Cookies & Ice Cream

Chapter Twenty-Three

(One Year Later - New York City)

Belle capped her tube of lip-gloss tightly and threw it into her tiny black purse. She was all ready for tonight, but she knew Chloe was having problems doing the same.

She heard Chloe's shouts all the way from the other side of their cozy apartment. "Belle! HELP!"

Belle chuckled softly and jogged down the hallway towards Chloe's room. Chloe was standing in the middle of her room wearing a frown, the back of her dress unzipped.

"Well, your hair and makeup is done... You need me to zip you up?"

Chloe nodded and Belle obliged, securing the zipper in the back of Chloe's simple but elegant black dress.

Belle stood back to admire her with a smile. "You look almost ready to me. Why are you freaking out?"

Chloe sighed softly. "Because, this is my big night. The first real performance of my musical career. I know, it's only an end of the year showcase... But, I want it to be perfect."

"And it will be. Don't worry about it, Chloe. You've worked harder than any person in your entire school this year, and you're going to knock everyone's socks off."

"Thanks, Belle... Now, can you please help me find my new earrings?"

Belle nodded enthusiastically. "Sure. The silver flowers or the gold ones?"

Chloe motioned towards her dresser. "The silver flowers, please."

Belle moved quickly towards the dresser and found what she was looking for in less than a minute. She handed them to Chloe with a smile. "Here ya go. Silver flowers."

"How do you do that? You're like a bloodhound for accessories or something."

"It's a gift, Chloe. Comes from years and years of shopping experience."

Chloe laughed at her, and had begun to put her earrings on when they heard their doorbell ring. Both girls looked at each other in surprise and Belle shrugged in confusion. "We're not expecting anyone, are we?"

Chloe shook her head and shrugged as well. "Nope. Everyone we know is meeting us there. Brady is with Mimi and Shawn, and my parents are at their hotel. I don't know who it could be."

"Well, you finish getting ready... I'll go grab the door."

Belle sauntered towards the door and shouted through it. "Who's there?"

A familiar male voice shouted back at her. "Don't you two have a peephole?"

Belle laughed and replied. "Nope. Who is this?"

"It's a mystery guest! Open up!"

Belle grinned and whispered to herself. "Phillip..."

She hurriedly unlocked the door and threw it open to greet him. It had been over four months since Phillip had come to visit them in New York, and she immediately threw her arms around him. Phillip grabbed her tightly lifting her feet off the floor as he hugged her back.

"Phillip! Oh my God... This is such a surprise." Phillip let her go and Belle stared him down intently. "Your hair is different, and you've got a little scruffy facial hair."

"Do I look terrible?"

Belle shook her head vehemently. He looked older to her, and more mature, but he still had the same boyish grin and twinkling blue eyes. "No, you look... more handsome than ever. Have you always been this tall?"

Phillip chuckled softly and nodded. "Yes, as a matter of fact. Look at you, Belle. It must be difficult being the most beautiful woman in a city with 8 million people."

Belle smiled bashfully and shook her head. "Oh, stop... Don't be silly."

Chloe came hobbling in from the bedroom with one black heel strapped on and one bare foot. "Did I hear you say Phillip?"

Phillip turned to greet her and he nodded in agreement. "You definitely did."

"I can't believe you're here."

"Hey... I wouldn't miss Chloe Lane's debut performance at Julliard for anything."

Chloe smiled happily and gave him a quick hug. The two of them had mended all of their fences over the past year, and had become better friends than they were when they were dating. "Thank you so much. I'm so glad you came."

Chloe turned to look at Belle expectantly and pointed at her feet. Belle grinned and nodded in understanding. "The other shoe is underneath your bed."

Chloe clapped her hands together and nodded. "Thank you. I'll be right back."

Belle watched Chloe run off and then turned back to Phillip with a sigh. "Wow... Phillip... I can't even tell you how good of a surprise this is. Everyone is going to be so happy to see you tonight."

Phillip raised an eyebrow. "Everyone?"

"Yeah, they're all meeting us there. Brady, Mimi, Shawn... They'll all be really happy to see you."

"So, Taylor isn't coming?"

