"Now you stay put and listen to me, okay?"
He looks behind him and decides to drag the other couch he has spotted in the room closer and settles down in front of me. I've never seen him so worked up.
"I'm sorry Dahlia, I'm so, so sorry" he hastily announces, afraid I might never hear his apology. I'm actually surprised he's talking to me now.
I scoff and fold my arms suspiciously, not understanding why this is the right time to talk about this. "You're not."
"For fuck's sake, I am! Do you think I enjoy hurting your feelings?" He runs a frustrated hand through his hair and a humorous laugh escapes my lips. At least he knows he has hurt my feelings.
"What was your goal anyway? To use me to eventually throw me down the drain, like I didn't save your ass? Or was this your plan all along? You knew when Areum could skate again so in the meantime, you look for a partner to practice with, so you don't lose important training time or-"
"God no. My feelings were always the truth. I laid them open before you, they've never changed since." He admits and leans forward on the sofa, his eyes scanning all my features to linger a little longer on my lips.
I can't help but laugh. "You say you're sorry but avoid me like the plague and replace me without informing me for no reason" I exclaim with annoyance. He left me feeling so bad, not knowing what I had done wrong to deserve such treatment.
"Listen Dahlia, I had no choice."
A silence engulfs the thick tension in the room and he goes on. "Areum's cast came off earlier than expected, we didn't know. That Friday, they told me this. I wondered why they looked so tense when they revealed this information. It turned out that my coach wanted me to train with Areum again because she thought it'd give us a better chance of winning.... Listen" he begs as soon as he notices that my attention has slackened. My eyes now focus back on his.
"It didn't sit right with me. I trained with you for a long time, you gave your everything for me and I know that. God, I do. You sacrificed so much for me. But I can't just disobey my coach's orders."
I scoff again and avoid looking anywhere but at him and I know it's eating him alive.
"You could have at least told me instead of being a coward and telling me you won't come to training without an explanation just for me to catch you training with Areum. I thought you cared about me, but you're just like everyone else."
His face sags and his shoulders slacken, the party music is muffled and melts away in my ears as this moment keeps heating up. I can't believe I let him slip through my walls, I can't believe I told him things I didn't dare tell a soul, I can't believe I let him sneak in my heart.
He places his head in both his hands before looking up. "I wanted to tell you, really, but I didn't want to hurt you. I thought too long about the way I should tell you that you found out sooner and I'm again so sorry. You didn't deserve that and I know that."
The replacement doesn't really bother me, although it does sting, but it's the way he acted, lied, avoided me. Sure, if he had told me about Areum earlier I would've been sad, but if he had just explained it nicely I would have understood. Yes sad and maybe angry I'd feel, but I had no reason to, because if his coach decides that, then I have nothing to object to.
"Why didn't you just tell me? I would've understood. You waited too long and made me feel so bad." My voice cracks and he slides closer, hesitates but then gently caresses my cheek and what is wrong but so right is that I numbly allow him to do it.
His finger rubs soothingly against my blushing skin. "I refrained from telling you because I cared about your feelings, but I was blinded by that that I didn't realise I was doing the opposite. You've already been through so much suffering and I didn't want to add more suffering to the pile."
"I just struggled with the adjustment because I was also upset. They told me that Friday and I tried to defend you, after that conversation I even called my coach so many times to make a change, but she just wouldn't let me, so please..."
"Forgive me?" His forehead is now pressed against mine and I swallow away the lump in my throat. He acted so wrong, but he was trying to protect my feelings. I guess he failed, but with the best of intentions.
"I...I love you"
I stiffen slightly and his eyes glisten, his nose gently nudges against mine and I look at him with doubt, but that is the layer in front of my love for him. Carefully, he rests both hands on my hips and gently guides my trembling figure to his lap.
I sniffle a little and hide my face in the crook of his neck. My feelings are just too much right now and are threatening to overflow. He knows how to handle me, because I feel his hands gently rubbing my lower back and I can't help but inhale his wonderful scent that soothes me.
I'm so glad we made up. I can't live without him, I realised. He's someone I always want close to me, and the relief I feel now makes my head dizzy.
"I'm so sorry. I promise you I'll think of something. Either I skate with you or not at all."
"Don't say that"
He pulls me back a little so that my face is right in front of his. His features are soft and his black hair is so fluffy. The dim light, if there is any, makes his lips stand out even more. The eeriness of the room is enveloped in a warm, heated blanket that wraps around us.
"You would do the same for me" He whispers as a hand gently strokes through my hair and then plays with the ends. His eyes flick from side to side, trying to read me, I follow his every move before my gaze lands on his throat which bobs up and down after he swallows thickly.
He then hungrily pulls me in.
His tender lips are on mine and I feel his left hand sliding down my side. He draws me closer to him, pushing our bodies closer together but that's nearly impossible as I'm already seated on his lap. He groans softly into the kiss and then pulls back, slowly passing his thumb along my lips and pulling my bottom lip out.
"Can you feel how much I want you?" He confesses with heavy breaths and my stomach tingles. All my feelings are a mess, but I can tell he is sorry, I can tell he loves me.
"Friends don't kiss now, do they, Dahlia?" He mumbles, leaning closer and stealing a slow peck.
The heat of his body radiates and I feel his breath fanning the side of my cheek before he tilts his head slightly to meet my eyes. The moment it happens, we're so close and I can tell that something has changed between us forever. A feeling of understanding mixed with love passes to each other.
His hand moves lower and he steals another kiss now below my ear and I shiver. "Friends don't touch each other like this, mhm?"
My breathing falters, but the moment gets interrupted by the ringing of my phone. I groan and hide my face against his shoulder. Drowsily, I pick up the cursed thing and realise it is Ye-Jun. My face becomes serious and I try to breathe evenly.
Sunghoon gazes at me with a curious look, his hands do not stop caressing my hips as a tingling sensation spreads through my body each time. The way he's resting on the couch with me on top of him makes my mind drift off to another world, which I may have yet to wait to enter.
"Yes I called you" I try to stand up, but am pulled back in an instant. I startle a little, but talk back quickly so as not to look suspicious.
I hum through the device and Sunghoon is still watching me with attentive eyes, occasionally squeezing my body, making me squirm in his hold. He's such a tease.
Suddenly, his eyes darken a little and he slips his hand back up to my neck, not caring that I'm calling someone, before pulling me in for a sloppy kiss. His lips devour mine in an instant and the way he's tasting me makes me produce some unnecessary sounds, so I pull the phone further away from my ear and put it on mute for a moment.
He's not really drunk, just tipsy enough to give him the courage to do what his desires want him to do.
"Sunghoon...you can't just-" His kisses become fiercer and for a moment I succumb to his touch, but remember the reason I called Ye-Jun. I break the kiss and slowly shake my head. As a way of saying we'll continue this another time. Now finally, I stand up and distance myself from him so as not to be distracted.
While pacing around the room, I can finally ask the question that is on the tip of my tongue.
"Can I know who you got that one picture from?" I ask steadily through the line.
A/N:
Hey, hey! This is my Valentine's Day gift to you. Enjoy it xx. Don't forget to vote or comment <3
Have a great day/ night :)
-C