derevkointraining
Cadet
hehe, okay, guys, they met like, the day before. But if you think they're moving to slow.. just you wait until the fic goes on....
In the Blink of an Eye
- Thread starter derevkointraining
- Start date
hehe, okay, guys, they met like, the day before. But if you think they're moving to slow.. just you wait until the fic goes on....
derevkointraining
Cadet
Welcome new readers!
Here is Friday's chapter. I'm posting early b/c I won't be around later on. Enjoy.
Recap:
“I had a really great time today, Michael. I’m glad you decided to stare at me at the pool yesterday. I should get go…”
Michael cut me off with a finger to my lips. “Why don’t you stay?” I gave him a suspicious glance. “JUST to sleep…I promise.” He grinned. “I’m not ready to say goodbye to you yet. You’re so…special.”
Chapter 3:
I smiled shyly and looked into his eyes. His words pushed me over the edge. “All right. I don’t have to be at work until eleven tomorrow anyway.” Taking his hand, I followed him into the room. He threw me a pair of lacrosse shorts and t-shirt.
“Here…you can use these tonight. Clean, I promise.” I smiled and went into the bathroom to change and rinse off my face. When I emerged, I found him in his boxers and t-shirt sitting on the bed flipping through TV channels.
He looked at me and grinned. I had rolled the waist on the shorts a few times and his shirt hung loosely on my thin frame. “You look cute,” he said, casually.
I returned the grin and slid into the bed next to him. We watched some television before exhaustion set in.
“Well, Syd. You really opened my eyes about fun in Las Vegas when you are under 21.”
“Just doing my job as a local. I’m glad you had fun. What time do you have to meet your parents tomorrow?”
“Ten. My mom said I owe them some family time since I disappeared today.”
“Oh, Michael…I’m sorry for cutting into your family trip.”
“Are you kidding? Today was better than anything on this trip would have been.” He yawned. “Thanks again, Sydney.” He slid down and lay back against his pillow.
“Anytime…” I whispered, lightly kissed his forehead and curled into him. “Don’t get attached, Sydney. Rule number one as a local…do not fall in love with tourists…” I thought to myself before drifting off. Chris had drilled that rule into my head a month ago and I was dangerously close to breaking that rule.
~~~
Morning came and I woke up around eight. I glanced over and saw that Michael was still in a deep sleep. I considered slipping out before he woke up to spare myself the chore of saying goodbye to someone I felt I really clicked with, yet had no chance with since he was only in town a few days. However, ignoring Chris’ warning, I went with my heart and knew I had to say goodbye.
“Michael,” I whispered, lightly shaking his arm. “Michael, wake up.”
He groaned. “What time is it?”
“It’s 8:15.”
“Go back to sleep till nine.” I giggled softly.
“I should really get back home. I’m not the one on vacation this week…” He rolled over to look in my eyes and sighed.
“I wish you could hang out more,” he said, bringing his hand up to stroke my cheek.
I felt her heart melting and knew I was past the point of attachment. “Me too. How much longer are you here?”
“All day today and tomorrow. We leave Friday morning.”
I sighed. “I work both of those days, but I usually take my breaks at the pool or hang around there until I have to be at work. Call me sometime and maybe we can meet up before you leave.”
“I will. I promise.” I smiled down at him and lightly kissed him before slipping out of the bed and retreating to the bathroom to put my clothes on from the day before. Upon exiting the bathroom, I put the clothes I borrowed from Michael on the bed and smiled at him again.
“Bye, Michael.” I slid out the door before he could say anything else and once in the hallway, leaned against the wall. “What am I doing? How could I have let myself get so attached?”
Back in the room, Michael was still sitting in bed, thinking about Sydney. Never in his life since he started dating girls did he feel such a strong attachment to one particular person, especially after only one day. But he knew he had to see her again.
>o<
As it turned out, I happened to have the dinner shift on Thursday, meaning I didn’t have to report to the restaurant until 4:00 p.m. I called Michael during my break on Wednesday and left him a message saying I’d be at the pool from around ten in the morning until at least three in the afternoon.
At ten the next morning, I made my way to the MGM pool and looked around before settling in a chair to make sure Michael was not there. Feeling a bit disappointed, I sat down and spread my stuff on the chair next to me to ensure it stayed empty in case he came.
Half an hour later, I was getting restless. I was SURE he’d want to see me again. “How could I have misread someone that much?” I thought grumpily and tried to concentrate on a magazine I had open on my lap. Giving up, I shut my eyes and tried to enjoy my free time before work.
“I think I like the black one better…” a voice penetrated my thoughts about 15 minutes later. Slowly, I opened one eye to see a grinning Michael Vaughn staring down at me. A smile spread across my face.
“What’s wrong with the red bikini?”
“I just think black is more your color,” he replied in a teasing tone and leaned down to give me a kiss. “Sorry I am late. I had to eat breakfast with the whole family and don’t be surprised if some of them show up here later. I’m assuming this chair is for me, by the way,” he said, pointing to her stuff on the empty chair.
“Yep,” I said, hastily removing my belongings. “I’m just glad you made it.”
“I wouldn’t miss the chance to see you again for anything in the world.”
We spent the rest of the morning relaxing on the chairs and grabbed some burgers at the poolside bar for lunch. Afterwards we played in the water, taking turns splashing each other and trying to dunk the other person under the water, all the while stealing an occasional kiss. 3:00 p.m. came way to quickly for both of us and before we knew it, Michael was watching me gather my things to go get ready for work.
“Why don’t you come use the shower in my room instead of the clubhouse here? It will be cleaner, and more private. Plus I’d get that much more time with you.” He gave me puppy dog eyes.
I laughed. “Okay, sure. But I really do have to get ready for work.”
“I know. Let’s go,” he grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the pool. Laughing, we ran through the hotel and up to his room where I took an incredibly fast shower and put on my work attire. When I was ready, Michael embraced me and pulled me into his lap as he sat on the bed.
“Thank you for making my vacation so much more tolerable. I only wish I didn’t have to leave you. Can I call you?”
“Of course. That is, if you have time for me in between your classes and hockey and girls that will be throwing themselves at you back in Washington State.”
“Girls, right.”
“I’m serious. You’ll probably forget all about little ol’ me quickly.”
“Sydney, I could never forget you.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
I saw a flash of pain go through Michael’s eyes. Why was I being so weird? “Sydney…I’m not going to forget you. I can keep that promise,” he said.
As I stared into his eyes, I knew I went too far with my comments. “I’m sorry. I’m not going to forget you either. Please call me whenever you want.” I leaned forward and hugged him tightly.
“Sydney…you’re one of the greatest people I ever met. Don’t forget that,” he whispered into my ear. “Work hard…go to school. And I promise one day I’ll come back.” He hugged me a little more tightly.
I pulled back a moment later. “I’m sorry, Michael. I really have to get going.” I placed a kiss on his forehead. “Goodbye…” I whispered and ran out of the room before he saw the tears in my eyes. “Great…I got attached. I’m an idiot. He’s never coming back…”
>o<
“You did WHAT? Sydney Bristow…did I teach you NOTHING about living in Vegas?” Chris was screaming at me over the phone a few days later.
“I know. I know…I just…there was such a connection. I’ve never felt it with anyone. He was so great…”
“Oh, Sydney. You’ve fallen hard. It’s okay…we’ll fix this.”
>o<
Approximately 4 months later – December
Michael had kept his promise and called me at least twice a week to remind me that he hadn’t forgotten me. At first his phone calls made it hard for me to move on from the incredible few days we had together but then I grew to look forward to his calls. He became a great phone friend and he always supported me.
I had worked very hard over the past few months and realized I had enough money to start classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the spring. I talked to Dave and he worked out a schedule with me so I could keep my job and attend classes.
