~*~ Chapter 21 ~*~
REDDING, CA - The Peach - Dec. 27TH, 2001 - Thursday
The meal was really quiet, a part from some comments from Hailey.
Not feeling good with the awkward silence, Kirstin decided to speak.
"So, Hailey. When are you gonna sing? You were so excited and everyone else sang already except you."
"Yeah. Well, when I was gonna, the meal got here. But I'm almost finished so I'm going next."
"Good. And did you pick out the song already?" Kirstin said and took a sip from her drink.
"Yep. You all sang kind of sad songs. I'm gonna light up the place a little bit. Sing an upbeat song."
"Good." Tom suddenly spoke, taking a sip from his drink and getting some french fries from Kirstin's plate. Kirstin took some of his onion rings and Ashley was just observing them, no expression at all on his face.
There was more silence and then Hailey stood up.
"I'm singing now. Ashley, pay attention because I'm gonna sing the song to you."
Ashley just smiled and watched his girlfriend head to the little stage. When Hailey was already there and the melody started, she said:
"This song goes to my wonderful boyfriend, Ashley Angel." she pointed out to where he was and everyone in the restaurant looked at their table. Kirstin just shook her head and smiled, embarrassed for Ashley, who was kind of blushing. Then the song started.
I
love myself I want you to love me
When
I feel down I want you above me
I
search myself I want you to find me
I
forget myself I want you to remind me
I
don't want anybody else
When
I think about you I touch myself
Ooh
I don't want anybody else oh no, oh no, oh no
Hailey was pointing at Ashley all the time and gesticulating with the song. He would look away from time to time. Not that he wasn't liking it, it was just that it was kind of embarrassing. Even Kirstin was feeling embarrassed for him. Not Tom, though. He was enjoying it, with a big smile upon his face.
You're
the one who makes me come running
You're
the sun who makes me shine
When
you're around I'm always laughing
I
want to make you mine
I
close my eyes and see you before me
Think
I would die if you were to ignore me
A
fool could see just how much I adore you
I
get down on my knees I do anything for you
I
don't want anybody else
When
I think about you I touch myself
Ooh
I don't want anybody else
Oh
no, oh no, oh no
I
want you I don't want anybody else
And
when I think about you I touch myself
Ooh,
ooh, ooh, ooh ahh
I
don't want anybody else when I think about you
I
touch myself ooh I don't want anybody else
Oh
no, oh no, oh no
(I Touch Myself - The Divinyls)
When the song was over, everyone applauded and Hailey took a bow. Everyone applauded even more. When she got to the table, Tom had a huge smile on his face and Ashley and Kirstin had a light one on.
"That was great, Hailey!" Tom pointed out.
"Thank you, Tommy!" Hailey thanked him.
Kirstin shot her a look. 'How dare she call him Tommy?' Ashley noticed the jealous look Kirstin had on.
"It was really good, Hailey." Ashley kissed her hard on the mouth when she sat down. Kirstin just observed the couple and Tom observed Kirstin. Kirstin soon looked away and played with her hair. Then she looked at Tom and kissed him lightly on the lips. When she pulled back, she smiled at him, but Tom didn't. Ashley had already pulled back from the kiss and he noticed that.
"I think I wanna order some desert." Kirstin informed everyone at the table.
"Good idea!" Hailey got excited, but again, she'd get excited just about everything.
Both couples went through the menu and decided what they were gonna order for desert. They made their order and had some small talk until their desert came. Ashley and Hailey ordered a petit gateau and Tom and Kirstin got a chocolate hot fudge sundae. Kirstin tried not to watch Ashley and Hailey eat their desert, but Ashley couldn't help but watch the other couple do it. He wouldn't stare at them, but he would turn to them more than a few times. Not that Kirstin didn't look at them, but not as frequently as Ashley did. Kirstin was feeling awkward, so when the sundae was over, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. There wasn't too much of a conversation going on at the table when Kirstin left.
