Chapter 6
“UNCLE SIMEY! Wake up!”
Simon started groaning and rolled onto his stomach, hiding his head under a pillow. For the last several minutes those were the only words that raced through his ears. “Isabella, sweetheart, go back to bed. It’s only-”
“Uncle Simey!” He suddenly felt a large mass that jumped on his back. “C’mon! It’s breakfast time! And then Mommy is gonna tell me when we goin’ to leave for Engrald!”
He yawned loudly, trying to pull the blankets over his head, but simply couldn’t. To make matters worse, Maybelle began to bark. “Maybelle, quiet.” Being that Maybelle was untrained, she continued barking aloud and Isabella followed by trying to pull her uncle by the hand.
“But Uncle Simey! I need to tell you about the dream I had! It was actually a nightmare sorta! And I was really, really, really scared!”
Simon could barely hear her as his body system wasn’t fully awake. Rubbing his eyes, he muttered, “Why didn’t you wake me up then?”
“Because!”
“Because, why?”
Suddenly the bedroom door opened wide and Paula was standing in the entrance with a glowing smile planted across her face. “Morning you two! Did you have a good sleep?”
Isabella began to jump on her bed and hopped her ways into her mother’s loving arms. “I had a horrible nightmare! I was so scared!” She held tightly onto Paula, never wanting to let go.
Paula kneeled down to eye-level with her daughter. She placed a soft hand on her daughter’s cheek,
“Oh sweetheart, why didn’t you wake me or your uncle up?”
“Because! Uncle Simey wasn’t here! And I was too scared to go into the hallway. The boogeyman would have gotten me!”
“He wasn’t… here?” Paula expression immediately came alarmed. Her eyes immediately shot towards Simon, while he looked guiltily down at the floor, feeling a blush spread over his neck and face.
“Yeah!” Paula turned her attention back to her daughter, who said, “But when I woke up this morning and he was back! Did you go to the bathroom, Uncle Simey?”
“I umm…” He had no clue what to say at the moment. Paula knew now and for sure things were going to be awkward between the two of them. “Yeah, I had to go to the bathroom. Sorry, sweetheart.”
Isabella pulled away from her mother’s arms and jumped back onto her bed. She flung one of her tiny arms over her uncle’s shoulders and smiled. “It’s okay, Uncle Simey.” There was an awkward silence amongst the three of them, though Isabella didn’t notice. She happily smiled, “So we all ready for Engrald!?!”
--Remember to Forget--
They all had decided to leave the next morning to London, England or to Isabella ‘London, Engrald’. Simon had to finish up a few errands in America before they left and Isabella begged to go with him. Paula told Isabella they had to finish packing, so Simon promised the both of them he wouldn’t be out too late.
“But Mommy! I’m already finished packing!”
“Sweetheart, you basically threw every piece of clothing into your suitcase. We’re only going for two weeks not two years,” Paula laughed, while her daughter kept a frown on her face.
“Maybelle is coming too! Right, Mommy?!” Isabella asked.
“Of course she is. You don’t want her to miss out.” Paula was folding cute outfits of her daughter’s and then placing them neatly inside her suitcase. Suddenly her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She took it out in a swift motion and flipped it open, “Hello?”
“Hey love, it’s JT. I wanted to discuss about our wedding. The flowers, caterers, dresses, grooms, bridesmaid, everything basically. Because since you’re going away for two weeks, I wanted to make sure-”
Paula interrupted him, “JT, I just want a tiny, small, and simple wedding. You don’t need to throw a huge, ‘wedding of the century’ ceremony.”
“Oh… a simple wedding? So you’re saying, you just want to have a small gathering, perhaps?”
“That sounds lovely. Yes, with just our close relatives. I hope you understand,” Paula smiled as she continued to pack Isabella’s clothing.
“Oh I understand, Paula, don’t worry. So shall we say June 27th?”
“What about June 27th?”
“That’s the day we’ll get married.”
“In four weeks!?”
“Is that not okay?” His voice quavered a bit.
