Chel was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of the doorbell. She had been in the middle of an apartment cleaning fest and as always, her thoughts had wandered. Kayla was gone for the day, with Fatima to one of her sessions with Fatima's doctor friend. Chel was happy to see the way Kayla got so excited, hopeful even, when she talked about those sessions, but in her mind, she didnt really know what to think. She understood that it was only right for Kayla to go to a doctor who had experience working with professional dancers, but she didnt want her friends hopes to get up. She wondered if Kayla was only being set up for a disappointment.
She heard the sound of the doorbell again and walked to the door. "I'm coming." She wasnt expecting anybody and didnt know who it could be. When she got to the door, she opened it and didnt even try to hide her surprise. "AJ!?! Um, hey. Whats up? I mean, well, Kayla isnt here right now." Thoughts ran through her head because she was very confused. As far as she knew, Kayla and AJ hadnt talked since the day that Kayla had called him. They stood at the door and Chel realized that she was staring at him when he said, "Can I come in?" She saw a hint of a smile on his face as they walked into the hallway, then to the living room. Oh man, Kayla is gonna murder me if she sees this, was all Chel could think of as the two of them sat on the couch. "Chel, can I talk to you?" She didnt know what to say because she knew what he wanted to talk to her about. "Well, I guess so." She answered him hesitantly, her brain telling her not to get involved.
"Does she talk about me?" The question caught Chel off guard. She hadnt expected him to be so outright in his questions. She couldnt decide if she should tell him the truth or not say anything at all. The truth was that AJ still seemed to be one of the only things that could bring a smile to Kayla's face. She kept telling her friend to just stop torturing herself and call him again. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity, Chel knew what she was going to say. "AJ, i really dont want to get involved in this, but i am her friend and i see her every day. She does talk about you, sometimes you are the only thing she talks about. There are days when she doesnt even mention you, it hurts her too much, , but i know that you are always right here." She stopped and pointed to her heart. "She's stubborn though, AJ. Her pride is very fragile, especially now. But to simply answer your question, yes AJ, she does talk about you, and she misses you." Chel knew that she had said too much. If Kayla found out, she knew it would be instant death.
Chel watched AJ's face as it took in everything she had just told him. "Was there anything else that you needed help with?" AJ shook his head slowly and began to speak. "Tell her i was here. tell her i want to see her. Soon." Chel noticed that AJ kept nervously fingering something in his pocket and wanted to know what it was. She was about to ask when she heard a familiar cry from the hallway. "Why is the door to the apartment wide open? Dont you know the kind of strange weirdos that could..." A silence fell over the living room as Kayla wheeled into the room, followed closely by Fatima.
Chel closed her eyes. This is NOT happening, she thought as she opened them again. The same scene was laid out before her. Standing up, she greeted her friend as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "Hey Kay! Whats up?" She gave a nervous laugh as she walked to where Fatima was standing and grabbed her arm. "Tima, did i ever show you my paintings? Theres a few i want to show you and i keep them in the basement. Lemme show you." She said practically dragging the older woman behind her. As they reached the door Chel muttered a quick, "We'll be right back." She looked over her shoulder and saw that neither AJ nor Kayla, both staring into the other's eyes, had heard her.
Oh man, what am i doing? Those were the only words running through AJs head. He had stood up as soon as Kayla had entered the room. He had been so sure of himself when he first got to the apartment and was talking to Chel, but as soon as he heard her voice, he lost his confidence. His heart had jumped into his throat when he saw her and he knew this wasnt going to be easy. It had been funny watching the look of pure panic on Chel's face when she first heard Kayla. He was grateful though, when she made it so that he was alone with Kayla.
He stared intently at her, neither daring to say a word. He fought every urge to take her in his arms and just hold her. That was all he wanted to do. Refusing to take his eyes off of her, their eyes met. To him it seemed that everything else just faded away. The moment was lost as Kayla wheeled herself past him and into the living room. He followed her and sat down across from her on the couch. Finally daring to break the silence, he spoke. "Kayla, i needed to see you." She just stared at him, her expression blank. He was losing his nerve so he kept talking. "There is something that i need to talk to you about." Still she stared and he knew this wasnt going to be easy.
"Kayla, I know what your thoughts are. I know you think that this cant work. I want to make it work. We can do this, i know we can. I have had alot of time to think these last couple of weeks and i came to a conclusion. I need you in my life. All this time away from you made me realize that you and I...we are meant for each other. You complete me and even if you cant see it, I complete you." Everything he wanted to say, he had said. A thought flickered in his mind that made him chuckle. It's like the song, our song.