Dave was proud of me and I knew it. I was his best waitress and he didn’t want to lose me so he was more than happy to do anything to make it possible for me to go to school and stay at Emeril’s.
The one thing that kept bothering me throughout December was the impending holidays. Not that I had any memorable Christmas’ with my father, but it made me sad that he still hadn’t bothered to look for me. Chris and his family insisted that I spend Christmas with them, which made me feel slightly better.
After packaging the small gift I’d bought for Michael – a book about hockey – I decided to write a card to my father.
Dear Dad,
It’s obvious you don’t care what so ever that I left six months ago, and that’s a fact I’ve accepted by now. I just wanted to write and say Happy Holiday’s and that I am doing just fine on my own. I have a nice apartment, a respectable job, and I’ve saved up enough money to start college classes for the spring semester. I have nice friends and they’ve been there for me ever since I got here. I hope this letter finds you well.
Your daughter,
Sydney
That was it. I couldn’t even bring myself to say that I loved him but went to mail the card quickly so I didn’t lose my nerve.
Unbeknownst to me, my father had spent the past six months receiving updates on me through a private detective he’d hired after I left. He’d known where I was and how I was doing this whole time and left me alone because he knew I was safe and at first, it was what I wanted. After getting over his anger when I left, he realized how proud he was of me for starting from scratch on my own, finding work quickly and even going to school. When the card came for him, my words hit his heart and he decided to try a visit to Las Vegas to see if I’d talk to him.
~~~
“Seriously, Syd. What would you want more than anything for Christmas, if miracles existed?”
“Michael, this is such a stupid question!” I giggled over the phone.
“Just answer it.”
“Mmm…okay. Besides having you come visit? I guess I wish things had been different with my dad and I. Right now I’d be coming back from my first semester at Berkeley to our big house and curling up in my room that overlooked the ocean. He probably wouldn’t be home, but there’d always be tons of meaningless presents under the tree on Christmas morning. Even if he were home, he’d be in his office working and would come out to kiss my cheek quickly before retreating again. But that was home. If he hadn’t missed my graduation, I probably would have stayed. And I wish he came after me, yelling his head off for me to get my ass back to Los Angeles. But he didn’t. And that is what makes me the most sad.”
I’m sure Michael heard the sadness in my voice but before he could respond, I continued. “If I ever have a family, I’m going to make sure both my husband and I are present for the children all the time. No excuses. I can’t imagine putting children through what I went through.”
“Oh…Sydney.” Michael decided right then and there he was going to do all he could to try and make Sydney incredibly happy one day. Over the past few months, he’d fallen helplessly in love with her through their phone calls and he’d even bought a ticket to surprise her on December 30th, so he could spend New Years with her. He already knew she’d been granted the night off due to Chris endlessly begging his cousin to conveniently schedule Sydney’s day off for that night for her to come to his party. All he could hope for is that she would love him as much as he loved her.
After chatting a few more minutes, Michael reminded me that I needed to be in my apartment at noon on the 30th for my surprise from him.
“I know, I know! You text message me like, every day. I promise I’ll be here. Can’t you give me any hints?”
“Nope. Patience, my dear. It’s only a few more days. Have a Merry Christmas tomorrow, Sweetie. I hope you get some large tips for having to work. And have fun at Chris’ in the morning.”
“Thanks, you too Michael. I miss you.”
“Miss you too. Good night…”
“Bye.”
>o<
After Christmas morning with Chris and his family, I headed to work and was actually having a decent night. The restaurant was packed with families celebrating Christmas in Vegas and everyone was being overly generous with tips. Around seven, I began to walk over to where a new patron was seated alone at a table for two. Halfway to the table, I recognized the man sitting there, gasped and turned as pale as a ghost. Dave, noticing my face turning white, rushed over.
“Are you okay? Sydney? Are you sick?”
“That man...” I said, shakily pointing a finger toward the table.
“What? Has he been stalking you? Do we need to escort him out of the restaurant?”
“No…no. It’s my…dad.” Dave looked at me curiously. “I haven’t seen him since I left home in June.”
“Do you want us to get rid of him?”
“No…he obviously came here for a reason. This is not a coincidence. Can I have a few minutes to sit down and talk to him?”
“Sure. I’ll have Stacey cover your tables for a few minutes.”
“Thank you.” Taking a deep breath, I walked over to my father. “I assume you asked to be seated in my section. How long have you had these reservations?”
At the sound of my voice, dad looked up and into my eyes. “A few weeks.”
“So you’ve known where I was…”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Pretty much since you’ve left.” I gaped at him in shock at this news and dared to sit in the other chair at the table.
“And you never came after me?” I hissed. “Were you just…GLAD I was gone?”
“Sydney, let me explain…”
“I don’t know if I want to hear your excuses.”
“Sydney…I’m not a perfect father. I know this. But I did come here for you, for Christmas. After your card…I owe you a lot. I just want to talk.” I glared at my dad for a few minutes before sighing.
“How long are you here for?”
“Two more days.”
“Fine. I’m off tomorrow until four in the afternoon. Here is my address, come over around ten.” I wrote my information on paper from my order pad and slid it to him. “Although, something tells me you already had this address.” He looked guilty. “Whatever. Are you actually eating here tonight, or did you just come to find me?”
“I’m going to stay…”
“Fine. But I’m not serving you. I’m going to have one of the other girls cover my table. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, I stood up and stalked away from the table over to where Dave was standing with Stacey.
“I can take my tables back, but I am not serving my father. Stacey, is there any way you can just take care of him?”
“Of course, Syd. Not a problem.”
“And Stacey…treat him well. He may have disappointed me my whole life, but well, it’s Christmas.” Stacey knew deep down I loved my father very much and simply nodded and told me not to worry. She walked over to him and began to speak.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Bristow. My name is Stacey, and I will be your waitress tonight. Our specials include…”
Dad ended up being an incredibly gracious patron and left Stacey with a large tip and a small red envelope that bore the name “Sydney” on it. As she passed the envelope along to me, she told me to give him a chance in the morning and hugged me.
I stared at the envelope and put it in my pocket for the time being, afraid it would be full of disappointing words as all of Dad’s cards were in the past, and I simply didn’t feel like crying during my shift at work.
>o<
When I returned home around two in the morning, I fingered the envelope and broke down in tears. “Why now?” I thought, wondering what tomorrow would bring. Forgetting what time it was, I picked up the phone and dialed a number that had become like a security blanket for me.
“Hello?” A sleepy voice said into the receiver.
“Michael?” I replied, in a small voice.
He immediately recognized my voice and probably knew something was wrong. “Syd? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine…it’s just…he showed up tonight. At the restaurant.”
“Who?”
“My dad.”
“Are you…what did he want?”
“To talk. He’s coming over at ten in the morning.”
“Isn’t this what you wanted, Syd? For things to be better?”
“Yes… but… I guess I’m just scared of being disappointed again. He left me a card when he left the restaurant. I haven’t opened it yet because anything he ever gave me written was usually another excuse that let me down somehow. Maybe he was going to tell me he isn’t showing up tomorrow morning after all…”
“Sydney. Now I don’t know your father but something tells me he wouldn’t have come all that way just to hand you a card to tell you he wasn’t going to show up to talk to you.” I responded with silence and a few muffled sniffles. “Do you want to open the card with me on the phone?”
“Okay… are you sure? I really feel bad for waking you up. I forgot how late it was.”
“Sydney, I’m always here for you. It’s okay. Go ahead and open it. I’ll wait.”
“Thank you, Michael. You are so great. I wish I could just be with you right now in person.” I sighed and ripped open the envelope.
