"I know Slash is your best friend, so you're not mad at him, are you?" I asked him.

Axl sighed, and he thought for a moment before responding. "No, there's no use in being upset. We were all drunk."

"If you say so."

"Lucy, are you sure that you're okay? You seem down," Axl pointed out.

I sighed. "I am. I just wish I could redo what happened last night. I feel so bad about everything," I told him. I put my head in my hands. I just want the shame that I feel to leave my body.

"Lucy," Axl began, "I forgave you. You forgave me. Slash is one of my best friends, and I know him well enough to know that he'll forgive you, too."

"I sure hope so," I said, looking back up.

Then, our food was brought out, and we began to eat.

"Wow, these fries are really good," I pointed out.

"I know. This diner has some of the best french fries I've ever had," Axl agreed.

"You know, Lucy, I think you're wonderful, and beautiful, and I'm so lucky to have you around," Axl said.

"Do you remember what you said on the night we met? About how I'm not like most girls?" I asked.

Axl nodded. "Has that changed yet?" I asked.

Axl shook his head. "No, it hasn't. There's something about you that's just so special. I suppose you're forgiving, for one. You came back and you're willing to try to keep this going," He said, "I don't deserve a second chance after how I've treated you the past few days."

"Well, I've lost everyone else," I shrugged, "Plus, there's something about you too."

"Me, on the other hand, I'm surprised you have stayed with me, Lucy. I'm just as shitty as every other guy out there. Someone like me doesn't deserve a girl like you. You're way out of my league," Axl said.

I blushed and rolled my eyes. "Oh, Axl, you know that's not true. I must be somewhere in the ballpark or else I wouldn't be here," I said, giving him a slight smirk.

"Well, I guess you're right," Axl said with a smile as we continued to eat our food.

Our waiter soon came back over and gave us our check. We were in the restaurant for another ten minutes or so before we payed and left.

While we were walking out, Axl continued his speech about me.

"Lovely Lucy, you are just so lovely. You don't understand it. I don't deserve you. I don't deserve a second chance. Why aren't you gone, Lucy?" Axl asked me as we were walking down the sidewalk.

I didn't respond. Why didn't I leave? Well, I think at this point it's obvious. I'm in love with him. We stood there and Axl was waiting for an answer.

I just shook my head and I stopped walking. Axl stopped as well, and he looked confused. He was waiting for an answer. I took both of his hands, leaned in, and I kissed him. Axl was caught off guard, but quickly started to kiss me back. Soon, we pulled apart and Axl smirked and shook his head at me.

"So, does this mean-" I cut him off.

"Yes," I told him, "It does."

Axl smiled and took my hand. Together, we walked down the street, past our apartment building, and onto the beach. Axl, still holding my hand, started running, and I followed. We ran to where the water would just reach our feet.

Then, Axl kissed me. He pulled away for a moment so he could bend down and lift me up. We then kissed again. He put me down, and we began making out a little, occasionally stopping to admire each other. We started again, when a wave came up and hit us. We pulled apart, laughing.

"I got salt water in my mouth!" Axl said, spitting on the ground.

"Yeah, me too!" I told him with a laugh.

Then, Axl paused. I did as well, and I looked at him.

"Lucy," Axl said, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

My heart was so happy.