It All Comes Together

It wasn’t supposed to happen. And I knew it. I hadn’t seen him in so long… Two years in fact. He was my ex-boyfriend, and for a reason. So this year, senior year, I had expected to finish school and go off to college, find some fantastic new boyfriend and go on to do whatever. At least, those were my plans. Before he came back, that is. He stepped in those auditorium doors and I knew something was going to happen, even despite his current ‘circumstances.’

Today was tryouts for the last school play I’d ever see or participate in. As much as I didn’t want to be in it because of what it was we were doing, I knew the experience would do me good, especially if I got lead role like I was trying out for. After all, I do plan to major in drama once I get out of this school. If by some odd sort of miracle, you were unable to guess, we are doing that classic, sappy play that everyone but me is so fond of: Romeo and Juliet. Yes I read it in freshmen year just like everyone else. And I hated every second of it.

I buried my hands in my face as I felt him sit down in a seat behind me. What killed me was that while he had been away to Europe, Asia or wherever it was he’d gone to and left me, he’d only gotten better looking. And believe me, he’d been an eye catcher before he went away. His dark brown hair was longer now and it fell into his chocolate eyes, making them stand out. And he’d gotten taller. Talk about your old saying, tall dark and handsome.

I almost jumped out of my skin when he leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “Hey Tami.” I did release a soft gasp though; his breath was ghosting across my neck.

I whirled around in my seat to meet his brown eyes with my gray ones, putting on my best ‘I-hate-you’ look. “What?”

“How’ve you been?” he asked innocently enough. “Without me, that is,” he added, a smirk growing on his perfect lips… I mean lips. Just lips. They were far from perfect. Really.

“Just fine, thank you,” I snapped, glaring at him with all my might.

“Ouch! Honey, that hurt,” he mocked, feigning a pained expression while holding a hand to his heart.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure it did.”

With that said, I turned back around, choosing to ignore him. I blew my dark red bangs out of my eyes and concentrated on the person who was currently auditioning. I sighed. This play was turning out to be so much more trouble than it was really worth. The guy walked off the stage looking defeated. Once the stage was cleared and someone yelled out, ‘next,’ I felt him get up behind me. I was about to have a mini celebration when I saw him walk towards the now empty stage.

“No… fucking… way…” I breathed, unable to control my anger at the sight of him trying out for lead role.

I punched the seat in front of me in my frustration, causing the girl sitting in it to look back at me. I offered her a sheepish smile and a small apology before sinking into my seat. Someone had to have told him I was trying out. I closed my eyes, refusing to even watch his audition. I found one of my eyes cracking open just to see if he was even any good. After about thirty seconds, both eyes were opened as well as my ears. I’d no idea he was so… so good! And then my stomach plunged. That bastard actually made me consider screwing my lines up so I wouldn’t have to perform with him.

For a week after those auditions, he hadn’t stopped bugging me. You know, calling, IMing, texting, the whole deal. It was really starting to piss me off. The list of who’d gotten what part was due to be posed today after school and I had already planned on staying to check it out. Unfortunately, I could only assume that he’d be doing the same. Forcing a big smile, I maneuvered the busy halls all the way to my Spanish class.

Much to my surprise, the day seemed to have passed a great deal faster than I could’ve anticipated. Time for the moment of truth. Part of me hoped that I hadn’t gotten the role just because there was a good chance that he’d snagged Romeo’s part and I sure as hell didn’t want to act with him, especially if I was to play his lover. I approached the door where the list was posted cautiously, turning my head to see if he was anywhere in the premises. He was no where in sight. I crossed my fingers and scanned the list, easily finding my name for Juliet’s part. I refused to celebrate until I was sure that he hadn’t gotten Romeo. So my eyes jumped up to Romeo and my worst nightmare came true. I almost cried.

There was his name. Taylor. And my heart sunk once more.

I closed my eyes and sighed deeply, counting backwards from ten. Some people said that it was supposed to help you calm down. They obviously haven’t ever tested that theory. I walked away, aware that he might be turning a corner to come look at the list too. Gee, now I almost wanted to drop the part…

Today was the first rehearsal. And it was a about to turn into a major disaster; I could tell. We were just about to move onto whatever Mr. Walken, our director, wanted. He was scanning the script with intense eyes and I dreaded to hear what he was going to force us to do next.

“Okay,” he finally said. “Let’s start with the scene where Romeo first meet Juliet at the Capulet party.”

Taylor smirked, his eyes straying to me. I chose to roll my own eyes in his direction before I looked away. I moved to my position on the stage while Mr. Walken gave a brief description to get us going.