"Shit!" Ashley exclaimed going through his pocket.
"What?" Hailey asked her boyfriend.
"I forgot my wallet in the car. I'll go get it. Be right back." Ashley excused himself. When he was almost getting out of the place, he looked back and saw that Tom had his back to him. He turned left then and went into the restrooms direction. When he got there, he waited by the ladies restroom door. He had to talk to Kirstin about something that had been on his mind since the beginning of that double date. He was pacing around but stopped when he heard the door being opened. He shook his head when he saw that it wasn't Kirstin. He started to pace again when he heard the door once more and then Kirstin leaving the restroom.
"What are you doing here?" she asked after the door closed behind her.
"I was waiting for you." he answered in a sweet tone and got closer to her.
"Why?" she asked puzzled.
"Because I wanna talk to you about something."
"Yes?" Kirstin was backing away because Ashley was getting too close to her.
"It's just that… A lot happened today. I have never seen you and Tom like… being a real couple in front of me. And then all that singing happened and you eating out of his plate and he doing the same and you sharing a desert. I could feel you two really love each other."
"You should've known that by now." Kirstin didn't know where he wanted to go with that.
"Yeah, but I don't know… I guess I never really wanted to believe it, but I just saw it. But, I don't know if you paid attention to the lyrics of the song I sang."
"'One Last Cry'. I know the lyrics by heart." Kirstin smiled weakly and looked deeply into his eyes. He also looked deeply into hers until she turned her gaze down.
"So, that's exactly how I feel now that I saw you two being a real couple."
“So, does that mean you are gonna let me live my life the way I want it? With Tom? Like, no arguments, no teasing, no stupid fights? Just I carry on with my own life and you with yours?”
“I’m not gonna say I won’t care about your life, because that just can’t be. Like… if he ever hits you or cheats on you, if any of that happens, I’ll kill him.”
“Ashley…” Kirstin wasn’t liking the conversation already.
“I’m sorry Kirstin, but I just can’t let a guy hit or cheat on you and get nothing for it. I just can’t do it.” Kirstin knew she couldn’t change his mind about that, so she just looked down. He was actually being sweet saying all those things. He still cared about her, she thought “But, back to the song. The song said, before I leave it all behind, I gotta have one last cry.”
“Yeah. So?” Kirstin was totally confused.
“It’s different with me.”
“Different? What would be different?” Kirstin frowned.
“To leave it all behind, I don’t gotta have one last cry.”
“Yeah…? Ashley, what are you talking about?” she still didn’t get it. He was acting weird.
“I… I gotta… I gotta have one last kiss.” Kirstin was taken totally off guard. It wasn’t like Ashley to do that. His girlfriend was just a few feet away. Kirstin’s fiancée was just some feet away. She was speechless. She was leaning against the wall. Her heart was beating rapidly while Ashley was getting closer to her. She had nowhere to go, she was feeling trapped. He was getting closer and closer. If it were another guy, she’d just slap him. But she couldn’t slap Ashley. He deserved it though, but she couldn’t do it. He was her friend. Then Ashley brought his face closer to hers. And he stopped there. She could feel his breathing on her lips, that’s how close they were. She didn’t know what he was doing because he simply stopped there. And she didn’t know what she, herself, was doing because she just couldn’t move. She knew what was coming, she knew he would kiss her, she knew that couldn’t happen because she had a fiancée, but she didn’t seem to care. She was going crazy feeling Ashley’s breathing on her mouth. She was looking deeply into his big blue eyes and he didn’t look anywhere else but her eyes. He wanted to read her. He had to know if she wouldn’t slap him if he’d kiss her, know if she would want to talk to him after that, because he couldn’t ruin their friendship again. As he sensed she wouldn’t do anything, he, really slowly and kindly, pressed his lips on hers.
* Thanx Taryn and Stacie for reviewing and correcting the grammar errors *
~*~ Chapter 20 ~*~
~*~ Chapter 22 ~*~
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