“Umm…” Paula bit her lip, not knowing exactly what to say. She felt sick to the stomach at the moment and would love to just hang up on her fiancé. But he was going to take care of the entire wedding for her. No guy has ever done something so sweet for her. “No, I mean… sorry, yes, JT that’s fine. June 27th is wonderful.”
“Alright, sounds great! I’ll make the arrangements and close my restaurant for that night so we can have the reception there. I’ll miss you.”
Was she truly going to miss him? Why were all these new strange feelings coming in all of a sudden? But pushing all her thoughts and questions aside, Paula responded sweetly, “I’ll miss you too…”
--Remember to Forget--
It was late. They were leaving on Simon’s private jet tomorrow morning and it was almost midnight. Simon had promised to be home earlier and still no sight of him. Closing her book with a sigh, Paula allowed her head to fall against the back of the plush chair.
'Where in the world is he?' she thought, as her eyes closed, of their own accord, moments later."Mmm," she moaned, biting her lip.
"Hey, sleeping beauty," a deep voice whispered as a gentle hand caressed her face and warm breath tickled her neck and ear, sending shudders through her body.
Paula’s eyes slowly fluttered open and Simon's grinning face came in to focus... a face, she immediately noticed, that was mere inches from her own. It seemed that she wasn't the only one to notice their location as Simon expelled a quick breath; his eyes clouding... his breath caressed her lips, smelling faintly like lemon drops. As she licked her lips, Simon flew back from her, practically throwing himself onto the table in front of her, knocking down several books in the process.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, bending to retrieve the texts.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she gave a long stretch, her arms rising over her head and her shirt lifting slightly to expose her tan stomach. Rolling her neck to relive the stiffness, Paula opened her eyes, noticing Simon's were transfixed on her midriff, his gaze slowly lifted to hers but it took the scenic route. Paula felt herself flush as his darkened emerald eyes, scanned her body.
“Simon?”
He visibly jumped; scratching the back of his head, he gave her a sheepish smile.
“Sorry... what was that?”
She gave a small smile in response, her heart beating madly in her chest. Her mind was racing with thoughts of Simon just ‘checking out’. Shaking her head, she repeated her statement.
“I said Isabella wanted to let you know she was waiting up for you too, but I eventually put her to bed. She’s sleeping just like a baby,” she smiled.
"Well, she is still our baby,” he winked. Paula blushed a deep shade of red. “I can't believe that you two waited up for me,” he said with a teasing grin.
“Well, I just wanted to say good night... and... well, there was something... we...” she cleared her throat “well, there's something we need to discuss.”
Simon's grin slowly fell from his face, being replaced by the same guilty expression he had worn earlier in the morning. Paula felt her cheeks grow warm as he once again avoided eye contact with her. Taking a deep breath, she moved to sit on the edge of the chair, purposefully invading his personal space. When she adjusted to her new position, Simon's eyes swung to hers, they wavered for a moment, but in the end held steady.
“I'm sorry,” he said softy “I... didn't mean to...”
"Didn't mean to what, wha...” She nervously bit her bottom lip. “What did you see, Simon?”
He hesitated, once again breaking eye contact. “Well... I saw...” He began to tuck at the collar of his loose gray shirt. "There… well... I saw you... in bed... uh..." he flushed a deep red, “holding a picture frame...” he trailed off, grimacing and looking down at the ground.
Paula took a deep breath. Biting her lip, she looked down, then back at Simon. “Did- did you see who...” she found herself unable to finish the question, so she trailed off.
They remained in an awkward silence for several tense seconds before Simon once again spoke. “Yeah...” he looked at her again, just as her head popped up, “Don't worry I won't tell him, though.” Paula's brows furrowed in confusion... what did he mean, he wouldn't tell him? Noticing her look, Simon hastily continued. "Look, umm… earlier on, I saw the picture on your nightstand... I promise I won't say anything. Please, just don't be mad at me, darling."
'On my nightstand…he thinks it was JT,' she thought to herself, snapping out of her stupor when she heard his last statement.