Belle bit her lower lip and looked away from him. "Nope. She couldn't make it, she had some sort of obligation with work or something."

Phillip cringed slightly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have even said anything. I know how weird that must be for you."

Belle looked back at him and shook her head. "No, actually it's not. Shawn has a new girlfriend, who I happen to like very much, and they are very happy together. It doesn't bother me at all."

"But still... After all of his talk about never giving up on you, and everything... Now he's got someone else." Phillip stopped and smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "And here I am, opening my big mouth and rubbing salt in your wounds."

Taylor Walker, Brandon and Nicole's baby sister, had moved back to Salem last summer and was attending Salem University with Shawn and Mimi. She had become fast friends with Shawn, and they eventually fell for each other, leading into a relationship that had lasted five months so far.

Belle smiled reassuringly at him. "No, seriously, I'm fine about it. I didn't expect him to actually wait forever for me, you know. In fact, I'm glad he moved on with his life. I'm happy if he's happy."

"Well, that's awfully healthy. Of course, I'm sure it helped that you had plenty of romantic offers of your own to deal with this year."

Belle laughed with a snort and shook her head. "I wouldn't exactly say that."

Chloe came in shaking her head, this time with both shoes on. "Please... Belle here got asked out by every single guy at Columbia, and a few at MY school. But she refused every single one."

"You wouldn't believe how hard it is to fend off an eager college boy. Of course, most of the really dumb ones went running when I started to explain all about my year of self-discovery. Talking about finding 'yourself' and needing to remain single to do that really turns a guy off."

Phillip laughed softly. "But, you really did it, Belle. You did exactly what you set out to do."

Belle nodded and smiled proudly at him. "And so did you. We both did it."

Chloe cleared her throat loudly and pointed at the clock on the wall. "Excuse me. As much as I hate to interrupt this mutual exchange of admiration and respect, time is ticking away. We have a taxi to go catch."

Phillip shook his head. "No need for a taxi. My car is parked out front, and I would be honored to escort you two lovely ladies to the theatre."

Belle and Chloe grabbed their purses and followed Phillip out the door. They had no time to waste as they headed off to one of the most important nights in Chloe's freshman year at Julliard.

Belle slid into the passenger seat next to Phillip, and Chloe took the backseat. She looked back briefly at Chloe. "Are you still nervous?"

"Of course. But, I think once I'm up there on the stage and I can see all of you out there... I'll be fine."

Phillip turned the key in the ignition and replied. "Really? That would make me more nervous... performing in front of my family and friends."

"Not me. Knowing that all of you are out there will keep me anchored to that thing which we like to call sanity."

The two in the front seat laughed at her as Phillip began the drive down the busy Manhattan street. Belle took a quiet moment to really take a good look at Phillip. All of the things that she loved the most about him were still intact. His smile, his eyes, the way he laughed and his heart and spirit. But, something was distinctly different. He was no longer the immature, self-centered, hot-tempered boy that he used to be. Phillip had finally grown up, and Belle had seen it with each letter he had sent her, and each phone call he had made over the past year.

***

(Later, after the show. Everyone gathers at Belle & Chloe's apartment.)

Chloe's parents, Brady, Mimi, Shawn and Phillip were waiting in the living room as Belle and Chloe grabbed some glasses out of the cabinets in the kitchen. Belle grabbed a few glasses from Chloe and smiled at her.

"You did great tonight, Chloe. If I hadn't already mentioned that ten times on the way home..."

Chloe laughed and adjusted the glasses in her hand. "I think you've mentioned it a hundred times actually, but thank you just the same."

"You're welcome."

Both girls made their way back into the living room and handed everyone a glass, as Craig began to pour the champagne. Belle looked at everyone apologetically. "Sorry, we don't actually have champagne glasses, so this will have to do."

Nancy smiled at her and nodded. "That's okay, Belle. Only three of us are old enough to be drinking champagne anyway. I don't condone underage drinking, but one small glass for a very special occasion isn't going to hurt any of you."

Craig grinned and held his glass up, with everyone following him. "I'd like to propose a toast to the most talented girl in all of New York City, who just so happens to be my daughter, Chloe. Congratulations Chloe, you've really made us proud."