“So what does the card say?” He asked after a few more moments of silence.
“That he is sorry for the way he’s treated me and he hopes one day we can have some sort of relationship again.”
Michael chuckled softly. “See, Sydney. Miracles can happen.”
“We’ll see…tomorrow will be interesting.”
“Be positive. And get some sleep, Syd-o. If you need me tomorrow…you know how to reach me.”
“Thanks, Michael. I…” I paused briefly. “I love you,” I whispered into the phone.
He didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Like I said, I’m always here for you, Sweetie. Have a good night, okay?”
“Okay. Bye, Michael.” I hung up the phone feeling conflicted. I finally took the chance to admit my feelings to him, and I had been pretty sure he’d felt the same feelings over the past few months but he didn’t reciprocate them. But that was another worry for another day. Right now I had to find a way to deal with my dad in the morning.
Sighing, I crawled into bed and stared at the picture of Michael and I at the Venetian before falling asleep. Little did I know that he was lying in his own bed, staring at the same picture and wishing it was December 30th.
TBC - tomorrow!
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Here is Friday's chapter. I'm posting early b/c I won't be around later on. Enjoy.
Recap:
“I had a really great time today, Michael. I’m glad you decided to stare at me at the pool yesterday. I should get go…”
Michael cut me off with a finger to my lips. “Why don’t you stay?” I gave him a suspicious glance. “JUST to sleep…I promise.” He grinned. “I’m not ready to say goodbye to you yet. You’re so…special.”
Chapter 3:
I smiled shyly and looked into his eyes. His words pushed me over the edge. “All right. I don’t have to be at work until eleven tomorrow anyway.” Taking his hand, I followed him into the room. He threw me a pair of lacrosse shorts and t-shirt.
“Here…you can use these tonight. Clean, I promise.” I smiled and went into the bathroom to change and rinse off my face. When I emerged, I found him in his boxers and t-shirt sitting on the bed flipping through TV channels.
He looked at me and grinned. I had rolled the waist on the shorts a few times and his shirt hung loosely on my thin frame. “You look cute,” he said, casually.
I returned the grin and slid into the bed next to him. We watched some television before exhaustion set in.
“Well, Syd. You really opened my eyes about fun in Las Vegas when you are under 21.”
“Just doing my job as a local. I’m glad you had fun. What time do you have to meet your parents tomorrow?”
“Ten. My mom said I owe them some family time since I disappeared today.”
“Oh, Michael…I’m sorry for cutting into your family trip.”
“Are you kidding? Today was better than anything on this trip would have been.” He yawned. “Thanks again, Sydney.” He slid down and lay back against his pillow.
“Anytime…” I whispered, lightly kissed his forehead and curled into him. “Don’t get attached, Sydney. Rule number one as a local…do not fall in love with tourists…” I thought to myself before drifting off. Chris had drilled that rule into my head a month ago and I was dangerously close to breaking that rule.
~~~
Morning came and I woke up around eight. I glanced over and saw that Michael was still in a deep sleep. I considered slipping out before he woke up to spare myself the chore of saying goodbye to someone I felt I really clicked with, yet had no chance with since he was only in town a few days. However, ignoring Chris’ warning, I went with my heart and knew I had to say goodbye.
“Michael,” I whispered, lightly shaking his arm. “Michael, wake up.”
He groaned. “What time is it?”
“It’s 8:15.”
“Go back to sleep till nine.” I giggled softly.
“I should really get back home. I’m not the one on vacation this week…” He rolled over to look in my eyes and sighed.
“I wish you could hang out more,” he said, bringing his hand up to stroke my cheek.
I felt her heart melting and knew I was past the point of attachment. “Me too. How much longer are you here?”
“All day today and tomorrow. We leave Friday morning.”
I sighed. “I work both of those days, but I usually take my breaks at the pool or hang around there until I have to be at work. Call me sometime and maybe we can meet up before you leave.”
“I will. I promise.” I smiled down at him and lightly kissed him before slipping out of the bed and retreating to the bathroom to put my clothes on from the day before. Upon exiting the bathroom, I put the clothes I borrowed from Michael on the bed and smiled at him again.
“Bye, Michael.” I slid out the door before he could say anything else and once in the hallway, leaned against the wall. “What am I doing? How could I have let myself get so attached?”
Back in the room, Michael was still sitting in bed, thinking about Sydney. Never in his life since he started dating girls did he feel such a strong attachment to one particular person, especially after only one day. But he knew he had to see her again.
>o<
As it turned out, I happened to have the dinner shift on Thursday, meaning I didn’t have to report to the restaurant until 4:00 p.m. I called Michael during my break on Wednesday and left him a message saying I’d be at the pool from around ten in the morning until at least three in the afternoon.
At ten the next morning, I made my way to the MGM pool and looked around before settling in a chair to make sure Michael was not there. Feeling a bit disappointed, I sat down and spread my stuff on the chair next to me to ensure it stayed empty in case he came.
Half an hour later, I was getting restless. I was SURE he’d want to see me again. “How could I have misread someone that much?” I thought grumpily and tried to concentrate on a magazine I had open on my lap. Giving up, I shut my eyes and tried to enjoy my free time before work.
“I think I like the black one better…” a voice penetrated my thoughts about 15 minutes later. Slowly, I opened one eye to see a grinning Michael Vaughn staring down at me. A smile spread across my face.
“What’s wrong with the red bikini?”
“I just think black is more your color,” he replied in a teasing tone and leaned down to give me a kiss. “Sorry I am late. I had to eat breakfast with the whole family and don’t be surprised if some of them show up here later. I’m assuming this chair is for me, by the way,” he said, pointing to her stuff on the empty chair.
“Yep,” I said, hastily removing my belongings. “I’m just glad you made it.”
“I wouldn’t miss the chance to see you again for anything in the world.”
We spent the rest of the morning relaxing on the chairs and grabbed some burgers at the poolside bar for lunch. Afterwards we played in the water, taking turns splashing each other and trying to dunk the other person under the water, all the while stealing an occasional kiss. 3:00 p.m. came way to quickly for both of us and before we knew it, Michael was watching me gather my things to go get ready for work.
“Why don’t you come use the shower in my room instead of the clubhouse here? It will be cleaner, and more private. Plus I’d get that much more time with you.” He gave me puppy dog eyes.
I laughed. “Okay, sure. But I really do have to get ready for work.”
“I know. Let’s go,” he grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the pool. Laughing, we ran through the hotel and up to his room where I took an incredibly fast shower and put on my work attire. When I was ready, Michael embraced me and pulled me into his lap as he sat on the bed.
“Thank you for making my vacation so much more tolerable. I only wish I didn’t have to leave you. Can I call you?”
“Of course. That is, if you have time for me in between your classes and hockey and girls that will be throwing themselves at you back in Washington State.”
“Girls, right.”
“I’m serious. You’ll probably forget all about little ol’ me quickly.”
“Sydney, I could never forget you.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
I saw a flash of pain go through Michael’s eyes. Why was I being so weird? “Sydney…I’m not going to forget you. I can keep that promise,” he said.
As I stared into his eyes, I knew I went too far with my comments. “I’m sorry. I’m not going to forget you either. Please call me whenever you want.” I leaned forward and hugged him tightly.
“Sydney…you’re one of the greatest people I ever met. Don’t forget that,” he whispered into my ear. “Work hard…go to school. And I promise one day I’ll come back.” He hugged me a little more tightly.
I pulled back a moment later. “I’m sorry, Michael. I really have to get going.” I placed a kiss on his forehead. “Goodbye…” I whispered and ran out of the room before he saw the tears in my eyes. “Great…I got attached. I’m an idiot. He’s never coming back…”
>o<
“You did WHAT? Sydney Bristow…did I teach you NOTHING about living in Vegas?” Chris was screaming at me over the phone a few days later.