“Why would I be mad at you, Simon...?” she tilted her head, a confused expression on her face "If anything, it was my fault. I should have made sure the door was closed. If I was... well, not that I knew that I was... not that I do that all the time... or ever really, I just...” she flushed and sighed; he laughed.
When Paula looked at him and glared. Simon pressed his lips together in an attempt to wipe the smile off of his face. This method only provided him with an expression that was somewhat serious, and his eyes still danced with a fair amount of amusement, Paula rolled her eyes.
“So... are we okay?” He asked hesitantly after a moment, raising a single brow in question.
“We are... on one condition,” He went from looking relived to worried again “You cannot tell anyone what you saw... it's going to be hard enough having you know about... my...er... moment of hormonal instability."
Simon once again suppressed a smile; Paula once again glared at him.
"This isn't easy for me, Simon. Do you know how mortifying it is to have to talk to you about this? I mean, really." She sighed and ran and agitated hand though her hair, before setting it back into her lap to fidget with her other one.
She froze as Simon's warm hands encircled her own.
“I would never tell anyone, Paula. You should know that I would never do that to you.” He gave her a soft smile, all signs of teasing gone from his face.
“I know… it's just that...” she trailed off, once again looking down.
"That what? That you're human," he tugged at her hands and she looked up at him. "Love, everyone does it, and there are worse things to be, than normal." She nodded, looking down at their hands. She wasn't sure how long they sat there, holding hands with one another, but after an undetermined amount of time, Simon spoke. “Well... it's pretty late, we should head to bed,” he said, standing and pulling her up with him.
Paula flushed as their bodies brushed against one another. Looking up, she noticed that Simon was looking down at her. Unwittingly, she rose to her tippy toes and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Thank you, Simon,” she said softly, suddenly feeling very shy... and warm.
"No problem, darling," he responded after a moment, sounding slightly winded.
She looked up at him, her eyes lingering on his lips for a moment before stepping back. Bumping into the chair, she was surprised when Simon's hands came out to steady her. Avoiding eye contact, she mumbled a 'thanks' and slid from between him and the chair. Making her way to the staircase, Paula gave Simon a look over her shoulder. He was standing in the spot she had left him in, silently watching her leave. She shivered a bit at the emotion that she saw in his eyes, but before she could really examine it, he dipped his head and ran a hand through his short hair. When he looked up again, his teasing grin was back in place.
"Goodnight," he said softly.
"G’night, Si-" she paused, "Simon?"
He turned and looked at her, still frozen in the same spot as before.
"Yes?"
"That thing you said earlier about my... well -about what I -about how everyone does it, is that true?”
He grinned widely. "Yes, sweetheart, it was true."
Paula paused for a second, almost about to turn away, but stopped herself. "So, does that mean you do it?"
His grin faded to be replaced by a deep flush, once again fidgeting with his shirt collar. He began to look around the room. “Gettin' pretty late, huh?” he paused nervously, “I think I'm going to head up to bed.” With that he turned in the opposite direction and decided to take the other staircase to avoid contact with her. He could still hear her giggles echoing down the hallway.
--Remember To Forget--
About an hour, later Simon was laying in the guest bedroom. He was just about to drift into dreamland when he felt a slight shift in weight on his bed. Opening his eyes, he was startled to see her sitting on the edge of his bed by his knees, a small frown on her face and her hair falling around her shoulders.
"Paula?" he asked in a sleepy tone, "wha-"
He was cut off as she placed a finger upon his lips to silence him. Removing her finger, after she was sure he had gotten the point, Paula then climbed the rest of the way onto the bed. When she was once again stationary, he gave her a curious look and spoke once more, this time in hushed tones.
"What's going on... is everything okay?" he asked sitting up, his voice laced with worry.
"Yes, everything's fine," she responded quietly, "well, at least I think everything's fine, that's what I came to check with you about."
He gave her a confused look, "What are you talking about?"
"Well, it’s just that, I was teasing you about..." she flushed, "well, I was teasing you a bit before you left and I wanted to make sure you weren't upset with me."
