speechless | roger taylor

twenty five

"I love you."

Elise looked at Roger with a gleam of hope in her eyes. She had a shocked expression plastered on her face and she could tell that the second he said that, he felt bad. He knew he shouldn't have just sprung it on her like that, but it just felt...right? He wasn't quite sure if he even knew what he was saying.

She could feel her heart thumping against her rib cage as her breaths became slightly ragged in a way only she could tell. She'd never had someone tell her they love her in that manner—ever, for that matter. She wasn't quite sure how to react. The one thing she did know, though, was that she loved the man in front of her with every atom in her body.

"I'm sorry," he began to ramble. "I didn't mean to spring that on you—"

"Roger," she whispered, cutting him off. He looked at her, still resting in her arms, a softened look in his eyes. It was something she couldn't quite put into words, but it managed to make her nearly melt. "I love you, too. I have for a while, you know that."

He smiled but his heart yearned to tell her the sentence he'd practised in the mirror so many times. He wanted to tell her how in love he was with her, how he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but it wasn't coming up. He couldn't make himself do it.

"Should we go inside?" he asked, his fingers playing with the soft brown curls that rested on her shoulders. "As gorgeous as this dress is, I can't imagine it being very comfortable."

Elise laughed and shook her head, moving to press a kiss to his forehead. "It's actually very comfortable!" she said. "It's even got pockets. But, we can't go in just yet. I've still got to give you your present."

"Baby," he whined. "I told you not to get me anything. You were the greatest birthday present I could've asked for."

"As much as I love when you're all sappy, I got you a really nice present," she told him. "Stay here?"

"Wouldn't dream of leaving."

She nodded assertively and shifted, making it easier for her to stand up without hurting him. She brushed down the wrinkles that formed on the skirt of her dress and smiled down at him before turning on her heel, lifting her dress up with one hand to run across the field, back over towards the cottage.

As she ran, she could hear Roger faintly laughing in the background at her choice of shoes. She was wearing her favourite pair of pink sparkly converse, shining in the dim light of the sunset with each bouncing step.

Soon after, Elise came back from the cottage with a light blue box in one hand with a silver bow on top and a single white daisy in the other behind her back. She was changed into a pair of sleep shorts and one of his old, raggedy Jimi Hendrix t-shirts, and her pink converse still tied to her feet.

He sat up, clasping his hands together in his lap as he watched the giggly brunette bounce over to him. A grin formed on his face at the mere sight of her, a laugh falling through his pink lips as soon as she fell, sitting down in front of him. She placed the box in between the both of them, still holding the daisy behind her back.

"What do you want to have first?" she asked. "The box, or the thing behind my back?"

"Hmm," he hummed, appearing to look deep in thought. "Behind your back, please, peaches."

Elise's cheeks turned a bright pink as she placed her free hand over his eyes, giggling as he held out his hands like a small child. She placed the small flower in his hands delicately before leaning forward, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He lifted his free hand to her cheek and deepened the kiss, a soft whine tumbling out of his mouth.

She pulled away after a moment and removed her hand from his eyes, a smile on her nearly swollen lips. He looked down at the flower in his hand and Elise could've sworn she could see his eyes light up. She knew that was his favourite flower.

"Ellie," he said, looking up at her. "This is so pretty."

"Almost as pretty as you," she winked. "Open the box!"

Roger laughed at how excited she was and placed the daisy behind his ear before taking the bow off of the top of the light blue box. Elise looked up at the sky and noticed how the stars were beginning to shine as the once orange sky turned to a darker blue, the night falling over them.

He opened the box and she focused back on him, a glitter of happiness in her eyes as she watched the blond man open his gift. She felt what could only be described as bliss. She loved him, she knew she did—but what was she supposed to do with it? She was never one for relationships, she thought. Or, maybe it was because nobody wanted to be in a relationship with her, maybe they just wanted her for the one-night stands.

She couldn't stop thinking of why Roger was with her, but she tried to push the thoughts to the back of her mind so she could enjoy the night with him.

"You didn't."

"I did!" she giggled, regrounding herself.

He took the sparkly pink converse from the box and chuckled, noticing that they were exactly his size and that they were a perfect match with the pair already tied to her feet. He felt extreme joy pulse through his veins as he looked at them before looking back up at her.

"Baby, I could cry," he said.

Elise laughed, nearly falling over. "Shut up, I knew you'd love them. Now, let's go inside, yeah? I thought we could just lay and talk for a while."

"About anything in particular?" He took her hand and they stood up together, the daisy still placed behind his ear. As they began to walk towards the small cottage, she thought of what to say. She didn't quite have anything, in particular, to talk about—she just simply loved the sound of his voice.

"Not really," she said. "I just like hearing you talk."

"Love, that kind of came off as creepy."

She snorted and hit his shoulder as they stepped into the small, cold cottage. It was dark and dead silent—everyone must've been asleep. The lounge still smelt of the small candle she had lit earlier, but she could tell by the faintness of it that it had already been blown out. Her hand slipped out of his and she turned to face him, a smile on her face.

It felt as if she was always smiling when she was with him.

"Here," she said, moving her hand to take the daisy from behind his ear. His eyes fluttered shut momentarily and she giggled, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose. "Do you want to stay in here? See if there's anything on the tele?"

He nodded. "Sure. I'll get the blanket from our room, yeah?"

"Okay."

With that, Elise was left in the dark lounge with only her thoughts and the daisy in her hand. As she moved to the small cupboard under the TV to find a vase, a permanent grin plastered across her face. She became mad at herself for ever doubting that Roger didn't love her as much as she loved him, because there, at that moment, she knew he was the one for her.

She knew they'd last forever, if she had anything to say about it.

-

[ how're you all liking the story so far? x ]