Everyone toasted in agreement and took small sips of their champagne. Belle and Mimi stood side by side and made similar faces of disgust, speaking in unison. "Ewwwwwwww."

The of the group laughed at them and Brady nudged his little sister with his elbow. "Don't like the taste of champagne, Tink?"

Belle wrinkled her nose up and laid the glass on the table in front of her. "Echhh. No. I guess you'll never have to worry about me becoming an alcoholic... it all tastes pretty terrible to me."

Mimi changed subjects and pointed around the room. "I see you two haven't started packing for summer vacation yet."

Chloe shrugged nonchalantly. "We really haven't had the time with finals, and rehearsals and everything. But, we have a week before we go back to Salem, so we'll get it done somehow."

Shawn put his glass down and interjected. "So, we are ALL going to be home this summer, right? Because, if I'm not mistaken this is the first time that we've all been together since graduation day."

Phillip nodded in agreement. "I'm definitely going to be there. I've got a lot of time to make up for with all of you."

Brady cleared his throat and looked at all of them hesitantly. "Actually... I'm going to be going on a trip out of the country."

Belle's jaw dropped and she glared at her brother. "Brady? What? When?"

Chloe's reaction was the same as Belle's. Whatever Brady was speaking about was news to her as well. "I second that. WHAT?"

Brady smiled and grabbed on to Chloe's hand. "Calm down, Diva. Let me explain, please." Chloe nodded and let Brady continue. "I have to go on a business trip for just a couple of days, but my dad decided to extend the trip a little. He wants me to stay gone for two weeks instead of two days. And... He thinks I should bring all of you."

Gasps of surprise and shouts of 'What?' spread across the room. Brady waved a hand to quiet them and continued. "You see, I'm going to Paris for a couple of days, and dad figured while I'm there, we might as well see all of Europe that we have time for. So, we're going to France, England, Italy... wherever else we feel like going."

Mimi felt like her eyes were going to pop out of her head as he mentioned their destinations. "We are? All of us? Why all of us? Why not just you and Chloe? Not that I don't WANT to go... but why?"

"Well, I do have a few business meetings in the afternoons, so while I'm working, you can all go sightseeing together. I didn't want to leave Chloe by herself all day, so I figured we might as well make it a group vacation. Everyone has worked so hard this year, and we've all been spread so far apart, that we deserve a nice vacation... and since I can afford to do this for you all, I'm going to. My dad thought it was a great idea, and he's getting his travel agent to make all the arrangements for us. And you better all show up too."

Shawn nodded and grinned at Brady. "Oh, I'll be there. This is so generous of you, Brady. Thanks, man."

Brady smiled as he wrapped an arm around a stunned Chloe's shoulder. "You're welcome. And, please, feel free to bring Taylor along if she can the time off from work. Same goes for you, Mimi. If Kevin can make it, he's more than welcome to come."

Chloe smiled at her boyfriend and laid her head on his shoulder. "You are a truly great human being, Brady Black."

"That's only the first surprise tonight, Chloe."

"The first surprise? What's the second?"

Brady grinned wickedly at her and shook his head. "I'll tell you later."

Nancy smiled happily at Brady. "That is very generous of you, Brady. Just promise you'll all stay safe. When you kids go out of the country together, things tend to go badly."

Brady chuckled softly and nodded in understanding. "Of course... I will make sure everyone makes it home in one solid, undamaged piece."

The group began to break off into separate conversations, all of them held at an excited pitch over Brady's announcement. Shawn pulled Belle aside and smiled nervously at her.

"Hey..."

Belle eyed him suspiciously. "Hey yourself..."

"You're not going to be uncomfortable if I bring Taylor on vacation with us? Are you?"

Belle laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh geez... No. Why is everyone so worried about me? How many times do I have to tell you that I'm okay? I like Taylor a lot, she's a great person and more importantly, she loves you and treats you with respect. That makes me happy, Shawn."

Shawn nodded in understanding. "I know, I know. It's just... I feel guilty sometimes. But, I never expected this to happen. I never expected to meet another woman who could make me happy like I was when I was with you, but I did. I know you always say that you're okay about it, but I wanted to double check. With you being single, and not having met someone else, I wasn't really sure how you were dealing with this. Especially after I told you a year ago that I was never going to give up on us."