~~So there it is girl, I've said it all now; and here we are babe, what do you say? We've got tonight, who needs tomorrow~~
AJ looked up into Kaylas eyes as he softly sang the last lines to the song.
He could see tears forming in Kaylas eyes and knew that he couldnt stop now. For the millionth time that day, he brought his hand back to his pocket. The small box lay hidden from view as he ran his finger over the soft velvet material. He knew that the two of them werent ready for marriage yet, but he also knew that he couldnt stand being away from her. He had never been so sure of something in his life. They were meant to be together. He brought his gaze back to Kaylas face. He could see that she was about to speak. "AJ, I..." Before she could say anything, he took a deep breath and dropped to his knee. Pulling the small box from his pocket he opened it and softly asked, "Kayla Davis, will you marry me?"
He never took his eyes off of her face and he sat watching her features slowly crumble. He watched as she let the tears fall from her eyes and he listened attentively as she spoke. He had to strain to hear her words. "AJ, How can you still want to? I pushed you away, I made you hurt. You almost...I almost lost you, all because I was too selfish..." He knew where she was going with this and he stood up and did what he had been wanting to to for so long. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. "No baby. Dont cry. I knew you were hurting, i understood. It did hurt me that you pushed me away, but i knew that our love was strong. I never stopped loving you Kayla. And I never will. I'm not trying to rush everything, we dont have to do this anytime soon, but please, do me the honor of being my fiancee'."
"Yes, AJ. I will." came Kaylas response but since they were still in the middle of a hug it was muffled and sounded more like "Yesh, Ay Yay. I well." Chuckling, he pulled away from her for a couple of minutes. "Tell me again. I want to here you say it again." "Yes, Alexander James McLean. I will marry you. On one condition." AJ lifted his eyebrow in curiousity. "Whats that?" He watched as she held out her hand, waiting for him to slip the ring on her finger. He took the ring from the box and gently slid it on her finger. It was a perfect fit as he knew it would be. Thats what the two of them were, a perfect fit. For the first time in the last few weeks, AJ felt alive again.
Kayla lay on the couch with her head nestled on AJs chest. She had a river of emotion flowing through her and didnt know how to contain it. Thoughts swam in her mind as she lay. The best thing in her life had just happened to her. She had been so surprised to see AJ standing in the living room when she got home. Surprised and nervous. She hadnt had a clue what she was going to say or do. All she wanted to do was be enveloped in the safety of his arms but at the time, she didnt think that was possible. Her mind had gone back to the phone call and how distant he had sounded. Like always when she didnt know what to do, she had put her guard up.That way she couldnt get hurt.
She had listened to every word that he was saying in complete silence. Words would have betrayed her true emotions, and left her open for the attack that she knew was coming from him. It had taken her by surprise when she heard him singing part of "We've Got Tonight" and the words he had said. He wasnt mad and he didnt hate her for what she did. Hearing him sing their song pushed her over the edge as she felt the tears spring to her eyes. She didnt know what to say and she wasnt prepared for what he did next.
Kayla sat stunned as he dropped to his knee and asked her the question that she never thought she would hear from him. "Kayla Davis, will you marry me?" It echoed through her brain until she finally realized what he was asking. Marriage, the two of them together. She didnt even have to think, she knew it was meant to be. It pushed her over the edge as she felt the tears fall from her eyes. She couldnt believe that after everything she had done,he still wanted to be with her. She let the tears fall and as she felt his arms surround her, let herself get lost in them. She had always felt safe in his arms and she knew that he was what had been missing from her life. It was true what he said. He completed her. They were meant to be together.
As she lay on the couch she laughed at the way Chel had been afraid that the two of them would be coming to blows. Chel had slowly and quietly opened the door to the apartment and snuck into the room. Kayla had looked up from her position on the couch and waved at her. "Hey Chel! Whats up?" She and AJ both laughed at the quizzical look that Chel gave them as she mumbled that she needed to go to the mall for a little while and would be back soon. Kayla knew that she would be getting the third degree when she got back. She felt herself growing tired from the excitement of the past hour. Looking up into AJs eyes, she whispered to him. "I love you AJ." As she felt herself drift into sleep, she heard his answer. "I love you too baby." For the first time in a long time, Kayla felt alive.
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