“I know. I know…I just…there was such a connection. I’ve never felt it with anyone. He was so great…”
“Oh, Sydney. You’ve fallen hard. It’s okay…we’ll fix this.”
>o<
Approximately 4 months later – December
Michael had kept his promise and called me at least twice a week to remind me that he hadn’t forgotten me. At first his phone calls made it hard for me to move on from the incredible few days we had together but then I grew to look forward to his calls. He became a great phone friend and he always supported me.
I had worked very hard over the past few months and realized I had enough money to start classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the spring. I talked to Dave and he worked out a schedule with me so I could keep my job and attend classes.
Dave was proud of me and I knew it. I was his best waitress and he didn’t want to lose me so he was more than happy to do anything to make it possible for me to go to school and stay at Emeril’s.
The one thing that kept bothering me throughout December was the impending holidays. Not that I had any memorable Christmas’ with my father, but it made me sad that he still hadn’t bothered to look for me. Chris and his family insisted that I spend Christmas with them, which made me feel slightly better.
After packaging the small gift I’d bought for Michael – a book about hockey – I decided to write a card to my father.
Dear Dad,
It’s obvious you don’t care what so ever that I left six months ago, and that’s a fact I’ve accepted by now. I just wanted to write and say Happy Holiday’s and that I am doing just fine on my own. I have a nice apartment, a respectable job, and I’ve saved up enough money to start college classes for the spring semester. I have nice friends and they’ve been there for me ever since I got here. I hope this letter finds you well.
Your daughter,
Sydney
That was it. I couldn’t even bring myself to say that I loved him but went to mail the card quickly so I didn’t lose my nerve.
Unbeknownst to me, my father had spent the past six months receiving updates on me through a private detective he’d hired after I left. He’d known where I was and how I was doing this whole time and left me alone because he knew I was safe and at first, it was what I wanted. After getting over his anger when I left, he realized how proud he was of me for starting from scratch on my own, finding work quickly and even going to school. When the card came for him, my words hit his heart and he decided to try a visit to Las Vegas to see if I’d talk to him.
~~~
“Seriously, Syd. What would you want more than anything for Christmas, if miracles existed?”
“Michael, this is such a stupid question!” I giggled over the phone.
“Just answer it.”
“Mmm…okay. Besides having you come visit? I guess I wish things had been different with my dad and I. Right now I’d be coming back from my first semester at Berkeley to our big house and curling up in my room that overlooked the ocean. He probably wouldn’t be home, but there’d always be tons of meaningless presents under the tree on Christmas morning. Even if he were home, he’d be in his office working and would come out to kiss my cheek quickly before retreating again. But that was home. If he hadn’t missed my graduation, I probably would have stayed. And I wish he came after me, yelling his head off for me to get my ass back to Los Angeles. But he didn’t. And that is what makes me the most sad.”
I’m sure Michael heard the sadness in my voice but before he could respond, I continued. “If I ever have a family, I’m going to make sure both my husband and I are present for the children all the time. No excuses. I can’t imagine putting children through what I went through.”
“Oh…Sydney.” Michael decided right then and there he was going to do all he could to try and make Sydney incredibly happy one day. Over the past few months, he’d fallen helplessly in love with her through their phone calls and he’d even bought a ticket to surprise her on December 30th, so he could spend New Years with her. He already knew she’d been granted the night off due to Chris endlessly begging his cousin to conveniently schedule Sydney’s day off for that night for her to come to his party. All he could hope for is that she would love him as much as he loved her.
After chatting a few more minutes, Michael reminded me that I needed to be in my apartment at noon on the 30th for my surprise from him.
“I know, I know! You text message me like, every day. I promise I’ll be here. Can’t you give me any hints?”
“Nope. Patience, my dear. It’s only a few more days. Have a Merry Christmas tomorrow, Sweetie. I hope you get some large tips for having to work. And have fun at Chris’ in the morning.”
“Thanks, you too Michael. I miss you.”
“Miss you too. Good night…”
“Bye.”
>o<
After Christmas morning with Chris and his family, I headed to work and was actually having a decent night. The restaurant was packed with families celebrating Christmas in Vegas and everyone was being overly generous with tips. Around seven, I began to walk over to where a new patron was seated alone at a table for two. Halfway to the table, I recognized the man sitting there, gasped and turned as pale as a ghost. Dave, noticing my face turning white, rushed over.
“Are you okay? Sydney? Are you sick?”
“That man...” I said, shakily pointing a finger toward the table.
“What? Has he been stalking you? Do we need to escort him out of the restaurant?”
“No…no. It’s my…dad.” Dave looked at me curiously. “I haven’t seen him since I left home in June.”
“Do you want us to get rid of him?”
“No…he obviously came here for a reason. This is not a coincidence. Can I have a few minutes to sit down and talk to him?”
“Sure. I’ll have Stacey cover your tables for a few minutes.”
“Thank you.” Taking a deep breath, I walked over to my father. “I assume you asked to be seated in my section. How long have you had these reservations?”
At the sound of my voice, dad looked up and into my eyes. “A few weeks.”
“So you’ve known where I was…”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Pretty much since you’ve left.” I gaped at him in shock at this news and dared to sit in the other chair at the table.
“And you never came after me?” I hissed. “Were you just…GLAD I was gone?”
“Sydney, let me explain…”
“I don’t know if I want to hear your excuses.”
“Sydney…I’m not a perfect father. I know this. But I did come here for you, for Christmas. After your card…I owe you a lot. I just want to talk.” I glared at my dad for a few minutes before sighing.
“How long are you here for?”
“Two more days.”
“Fine. I’m off tomorrow until four in the afternoon. Here is my address, come over around ten.” I wrote my information on paper from my order pad and slid it to him. “Although, something tells me you already had this address.” He looked guilty. “Whatever. Are you actually eating here tonight, or did you just come to find me?”
“I’m going to stay…”
“Fine. But I’m not serving you. I’m going to have one of the other girls cover my table. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, I stood up and stalked away from the table over to where Dave was standing with Stacey.
“I can take my tables back, but I am not serving my father. Stacey, is there any way you can just take care of him?”
“Of course, Syd. Not a problem.”
“And Stacey…treat him well. He may have disappointed me my whole life, but well, it’s Christmas.” Stacey knew deep down I loved my father very much and simply nodded and told me not to worry. She walked over to him and began to speak.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Bristow. My name is Stacey, and I will be your waitress tonight. Our specials include…”
Dad ended up being an incredibly gracious patron and left Stacey with a large tip and a small red envelope that bore the name “Sydney” on it. As she passed the envelope along to me, she told me to give him a chance in the morning and hugged me.
I stared at the envelope and put it in my pocket for the time being, afraid it would be full of disappointing words as all of Dad’s cards were in the past, and I simply didn’t feel like crying during my shift at work.
>o<
When I returned home around two in the morning, I fingered the envelope and broke down in tears. “Why now?” I thought, wondering what tomorrow would bring. Forgetting what time it was, I picked up the phone and dialed a number that had become like a security blanket for me.
“Hello?” A sleepy voice said into the receiver.
“Michael?” I replied, in a small voice.
He immediately recognized my voice and probably knew something was wrong. “Syd? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine…it’s just…he showed up tonight. At the restaurant.”
“Who?”
“My dad.”
“Are you…what did he want?”
“To talk. He’s coming over at ten in the morning.”
“Isn’t this what you wanted, Syd? For things to be better?”
