Love me Tender (Stuart Sutcliffe & John Lennon) ~Rewriting this~

Chapter 6

Lucy's POV:

For more or less ten minutes we just sat in the café and said nothing. None of us knew how to return to a normal conversation after the previous events.
Stuart must have felt embarrassed by my rejection -which wasn't even a real rejection- and I felt guilty, knowing that I had caused him to become upset.
After I had let my eyes wander around the room in the unsuccessful attempt of finding a good topic to talk about, I hesitantly glanced over at Stu.

Chewing on his lower lip, he stared at an uncertain spot across the room. He looked like he was trying to stare down an invisible person and honestly, his stern expression scared me a little.
At least he had no real reason for becoming angry now. To be blunt, nothing had changed between us: I hadn't said 'Yes' to him asking me to be his girlfriend but I hadn't said 'No' either...
Giving up the hope we could go on like before on that afternoon, I cleared my throat and waited for him to take his attention off that non-existent enemy and look at me again, so I could be sure he was listening to me.
"I gotta go.. I still got plenty of things to do today..", I then murmured and grabbed my handbag, fishing a few coins out of it and placing them on the table.  Stu shouldn't get a chance to complain about having to waste his money for nothing.
While I was getting up I secretly and hopefully waited a second for Stu to say something to keep me from leaving but nothing came.
A quiet sigh escaped my lips and I slowly made my way out of the café.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~

A lonely week had passed since that eventful day. For the next three days after we had parted, I had been waiting in our café at our table for at least one hour each time, hoping sincerely Stu would show up as well and we could continue our lovely tradition of chatting, laughing and simply enjoying our time together.
But all the trouble was for nothing; Stu was nowhere to be seen.
Even in college I walked around in the whole building as often as I could in the hope to cross paths with Stuart.
Again all the trouble was for nothing.
This was the time I had seriously wondered why we had never exchanged our phone numbers.

As it often happens in life, I met Stu again when I had almost given up all my hopes to see him again and was getting ready to forget him and continue life without him.
It was a Friday afternoon and I had just gotten over with my last lesson for that day when I unhurriedly made my way through the hallways towards the art college's exit when a strong hand placed itself on my shoulder and stopped me from walking.
I turned around to take a look at the person that was holding me back only to find Stu standing in front of me.
A slightly insecure expression was glistening in his brown eyes as he looked at me unsteadily.
"Hello Lucy", he said surprisingly shyly for his usual type.
I couldn't help but smile softly at the assumption that Stu probably had been looking for me just as much as I had been looking for him.
"Hello.. Where have you been all week long?",  I asked in a soft voice, "You weren't at our café.."
Stu seemed to be taken off-guard by my question. He probably expected me to be angry or too shy to talk to him anymore. He ran a hand through his hair, fixing his quiff and sighing quietly.
"I'm sorry, Lucy. I thought you weren't interested anymore.. But I tried to spot you in college though", he murmured apologetically before he cleared his throat and looked at me, an expression on his face  that showed that he had well prepared what he was going to say next.
"Y'know, about what happened last Friday... I'm sorry for behaving sort of stubborn.. Of course it's okay if you need time to think about it and you can take as much time for your decision as you want", Stuart recited and took a deep breath, seeming reliefed now that he had said what he had wanted to say.

Stu's tender words had caused a smile to form on my face and I shook my head, instinctively taking his hand into mine.
"I'm sorry as well", I said and it came out quiter than I had intended, sounding almost like a whisper, "I shouldn't have stormed out like I did."
While I was talking, Stu gazed at me, listening attentively to the few words I said. He smiled gently at me as well and glanced down at our hands. Letting his thumb softly rub over the back of my hand as he looked up into my eyes again.
"Let's forget about it, alright?", Stu asked with a soft grin, "Well, instead of apologising over and over again, would you like to come to my flat with me to take a look at my paintings and drawings? I'd love to hear your opinion on them."

At first I was surprised by his suggestion and glanced at him skeptically. In movies and books that was the kind of sentence men would usually use to get their girl into bed with them or even rob and kill them.
I studied Stu for a while, beginning to nervously chew on my lower lip as I imagined the worst possible situations that could happen if I agreed to Stuart's offer.
Actually Stu didn't seem like the guy who would do such a thing and force me do to anything I wouldn't be comfortable with; especially since he loved me.
Also wasn't I old enough to stand up if things would become unpleasant and just walk out of his flat?  Yeah, it was safe to go with him.
"Alright, that sounds good!," I finally agreed and gave him a soft smile.
Stu nodded, returning the smile and without any more words, we walked out of the college.

Enjoying the for Liverpool in autumn surprisingly sunny afternoon, Stu and I walked side by side through the crowded streets. It was a weird sight to see that many people scurrying through the city of Liverpool after everyone had been hiding inside their houses during the last weeks of pouring rain.
Everything about this afternoon seemed perfect. The sun was shining, it was relatively warm and the weekend had started. And atop of it all, Stu and I had made up with each other again and were now spending some time together.
After a while of silently walking besides each other, Stu took my hand in his and held it in an almost protective manner.

"We should meet outside of our café more often. Look how lovely it is out here!," I began, being a bit hesitant about breaking the silence between us.
"If the weather is also as lovely as it is today, I'll love to go on a walk with you more often," Stu replied in his gentle voice.
I glanced over at him with a soft grin and saw him look at me to. A quiet giggle escaped my lips and I shook my head slightly.
"Maybe going on a walk in the rain could be nice too, though," I said with a joking tone in my voice and shrugged.
Stuart laughed a little at my remark before he smiled almost lovingly at me.
"I doubt it honestly... Although as long as we're together, every location and every weather is acceptable," he replied, making me blush with his words. But still it made me feel flattered and didn't stop me from smiling

~I'm sorry if the following text doesn't match the newly written passages.~

Stu unlocked the door for me, so I could walk in.

It wasn't his own house. He only had a flat on it and he used the attic as a studio.

As I considered his paintings I was very impressed. He truly had talent.

His paintings and drawings didn't show a motive. They simply had a random pattern but it looked good anyways.

I stood in front of a painting in mostly red colours and looked at it.

Stuart stood behind me and laid his hands on my waist. I felt his warm breath on the back of my neck as he asked "What do you think of this one?"

"It's... I don't know what to say... it's fantastic!"

Stuart smiled widely at me. "Thanks hon. I'm glad you like it."

I twisted around to face him and looked into his brown eyes. He looked back in mine. Slowly I got closer and kissed him.

At first he looked surprised, but soon he kissed back, liking the kiss.

This time I pulled away and smiled at him.

Stuart took both hands of mine and asked in a mild voice

"Lucy, I'm asking you again because I really love you... Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, Stu. There's nothing I want more than being your girl! I love you!"

His eyes widened in happiness and disbelieving as he had heard my response.

"Oh Lucy! You can't imagine how happy you make me!"

Stuart lifted me up and spun me around and I laughed happily as he did.

This is going to be a perfect relationship. I thought to myself.