Something Like Fate || Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It had been one year since the American Idol finale in season nine. Twelve months. 365 days. Simon and Paula have been busy in their own lives. Paula had been working on her jewelry line as well as her television show Got to Dance. And Simon had been working on his own television shows, especially X-Factor, which reminded him of Paula a lot. The two had not shared any contact since that last night they shared together. Things were different… things were for the better.

On a brighter note, Simon lived in London most of that year. Mezhgan was happy enough to pay him a handful amount of visits. It was difficult to see her all the time, since they lived a long distance relationship. She had her own job, and he had his.

Due to him working on X-Factor, he had to push off the wedding for awhile. They didn’t fight, she wasn’t like his old girlfriends. Which was good, he thought. He loved her and he knew that she would understand. And she did understand, in the end. He had set things straight with her one night when they were alone in his mansion. They were standing outside on the balcony, watching the sunset, both leaning on the railing.

Mezhgan turned and kissed him firmly on the lips. Simon didn't respond for a moment as Mezhgan continued to manipulate his mouth. Finally regaining some composure, he pushed her away gently, "Wait Mish."

"What?"

"I just- I need to talk to you about our wedding plans.” He paused there, waiting to hear a response from her, but she only stared at him. He continued, “I think that we should wait is all."

"Haven't we waited enough? Simey, come on, it’s just a wedding. You’re not getting cold feet, are you...?" She placed her hands on his hips, smiling up at him with a sparkle in her eye.

"I just want us to take our time and I’m busy with X-Factor in the United States. I need to concentrate on that, but on you as well. That’s why I think it’s best if we wait."

"Are you breaking up with me?" she asked, beginning to get impatient. Simon didn't respond so Mezhgan continued, "I haven't changed, Simey. I'm still the same girl I was a year ago."

"But I'm not. I've changed, majorly. I made a promise to myself that I would never get married, but when it came to you… things were different. I love you, I honestly do. I just want to make sure that I’m making the right decision." He didn't look her in the eye as he said this. ‘If it was Paula, she would just understand, she wouldn't try and push me... But this is Mezhgan, a love interest, not your best friend Paula….’

Mezhgan stared up at him with no expression at all.

"Just give me some time," he finished quietly still looking down at his feet.

"Okay, I guess... I understand. Your work comes first and I come second. That’s how it’s always been, that’s how it’ll always be." And with that she turned and walked passed him, leaving Simon out on the balcony with no thoughts in mind.

He sighed loudly, not sure whether he made the right decision or not.

That was the only fight they had shared. And it wasn’t really a fight, it was a disagreement. But Mezhgan did understand and she waited with him for their wedding. Simon could see she was acting differently around him, but he made no intention to address her about it. He continued on with his work and so did she. They would wait another year and that was it… case closed.

It was now July of 2011 and Simon had been making more visits to America due to his show X-Factor, which would air in September of 2011. He was walking along the streets of California, planning to meet up with his fiancée for a nice, lunch at the Beso Restaurant.

He stopped short when a huge group of paparazzi were surrounding him, asking a handful of question. Simon only wavered them off and continued to walk to the entrance of the restaurant, hoping the group would leave him alone. Just as the door was opened for him, the one person, in the paparazzi group, shouted, “Its Paula Abdul!”

The huge group of paparazzi ran to the limo that parked alongside the sidewalk, crowding the car door. Simon’s heart was racing. He hadn’t seen or spoken to Paula in… over a year. As bad as that sounded, it was the truth. He had been busy, she had been busy. They had their own lives. He tried to peek over the huge group, but wasn’t successful in seeing her.

Once the car door opened, flashes were taken everywhere that even from the distance where Simon was standing, he was going blind. He wanted to go over there and greet her, perhaps even save her from the paparazzi, but his feet wouldn’t move. He was too nervous… but of what?

The paparazzi were asking her all kinds of questions, but when Paula’s guard pushed their way through the paparazzi crowd, Paula was rushed into the restaurant, not even noticing Simon’s presence due to the immense crowd. He felt invisible, especially compared to her. He had only caught a glimpse of her, but just from that simple glimpse, she looked beautiful. She was always beautiful.

“Sir, are you going in?” the doorman asked.

Simon only nodded his head and slowly walked in. His eyes immediately scanned for Paula, but she was nowhere in sight. He sighed loudly, but was interrupted when the waitress told him that his fiancée notified them.