“Yes… but… I guess I’m just scared of being disappointed again. He left me a card when he left the restaurant. I haven’t opened it yet because anything he ever gave me written was usually another excuse that let me down somehow. Maybe he was going to tell me he isn’t showing up tomorrow morning after all…”
“Sydney. Now I don’t know your father but something tells me he wouldn’t have come all that way just to hand you a card to tell you he wasn’t going to show up to talk to you.” I responded with silence and a few muffled sniffles. “Do you want to open the card with me on the phone?”
“Okay… are you sure? I really feel bad for waking you up. I forgot how late it was.”
“Sydney, I’m always here for you. It’s okay. Go ahead and open it. I’ll wait.”
“Thank you, Michael. You are so great. I wish I could just be with you right now in person.” I sighed and ripped open the envelope.
“So what does the card say?” He asked after a few more moments of silence.
“That he is sorry for the way he’s treated me and he hopes one day we can have some sort of relationship again.”
Michael chuckled softly. “See, Sydney. Miracles can happen.”
“We’ll see…tomorrow will be interesting.”
“Be positive. And get some sleep, Syd-o. If you need me tomorrow…you know how to reach me.”
“Thanks, Michael. I…” I paused briefly. “I love you,” I whispered into the phone.
He didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Like I said, I’m always here for you, Sweetie. Have a good night, okay?”
“Okay. Bye, Michael.” I hung up the phone feeling conflicted. I finally took the chance to admit my feelings to him, and I had been pretty sure he’d felt the same feelings over the past few months but he didn’t reciprocate them. But that was another worry for another day. Right now I had to find a way to deal with my dad in the morning.
Sighing, I crawled into bed and stared at the picture of Michael and I at the Venetian before falling asleep. Little did I know that he was lying in his own bed, staring at the same picture and wishing it was December 30th.
TBC - tomorrow!
PM List:
xMountineer02300844x
farliieansds225
oooRevesDouxooo
Kate_14
AliasSydney502
mnkdance963
texasalias2004
SpygirlAmy
Prediction 47
LittleNicky
Angel
NadiaSantosFan
AliasSydney502
Cadet
oooooooohhh!! lotsa plot in that chap!
jacks there, michael's gonna come surprise her, family issues, LoVe!!
can't wait!!
jacks there, michael's gonna come surprise her, family issues, LoVe!!
can't wait!!
texasalias2004
Cadet
AWe That was so sweet of Michael to get a ticket to Vegas. I can't wait to see her reaction. I also feel sorry for her because her dad knew where she was.
Please update again soon.
texasalias
Please update again soon.
texasalias
SpygirlAmy
Cadet
aww that was so sweet!! why didnt michael tell her that he loved her too?? is he waiting to do it in person??
thanmks for the PM cant wait for more
thanmks for the PM cant wait for more
LittleNicky
Cadet
Great update! Why didn't Michael say it back?! He'd better have something great planned for his visit! Can't wait for more, and thanks for the PM
oooRevesDouxooo
Cadet
aww... why didnt he say anything back? she said 'i love you' and he didnt say it back.. WHY DIDNT HE SAY ANYTHING BACK?!?!
boo hoo for syddie..
but i hope all is well for her and her dad.. thatd be sweet..
boo hoo for syddie..
but i hope all is well for her and her dad.. thatd be sweet..
derevkointraining
Cadet
Happy Saturday!
Here is the next chapter. This fic moves through a lot kinda fast....
Recap:
“Thanks, Michael. I…” I paused briefly. “I love you,” I whispered into the phone.
He didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Like I said, I’m always here for you, Sweetie. Have a good night, okay?”
“Okay. Bye, Michael.” I hung up the phone feeling conflicted. I finally took the chance to admit my feelings to him, and I had been pretty sure he’d felt the same feelings over the past few months but he didn’t reciprocate them. But that was another worry for another day. Right now I had to find a way to deal with my dad in the morning.
Sighing, I crawled into bed and stared at the picture of Michael and I at the Venetian before falling asleep. Little did I know that he was lying in his own bed, staring at the same picture and wishing it was December 30th.
Chapter 4:
It was nearing ten in the morning and I had been pacing the living room for twenty minutes. At exactly ten, there was a knock on the door and I flung it open, coming face to face with my dad.
“You came,” I commented.
“I told you I would. Breakfast?” he said, holding up a box with huge muffins and some coffee and juice.
I smiled and let him in. “Thanks. I’ll get some plates.” After returning from the kitchen I caught him looking around.
“Sydney, this is a very nice apartment.”
“Thanks.” We stared at each other awkwardly before I reached into the box and grabbed a muffin.
“Sydney,” dad started. “Look. I know I’ve disappointed you and let you down more times than you can count since your mother died. I haven’t been there for you at all, or showed you how much I really loved you. The day you left…it was not the best day of my life. I realized what I did to you. The reason I didn’t come after you is because I was ashamed. I was ashamed that I was a man who couldn’t be affectionate towards his own daughter. Instead, I hired a man to find you and I kept tabs on you to make sure you were safe. Again, I was just being distant instead of a truly caring father. And it was wrong. The day I got your Christmas card, well, I knew I had to try and start to make things right. So I am here now, and all I can say is that I apologize for everything and I would like to try and be a part of your life again if you’ll let me.”
I was stunned. I never expected such an outpouring of emotion from him. But it was enough for me to start and let him in again. I wasn’t that much of a bitch and didn’t need to hold a grudge forever. I smiled and rushed over to hug him. “Daddy, that’s the best Christmas present you ever gave me!”
He was stiff for a moment before enveloping me in his arms. I felt like I was five-years-old again, and it felt good. Michael was right…miracles could happen.
We spent the rest of the day together and actually had a decent time. I told him about Chris and his family and about Michael. Surprisingly, instead of being an overprotective father, he was glad I had two seemingly nice “young men” looking out for me. We agreed to meet for breakfast the next morning before he left and he asked if Chris could come. All I could say was that I’d ask.
~~~
“Please Chris,” I begged over the phone, after my dad left. “I know you think he is a jerk…and I did too but he is trying. Really trying. And he wants to meet you, which is a big thing for him. He’s never taken an interest in my friends.”
Okay, Syd. I’ll be there. Promise.”
~~~
Breakfast went well and Chris and my dad got along. Once we were finished, Chris headed back home so I could say goodbye to my dad in private.
“Thanks again for coming, Dad. It really does mean a lot.”
“Thank you for giving me a chance, Sweetheart. Listen…I’m your father and I want to still help you out. Please understand I am really proud of you for handling your own life since June. But I really do want to do something for you. I know you are starting with school and you are planning to pay for it yourself. But I know that will significantly lessen your savings and well, I’d really like it if you’d let me help you out with your education at least.”
“Dad…is this going to be you throwing your money at me like you always have?”
“No, Sydney. I promise. I really just want to make life a little easier for you and paying for school, that would help you.” I mulled over his words. He was right, like that’s any surprise. While I could pay for school and life expenses, it was going to be hard, but I wanted my education. With my dad’s help, it would mean extra money for me to save. Yet I was hesitant for him to have the control over me.
“Okay. Here is the deal. I’ll let you pay for this semester. But if I feel you are using this to try and control me or saying that by you paying for school shows how much you love me, that’s it. No more help.”
He smiled. “Agreed.” He took out his checkbook, wrote something and handed it to me. “This should cover tuition and textbooks. Thank you for letting me help.” Sliding the check in my hand, he kissed my cheek.
I hugged him and walked him over to where his car was waiting to take him to the airport. “Thanks for coming, Dad. Will you come back?”
“I will. I’ll look at my schedule when I get home and call you later or tomorrow. If you don’t hear from me, just call me.”
“Okay. Bye.” We hugged again and he left. I still couldn’t believe what happened over the past few days.
>o<
Two days later I was sitting in my living room at noon, like I had promised Michael for at least a month now. My cell phone rang. It was him.