"You didn't give up, Shawn. You moved on. And that's great. And wait a minute... Who says I haven't met someone else?"

"You. All the time. You told me that you haven't been on a single date since you've been here."

Belle nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. "That's true. I haven't. But, that doesn't mean there's not someone else who I might want to be with. I love you, Shawn, and I am always going to love you in ways I can hardly describe. But, you and I moved past a place where we could be together like that. We're different people now, and what we had was great, but not everything great is meant to last forever."

Shawn smiled sweetly and briefly brushed her cheek with his hand. "I know, and I love you too, Belle. I love you in a way that is unlike any other love that I will ever experience, but you're right. We sort of lost our chance to be together, and we moved on. I think we did okay though, didn't we?"

"We did great. Better than great."

"So... Who is this mysterious 'someone else' that you might want to be with? Do I know him?"

Belle grinned and shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no. I'm not telling. It's a secret."

Shawn grinned at her and shook his head. "Belle. I am your best friend, you're not allowed to keep secrets from me."

"Well, you'll find out eventually... I promise. I just have to see if... it's going to work out. I don't want to speak too quick."

"Promise me one thing, Belle."

Belle sighed and nodded. "What's that?"

Shawn hugged her tightly and spoke in her hear. "If this guy ever breaks your heart, you'll call me so I can rip his face off."

Belle laughed softly. "You bet. And if Taylor ever does anything to hurt you... As much as I do like her, I am legally obligated to kill her, right?"

"Of course. It's the best friend clause. In fact, I think you can use it as your defense in a murder trial. Hey… maybe we should make one of those pacts."

"Pacts? What kind of pacts?"

Shawn let go of her and grinned. "You know... The one where the two best friends agree that if they get older and they're not married to anyone else, they'll marry each other."

Belle shook her head in denial. "Oh no, those things NEVER work out. One friend always ends up with the fuzzy end of the lollipop. But, I will promise you that I'm always going to be by your side, no matter what happens with Taylor or anyone else."

"Ditto. I'll even make sure we get adjoining rooms at the old folks home."

"Good idea. Maybe we should book early so we get a nice view of the shuffleboard court."

Shawn laughed at her as they rejoined the group. Belle glanced at him sideways and felt her heart smile. She knew that Shawn would always mean something special to her, something that nobody else could match or even hold a candle to. They weren't suited to be lovers at this point in their lives, only best friends. But, she knew deep down that if they ever found themselves alone and without love, their hearts would find a way back to each other. But, not now, and maybe not even in this lifetime. Belle was in love with someone else now, and it was time that he finally heard the truth from her lips.

***

(A short time later.)

Chloe had gone into her room alone to put her shoes away. Her feet had started to ache from standing on them for so long, and she excused herself to take her shoes off. Chloe did not turn the lights on so when she turned away from the closet, she was startled to see Brady right in front of her.

"Oh Jesus... Brady... You scared the crap out of me."

Brady laughed and pulled her closely for a kiss. Chloe melted in his arms, and Brady pulled away and winked slyly at her. "I'm sorry... I did tell you this was going to be a night of surprises."

Chloe chuckled as Brady kissed her on the cheek. "Yeah, no kidding." Brady moved down and trailed a line of kisses over her neck and shoulders as she spoke. "So, when did this fantastic idea happen to come to you and your dad?"

Kiss. "A few weeks ago."

"Well, it's definitely a great idea."

Kiss. "Thank you."

"Of course... I had been hoping to have plenty of alone time with you this summer."

Brady grinned and wagged his eyebrows at her, kissing her on the mouth again. "Oh, we'll have plenty of time alone together. I promise you that."

Chloe sighed at him with a slight frown. "But, then it's back to school and our long distance romance. Weekends and holidays, and that's it. This has been so hard, Brady. I love you so much... and..."

Brady placed his index finger on her lips gently. "Shhhh. That's part of your other surprise."

"My other surprise? What is it, Brady?"

"I mentioned that things have been going really well at work, but I didn't say exactly how well."

Chloe raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Okay... How well?"