The waitress said, “She’s going to be a little late, but she said you can start to order without her.” Simon took off his sunglasses and shrugged his shoulders, but thanked the waitress. “Your table is over here, I’ll take you.”

He followed the waitress, still searching the whole restaurant for that particular, tiny, brunette, woman. But still, she was nowhere in sight. “Here you are, Mr. Cowell,” the waitress told him. Again, he thanked her and took his seat. He gave his order for a drink and patiently waited for his fiancée to show up.

There were many familiar faces in the restaurant, but not the one he so desperately wanted to talk to. He took a sip of his water and rested his head on his hand, while his finger tapped against the table. He was getting a bit impatient.

When all seemed hopeless, he heard a laugh. Not just any laugh… her laugh. He turned around in his seat and saw a clear view of her just a few feet away. She was with a waiter, being brought to her table obviously. And as she followed the waiter, her chocolate brown eyes came in contact with his own dark brown eyes.

She stopped and a small smile began to slowly fade onto her face. Her silky brown hair was let down in soft curls and she was wearing a simple dress that made her look stunning. She wore her jewelry, making her sparkle and he could smell her from his seat. Vanilla…

“Paula,” he smiled.

She walked closed the distance between them and softly said, "Simon."

"Bloody hell, Paula..." he said, looking her up and down and then gazing at her.

She blushed and looked towards the ground, "I can’t believe it’s you... it’s been so long." She then wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly as though she never wanted to let go. Simon chuckled and closed his arms around her, giving her a tight squeeze. Just like old times. He never wanted to let go.

When she pulled away, she remained in the same spot and Simon blushed a bit as he looked up to meet her eyes, "Um yeah... it’s been over a year.”

"Yeah, but you look the same, you haven’t changed one bit, Si," she told him. She raised her hand and stroked his cheek, smiling so wide up at him.

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat, very loudly, and interrupted the two. Paula immediately took her hand off of Simon and turned around only to a man, standing next to the waiter who was bringing her to the table. Paula’s eyes lit up and a huge smile began to spread across her face. She ran up to the man, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

Simon was at an utter loss of words. He watched the two smiling at each other as they got into a small conversation of their own. She looked so happy… beyond happy. ‘I guess life has been great for her,’ Simon thought. He had never seen the man before, but Simon did not like him one bit. Then again, when did he ever like Paula’s boyfriends? Who said boyfriend though? He was getting ahead of himself.

“Simon,” Paula walked back over to Simon, hand-in-hand with the charming man. “This is John, John Stamos, he’s-”

“We’ve been dating for almost a year, but I’m sure you already know about that,” John interrupted with a wink. “And I already know who you are, Mr. Nasty,” he laughed. He held out his hand for Simon to shake.

Simon tried his best to put on a smile for the man, whom he never heard of. “Pleasure,” Simon replied dully.

Paula noticed Simon’s different expression. She could tell something was not right, and she had a good guess at what it was. “John, why don’t you go to our table, I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Sure thing, sweetheart,” John smiled. “It was nice meeting you, Simon. I’ve heard a lot about you.” John patted Simon on the back and then softly laughed, “Don’t worry, they weren’t all bad things. See you around.” He then left Simon and Paula alone, as the waiter took John to the reserved table.

After much silence, Simon spoke up in a quiet voice. "So John Stamos?"

"What about John?"

"Well, didn't you two used to date?"

"Years ago..."

"Paula, I just don’t think he is-"

"No, Simon... I know what you’re going to say… so just don’t," she said simply looking him in the eyes. Simon looked back at her about ready to speak when he felt two arms circle around his waist.

"Simon!" Mezhgan called as she kept her arms tight around his waist. Simon kept his eyes on Paula, who simply turned away and stared down at her hands. "It's been so long," she whispered into his ear.

"It's been two weeks, Mish," he responded with a laugh. She was about to retort when she caught sight of Paula standing closely behind them.

"God, Paula!" she threw her arms around Paula in a similar fashion. She let go a lot sooner and then stood back to look at her, "You don’t look a day over twenty-five! How have you been?"

"Thanks, I’ve been good…" Paula replied quietly. “I umm… I should get going, though.” She needed to leave as she couldn’t bear to see his arms around another woman. It was too much, it hurt too much.