“Okay, what’s my surprise?”
“Hello to you too, Sydney.”
“Michael,” I whined. “You’ve been teasing me for like, a month. What is it?”
“Okay, open your door. It’s on your doorstep.”
“What?”
“Just do it.”
“Ooo-kayyy.” Cautiously I went over and opened the door. What I saw made me drop my phone on the floor. “Michael?!”
He was standing there grinning at me. “Surprise,” he said, flipping his phone shut and sliding it into his pocket.
Two seconds later I had jumped into his arms and was hugging him fiercely. “You’re here. You are really here!”
“I am. And can I come inside?”
“Oh, of course!! Oh!! You are totally staying with me, right?”
“That’s my plan.” He walked inside with his bag.
“So…how? What? Why?” he laughed and took one of my hands in his.
“Syd…ever since I left you in August, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Phone calls weren’t enough; I knew I had to see you again. And when you told me Chris got you off work for New Years Eve, well, I thought I’d come surprise you with a visit.” I didn’t let him say anything else because I jumped into his arms again and started kissing him. The force caught him off guard and he stumbled backward, causing us to crash into the couch. Laughing, we disentangled ourselves and sat properly. “Wow…if I knew I was getting that kind of greeting I would have come sooner.”
I giggled. “Michael, I meant what I said on the phone. I really do love you.”
He stared at me intensely. “Sydney…I’ve fallen so in love with you over the past few months. Like I said, you were all I could think of. But I didn’t want to say it back on the phone. I wanted to wait until today. I love you too. So much. Who knew my boring family reunion would have brought me the best thing in my life.”
He is so sweet. My Michael. My rock, the person I called when I was upset at two in the morning. “You are so great,” I responded. Man, I was such a dork. Oh well. “So how long are you here for?”
“Until the third at night so about four and a half days.”
It’ll do. “Awesome. Oh my god, I’m totally telling Chris I can’t come to his party now.”
“Don’t do that, Syd. We should go, you made a promise to him.”
I pouted. “Fine, but we are leaving before midnight. I want you all to myself as much as possible.”
“Deal.” He kissed me. “Okay, when do you have to work while I am here?”
Work. Shoot. “Hmmm…. Actually, just tonight from four until one… I can get out of clean up, and then I have the lunch shift on the second, so that’s eleven to four. So at least it isn’t TOO much time.”
“Not at all. Do you get a dinner break tonight?”
“Yes, of course. We’ll spend my break together. If I combine that with my two fifteen minute breaks, I get an hour and a half so I’ll arrange that.”
“Great. So…what are we going to do for the next four hours until you have to go?”
I gave him a devilish look. “We’re staying right here to make up for four months…” I pulled him close to me and we leaned in for another kiss.
Three hours of making out later, I was on my way to work with Michael promising to take care of our dinner plans when I called to tell him what time my break would be. I was on cloud nine. Life had just gotten pretty good. I made up with my dad and suddenly entered into a relationship with the out of towner I fell for.
One my way, I pulled out my cell and made a quick phone call. “Hey! So I am bringing a guest with me tomorrow night.”
“What?” Chris said, shocked.
“Um, remember Michael?”
“The tourist you fell in love with?!”
“Yeah. Well, um… he’s here! He came to surprise me. Isn’t that sweet?” Chris knew I kept talking to Michael despite his warnings, and hadn’t been happy about it.
“Sydney…”
“No. I know what you are going to say…I’m only going to have my heart broken. But I won’t! I swear. He loves me. Like, really loves me. And I love him too. He’s really great. You’ll see…”
“Whatever. I’ll see you guys tomorrow then,” Chris said, either jealously or angrily. I couldn’t decide.
“Don’t be this way. I’ll see you. Bye, Chris.” I hung up. Work flew by, as did dinner and before I knew it, I was on my way home at one in the morning. I let myself into my place quietly, figuring Michael would be asleep, which he was, on the couch. The couch. Not exactly where I planned to have him sleep. Tip-toeing over, I leaned down and kissed him as deeply as I could. I felt him start to respond and saw him open his eyes slowly.
“Hi…” I said. “What are you doing out here?”
“I wasn’t sure where you wanted me to sleep,” he admitted groggily.
“Michael. We slept in the same bed the first day we hung out, you silly boy. Get your ass up and follow me.”
“Damn. Such a slave driver, Bristow.” He got up, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. After kissing a minute or so, he swooped me up and carried me into my room, placing me on the bed and kissing me some more.
I sighed. “As much as I like this,” I mumbled in between kisses, “please let me go change and clean up from work.”
He relinquished his grip and I slid away, grinning. “Be right back.” I quickly grabbed a cute little tank top and pajama pants and ran into the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. When I came back into the bedroom, Michael was asleep, or so it appeared. Disappointed, I walked to the empty side of the bed and climbed in, pressing a light kiss on his forehead before curling up close to him. I shut my eyes and willed myself to go to sleep.
The next thing I knew, Michael had closed his arms around me and flipped me up so I was lying directly on top of him.
“You sneak! I thought you were asleep!!” I cried, pounding a fist on his chest. He laughed.
“Looks can be deceiving.” He put his left hand on the back of my head and pulled me down for a kiss.
“Mmmm…” I sighed. “You’re forgiven.” We made out for a while before drifting off to sleep. Before I lost total consciousness, I gently stroked his face. “I love you, Michael. Thank you for coming to visit.”
“I love you too, Sydney. I wish I could see you every single day.”
~~~
We slept in until almost one in the afternoon. I ended up completely curled into Michael with his arms enveloping me against his chest. It was the most perfect way to wake up.
“Hi,” I mumbled into his chest when I felt him move just slightly.
“Good morning, Baby.”
“I’m going to take a shower,” I paused, thinking carefully about what I was about to say next. “Want to join me?”
“What?”
“You heard me. The offer stands…it’s your decision.” With a teasing smile, I slid out of bed and sashayed over to the bathroom, leaving a stunned Michael on the bed, pondering my proposal. I’d never been so bold before and truth be told, this was new territory for me. But I truly loved him, and felt like nothing was off limits.
I stepped into the warm water cascading down, wondering if he was going to join me. On one hand, he would be a complete gentleman and give me privacy. On the other, he still was a normal, red-blooded teenage male with raging hormones.
I began to lather shampoo into my hair. About ten seconds after I started, I heard the shower door slide open and felt his hands in my hair. “Let me…” I dropped my hands and let the sensations of his head massage take over. “Lean back…” he instructed, allowing the water to rinse the suds out of my hair. Once I was sure the soap was gone, I turned around to face him, smiling.
“Hi.”
He grinned back, keeping his eyes trained on mine. What a gentleman. “You sure about this, Syd?”
“Never been more sure of anything,” I said, leaning in for a kiss. After “exploring” some new territory and washing up, we left the shower, got dressed and wandered up to the Strip for something to eat.
After we ordered, I blushed a bit and asked Michael if he’d ever had sex with anyone.
“Once, yeah, last year at college. I was drunk, she was drunk…not the greatest scenario. What about you?”
“No…” I admitted quietly. He looked surprised. “I know, I know. After me telling you to shower with me this morning, who would have thought otherwise, right?”
“Syd…I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable then…we don’t have to do anything you are not ready for,” he said, taking my hand.
“That’s the thing…it felt so natural for us to be that way this morning. I really love you, Michael. I never felt more connected with anyone in my life. And I am really glad you came to surprise me because I can’t imagine wanting to start a new year off with anyone else but you.” I leaned down and gently kissed the hand that was holding mine. He smiled and leaned across the table to kiss me on the lips.
“I feel the same way, Syd. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I thank my family every day for planning a reunion last summer in Vegas.”
