31--
I sat on the floor, leaning on the door. “Galina…” I groan for the millionth time. “Please talk to me. I miss you so much.” I let the flowers rest near the door. Finally, she opened it. I got up and picked up the flowers with me. She flashed her eyes at the flowers, her favortie. I hand it to her, staring at her face. She glared at the flowers. “Please take them.” I say. I’m desperate for her to say something, it’s been almost a day. I reach for her face, it’s gotten better, she hesitated, then let me. “I’m not a killer… It was an accident. I swear.” I whisper, stroking her face.
“I know…” She says. I widen my eyes. Thank God! “I just had to think…”
“Tell me, if you still want to be with me. Because, Frankly, I miss when it was just us… You know? When you didn’t know the band.”
“I do… I do, Oliver, I want to move in with you, and have our dogs running around. But I feel like I don’t know you, something is missing. You’re not telling me something.” I do admit, there are some things I’m leaving out, but it’s not like I’m going to flat out tell her.
“What about you? I don’t know you that well, too.”
“Maybe we should go on another date…” I saw a small grin form on her lips, causing me to smile.
“Alright. Fine by me. No phones though, unless it’s an emergency.”
She giggled a little. “Okay, okay. Let’s go for a walk, I know this really nice park.” She smiled. She started to walk out to the TV area, but I grab her arm and pull her back to me, pulling her into a hug. She stiffened then relaxed and eventually wrapped her arms around me. I kissed the top of her head, happy. “Okay okay.” She laughed and scooped the dog up.
“Toni we’re going out, can you watch the cat?” I say as I step into the room, getting our coats. But he wasn’t there. I groan and leave. We walk out as I hold the dog’s leash. “So where is it?”
“Let me show you.” She smiled and slipped her hand into my jacket pocket where mine was resting. Her hands were so soft and warm, I played with her fingers as we walked. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really. Are you?”
“Nope.” It was an awkward start to a conversation. “How was your room?”
She laughed a little. “Boring, kinda wanted you in it, but I’m glad I thought things through.”
“Uhm excuse me.” A girl said, walking up to me.
I smile. “Yes?”
“Can I have your autograph?” She pleaded, handing me a picture of our band and a marker.
“Sure.” I signed it and hugged her. She squealed.
“Thank you!” She said. “Can I also have a picture?”
“Sure.” She takes out her phone and does a selfie pose. I pull Galina into the picture. She tries to pull away, but I hold her. Click.
“Omg thank you.” She enthuses. “You’re like really pretty by the way.” She said towards Galina.
Galina stares at her. I nudge her. “Oh thank you.” She says sweetly. The girl hops off to her friends and leaves, stealing glances at us.
“What was that?” We continued walking.
“What?”
“You like… Paused when she complimented you.”
“I didn’t know how to react.” She giggled.
“Well. You should get use to it, because you’re quite the hottie.” I wrap one arm around her. She laughs and wraps one arm around me.
She pulls us to a bench and sits. She cuddles into me as the dog rests on my lap.”I don’t know about your parents.” She says after a quiet moment. I swallow.
“Oh.” I say.
“Yeah… Oh. Tell about your mom.”
“She’s… nice and motherly.”
She looked at me. “Anything else?”
“She married an asshole.” I blurted.
“What was he like?”
“An asshole.”
She paused. “Why was he an asshole?”
“He did mean things for no reason.”
“When did she get married to this guy?”
“When I was in high school, after my dad left.”
“What mean things did he do?”
I sighed and showed the cigar mark. “Is that from a cigar?”
“Yeah, when he would get mad he would call me into his office and then do that. He treated my mom and me like shit. I don’t know what she sees in him.”
“Where do they live?”
“The Hampton.”
“Wow…” It felt good to tell someone, besides Kyle. “I’m sorry.”
“Naw, it’s fine, glad I’m out of that place.” I leaned against the back and gazed at Galina. She looked at me.
“What?” She smiled.
“Nothing.” I shrug, grinning.
“Aw, come on, tell me.” She scooted closer.
“You’re just so pretty, I just have to stare.”
“Oh please.” She blushed.
“I don’t tell lies, sweetheart.” I lift her chin to look at me.
“Yeah right.” She leaned into me as I leaned into her. I slip my hand onto her hip as she holds onto my bicep. She pulled back, but slightly, letting her lips barely touching mine. “I missed this.” She whispers.
“Dido.” I smile and kiss her again. Suddenly the dog jumped off. I pull back and look where the dog was going and chased after her. “Napoleon!”
“Oliver!” Galina called after me. I chased the dog through the people, calling sorry and excuse me after I almost push them over. Finally she stopped to smell a tree I grab her. She growled and nipped.
“No!” I say firmly. She ruffs then settles down. Galina finally catches up.
“She’s fast.” She huffs. “Oliver…” She says.
“Hmm?” I start rubbing Napoleon’s belly.
“Look.” She points at something in front of me. I turn around and see a condo with a realtor sign stuck in the grass.
“What about it?”
“It’s perfect.” She whispers, in awe and walks inside.
“Galina!” I say as I walk in after her. She was right, it was really nice and simple. I see her talking to the realtor and join in, holding the dog.
After the tour she pulls me to the side. “This is perfect for us Oli.” She says, looking around her.
“I like it, but I don’t know…” I tap my chin.
“Oli….” She pleads, giving me a puppy face and the lip. “Please, please, please?”
“Maybe…”
“Oliver, we’re packed and ready to move in. Come on. We can afford this, right?”
“Did you say we?” I grin.
She blushes. “Yes, we. We’re going to be living together so it’s going to be a we, now.” She kisses me lightly. “So is it a yes?”
“I… guess.” She jumps in joy and walks over to the realtor.
I look at Napoleon. “Ready, Napoleon?”
She gives me a deadpanned look.
-=-=-=-=-
P.O.V. of Toni
“Table for two.” I say to the guy at the booth. He nods and waves me to follow him. I look around, glad there’s really no one here, don’t want paparazzi for this. He sits me down and hands me the menu. I nervously bounce my leg, reading the menu and waiting. Every time the door opens I glance at it. Finally, she comes in and sits down.
“Nice place.” She says sarcastically.
“Oh come on, it wasn’t that far.” I roll my eyes.
“I guess.” She looks at me. “Do you even want this?”
“Want what?” I read the menu.
“Look at me, please.” I look up at her. “This?” She pointed at her belly.
“I can’t turn back now, Dorine.” I went back to the menu.
She sighed. “Be honest with me. Was it a mistake? To get me pregnant?”
I paused. “Waiter.” I call. The same guy comes around and takes our order.
“Toni.” She hissed after he leaves.
“I don’t know. I don’t know if I still want to be a dad. I don’t even know if I want to be dad.”
“You don’t have to do this then.” She looked at me helplessly, trying to be confident. Although I see right through it.
“I can’t leave you high and dry. It’s not fair.” I touch her hand.
“You don’t have to act like you want me.”
“Dorine…”
“Toni, just say if you want us in or out of your life.”
I need to clean myself up. It’s been too long for me to be immature. Kyle was right. I needed to grow up. I nodded. I need this. I need her and our child. “I want in.” I say.
She stares, tears forming in her eyes. “Thank you.” She says as I smile and sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her.
“Thank you.” I kiss the top of her head.
Then…
Dakota texts me.
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