Ross's POV
The warm, summer wind whistles past my cheek in the dimly lit night. I feel some of my hair move with it, but I don't move to fix what the wind undid. Leaning over the two-story house's white railing balcony, where my forearms rest, I breathe in deeply to catch a whiff of the salt water just a short distance from the back porch.
At the soft pitter-patter of dainty feet approaching from behind, I snap out of my trance and turn to see Laura walking towards me, "Pinot noir?" she holds out a glass of red wine, "Turns out this place has a mini bar. Cheers."
"Cheers," I clink our glasses together and take a sip, "Mmm, pretty good," My eyes break contact with Laura's and instead run down her body to her slippers, "I see you changed into comfier footwear."
Laura smiles and moves to stand right next to me, similarly leaning against the railing, "I couldn't take it anymore in three-inch heels," she confesses, "Hotel slippers are much more my style."
I chuckle and pull Laura closer to me, "I love that."
Laura gives me a confused expression, which I take as a signal to continue, "You chose to wear casual, comfortable slippers because you dress for you, not for me. Rather than wearing a sexy pair of heels just for my benefit, you used your judgement to define yourself. I love that you're so comfortable when we're together that you let me see this loose, spontaneous side of you. It's because of the small things like this that I know you're being true to who you are with me."
Her eyes light up after I finish. Whether it's the moonlight reflecting off her glass or what I've just admitted to her, I can't tell. What I know is that she's exceeded all my expectations of this night, "Can I confess something?"
Laura turns her shoulders fully to me and bites her lip, probably worried I might say what she's not ready to say back, "Sure," she warily speaks.
My insides melt at how fragile and fairy-like she appears in combination with the dim, night sky above us, "It's not what you're thinking," I reassure her, "It's just weird," I begin with a chuckle, "The restaurant we went to happens to be the one I picked out for the night of our six-month anniversary."
Laura laughs, and it hurts a bit to see relief washing over her eyes, "Seriously?" again, the moonlight hits the perfect spot on her face, "I had no idea. Strange coincidence," she marvels.
"That's not all," I continue, "This house is the beach house I reserved, too," Coincidence, maybe. I choose to believe it's fate, "I chose this one because I knew you'd love the balcony, on top of the sounds of the ocean right outside."
Laura parts her lips in astonishment, leaving her speechless for a minute. She begins mumbling to herself, methodically putting two and two together, "I swear, I had no idea," she finally lets out, at which I can't hold back a small laugh, "I suppose it's good for the two of us. It means we have the same tastes and we know what one another likes," Laura remarks.
I nod in agreement, but I'm interrupted when a thought pops into my head, "There's still quite a bit about each other's tastes we don't know," I finish off the last of my red wine.
Spreading my fingers out over the railing, I peer down to the sand below. I think about how Laura and I are standing here together on the balcony, above the land we walk on, and above the responsibilities we're binded to. The setting is ideal for providing the privacy we need in order to sort through everything. But where do I begin? "I'm sorry," I decide, "This apology is way overdue."
Laura furrows her brows in an attempt to read my facial expression, "What do you have to apologize for?" she wonders with worry clouding her vision.
"I was too forward with you. God, I should've said this right after we broke up," I confess, the shame eating me alive, "I really fucked up our relationship right from the start," a wave of solemnity washes over Laura, "I must've replayed the day I asked you out a hundred times in my head, and each time, it becomes more painful. In the way I asked you, I didn't really give you a choice to say no. I mean, looking back at it, if you'd said no in the position I put you in, it would've made you seem heartless for rejecting me," I pull back from Laura to give us space to breathe. The conversation's drifted far away from small talk to the point of no return, "I'm sorry for what I did. I'm sorry for forcing you to feign what you felt for me when we were dating."
Laura shakes her head, "Oh no, don't apologize to me," she starts out in a compassionate tone, "Why are you sorry for loving me? There's nothing selfish about that."
I open my mouth to respond, but she holds up her hand for me to let her speak, "I know now that we broke up because I was ignorant to what you felt for me. I was the one who was too selfish to consider your feelings and so as a result, I ended up hurting both of us," Laura pauses to exhale deeply, "I had it fixed in my mind that we couldn't ever cross the line between friends and dating because it would jeopardize what we had," Laura's tone suddenly shifts to become profound and sentimental, "Outside of my dance academy, it's hard to meet someone authentic who would be down to just hang out with me, not the near-famous Laura Marano. It's rare to find someone as caring and honest as you, who I can leave my full heart and trust with. I trust you, and even back then when you asked me out, I never wanted to lose you. When we started dating, I didn't want a relationship to take priority over the one friendship I had."
Laura's about reached her breaking point, so naturally I step forward to bring her flush against me. She lets herself go, into my chest, while bringing her arms around me to pull us closer. I want to say something, but the pervading silence is candidly therapeutic for us. Even in how dependent and fragile Laura is in the moment, I don't dare spoil what we have here.
"I was so, so stupid and naive for putting you through that. I was too inexperienced to know how bad love or the absence of it could hurt someone."
It's time, I decide.
Taking in my last breath, I retract her arms from around me, to Laura's dismay, which she follows with a groan at the loss of warmth. I don't give her much time to complain, however, because I swoop down to her again, placing my lips against hers in a loving, hard kiss. With all efforts to maintain my composure, I desperately morph my mouth to hers.
To my surprise, Laura responds with just as much passion, pushing herself into me and wrapping her forearms around my neck. I lean down to reach her, holding her waist close so there's no space between us.
When Laura parts from my lips, I groan because I'm not finished with that kiss, though my pity party doesn't last long because Laura takes my hand in hers and leads me into the connecting bedroom.
***
What's up what's up
Everyone better be live streaming laura's concert rn omg yes so proud of our girl she has concerts now wow I stan a legend
Lol I'm watching rn and she's like these songs are brand new I've never performed them live and lol I literally know every word to can't hold on forever hahah
Srsly I love her sm and I'm so proud of her let's pray that ross is there and we get some reunion action tonight ;D
Steph (yesifeelgoodr5)
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Like a Tattoo (Raura)
FanfictionI'll admit. He's got irresistible looks, and he's a damn good friend. In fact, we're so close, it's almost like he's my tattoo. There's just one problem to all of this: he's my friend. Why would he want to risk our friendship by asking me out? And e...
