In Another World

Chapter 18

"I'm the worst dance partner ever".

Those were the words that Dianne had greeted Joe with when he opened the front door to her. The young man had taken her into his arms and tried to reassure her that she was wrong, but he knew that she didn't believe it. The fact that she had stormed off to see Joe instead of talking to Lee calmly and rationally didn't exactly prove otherwise! Joe tried to keep his emotions in check as Dianne told him about her fight with Lee, knowing that it wouldn't be fair to take sides or add to his girlfriend's stress. Truthfully, he was appalled by the way that they had both behaved that afternoon; but he was in no position to judge! So instead, Joe decided to take Dianne's mind off the drama by setting up a 'Friends' marathon, cooking them both a meal, and giving her a massage to relieve the tension.

And it worked. This was the most relaxed and happy that Dianne had felt in ages, and she melted into her boyfriend as he joined her on the sofa, "I was wondering..." Joe began as he ran his fingers through her hair, "Do you fancy a bath tonight?"

Dianne smiled, "I fancy you in a bath!"

Joe pumped his fist, "I was hoping you'd say that!" he replied triumphantly – earning a giggle from his girlfriend – before wrapping his arms around her body, "Just let me know when you're ready".

"Thank you, for all of this," Dianne smiled, "I owe you big time".

Joe shook his head, "You don't owe me anything", he murmured.

Dianne turned to stroke his cheek, then closed the small space between them to kiss him gently, "I love you", she breathed as their lips parted.

Joe froze, suddenly overcome with a ton of emotions and no idea how to decipher them into a response. A long and uncomfortable silence passed where Joe just sat there blankly, and Dianne slowly shifted herself away.

The redhead eventually cleared her throat, "Um, I think I'm ready for that bath now".

Joe nodded absently, "Sure," he murmured as he disentangled himself from her, "I'll go get it running, and you can.... yeah", he trailed off awkwardly.

The young man scurried off upstairs, unable to bear the tension that had built so suddenly. As he prepared the bath, Joe tried to figure out what he was supposed to do. The fact that he couldn't say the words in return was concerning in itself, but Joe couldn't work out whether he even wanted to say them. Dianne already had insecurities, but Joe's reaction had made the situation even worse. Or was it herself that was the problem? The dancer had been dealing with a lot, especially today: were those words just the result of tiredness and mixed up feelings? Or did she really mean them? The last thing Joe wanted to do was cause her any more hurt or confusion, but he didn't know what he could do to salvage this.

However, there wasn't much time for Joe and Dianne to avoid each other. Once the bath was ready, the pair were forced to confront the situation; something that neither of them had expected to do in a bathroom!

"I stuffed up, didn't I?" Dianne muttered.

"What do you mean?" Joe asked in confusion.

"Saying... the 'l word'," she replied tentatively, then sighed, "It's too soon, isn't it? I mean, I didn't even plan to say it; it just slipped out".

"Did it?" Joe asked quietly.

Dianne nodded quickly – trying to convince both him and herself that it was the truth – then sighed, "You know what? Just dump me now, and I can chalk this up as 'one of the worst days of my life'!"

Joe scoffed and shook his head, "I'm not gonna dump you," he muttered, then studied her thoughtfully, "I'm gonna do this".

Dianne was taken aback by the younger man reaching out to pull her into a tender kiss. They both savoured the lingering moment before it ended, and Joe looked worried as he rested his forehead against hers, "Do you regret saying it?"