"Wait," he gave her an incredulous look, "you climbed into my bed in the middle of the night... to make sure I wasn't upset with you?"
Her flush deepened and she fidgeted a bit, before looking at him though her lashes and answering."Well... yeah, I mean it can be a pretty sensitive subject and I was a bit worried I had overstepped my bounds."
He expelled a breath and plopped back. Looking at the ceiling, he shook his head in wonder."I am not having this conversation..." he mumbled to himself, "this is just a bloody dream and I'm going to wake up at any moment." At that, he closed his eyes.
Opening them again a moment later, he was surprised to find Paula's face directly in front of his own, a frown marring her features as she gave him an annoyed look.
"It is not a dream. Besides, tomorrow morning, it's not like we're going to have much time alone for me to ask you. So, I came up tonight, is that so wrong?"
'Yes!' his mind screamed as it registered that she was close enough to him that her breath tickled his lips and her long hair that had fallen forward, was brushing either side of his face. His eyes flicked to her lips, which he found that they had been doing much too often of their own accord. A second later his hands, also of their own accord, reached out, pushing her hair back out of her face. He then rested them on the base of her neck, her soft locks still intertwined within his fingers.
"No," he whispered aloud in response to her question.
Her eyes flew to his, looking startled as if she had just realized how close they were. Finding himself unable to resist, he tilted his head back, bringing his mouth close enough for his lips to lightly brush hers. He felt her softly sigh against his mouth before she lowered her head and applied more pressure to his lips.
Simon felt her hands slide under his shirt and lightly caress his chest as his tongue slipped into her mouth, tasting her like he had wanted to for so long. Delving into her warm mouth, he found that she tasted like chocolate and quickly realized that the flavor was swiftly becoming a new favorite for him.
She pulled away from him, panting, and with her eyes hazy. "Simon?" she said in a breathy tone.
"Hmm?" he asked in a similar one.
"You know what you said earlier... about how everyone does it?" Unable to form words, he just nodded. "Well..." he felt a warm hand sliding down his chest to his stomach, her cool fingers brushed his abs just under his shirt and just above his waistband. “Can I watch you? ... I mean, it's only fair...”A wicked gleam entered her eyes, as her fingers brushed back and forth over his stomach.
“I...umm…”
She grinned, placing a light kiss on the base of his chin, her hand slowly made its way back up his chest, finally resting on his shoulder.
"It's only fair..." she said again.
"W-well..." he stuttered.
"It's only fair, Simon." she said again, this time appearing to get angry. "It's only fair. It's only fair! It's only fair!!" she then began to shake him violently.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?!" he yelled.
“It’s only fair, Uncle Simey!!!” Simon's eyes snapped open to find Isabella, jumping on his bed. “C’mon! It’s only fair Maybelle gets her own seat on the jet!”
Simon rubbed his eyes, groaning. He blinked a few times before closing his eyes. "A stupid dream," he mumbled, "I knew it was a bloody dream."
“There you are!” Paula stuck her head into the room. “I’ve been looking all over for you, Bella-Boo. You must eat your breakfast and brush your teeth.”
Simon couldn’t help but simply just stare at Paula, as though his dream was a reality and the scene was replaying back in his mind. “What? Is there something on my face?”
“Huh? What?”
“You were staring at me,” she laughed.
He blinked a few times and shook his head, “Sorry, just umm… lost focus.”
Paula only let out a laugh and smiled back at him, while Isabella jumped off the bed towards her mother. She skipped out into the hallway, saying, “Engrald, here we come!!!”
Chapter 7
“Mommy! Can we get on the jet yet?!”
Paula sighed. That must have been the twentieth time Isabella asked her that question. She was getting impatient herself. Simon had been gone for an hour as they had been waiting in the airport the same amount of time. “Isabella, Uncle Simey is trying to hurry things along, but he needs you to wait patiently like a good little girl.”
“Hmph,” Isabella said, slouching down in her seat. She dangled her legs and crossed her arms over her chest, while impatience filled within her. “Are we gonna see Julie, Mummy?!”