We continued to be mushy with each other for the rest of the meal and made our way back to my apartment to relax for a few hours and get ready for Chris’ party. Around nine, we made our way to his house and knocked on the door.
Kelly, Chris’ twin, flung open the door. “SYDNEYYYYY!” She cried. “Ooohh… who is the eye candy?”
I laughed. “Kel, this is my boyfriend,” I said with a glance toward Michael. We technically hadn’t established our relationship but whatever. I saw him grin. “Michael. He’s from Arizona and goes to college in Washington.”
“I didn’t know Syddie had a boyfriend! She’s been hiding you!” Kelly squealed. It was obvious she’d gotten into her mom’s champagne punch. “Welcome, welcome, both of you. All us kids are downstairs. Mom made us our own batch of punch. You didn’t drive did you?” We both shook our heads. She grinned and pulled us inside and we made our way back downstairs.
“There she is!” I heard Chris yell and suddenly two arms were around me, swinging me into the air. Once he put me down he looked at Michael. “You must be the tourist Syd fell for,” he said, glaring at him.
“Christopher. Be nice. This is Michael.” Michael stepped forward to shake his hand but Chris just stood there. Finally when I slapped his arm, he shook Michael’s hand and walked away.
Michael gave me a questioning look and I just shrugged. “He’s not usually like that. Sorry…”
“It’s okay. I’m here with you and that’s all that matters.” We joined hands and mingled with the crowd. I introduced him to my friends and everyone genuinely made him feel welcome. Well, everyone except Chris who kept glaring at him whenever he got the chance.
“Kel,” I said an hour later when I pulled her aside. “What is up your brother’s ass? Seriously. He’s being such a dick.”
She gave me a sympathetic glance. “Oh, Syddie… my brother’s had a crush on you for months. He’s just jealous.” I sighed.
“Great…gain a boyfriend, lose one of my best friends.”
“He’ll get over it…oh my god…Syd… he’s talking to Michael!” I looked over. felgercarb.
~~~
“So, Michael, is it?” Chris said, sauntering over to him.
“Yeah…”
“I just want to tell you that if you hurt her in any way, I’ll kick your ass. Sydney’s special. She deserves to be treated like a queen.”
“I know.”
“I’m not joking.”
“I’m not joking either. Listen. I don’t know what you have against me since you met me oh, like, an hour ago. But I love Sydney and I don’t intend to hurt her. If you have a problem with that, it’s your own business. But if you were really her best friend, as she claims you are, why don’t you just try being happy for her?” After that, Michael turned around and went upstairs to get some food.
I had seen them talk from across the room and once I saw Michael leave, I ran over to Chris and slapped him on the back of his head. “What did you say to him?”
“Nothing. I’m just looking out for you.”
“Well, STOP IT. I know what I am doing. I told you, I love him. Accept it. I don’t want to lose you as my best friend. Chris, you mean everything to me also. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have had a place to live or a job or friends or anything here. And Mike is great so give him a chance. But since you’re being such an ass right now, I’m leaving.” I turned and also ran upstairs, almost running into Michael, who had a plateful of food.
“Turn around,” I commanded. “We’re going home.” He looked baffled as I pulled the plate from his hand and dragged him to the coat closet.
“Sydney, darling! I haven’t seen you all night!” Chris’ mom said as she noticed me. “Wait, Sweetie, you’re leaving? Before midnight?”
“Hi Mrs. Tyler. Yeah…this is Michael, my boyfriend. He’s from out of town and only here a few days so we only stopped by for a little.”
“Oh! It’s nice to meet you, Michael.” Mrs. Tyler said, firmly shaking his hand. “You guys MUST take some food back with you…please? I ordered way too much.” She pulled us back to the kitchen and prepared a Tupperware full of food for us. I used the time to call a cab. Once she was done, she handed it to me and kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks for coming, Sydney, Michael. Have a happy new year!”
“You too! See you soon,’ I promised and we slipped outside to wait for the cab. Once on the stoop, I felt Michael’s arms slide around me.
“Boyfriend? I like the sound of that,” he whispered into my ear. I smiled.
“Well, I didn’t know what else to say…this is the out of towner I showered with this morning didn’t sound as good.” We laughed. The cab came and we went back to my place. It was 11:30 so we sat around my TV talking until midnight.
“Happy new year, Sydney,” Michael said, leaning over and giving me an earth-shattering kiss.
“Mmmm,” I moaned into his mouth. “Happy new year. I love you,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. We kissed for a minute and I started tugging at his shirt, anxious to pull it off. He helped me with that effort and tossed the shirt on the couch before sweeping me up and carrying me to my bed. He gave me a look before setting me down and I responded with a kiss. Moments later, clothes were shed and we definitely found a nice way to bring in the New Year.
>o<
Around nine in the morning, I woke up with a huge smile on my face. I was lying next to the greatest guy I ever met in my life and all I could see in my dreams was having a future with him. I lay there for a while, just staring up at the ceiling and dreaming about what the future could hold for us.
“What have you been so busy thinking about,” I heard a while later. I turned my head to see Michael watching me intensely.
“Just some stuff,” I smiled devilishly. Leaning over to the nightstand, I grabbed a condom and proceeded to put it on Michael.
“Just stuff, huh?” He asked. I laughed.
“Not this, actually,” I admitted. “Other stuff. But then this popped into my head,” I said, crawling up towards his mouth to kiss him. “I just want to say good morning.”
>o<
After a small nap, we finally pulled ourselves out of bed around 11:30 and lazily made breakfast. We cuddled in the living room, watching cheesy movies on TV in our pajamas until around three in the afternoon when we finally decided we should shower and get dressed.
“So, what do you want to do?” I asked Michael around four once we were showered and changed.
“Whatever you want, Syd. As long as it is with you.” I smiled. Before I could answer, there was a pounding at my door. We glanced at each other and I went to open it. Standing there was Kelly, gripping Chris’ arm and looking furious.
“Um, hey, guys…” I said unsurely as I stood before them. “What are you doing here?”
“Chris has something to say to you and Michael.” Kelly said sharply. I let them in and Michael immediately came over to drape his arm around me.
“Hey, Kelly,” he said to her with a smile. He nodded at Chris and continued to stand there with his arm around me as if to protect me.
“Hi, Michael. Nice to see you again,” Kelly replied with a smile and then pinched her brother’s arm.
“Ow, Kel,” he whined but stopped once she gave him her death glare. “Fine. I’m sorry for how I treated you guys last night. It was wrong…”
“And obnoxious!” Kelly broke in.
“Yeah…anyway, Syd, I’m really glad you’re happy, and Michael, I’m really sorry for what I said and thanks for making Sydney feel special.” After he finished his speech he clammed up again and shoved his hands in his pockets.
I looked at Michael and he shrugged. “Fine, Chris. We accept your apology. But if you pull this felgercarb again…”
“I won’t, I swear.” I smiled at him.
“Well, that’s all we came here for…we’ll leave you two now…” Kelly broke in, winking at me. I laughed.
“Actually…we were just thinking about what we could do.”
“Why don’t you guys go to the Tournament of Kings dinner show at the Excalibur? Tickets aren’t that expensive and you should still be able to get some for today.”
“Great idea, thanks!”
“Come on, I’ll drive you up closer to the strip so you don’t have to wait for the bus.”
I smiled gratefully and we grabbed our stuff and headed out with Kelly and Chris. As predicted, we were able to get two remaining tickets for the earlier show and decided to hang around the strip for a few hours until it started.
Dinner was a lot of fun and afterwards we curled up on my couch to watch some movies.
“I don’t wanna go to work tomorrow…” I whined.