“Where we’re starting, Romeo doesn’t yet know Juliet’s name, but he’s seen her. Tybalt spots him and has an encounter with Capulet in which he’s told to calm down and then Romeo approaches Juliet. This is where we shall start,” he told us.

Taylor moved closer to me until he could entwine his fingers with mine. I felt my breath quicken and I silently berated myself.

“If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this, my lips, to blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss,” he read perfectly, his voice soft and sultry.

“Good pilgrim,” I began, my own voice a touch mocking, “you do wrong your hand to much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; for saints have hands that pilgrims hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.”

His hands pressed flat against mine, palm to palm. “Have not saints lips, and holy palmers’ too?”

“Aye pilgrim,” I whispered, my breath catching, “lips that they must use in prayer.”

“Oh, then dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn them despair.” His face was inching closer to mine and my breathing was beyond controlling.

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake…” My eyes wanted to close and I knew I was helpless to stop them when he read his few last line.

“Then move not,” he murmured, his breath ghosting across my lips, “while my prayer’s effect I take. Thus from my lips by thine sin is purg’d.”

His lips softly brushed mine with the faintest of pressures, reminding me all at once of our past. All the sweet kisses and loving hugs filled with longing, those muted whispers and gentle caresses. He broke the contact after a moment and it took me a second to remember that I had lines to read.

“Then have my lips the sin that they have took,” I uttered out.

“Sin from my lips?” he asked, a small smile playing on the lips I had just kissed. “Oh trespass sweetly urg’d! Give me my sin again.”

He leaned in again, his mouth capturing mine once more. My brain shut down mid-protest as his left hand gripped my hip, his right still clasping mine. My own free hand made its way up to tangle in his fine hair. We separated slowly and he paused to suckle on my bottom lip before releasing it.

“You-you kiss by the book,” I managed to remember; my script lay forgotten on the stage along with his where I’d dropped it when I got lost in the intensity of his kiss.

And eruption of clapping drowned out the nurse’s lines and Mr. Walken cheered. He’d risen to his feet and something in his face told me that he was extremely pleased with his choices for Romeo and Juliet. I backed away from Taylor, suddenly registering everything that had taken place. Anger flared up in me, but it was mostly self directed. Oh, that’s not to say I wasn’t mad at him for taking such liberties on stage, of course. Although, I’d gotten caught up in the feelings again. And that bothered me. What we had was over. Dead.

Mr. Walken was saying something, but I wasn’t really paying attention. Taylor had moved away from me in the time I was trying to recover myself. I sighed deeply when rehearsal was pronounced over. I hopped off the stage, landing neatly on my feet with my knees bent slightly. I sprung up and grabbed my bag before I raced out the door.

I went inside, answering my mom’s questions with affirmative noises, before retiring to my room with the excuse of being tired. I fell face first on my bed after I dropped my bags on the floor. I groaned into my pillow in distress, wondering how I was going to survive this play. If one kiss could turn me into such a wreck, I dreaded to see what the rest of this play was going to do to me. If I thought hard enough, I could almost feel his lips on mine. My eyes that had previously been shut in my exhaustion, flew open at the thought. Then I found myself shaking my head vehemently into the pillow.

This was all I needed. To be so caught up in the past after the way we ended… It just wasn’t fair. I’m sure he was home, laughing about how silly I was acting around him. I refused to ever get caught up with him again. It brought to much pain. I felt my eyes watering and I blinked furiously, urging them to disappear, which they did after a few dozen blinks. He’d broken me once and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him have the pleasure of doing it again.

I yawned and cuddled further into my pillow. Just a small nap… I thought sleepily. Then I’d get up to go eat something. My eyes fell shut again and I dropped off…

I sat up with a start as someone pushed my hair away from my face with warm fingers. I stared up and my eyes found the person that the fingers belonged to. I found it hard to continue breathing when I saw who it was.

“Hey,” he cooed, shushing my soft protests. “I have something to tell you…”

I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I felt my bed sank in a little as he lowered himself onto it. His hand cupped my cheek and he smiled sadly.

“Tami… I… God, you know I love you so much…” he muttered, placing his head on my shoulder. I found my hand coming up to cradle his head while my other arm hugged him to me. “But… I have to go away for a while.”

“Wh-What?” I asked, not fully understanding.

“I’m leaving. Tomorrow,” he clarified, wrapping his arms around me. “For Europe.”

“Why-Why…?” I couldn’t even string a coherent sentence together.

He cringed against me. “I… I can’t tell you,” he finally mumbled.