Brady took her hand and led her towards the bed. He sat on the edge and she sat next to him. "Things are going so well that my dad wants to open a small office here in New York. And, he wants me to run it for him."

Chloe nearly squealed with joy and began excitedly planting kisses all over Brady's face. "Are you serious? You're moving to New York?""

"I'm completely serious. At the end of the summer when you and Belle leave to come back to school, I'll be coming with you."

"Oh my God, Brady... That's the best possible news I could think of. I get to have you near me every day. I didn't even think it was possible for me to have that much happiness at once."

Brady nodded and kissed the tip of her nose. "It is possible. And, I'm not technically asking you to move in with me... But, I was thinking, maybe I should get a big three-bedroom apartment, and you and Belle can have your own rooms. That way we can all be close to each other. What do you think?"

Chloe grinned slightly. "I think I'd end up in your room more than mine... Which isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"I certainly wouldn't be complaining. But, I guess we'll just have to talk to my sister... see what she wants to do."

"Wow, Brady... Belle is going to be so psyched. She hates not having you here almost as much as I do."

Brady nodded and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her. "Chloe, you make me happier than I ever thought it was possible."

Chloe smiled shyly and nodded. "The feeling is mutual, you know. There used to be a time when I thought that I could never have even one of my wishes come true. And now... all of them are. I have everything I could possibly want. I have the happy ending that every girl dreams about."

"Except this isn't an ending. This is just the beginning." Brady smiled lovingly at her and leaned in for a kiss.

Chloe knew that he was right. She had overcome so many obstacles in her life, and she had learned that none of them could ever stand in her way from getting what she wanted.

***

(Much later. Mimi, Shawn, Nancy and Craig have all left.)

Belle threw herself on the couch in between Phillip and Chloe, while Brady sat on the other side of his girlfriend. She sighed heavily and propped her tired feet up on the coffee table in front of her.

"Oh geez... It's been a long day."

Chloe snorted softly. "Think about how I feel. I had two finals this morning, a dress rehearsal, and a performance. I'm worn out."

Belle nodded in understanding. "Yes, but, you did it all so well, Chloe."

Brady patted Chloe on the knee. "She's right, you know. You made the rest of those Julliard students look like a Sunday school choir for pre-schoolers."

Chloe laughed softly and rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Brady."

Belle looked at the two of them curiously. "Hey, Brady... Are you going to spend the night here tonight?"

"Not tonight. I think Chloe's ready for sleep, and I will be too as soon as I get to the hotel."

Chloe nodded with a slight pout. "Yeah. As much as I'd like you to stay, it'd just be a waste of your hotel room that you paid for. But, you are coming to pick me up early, right?"

Brady nodded and stood from the couch. "Eight thirty. Be ready."

"By the way, if you two are up early enough then you should definitely come to breakfast with us. We want to go early before Craig and Nancy's flight takes off."

Belle nodded and watched as Brady helped Chloe up from the couch. "If I can roll myself out of bed early enough, I'll be there."

Chloe nodded with a smile. "I'm going to walk Brady out, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Belle and Phillip said their good nights to Brady and watched them leave through the front door. Belle turned to Phillip and patted him on the knee. "Come with me. The blankets and pillows for the couch are in my bedroom."

Phillip nodded and they stood together. He quietly followed Belle to the other end of the apartment and into her cozy little room. She opened the closet door and Phillip helped her grab a blanket and a pillow from the top shelf. He was about to head back towards the living room when she stopped him.

"Phillip... wait..."

Phillip stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. "What? What is it?"

Belle took a deep breath in, and addressed him seriously. "We need to talk. I was going to wait to have this talk, but I can't. I have to talk to you now."

Phillip nodded and walked back towards her. He laid the pillow and blanket on the bed and took a seat. Belle grabbed the chair from her desk and sat close to him. She tried to calm her nerves by taking a few deep breaths, but she felt the familiar knot of fear churning in her stomach.

"I have done a lot of thinking over the past year. More thinking that any person should ever have to do. I've been thinking about that night. The night of the Last Blast. I've been rerunning it in my head over and over again every day since it happened. And, I've come to only one conclusion..."