“Now Isabella, you cannot call her by her first name… she’s Mrs. Cowell to you.” A smile faded onto Isabella’s face as a Maybelle barked from the dog carrier beside her. “And yes, you will see her right away, Uncle Simey has a day planned out for the two of you.”
“Shopping?!” She jumped excitedly in her seat.
“You’ll just have to wait and see, Bella-Boo,” Paula winked down at her daughter, who was squirming around now from all the excitement building up inside of her.
As for Paula, many thoughts have been circling around in her mind. She was afraid of going to England… not because of her daughter, but more because of Simon. The past days, there has been this… she couldn’t quite explain it. A tension? There has been different feelings? She simply shook her head of her thoughts. She knew nothing could happen between them, it was too late even if she had wanted to.
Suddenly, Simon appeared, in front of the two girls, with a huge grin planted on to his charming face. “Who’s ready to go to Engrald?” He chuckled.
Isabella stood up in her chair and began to bounce up and down. “Ooo! Me! Me! Me!”
--Remember to Forget--
Hours later, after the plane landing, the limo drive to Simon’s mansion, and Maybelle’s barks of excitement, Simon had decided to show the two girls around his house.
“Just make yourself at home, you’re going to be staying here for the next two weeks,” he smiled.
“Uncle Simey! Can we go swimming!? Like now!?” Isabella smiled, pulling on her uncle’s hand.
“Sure, sweetheart. I’ll go in with you, but ask your mother,” he chuckled.
“Mommy!” Isabella tugged on the hem of Paula’s shirt. “Can I go swimming!? Pweasee!!”
“Of course, sweetheart,” Paula laughed at the sight of her daughter begging.
Isabella immediately ran up the stairs to get dressed into her swimsuit, while Paula and Simon were left alone… once again. She only stared down at the ground, trying to think up an excuse that could allow her to leave. She could feel his eyes on her as she hid her face with her hair now.
He broke the silence, “You going to go in?”
Still not looking directly at him, she turned her head. “What?”
“Swimming? You want to go swimming?” he asked with his charming smile.
She suddenly felt a warm hand touch her bare shoulder as she tensed up. She didn’t dare to bring eyes into contact with his. “Umm… maybe another time. I’m going to unpack Isabella and my suitcases.” Finally being able to look up, she stared into his dark eyes of wonderment. She was correct. He was gazing back at her though his smile had disappeared and left with a tiny frown.
His hand left her arm and she missed the warmth. “Okay, I’ll watch her don’t worry,” he winked at Paula and then turned on his heel to get changed himself. Paula couldn’t help but blush.
--Remember to Forget--
After the swim, Julie Cowell had picked up Isabella for the rest of the day, hoping to get some bonding time in with the precious little one. Simon had to rush into to town to run a few errands here and there. And Paula was stuck at home for once… having nothing to do.
She sat on the couch, while memories from the past floated into her mind. These memories just wouldn’t stop replaying themselves lately. She sighed loudly.
Simon rubbed his sleep-filled dark eyes and stared at his dear friend, Paula, who was holding their baby daughter. “Why does she keep doing this?” he complained.
“Shh, Simon,” she said rocking little Isabella. “Most babies don’t sleep through the night until they’re a bit older.” Paula looked up at Simon. “If you’re tired, go to bed. You’ve got work tomorrow, I understand. You need your sleep,” she smiled.
“What about you?”
“Remember? My days consist of forty-two hours,” she laughed softly.
Simon sighed. “All right, sweetheart. But if you need me, give a shout.” He gave her a short lingering kiss on the cheek and then slipped out of the room to get some rest.
Paula looked down at the little girl crying in her arms. She sighed and pushed her hair out of her eyes. She turned to the corner of the bedroom and sat down on the rocker, which faced the window, giving a view of the starry night sky.
Slowly, Paula began to rock baby Isabella in the chair and began to hum to her song “Rush, Rush”. She had been singing the slow song to her little one lately. She sung quietly, “Rush, rush, hurry, hurry, lover come to me.”