She waved at the couple before her and turned around, holding her breath. Just before she was about to turn around the corner, someone caught her hand. “Wait, Paula...” She slowly turned her head around and saw Simon staring back at her. “Will you… will you come by later today? Perhaps tonight?” There was a short pause, but then he continued. “I miss you.”

Paula only smiled softly and nodded. And with no words spoken from her, she pulled her hand away gently and walked to her table, leaving Simon standing there… not wanting to go back to his fiancée, knowing that Paula Abdul, the most beautiful woman, was present in the room.

--Something Like Fate--

It was a quarter after nine at night and it was raining uncontrollably outside. Paula had just parked her car outside Simon’s mansion house. She had much hesitation. She knew this was wrong to be here at Simon’s house… but it felt right. It wouldn’t be wrong if they just talked… just talk, nothing else. Paula kept that in mind and with a final deep breath, she grabbed her purse and made a dash to the front door.

She slowly raised her hand to ring the doorbell, but before she could even press her finger on it, the door swung open. She felt arms encircle around her waist and pull her through the door entrance, closing the door from behind.

“I was starting to wonder if you weren’t going to come,” Simon said quietly.

“Now why would I lead you on like that?” Paula winked and then pulled out of his arms. She swayed her hips as she placed her purse on the table, and then turned around. Paula felt a chill rush through her and Simon noticed. He offered to make some tea and she gladly accepted. They both went into his kitchen area where he put the kettle on the stove and then they waited for the water to boil.

“So why’d you invite me over, Simon?”

“I miss you. I thought I made that clear enough.”

Paula only laughed as she began to take off her coat, revealing the same outfit she was wearing earlier that day. “Are you sure that’s it? It’s not about John?”

Simon continued to look at her, admiring her beauty, "About John?"

Paula looked up to him and furrowed her eyebrows, "Yes, John… my boyfriend.”

He shrugged, "I have no comment." He began to take the kettle off the stove and poured the hot water into two mugs. Then he reached for two packets of tea in a tiny wood box, he placed the tea packets into the mugs of hot water and began mixing.

Paula rolled her eyes at him before responding, "Are you serious?”

A few moments passed before Simon said, "Well, I mean… I don’t have a right to comment, to make a judgment. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy for you."

"Really?" she replied automatically.

“Really, really, sweetheart,” Simon reassured her with that charming smile of his. Paula stared at him with a light smile before turning around to tend to the tea. She poured two cups and put three lumps of sugar in Simon’s. "Thanks," he said as he took the cup.

Paula nodded, and pulled herself up on the counter so her legs were dangling over the edge. "So what about you?" she asked after they both had a few sips of tea.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," she looked over at him with a sardonic expression, much like the one he had given her earlier.

"Well...” he sighed. “I’ve been quite busy with my projects and work that I pushed the wedding off for a bit. My job comes first, everyone knows that.” He finished with a shrug of his shoulders, and looking down into his murky tea.

"So I’ve heard," Paula replied and then took a sip of her tea. “Sounds like you were getting cold feet.”

"What?" he asked with genuine confusion.

"Cold feet,” she said once more. “I mean… C’mon, Simon, you never were one to support commitment, at least marriage. And then you rushed into engagement…” Once her eyes met his, she regretted saying the words that she had spoken. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to judge.”

He only laughed, “You have much experience in it." He began to stir his tea again with the spoon and spoke, “I guess, maybe I was getting a bit scared… I realized that I was diving into this relationship at a fast pace. But it was only because of my age. I’m not growing any younger, Paula. I’m fifty-one years old now, going onto fifty-two."

"Well, on a brighter note, she looks crazy in love with you. She had her arms all over you when she walked into the restaurant today,” Paula commented, seeing what his reaction would be.

To her surprise he blushed, "I really don’t like all that attention in public, and she knows that, but she does it anyway. She loves the cameras," he rolled his eyes.

Paula looked at him as if studying him. Her stomach couldn't help but twist into knots when she heard him say that. There was a long silence between the two as they sat quietly just drinking their tea. From minute to minute, he would glance at her and then she would smile back. It was a comfortable silence.

"You know, it's been a while," he muttered timidly, finally raising his eyes to stare into hers intensely.

Paula sighed, "Simon-"

"Since we've talked like this. That's all I meant, honestly." He moved forward, and right when Paula thought he was going to move between her legs he took a step to the side to put his now empty cup in the sink.

"Yeah... it has been a while since we've talked," she confirmed softly, not looking at him as he looked up from the sink so he was facing very closely to her.