My arms fell away from him and he brought his head up to look at me. My face was filled with shock and disbelief. He was leaving and he couldn’t even give me a good reason as to why. I pushed him away.

“Tami,” he started, grabbing my shoulders, “please. I just… I have some things to work out with my parents.”

“In Europe?” I asked skeptically.

“I… You’re right… I should’ve never kept it from you,” he muttered.

“Kept what from me?” I asked fearfully.

“Tami…” he started, lowering his head towards the ground. “I-I’m engaged…” he confessed.

I couldn’t find the words to respond. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. My tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth and I was inclined to think it would stay that way.

“I have been,” he continued to admit, his quiet voice filling the silence. “I… I’m technically required to go through with it, but-”

I didn’t let him finish. I jerked out of his hold and did the only thing I could. I ran. Tears flooded my eyes as I ran into the darkness, desperate to get away. It enveloped me invitingly and I welcomed it, reveling in it even. How…? I kept asking myself. Why would he even consider being with me if he’d already known that he was…? It was beyond my comprehension. I was still running in no particular direction when the tears became too many and blinded me….

I sat up for the second time, drenched in sweat in tears. It was just a dream… Only a dream… I took a shaky breath and kicked my blanket off. I looked at my glowing digital clock. 5:42. My mom and sister had probably long since ate dinner without me, figuring I’d eat something later. I head out to the bathroom across the hall to wash my face; I was sure it was a mess after the fitful nap I’d taken.

I had been nearly a year since I’d replayed our last night together. It was the reason I wasn’t allowed to lose myself in this professional situation. It was a high school play. Nothing more. After all, I hadn’t seen him in so long… Surely his fiancée was living with him by now, awaiting his graduation so they could be wed. My mind nagged at me though. If that was true, why wasn’t she too finishing school with him? I sighed, letting my thoughts drop before I confused myself again.

The time passed slowly, almost as if it was teasing me. I sighed, waiting for Mr. Walken to announce the end of rehearsal. I was eager to get out without having to do a scene with only me and Taylor.

“Alright,” he finally stood and said. “I was hoping to get the balcony scene in, but it appears that I’m out of time. I have to go, but I have a request.”

I raised an eyebrow, dreading what he was about to say.

“Romeo, Juliet,” he gestured to both of us before going on, “is it possible for both of you to stay here and practice it? Just the two of you?”

I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard, but it certainly didn’t stop my tongue from lashing out in the politest way possible.

“Excuse me,” I started. “Mr. Walken, I have a doctor’s appointment.”

“When is it?” he immediately asked.

“Uh, like, one,” I lied. I knew perfectly well that my doctor’s appointment wasn’t even scheduled for today, but rather for tomorrow.

“Tami,” Taylor spoke up. “It’s only noon. If you want, we could have a couple of tries then I could take you up to the doctors.”

“That sounds like a grand idea,” Mr. Walken beamed.

I almost gagged. The one day my car refuses to start…Mr. Walken had already left after bidding us a quick good luck. The rest of them said their good-byes, not wishing to waste their Saturday afternoon’s away in an auditorium. Taylor advanced a few steps and for every step he took forward, I took one back until I hit the wall. I looked back and forth between the wall and his rapidly approaching figure. It took me a second, but I eventually noticed the stupid ladder meant for me to use when I needed to get up to the makeshift balcony.

“Wh-what do you want?” I demanded.

“You,” he said simply, climbing the fake tree as if he really were Romeo. That only made me more frustrated.

“Well I’m off limits. Go home to your fiancee!” I told him.

He blinked a few times as if in shock before he burst out into hysterical laughter. “Fiancee?” he repeated. “Tami, Tami, Tami.”

“What’s so funny?”

“Tami, I’m a free man now.”

“Wha-? How?”

“I walked out. Broke the engagement,” he said, leaning forward to grasp my hand.

“Taylor… Why…” was all I could utter.

“For you. I still love you,” he said.

I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if I could speak. My tongue was glued to the roof and it didn’t seem like it wanted to unstuck itself anytime soon… A rush of things ran wild through my head, most of them screaming, “Kiss him, moron!” I clenched his hand.

“Taylor… I,” I took a deep breath, “never got over you…” I confessed dabbing at my wet eyes with my free hand.

He leapt the distance between the balcony and the tree until he was next to me. He kissed my tears away, murmuring things I couldn’t understand. When my face was dry to his satisfaction, his lips met mine more passionately than they had earlier in rehearsal. His tongue pressed against the seem of my lips and my jaw opened obediently. His tongue caressed mine in a way that could be deemed sinful making a small noise fall from my covered lips. His hands held my shoulders and then slid down my arms all the way to my hands until our fingers were entwined once more.

