A Question Of Love

Reflection

As dusk finally fell, Tom stood up, defeated. He wanted to tell himself it was her fault. He wanted to tell himself he'd dodged a bullet, and if she hadn't bothered turning up when she'd specified the time and place, he was better off without her. He even wanted to tell himself that he'd got her all wrong. She was pretty, but she was poison.

But he knew all of that was a lie. And one thing he wasn't was a liar. A coward, well, that would be proved in spades, but not a liar.

It was, truthfully, all his fault. He should have gone after her there and then. He should have acted on his instincts, pleased Jamie - and himself - instead of trying to please everyone.

Slowly walking towards the path back into the park where the gardens were situated, he turned and looked down into the pond for a final moment. The sun was setting behind him, and he could see his reflection in the still water. In another life, it would have made the perfect photo. Sadly, he thought, not this one.

Standing in silence, he pulled out his phone one last time. 8pm. She really wasn't coming, was she? He'd let her down that much.

As he looked down, his heart clenched. There was a second, smaller figure in the reflection.

A voice at his back whispered, "I'm so sorry I'm so late. Can you forgive me?" he turned, and his face reflected his feelings.

"Oh Jamie, you're here!" was all he said as she dissolved into tears in front of him. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tightly and guided her to the bench he'd just left. "Shhhh, it's ok, darling. You're here. You're here now, and that's all I care about." he stroked her hair as she broke her heart into his chest.

Slowly, she calmed, and he released her enough that she could sniff and wipe her eyes a little. She looked like the cutest little Panda he had ever seen. He smiled gently and wiped the mascara off her cheeks, rubbing his now blackened thumbs on his jeans.

"I- I'm so sorry I was late. The Tube - there was an accident - a delay. I had to get a taxi, and I sent a message to some random by accident instead of you. It's all a mess, and you'll think I'm awful, and I really wanted to say I was sorry for today and goodbye properly, and this is NOT what I meant to happen at all...." she rambled it all out, eyes closed, in a single breath. A tsunami of words and emotion that only stopped when Tom silenced her.

With his lips.

In one move, she felt him take her hands, lean forward, and plant his lips squarely on hers. Warm, velvet soft lips that made her eyes pop wide open in shock. His were closed, and his cheeks flushed. She pulled back in shock.

"Oh my!" she breathed, and Tom opened his eyes to look at her, a softly smiling expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of another way to make you be quiet." he grinned and rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles, where he still held her hands.

"Oh my!" she repeated, unable to form coherent sentences. Her mind was screaming at her, and her legs were shaking. This was NOT how she had expected it to go. In any universe.

"Are you ok? You seem a little shocked, darling? Did I do something wrong? You surely must have been expecting me to kiss you at some point? You're so beautiful and I 've had such a hard time not kissing you since the moment I saw you. Maybe if I had, none of this would have happened?" he blushed as he looked at her, and she nodded and shook her head in quick succession.

"Yes. No. I mean. I don't know... Tom?" she tried to take a few breaths to calm herself, but being honest, she still felt like she was about to faint.

"Yes, Jamie?"