That Moment I First Saw You (TFF Fanfic)

Chapter 9: What Truth Brings

       Roland was physically in pain as he observed Delilah from a far. Something had been bothering him ever since she had given him an evasive attitude that morning. As he still stood out on the balcony with a cup of tea in his hands, he looked up towards the sky. Ever since Nicky had left to go do some errands, Roland had been left alone to ponder about what she'd wanted to say.
       Maybe she wanted to talk about the Head Over Heels video he thought staring ahead. Shaking his head, he disguarded the idea and twisted his mouth to one side. His heart then sunk as a horrifying idea came to him. Maybe she was going to tell me she has a boyfriend, that I stepped over the line by touching her hand. He cringed and then squinted towards the cafe to see her sitting inside with Curt, Ian and Manny laughing. Cussing angrily, Roland looked away and cursed himself for his bashfulness.
       Why can't I just be brave enough to walk over there and ask her about this? She's a person too. He sighed as Curt's words from the day before came back to him. And that, my friend, is what love does to you.
       Love? Roland questioned. I can't love her, I just met her. And I'm going to prove that to Curt, and myself, by talking to her.
       At this, he then squared his shoulders, stood up straight and tightened his jaw. Ok, ok. I'm going to stop being a wuss, march in there and demand that she tells me what she wanted to.
       Eventually pushing himself away from the rail, Roland began his shaky walk over to the cafe. He marched up the stairs, opened the door, came up to the table and was about to say something when, all of a sudden, her smiling blue eyes met his and made him melt like an ice cube in the summer's sun. Before he knew it, the whole group was staring at him.
       "Hey Ro, long time no see," Curt cried looking him up and down almost in concern. "Come, sit down. We were just talking about when we should head off towards the airport this afternoon." Roland shook his head and then breathed in deeply.
       "Actually, I'm not here to sit. I'm here to-" he paused anxiously and the group waited, "-to talk to Delilah." The blonde then looked up in surprise, slightly smiling at the nervous sound in his voice. "I-if that's ok with you?"
       "Yeah, yes, definitely!" she cried a little to eagerly for her taste. "What do you need to know?"
       "Um..." he considered asking her about it there but, like the chicken he knew he was, he decided against it. "Let's go for a walk." With a nod, she then stood up, gave the band a goodbye and walked away with Roland to leave the guys with their gossipings about them.
                                  ...
       Roland brought her to a nature area which was on the outskirts of the hotel. The place was gorgeous with tall redwoods, long rocks and tiny blue flowers which danced along the ground. After only a second of being there, Delilah was in love with the place. Twirling around in sheer joy, Delilah laughed and turned to give him a sweet smile.
       "This place is amazing! I love it." He watched her silently for a second, feeling giddy at her happiness. But his happiness didn't last long since she then turned to him and let a second of brutal silence pass before she asked, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Roland cleared his throat, looked down and watched as she sat down on a large rock.
       "It's just, I wanted to know what you wanted to talk to me about this morning. If you don't mind telling me." At that, her mouth gaped as she stared at him in disbelief. He cleared his throat nervously. "It's just been bothering me ever since you said it was nothing." Fear and agitation filled Delilah's gut as he looked at her expectantly.
       "I told you it was nothing," she answered him sternly. He saw right through the lie.
       "I knew you were holding back, I could just feel it." She looked down feeling embarrassed at being caught. "Please, just tell me." Crouching down next to her, he then placed his hand on her knee which made her jump. "Whatever it is, you know you can tell me. I'll understand." With the pressure getting to her, Delilah flew up fron her resting position which startled him.
       "Well, what if I did want to say something but I decided against it? Hasn't a girl got the right to change her mind?" It was then Roland's turn to get angry.
       "You know, you probably are the most confusing woman I've ever met in my life." Growling at his remark, Delilah's eyes gleamed in anger.
        "Oh really. I'm the confusing one? You're the one who has mood swings every other second and I can't tell where you're coming from half the time."
        "Mood swings? No I don't..."
        "Yes you do. Gee you must really hate me. I mean you hardly ever talk to me and when I don't want to talk to you, you get mad." Turning around, she then marched further into the forest hoping he wouldn't follow. He did.
       "Delilah..." he called after her.
       "No, leave me alone."
       "Delilah, just...will you just listen to me for a second?" Stopping mid-stride, Delilah whirled around and crossed her arms. "It's not that I hate you." She stared at him unbelieveingly with raised eyebrows as he took a deep breath. He might regret what he was about to say. "It's that...it's actually quite the opposite." Delilah paused, standing perfectly still, being unsure of what he meant. "I never have met anyone like you before... I know that I called you confusing but that's only because I'm confused." He now had her full attention, her body stock-still as he looked down and then met her blue eyes with his greenish-brown ones. "You can make me nervous...and brave both at the same time. I want to change for you, Delilah...You make me want to be a better person." Seeing her disbelieving look, Roland hurried his words in order not to be interrupted. "And I know that I've been grumpy but that's only because the feelings I have for you scare me. Especially the feeling that we are perfect for each other." As he breathed the word perfect, Delilah breathed in the scent of his minted breath and realized that she was backed up against a tree and there were only a few inches separating them. "I know you probably don't feel the same, but I just wanted to tell you, before I lost the nerve."
       With that, a moment of silence passed between the two, one halfway regretful and the other completely shocked. It was only at the moment that he was about to back away that Delilah finally said something.
       "Roland," she whispered. His body visually tensed. "I've always felt the same way." She looked down coyly and laughed softly. "Ever since that moment that-".
       "-that I first saw you." Roland finished inching closer. "I have-".
       "-loved you." At that, not able to wait one second longer, Roland closed the gap between the two and kissed her.
       Falling back against the tree, Delilah wrapped her arms around his neck as he placed his hands on her hips. His kiss was hungry as hers was soft yet passionate. As they both sighed in contentment, their bodies melted together, the feeling one another's lips making them high. He did not let her go as they then fell into the grass and he rolled on top of her gently making sure not to crush her. He was almost about to pull at the buttons on her shirt when she broke the kiss.
       "Roland," she sighed out of breath. "You know that I'd like to...but not today, not right now." Sighing in defeat, Roland then propped himself up onto his elbows and hovered over her.
       Brushing a random strand of hair away from her face, he nodded and smiled into her eyes. "Ok love. If that's what you want, I respect that." He then gave her one last look of admiration, and kissed her again for a significant amount of time that none of them could measure in either seconds or hours.
       After forever had ended, he then helped her up to her feet, picked grass out of her hair and led her back to the hotel so that they would not be late for their flight to Paris.