Tonight's not over

Chapter 16

The days at worked seemed to last forever as I waited to be able to go back to Chris' home and start rehearsing. The evenings with him flew by. We rehearsed the songs and I got to play some of his amazing guitars. Some nights we ate takeaway and some nights we cooked together. I felt so at home with him and by the end of the week I had almost forgotten who Taylor was.

As I took the bus after work on Friday I realised that tomorrow would be my last day at Chris' house and that soon I would be back in my own, lonely apartment. My heart sank at the thought. I knew I would only be there for a few days before I travelled to meet him in New York but the thought still made me miserable.
As I sat alone with my thoughts I began to realise that my feelings for him had grown and that I was beginning to want more from him than just friendship. How could I have let this happen? I knew Christine said he liked me but I hadn't seen anything that proved it to me. The night we bumped into each other he'd walked away into the kitchen without giving me a second glance. All those evenings rehearsing and he never once tried to kiss me or make any sort of move. I was a fucking idiot to let this happen. What was I going to do?

As I arrived at Chris' house and let myself in with the key he had loaned me I heard him call from inside
"Hey Mia."
My heart ached
"Hi Chris." My heart ached and I tried to sound far more cheerful than I felt. I swallowed hard and tried to collect my thoughts he appeared around the corner.
"So as this is our last day rehearsing....." He Said
"Last day? What about tomorrow?" I felt myself start to panic at the loss of time with him. I'd assumed I'd have all day tomorrow but he seemed to have other ideas.
"Why so panicked?" He laughed a little
My mind was racing as I tried to search for an explanation
"I guess I'm getting a little nervous now the day of the first gig is getting so close." I muttered hoping I sounded convincing.
He strolled over to me smiling. "Come here" he said as he pulled me into a warm hug.
I breathed in his scent wanting to remember it. All too soon he let go.
"You'll be fine. You play great and your voice is amazing. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Trust me."
"Really?" I asked a bit choked up by his praise.
He nodded. "And besides, I want tomorrow to be about fun."
"What?"
"We've worked really hard this week so I figured we deserve a fucking break."
"A break?" Now I was really confused.
"Yeah. Tomorrow I'm gonna take you to the beach."
He held my gaze for a while and I tried to answer him but I was so shocked I didn't know what to say. Part of me was relieved and excited to have this time with him but another part worried that it really wasn't a good idea when I already had feelings for him. Chris must have seen the shock on my face and I watched as his expression changed and he frowned.
"If you want to, I mean...That's OK with you isn't it?"
"Yes!" I exclaimed. I wasn't going to let him change his mind now. "I was just surprised that's all."

The smile I loved so much returned to his face.
"Right well I'll let you get sorted while I grab a beer. Then we'll get this rehearsal started." With that he turned and walked back towards the kitchen. For a moment I stood worrying whether a day together having fun was really the right thing to do but I decided to just go with it. Maybe time together like that was just what he needed to discover feelings for me he didn't know he had. Stop it, I reprimanded myself. I knew I'd only be disappointed if I thought like that.

Chris' POV

By the end of the week I was beginning to realise just how far in over my head I was with Mia. I'd spent every day counting the hours until she came home from work. My heart had skipped each time I'd heard that key in the door signifying she was home. Home! How I wished one day she'd want her home to be here with me.
I'd spent my time planning every detail of the tour over and over just to try and keep myself occupied but by Friday there was nothing that I hadn't gone over at least a dozen times. As my mind wandered I thought about how I'd like to spend my last day before I left for the tour. Lots of things went through my mind but it was obvious that as long as that time was spent with Mia I didn't really care about anything else.

So here we were, sat together on the couch. We'd had our last rehearsal and were about to spend our last evening together. I looked over at the beautiful woman beside me, taking in every detail of her face. Suddenly she turned to face me
"What?" she asked with a frown
"N..nothing" I stammered quickly trying to think of something to say. "I was wondering if you fancied doing some surfing tomorrow."
"I can't surf." she laughed. I loved her laugh.
"I can teach you."
"You?"
"Yes! Me! I can surf" I replied. She looked as if she was trying to decide if I meant it. "Don't you believe me?"
"Sorry." I watched her blush a little "I just never imagined you as a surfer."
"Why not?"
"I don't know. I guess with you being a bit of a country boy I just didn't think you would." I watched as she dropped her head looking a little embarrassed.

I nudged her playfully "I'll have you know us country boys are full of surprises." She laughed a little but didn't look up. "Think that's funny do you?" I joked. Without thinking I reached over and started to tickle her.
I heard her start to laugh as she tried to push my hands away
"Stop it!"" she yelled.
"Not until you say you think I can surf"
"Never!" she cried through her laughter and I tickled her even more.
"Admit it" I moved until I was leaning over her. One of my hands moved to tickle the other side of her body and she screeched as I did. "Give in?" I asked.
"No!"
By now we were both laughing so hard we could hardly breathe.
"Give in?" I asked again.
Suddenly our eyes met and I realised what I was doing.
"I give in." she said still laughing.
For a moment I remained in that position my hands on her sides. I held her gaze not quite knowing what to do next, panic rising inside me. I had to do something before the overwhelming desire I had inside to lean down and kiss her took over. I cleared my throat as I stood up.
"Good." Was all I could say with a steady voice

I turned away hoping she hadn't seen what I'd been thinking. She looked at me with a confused grin on her face.
"Well I think I might head to bed. It's getting late and if we're surfing tomorrow we'll want an early start." I muttered as I started to walk away hoping I hadn't just blown my chance of spending one last day with her before I left. "Goodnight Mia."
"Goodnight." I could hear the shock in her voice. I rushed away not wanting to wait around and give her chance to say she'd changed her mind.

Mia's POV

As I felt Chris' hands touch me my heart raced and my skin tingled.
"Stop it!" I yelled, joining in the fun by pretending to push him off. The truth was I didn't want him to let go.
"Not until you say you think I can surf"
"Never!" I cried as I felt his hands moving over my body.
"Admit it" he laughed. By now he was leaning over me with a hand on each side of my body.
"Give in?" he asked.
"No!"
"Give in?" he asked again. I didn't want to give in. If I gave in he would let go and I wanted to feel his touch for just a little while longer. But I couldn't breathe and I was going to have to do it.
Our eyes met as I said "I give in."

For a moment he remained leaning over me, his hands not moving. I held his gaze hoping he would just lean down and kiss me. I wanted it more than I'd ever wanted anything. Suddenly the look on his face changed. He cleared his throat. "Good." he muttered.

I felt his hands leave my sides and he turned away. "Well I think I might head to bed. It's getting late and if we're surfing tomorrow we'll want an early start." Things had changed so quickly between us. He must have seen how much I wanted him in my eyes. "Goodnight Mia." I heard him say as he rushed away from me.

"Goodnight." I managed to say. I could feel tears forming in my eyes. I wanted him so badly but he obviously didn't feel the same.
Sadly I wandered to my room and flung myself of the bed. What was I going to do? How was I going to survive a day surfing or the tour when I felt like this? Maybe he'd tell me in the morning the surfing and the tour were off? The tears started to fall as I buried my face in the pillow and cried myself to sleep.