Simon slowly began to wake as the sound of a soft voice that drifted across the hallway. He silently got out of the guest bedroom and headed over to his daughter’s room and leaned against the doorframe as his ‘poodle’ continued to sing softly. He smiled.
“Rush, rush, I wanna see ya, I wanna see ya get free with me,” she smiled down at Isabella. Paula continued to sing to little Isabella, and the little babe’s cries soon turned to whimpers, which slowly died away as she listened to her mother’s sweet voice.
Simon slowly made his way behind Paula and leaned against the wall and continued to listen to her beautiful voice. She suddenly felt Simon’s presence behind her, but she only smiled and continued to hum along to her song. Paula looked into Isabella’s shining eyes and stroked her dark brown hair, which ended in very short, fine curls. Paula continued to rock in the chair even after she had finished the song. Little Isabella laid there in her mother’s arms, fast asleep.
“Finally,” Simon sighed. “It only took her mummy’s voice to sing her to sleep.”
Paula laughed softly. She slowly stood from the rocker and placed Isabella in the crib. “Time to sleep, baby girl.” Paula placed a feather-light kiss on her baby’s forehead and stepped back to watch her sleep. Simon stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“It’s time for you to sleep too, darling.”
Paula sighed and leaned into his chest. She snuggled against him. “She’s just so beautiful when she sleeps,” Paula smiled.
“Just like her mum,” whispered Simon before he kissed Paula soundly on her head, lingering there for a few seconds before pulling away. “Who also needs to get her beauty sleep.”
“I’m too sleepy, just leave me here. I’ll eventually fall asleep in the rocker,” she giggled softly.
“Oh no, you don’t,” he chuckled. “You are getting some sleep now, I’ve been worried about you.” Simon gently picked her up in his arms and carried her across the hallway into her bed room, where he gently placed her on the bed and tucked her into the covers. He smiled down at her and placed a tender kiss on her cheek once more, before turning around to leave.
Suddenly that sweet familiar voice filled the room. “Simon?”
With his hand on the doorknob, he asked, “Yes, love?”
“Will you stay with me tonight?” She sat up in her bed. Her eyes completely on him. “Please?”
He turned around slowly, only to see her shadowed figure sitting up in bed. A small smile faded onto his face as he made his way back towards her. “Of course I will,” he whispered.
“Paula? Are you listening to me?”
“What happened?” Paula asked, shaking her head to focus. She saw Simon sitting before her with a smile on his face.
“I was walking along the sidewalk minding my own business - I had just left the studio,” he sat up straight and faced her. “There was this guy singing in a café along the side of the streets. You should have heard how bloody brilliant he was. I tell you, darling, he would have won American Idol just from that performance.” Simon gave a huge grin, staring off into space with a dreamy look in his eyes.
“You know, you already have a girlfriend,” she said with a laugh. He gave her confused look. “Well it just seems like you really like this guy. I was reminding you, you know, in case you wanted to break things off with Terri and give the relationship a fair go,” Paula finished with a cheeky grin.
Giving her a glare, Simon grabbed a pillow and swung it at her. Laughing, she blocked the blow and poked him in the stomach.
“Hey!” he exclaimed, just before a wicked gleam entered his eyes.
Before she could run, Paula found herself pinned between Simon and the soft cushions of the couch, wiggling helplessly as she was mercilessly tickled by his long fingers.
“S-sto….p-p….Stoooo…p-p!” she squealed, futilely pushing at his hands.
“Say you're sorry,” Simon said with a grin, now chuckling himself.
“I-I didn't… d-d-do an-anything!” she yelled back still laughing, while a tear slipped from her eye.
“Say it!”
“No!”
“Say it, or I'll keep going, I can do this all night, love,” he said, redoubling his efforts.
“Ahhh! Okay, okay, okay… I'm…sor-sorry!”
“Say 'I'm sorry for calling you gay'.”