His mouth came away from mine and he placed burning kisses all over my face and down to my neck. I longed to wrap my arms around his neck and hold him to me, but he refused to let go. I tugged again and he finally let one hand free. Almost immediately after he’d set it free, I had it threaded through his fine hair. I mumbled nonsense as his own hand pulled at the strap of my tank top. He delicately nipped at him collarbone and I rolled my head back, baring my neck to him as I basked in the sensations.

He eased me to the ground slowly and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in his lap. I could feel his member straining against his pants and butterflies sprung up in my tummy. He pressed closer, further deepening the contact. I whimpered faintly and I felt him smirk as he started to remove my shirt. His other hand freed itself from mine to help in the task of pulling my shirt up over my head. I wondered if I was truly ready for this. My fingers flickered to the patch on my lower tummy. His hand covered mine and I looked up at him.

“Only if you’re sure,” he said softly, dusting a gentle kiss on my lips.

Was I…? Was I truly ready to give myself up to the man that I had dedicated two years of my life hating? To a man that I had only just straightened things out with…?

I nodded. I was. “Yes…”

Fire rekindled in his eyes and he kissed me again. His hands skimmed my outline until he got to the flare of my breasts. I stifled a small moan as he squeezed them firmly. My hands draped over his, urging him not to move them from where they’d stopped. He let out a breathy laugh and skirted his hands up and under my bra. His thumb flicked over my nipple and this time I couldn’t suppress the needy little moan that sprang up in the back of my throat. He grinned and pulled away briefly in order to take my bra off. It landed on the floor silently and his mouth was over one aching peak before I knew what was happening. My hands were holding his head to my chest as his tongue circled my nipple with slow suction. His fingers tugged at my skirt and I found myself not caring as his mouth somehow managed to stay where I was holding it. As it came free, it followed the same path the rest of my clothes had.

He rubbed my inner thighs with his warm fingers and I started letting out small sounds I hadn’t known a woman could make. His tongue swirled around my nipple one last time before he lifted his head. He had a radiant smile on his face that could’ve outshone the sun. His fingers moved away and I stared at him as if asking why. He merely grinned and took my lips with his again. I felt his fingers continue their trek down towards my aching mound. My own fingers stole to his belt, working it open as fast as my shaky fingers would allow. His own fingers almost stopped when his mind registered just what it was that they were doing. Almost. He let me do as I pleased while he pulled at my panties. It wasn’t long till they were sent falling to the floor where the rest of my clothes were making a nice pile. Skilled digits carefully probed my slick folds and I found my body shivering in anticipation of its own accord.

“Oh… God!” I spat out, throwing my head back.

His lips attacked my bared neck while his fingers continued their relentless assault of rubbing and tweaking on my bulb of pleasure. My hands had long since forgotten their journey and instead come to rest on his back. His clothed back. I clumsily tore at his shirt, feeling the need to have his skin pressed against mine. I pushed my hands flat against his hot back. I added more pressure and eventually dug my nails into his smooth back as he brought me to a climax. I screamed, fuzzily hoping that there was no one in the aud to hear it but him. Before I had even recovered, he was naked and on top of me.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” I gasped out, wrapping my long legs around him, hoping to draw him into me.

He groaned and buried himself in me, causing me to shriek at the feeling of completion he gave me. I held him closer as he started to move in a steady rhythm. I tried to match his pace, but all I managed to do was drive him deeper. His pace had increased quickly as our need grew higher. Climax took my by surprise and I spasmodically cried out his name. After a few more hard thrusts, he emptied himself into me. We were both sweaty, panting, and trying to pull oxygen into our air deprived lungs when he pulled out of me.

He wrapped his arms around me, holding me gently. “I love you,” he murmured, pressing a tender kiss to my temple.

“Yea,” I whispered in turn. “I love you too…”

“Hello? Is anyone in here?”

I felt my heart stop in my chest and Taylor froze in my embrace.

“Heeeelllllo? Talyor? Tami?”

I fumbled around for my clothes as Taylor did likewise as quietly as possible. I shoved my legs into my skirt and pulled it back up my hips while I sat on the floor, praying the person would leave and never find us as I yanked my shirt on. I peeked out after I was appropriate and sighed in relief to find no one in sight. Seeing my now smiling face, Taylor pulled me back down into his arms.

“Good,” he breathed. “Now I have you all to myself again.”

I laughed at that, turning around in his hug to kiss him. Everything was as it should be… And I was never letting him go again.

Owari

a/n: as stupid as the ending was, feedback is always greatly appreciated....