"I've missed you, Paula."

Paula sighed, 'Do not do this to me Simon Cowell... not after I've tried so hard to forget you...'

"Simon..."

"What? I have missed you- I'm not going to take that back... I'm not going to lie to you," he finished moving between her legs and placing his hands softly on her thighs.

Paula looked down into his eyes for a while before shaking her head, "Si-"

"Tell me that you haven't missed me," he challenged huskily, moving his hands under her thighs and pulling her closer.

Paula continued to shake her head.

"Tell me," urged Simon. He knew he'd stop if he heard her say that she'd forgotten about what they'd shared and didn't miss it. "You're my best friend, Paula," he continued in a gentler tone, "You're the only person I can share what I'm feeling with... and I know what I'm feeling right now. Just tell me that you haven't missed me and I'll back off."

Paula looked into his eyes, "I can't do that," she whispered with a bated breath.

Simon continued to pull her closer until their noses were touching, "Didn't think so," he muttered before closing the distance and kissing her.

She kissed him back, even though she was still battling with herself whether this was right or wrong. After a few moments of gentle kissing, Paula didn't want to think about it anymore. She wrapped one arm around Simon’s neck and the other took to the back of his head to run through his soft hair. Running her tongue over Simon’s bottom lip, she was granted access instantly. Simon moaned into the back of his throat, eliciting a similar moan from Paula. He moved his hands under Paula’s short dress as it was being hiked up her body. He began to re-familiarize himself with her body.

After kissing in the kitchen for a few moments, they both agreed that they needed to move to some place more comfortable. Without warning, Simon grabbed her bum and hoisted her up so that her legs could wrap around his waist. Paula’s lips attached themselves to his neck as Simon maneuvered his way down the hall and into the bedroom.

When they were finally on the bed, Simon wasted no time in slipping his shirt off and unbuttoning his pants and kicking them off into a faraway corner. Paula was on the bed, also about to pull her dress over her head when Simon stopped her by grabbing her hand and slowly moving on top of her. He kissed her hungrily and started to teasingly run his fingers underneath the hem of her dress.

"Simon..." she whimpered, wanting him to hurry.

"Shh, patience, luv," he whispered against her lips before moving down to her neck to suck lightly on her sensitive spot.

Paula clutched at his back as he repeatedly ran his warm mouth over her throat. Finally, he pulled her dress up and over her head and threw it in the corner his pants were in. He smiled as he noticed that she wasn't wearing a bra and automatically bent down to give her breasts attention.

"Simon..." she whimpered again after a few minutes of her hips bucking against him. He grinned. Simon knew what she wanted and yet he couldn't help but tease her a bit.

"Yes?" he asked innocently as he released her nipple from his mouth.

"You know I love what you're doing, but seriously... it’s been too long... can we speed this up?" She had the grace to blush at her words but that didn't undermine what she really did want right now.

"You want it now?" he asked slyly, kissing behind her ear and then down her neck.

"Yes," she gasped as his hand travelled down her stomach and pressed against her aching womanhood.

"Right now?" he teased again, now slipping off her lace knickers.

"Simon!" she said clearly irritated.

By that time Simon had gotten rid of his boxers and was looming over Paula with smug look, "I don't like your tone, sweetheart."

"Simon, I swear- oh..."

Simon took the opportunity to push into her unexpectedly. She clawed at his back as he wasted no time thrusting in and out of her with a fast pace. Simon gripped her hip with one hand and supported his weight from crushing her with the other. Paula’s legs wrapped themselves tighter around Simon, urging him forward.

"God... Paula..." Simon panted as sweat dripped from his forehead and fell on her bare chest.

Paula could feel herself tighten around him as he continued to drive into her, pushing her over the edge. She grasped his shoulders desperately and threw her head back as a racking orgasm over took her body. She moaned out Simon’s name, causing Simon to also be pushed over the edge. He pumped into her a few more times for what it was worth before finally collapsing on top of her in a sweaty, spent mess. He buried his head into the crook of her shoulder and lay there for a few minutes, immobile and on top of her. "Can you breathe okay?" he rasped out once the silence was over bearing.

He could feel her nod and wrap a loose arm over his neck.

"Good, 'cause I'm not moving," he spoke again in the same voice. Simon pulled the comforter to lay over them and after a few moments of heavy breathing, they both fell into a deep slumber.