“I…I'm sorry for calling ….y-you gay!” she was laughing so hard that her chest was beginning to hurt.
“Now say, ‘Simon Cowell is the sexiest man’,” he said with a grin. Paula gave him a glare though her laughter and tears before dutifully repeating the phrase. “See,” Simon asked, halting his torture as he leaned on one elbow, “that wasn't too bad, was it?”
He gave her a small, playful tap on the nose. She responded with a swat at his hand and a fierce glower. “Oh, I will get you back, you just wait,” she said in a menacing tone.
“Oh, and I look forward to it,” was the cheeky response, followed promptly by a wink.
Paula flushed a bit at the small flirtation, and then down to her roots as she realized the position they were in. In her efforts to escape Simon’s tickling, Paula had ended up laying on her back against the couch and, in his battle to thwart her efforts to escape, Simon had ended up hovering over her. Though the struggle was now over, she still lay on the couch and he was still over her, although it may have been more accurate to say ‘on top’ of her. His strong body was doing things to her that she reveled in, yet somehow feared at the same time, and his warm breath tickled her cheek when he breathed. Simon’s head was leaning on one hand, but the other was at her waist with his fingers gently stroking her side.
Reaching up, Paula lightly and nervously placed her hand on his stomach, her fingertips lightly curving against his waist. Simon observed her with a fascinated look in his dark eyes. A few seconds later, his smile had faded a bit and his gaze dipped to her lips. After a momentary hesitation, his hand left her waist and came up to the side of her face. Paula held her breath as his finger lightly touched her bottom lip, then applied a bit more pressure, gently tugging it free from between the teeth she'd been using to nibble it with.
“You're going to bruise your lip if you keep that up, sweetheart,” Simon said softly, rubbing his finger lightly over her bottom lip, in a motion that was so hypnotic it made it almost impossible for her to breathe. “It already looks a bit red,” he said in a hushed tone, seemingly more to himself than to her.
His eyes shot upward to her brown ones, as if just realizing that she was there. He hesitated for a minute just staring at her and lightly stroking her lip before speaking again.
“Do you want me to make it better?” he said quietly, his gaze not leaving hers.
“How?” she asked, her voice coming out a bit stronger… but not much. She could feel her heart racing.
“Well…” he hesitated, his eyes dipped back down before going back up and connecting with hers again. “I would, I mean I could k-”
“Simon?” a familiar motherly voice was heard behind them.
Simon quickly jumped up, securing a somewhat wobbly landing on his feet steadying himself using the table just behind him. For her part, Paula shot up, trying in vain to not look as guilty as she felt. Her gaze snapped towards the face of Julie Cowell, who was only standing there, trying to hide her smile. The three stayed frozen to their respective spots and stared at one another, all unsure of what to say.
“It's not what it looks like… well, to say, that,” Paula hesitated, searching desperately for the right words that wouldn't make them look guiltier than they already did. “You see, I-”
“Mum, Paula called me gay!” Simon exclaimed suddenly, causing his mother to give him a surprised look and the brunette to give him an annoyed one.
“What he means is that he was telling me about some guy who sang amazingly in a café and that he started to get this dreamy look- ”
“I did not get a dreamy- ”
“Darlings, I have no business to know what you two were up to,” Julie laughed after a minute. “Sounds as though you are having fun, I must say. I just wanted to let you know I brought Isabella home and she fell asleep the ride here, so I placed her in the bedroom.”
“Oh… thanks, Mum,” Simon smiled.
“Thanks, Julie,” Paula smiled as well.
“She was an angel today, but then again she always is. I’d love to see more of her.” Paula nodded and agreed with Simon’s mother as they engaged into a tiny conversation. In a matter of minutes, Julie said, “Yes, well I best be going, dears. Have a good evening!” She kissed Simon and Paula goodbye, and soon enough she was out the door.
The room suddenly felt smaller to the both of them. Simon shrugged, placing one hand in his pocket, ran the other through his hair before heading toward the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Paula asked quickly, her voice containing a note of desperation that made her cringe. "I mean - you never..." Her voice trailed off.