Belle hesitated and Phillip nodded in understanding. He sighed softly and looked away from her. "I think I understand."

Belle raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You do?"

Phillip looked back at her, his emotions lying just beneath the surface. "You love Shawn..."

"I do..." Belle tried to continue, but he interrupted her.

"You're always going to love Shawn Brady. No matter what happens."

"That's true..."

"And, although you really do care about me, you could never give your heart to someone other than Shawn."

Belle grinned and suddenly began to laugh loudly. Phillip stared at her in shock, clearly wondering what she thought was so funny about this situation. Belle tried to speak and clear his confusion, but she could only laugh until tears were rolling down her face.

Phillip stared at her strangely, and he looked like he was starting to get angry. "Belle... Excuse me, but what in the hell is so funny about this?"

Belle caught her breath and wiped the tears off of her face. "Oh, Phillip. I'm so sorry that I laughed at you. It's just... As much as you have changed in the past year, some things never change. You still can't see exactly what's going on right in front of you sometimes."

"Okaaaaaay. Then, do you mind explaining it to me before I accidentally send you into another fit of laughter?"

"Yes, I was trying to but you kept interrupting me. Now, please let me finish before you say another word."

Phillip nodded and motioned for her to continue. "Okay, I'm sorry. Please finish."

Belle smiled sweetly and took his hands in her own. "Alright, you started out being right. I do love Shawn, and I always will. Nobody will ever touch my life in quite the same way that he did. But, that's over now. We've both moved on, and changed, and grown... and we grew out of each other's lives. We're always going to be friends, and we'll always have a bond like nothing else... But, that's it. We're just friends."

A slight smile of hope began to creep onto Phillip's lips. Belle squeezed his hands gently and continued. "Some people think that you only have room in your heart for one true love. But, I don't agree. Because, you can love someone in a completely different way than you've loved someone before, and it can still be just as powerful as the love you had in the past. My mother and father both are great examples of that. They had past loves who meant everything to them, but when circumstances changed things, they moved on. They fell in love with each other and left the past behind. And, they belong together. Wouldn't you agree?"

Phillip nodded, but did not say a word. "So, what I'm trying to say in an extremely long winded way is this... I love you, Phillip. Part of me has loved you for a very long time, but now... Well, all of me loves you. Shawn is out of my life, he's just a friend and nothing more. My heart is open, wide open, and free to love you. And, that's what I want to spend a very long time doing. If you'll let me."

Phillip's smile widened and he stared at her in surprise. Belle smiled back and leaned forward, planting her lips on his. Phillip held her tightly, and the passion of their kiss was ten times more intense than the two they had shared a year prior.

Belle broke the kiss off to catch her breath and grinned at him. "Okay, I'm finished talking... Your turn."

Phillip chuckled softly and kissed her again quickly. "I guess... I guess it's good that I've been planning on going to Columbia in the fall."

Belle's smile stretched from ear to ear. "Oh, Phillip..."

Phillip grinned and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you too, Belle. You're all I have thought about every day for the past year. And, I thought that if I came here tonight and you told me that there was no chance for us... Well, I had no idea what I would do. I need you, and I love you. I can't even find the words to tell you how much, but I will try to show you in every way I can."

Belle threw her arms around him happily. "I am so glad. This... well, this is exactly how I wanted this to turn out. There is nothing in this world better than being with you right at this moment."

Phillip smiled and rested his head gently on hers. "It's better than a bowl of ice cream?"

Belle laughed and nodded. "Much better."

"Hmmm... Better than cookies?"

"A million times better."

"Even Hope Brady's homemade ginger snaps?"

Belle laughed again and lifted her head to look him in the eyes. "Well... maybe not better than that."

Phillip dropped his jaw in surprise. "What?"

"I'm just kidding, Phillip. There is nothing better than this. Nothing in this entire world."

Phillip smiled and kissed her again. She melted into his arms and held on to him tightly. She sighed softly, content and satisfied at last. Their year apart had paid off, and every molecule in her body knew that all of the loneliness was completely worth it. It had been a long time since she had experienced this kind of bliss, and she planned on making it last as long as possible. For a lifetime, if he would let her.
***

The End (please click on Next Chapter for my Author's Notes)

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