With the sound of an oven going off, I'm immediately awake. The smell of pancakes pulls me out of bed and into the kitchen.
When I get there I hear the small sound of her singing. I stop dead in my tracks and hide behind the refrigerator. She's horrible, but there's something calming and comforting about how her feet are so light against the cold concrete, and the way her narrow hips sway back and forth makes the magnetic pull between us ignite. Before I know it, my hands slipping around her waist to the front of her stomach.
She lets out a squeal and to silence her, I turn her around and land a single kiss on her lips. "It's just me." I whisper when I pull away. She relaxes and digs her head into my shoulder. Her small hands wrap around my waist and it's so amazingly comfortable that I start to sway to the faint music she has been playing.
For a moment I think she has fallen asleep but then I hear her tiny voice whisper "Do you remember when we met?"
I pull my head from the crook of her neck and meet her eyes. She isn't serious. "Of course I do, why?" She gives me a small smile and shakes her head.
"The publisher I'm meeting with today is expecting a love story on the spot. And I was thinking I could talk about ours, instead of creating a whole nother one." I nod and kiss her nose.
"On one condition" I wait for her to respond. She doesn't, instead she nods in encouragement for me to continue. "You tell me what was bothering you so much last night." Her mood immediately shifts and I know she's frustrated. She looks down at the ground and I can't believe she actually thought I would let this go.
"This man," she starts and I nearly loose my shit. I swear if anyone ever touched her in anyway- "he was staring at me. And I don't know, maybe I was just imagining it. But his eyes were exactly the same as Harrison's." I stiffen at the mention of the name and bring her even closer. All this time I was mad at her for keeping something from me when actually she was only trying to avoid more pain. I feel guilty and mad at the damned man at the same time.
"I'm sorry baby." I whisper. She relaxes and lets out a deep breath.
With the smell of burning pancakes she releases me and swears. I sit at the table and watch in amazement as her hands shake but her stern face sets. Never have I met a woman so strong- anyone for that matter. And shes mine, all mine.
DESIREE'S POV-
I park against the curb and sigh in relief when I spot the coffee shop across the street. I'm half an hour early but I still feel as if I could totally screw this up within a matter of seconds. This meeting means so much to me and I can't believe I'm steps away from reaching my dream. I pull out my phone and check my messages for about the fiftieth time since I've left the house. Ronda told me she would text me when she was there and even though I have another 20 minutes before I need to worry about it, I turn my ringer up all the way and set my phone on the dash board.
After listening to a whole Sam Smith album, my phone buzzes and I about have a spasm attack.
*Hey babe, you left your journal here. Is that okay? Or do you want me to bring it to you?* I use about every curse word against Sam aloud for getting my hopes up but just simply answer a *no* in response.
I check the time and see that it's five after two. I'm surprised that Ronda's late, but at the same time relieved that I'm so early. I decide to go get us a table and start to climb out of my small car when my phone buzzes again.
*Are you sure?* I roll my eyes at him and decide to call him instead of explaining my panics at the moment over a text message.
It takes him a while to pick up the phone but finally I hear his husky voice through the line. "Des I'm totally fine with bringing it to you." He sates before I can say hello.
As I cross the street, I explain to him that I don't need the damn journal and that I'm completely freaking out at the moment.
"Des you are the smartest, most wonderful, creative person I know. If the woman doesn't like you then I'll open my own publishing company and make it our life goal to ruin their lives." I smile at his eagerness and it puts me at ease.
I pull the phone away from my ear for a second to tell the greeter a table for two and my name. He tells me it shouldn't take more than ten minutes. Sam continues to distract me until I hear my name and follow the waitress outside to a small table with an umbrella over it. I thank her and wonder how a "cafe" seems to need waitresses and greeters and waiting lists.
After Sam explains to me how he was "attacked" by the refrigerator and me needing to assure the waitress that my guest will be here any time, I hear my ringtone again. I tell Sam that I'll call him back after the meeting and he tells me how much he loves me and believes in me. After I hang up I switch to the other line and am greeted to Ronda's apologetic voice explaining how sorry she is.
"I was in a meeting and it completely slipped my mind. I'm so sorry!"
"No! It's completely fine really, so did you want to reschedule? Or..." I let the rest of the sentence die, along with my hope.
"Well, if you wouldn't mind I could just head over there now. I'm not far away. Unless you have somewhere to be?"
"I'll be here." I assure her. When I hang up I let a deep breath go and try to go over me and try to reflect on me and Sam's love story.