Simon sighed and stared directly at Paula. "We'll talk later.” With that, he turned on his heel up the stairs to take a quick shower.
“We'll talk later," Paula mumbled to herself. She glanced down at the ground as her mind tried to process just what she and Simon would be talking about later.
--Remember to Forget--
It may have been two hours later when he decided to go back downstairs for a tiny midnight snack. He assumed Paula was asleep by now as he did not want to talk about what had happened tonight. Even though he assured her they would talk, he wanted to avoid it as long as possible. As soon as he entered the large room, he froze in his spot. His gaze was fixated on Paula who stared back at him with wide eyes. Simon almost groaned aloud.
"I thought you were in bed," they said in unison after a moment of tense silence.
Simon gave a small smile; Paula blushed. "We sound like we practiced that," he said with a chuckle, he walked forward and took a seat on the couch. She followed him by taking a seat on the armchair adjacent to him.
"I know," she replied with a small smile of her own.
"We need to talk," he said, scooting forward a little in his seat.
"I know that, too," she responded simply, readjusting herself in her seat.
"Paula," he hesitated, not sure where to begin. He mentally kicked himself for not figuring out what to say. "Paula, darling-”
"Simon..."
He looked at her and noticeably relaxed upon seeing the amused expression on her face. This was Paula; he could talk to her about anything. With that in mind, he tried again.
"Look, I don't know what's going on between us, but, somehow, things have been… different lately, you know?"
She looked at him for a moment before looking down at her hands. Simon could feel his palms getting sweaty. She did know didn't she? He had been sure that she had felt it too, but now, he was getting nervous. What if what he thought was her interest in him was all in his head? What if he was completely mental and just imagined it all? What if he-
"I know," she responded before he could work himself into a frenzied state.
Simon released the breath he had been holding, “Whatever this... this thing between us is, it can't happen. I don’t want to-” He stopped there, not being able to continue the words. “So, from this moment on we have to stop it, make sure that-” He paused unsure of just where he was going with this, "it... that it stops," he finished lamely.
"I know."
He gave her an exasperated look. "Is that all you can say?"
"Well, what do you want me to say, Simon?" she retorted, frowning at him. "I happen to agree. Whatever it is that we seem to - what we - feel for one another. We can't feel and it has to stop,” her voice was shaky and disappointed. “I'm engaged to JT, you're with Terri and we're both happy and in love." Her eyes widened a bit. "With JT and Terri that is, each, respectively - I'm JT and you're Terri. Not to say that you're JT, I mean Terri but to say that you..."
He put his hands on top of hers effectively stopping her stumbled response. "I know," he said with a subtle grin.
"Don't make fun of me, Simon," she responded with a mock glare.
He gave an affronted look. "I would never."
"Sure you wouldn't."
"I wouldn't!"
"Right," she said incredulously.
He grinned in reply, his gaze unwittingly shifting. It was then that he realized he was still holding her hands. Quickly looking back up, their eyes connected. Her gaze captivated him as she stared back at him unguarded. He could see confusion in her eyes along with something else he didn't understand but made his heart speed up just the same. A creak, from the wind blowing on the windows, caused them both to jump and quickly pull their hands away.
"So, now that that's decided, I think I’m going to head up to bed. It’s been a long day…" Paula said with a nervous laugh. She began to walk towards the staircase.
"Paula," Simon called out just as she was about to take her first step.
"Yeah?" Paula looked over her shoulder back at him, only to find that he was busy rummaging through the pillows on the couch for something.
Simon pulled a pillow aside on the couch. He knew that he was acting like a coward, but he couldn't look her in the eyes. He chose to act like as if he were looking for something randomly while he gave his apology.
"Yes, Simon?" she repeated when he didn't respond.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry - you know, for what happened,” Simon said, blushing; his back still to her. “Well, what almost happened... today.”
"Oh... that's okay," she responded. Simon relaxed that is until she continued her statement. "But I'm not." His head immediately turned to see Paula, but all he saw was an empty living room.
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