“Aww…poor baby…” Michael teased. I pouted and he quickly kissed my lips.
“Mmmm, maybe I’ll call out sick.”
“Sydney, no. Don’t do that. Dave was nice enough to give you New Year’s Eve off.”
“I know…but…I want to be with you. You leave the day after tomorrow!” I wrapped my arms around him and he smiled down at me.
“We’ll see each other again, Syd.”
“But not for a long time.” I started thinking about how the next time I’d really have the opportunity to see him would be in March during spring break and was incredibly sad at the thought of almost three months without being near him. Maybe this relationship was a bad idea. Maybe Chris was right.
“Hey,” he said, gently tilting my head so he could look into my eyes. “We’ll make it work, Syd.” Then he kissed me again. Okay, no, Chris was definitely wrong. He is soooo worth it.
We stayed up pretty late and I had a hard time getting up in the morning to be out of the apartment by 10:15.
“Bye…” I said, gently kissing Michael before I left. “You know where to find me if you need me.” I felt guilty leaving but he assured me he would be fine until I got home. Reluctantly I dragged myself to work and through my shift. Finally it was four and my day ended. I quickly hurried back to my apartment only to find Michael in my kitchen, cooking something that smelled incredible.
“What on earth…” He looked up from what he was doing and grinned.
“I found the grocery store and thought I’d use my skills to cook you a fantastic dinner.”
“You can cook?” I said, my mouth hanging open.
“Very well. My mom is French and she insisted I help her in the kitchen, ever since I was a little boy. So tonight I give you Suprêmes de Volaille Véronique, or, chicken breasts & grapes in white wine/cream sauce. And for dessert, chocolate mousse.”
Oh my god, I was salivating. Not only was Michael incredibly sweet, incredibly hot, incredibly fun in bed (well, based on my limited experience), but also he could cook. I wanted to marry this boy. Now.
“You gonna say something or just stand there drooling?” He asked, coming toward me and wrapping his arms around me.
“Oh my god, marry me,” I blurted out. “WHAT? SYDNEY ANNE, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?” He looked startled.
“I mean,” I squeaked out, “this looks amazing. I’ll um, be right back…just gonna go change from work…” I walked away shaking my head. Why was I such an idiot sometimes?
As I stood in my room, changing into some comfy sweats, I felt two arms wrap around me and lips kiss my neck. “So, was that a marriage proposal, Miss Bristow?”
I laughed nervously. “Uh, sorry…I um, tend to blurt out random things sometimes…”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“What?”
TBC... tomorrow!!!!!
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Here is the next chapter. This fic moves through a lot kinda fast....
Recap:
“Thanks, Michael. I…” I paused briefly. “I love you,” I whispered into the phone.
He didn’t say anything for a few moments. “Like I said, I’m always here for you, Sweetie. Have a good night, okay?”
“Okay. Bye, Michael.” I hung up the phone feeling conflicted. I finally took the chance to admit my feelings to him, and I had been pretty sure he’d felt the same feelings over the past few months but he didn’t reciprocate them. But that was another worry for another day. Right now I had to find a way to deal with my dad in the morning.
Sighing, I crawled into bed and stared at the picture of Michael and I at the Venetian before falling asleep. Little did I know that he was lying in his own bed, staring at the same picture and wishing it was December 30th.
Chapter 4:
It was nearing ten in the morning and I had been pacing the living room for twenty minutes. At exactly ten, there was a knock on the door and I flung it open, coming face to face with my dad.
“You came,” I commented.
“I told you I would. Breakfast?” he said, holding up a box with huge muffins and some coffee and juice.
I smiled and let him in. “Thanks. I’ll get some plates.” After returning from the kitchen I caught him looking around.
“Sydney, this is a very nice apartment.”
“Thanks.” We stared at each other awkwardly before I reached into the box and grabbed a muffin.
“Sydney,” dad started. “Look. I know I’ve disappointed you and let you down more times than you can count since your mother died. I haven’t been there for you at all, or showed you how much I really loved you. The day you left…it was not the best day of my life. I realized what I did to you. The reason I didn’t come after you is because I was ashamed. I was ashamed that I was a man who couldn’t be affectionate towards his own daughter. Instead, I hired a man to find you and I kept tabs on you to make sure you were safe. Again, I was just being distant instead of a truly caring father. And it was wrong. The day I got your Christmas card, well, I knew I had to try and start to make things right. So I am here now, and all I can say is that I apologize for everything and I would like to try and be a part of your life again if you’ll let me.”
I was stunned. I never expected such an outpouring of emotion from him. But it was enough for me to start and let him in again. I wasn’t that much of a bitch and didn’t need to hold a grudge forever. I smiled and rushed over to hug him. “Daddy, that’s the best Christmas present you ever gave me!”
He was stiff for a moment before enveloping me in his arms. I felt like I was five-years-old again, and it felt good. Michael was right…miracles could happen.
We spent the rest of the day together and actually had a decent time. I told him about Chris and his family and about Michael. Surprisingly, instead of being an overprotective father, he was glad I had two seemingly nice “young men” looking out for me. We agreed to meet for breakfast the next morning before he left and he asked if Chris could come. All I could say was that I’d ask.
~~~
“Please Chris,” I begged over the phone, after my dad left. “I know you think he is a jerk…and I did too but he is trying. Really trying. And he wants to meet you, which is a big thing for him. He’s never taken an interest in my friends.”
Okay, Syd. I’ll be there. Promise.”
~~~
Breakfast went well and Chris and my dad got along. Once we were finished, Chris headed back home so I could say goodbye to my dad in private.
“Thanks again for coming, Dad. It really does mean a lot.”
“Thank you for giving me a chance, Sweetheart. Listen…I’m your father and I want to still help you out. Please understand I am really proud of you for handling your own life since June. But I really do want to do something for you. I know you are starting with school and you are planning to pay for it yourself. But I know that will significantly lessen your savings and well, I’d really like it if you’d let me help you out with your education at least.”
“Dad…is this going to be you throwing your money at me like you always have?”
“No, Sydney. I promise. I really just want to make life a little easier for you and paying for school, that would help you.” I mulled over his words. He was right, like that’s any surprise. While I could pay for school and life expenses, it was going to be hard, but I wanted my education. With my dad’s help, it would mean extra money for me to save. Yet I was hesitant for him to have the control over me.
“Okay. Here is the deal. I’ll let you pay for this semester. But if I feel you are using this to try and control me or saying that by you paying for school shows how much you love me, that’s it. No more help.”
He smiled. “Agreed.” He took out his checkbook, wrote something and handed it to me. “This should cover tuition and textbooks. Thank you for letting me help.” Sliding the check in my hand, he kissed my cheek.
I hugged him and walked him over to where his car was waiting to take him to the airport. “Thanks for coming, Dad. Will you come back?”
“I will. I’ll look at my schedule when I get home and call you later or tomorrow. If you don’t hear from me, just call me.”
“Okay. Bye.” We hugged again and he left. I still couldn’t believe what happened over the past few days.
>o<
Two days later I was sitting in my living room at noon, like I had promised Michael for at least a month now. My cell phone rang. It was him.
“Okay, what’s my surprise?”
“Hello to you too, Sydney.”
“Michael,” I whined. “You’ve been teasing me for like, a month. What is it?”
“Okay, open your door. It’s on your doorstep.”
“What?”
“Just do it.”
“Ooo-kayyy.” Cautiously I went over and opened the door. What I saw made me drop my phone on the floor. “Michael?!”
He was standing there grinning at me. “Surprise,” he said, flipping his phone shut and sliding it into his pocket.
Two seconds later I had jumped into his arms and was hugging him fiercely. “You’re here. You are really here!”
“I am. And can I come inside?”
“Oh, of course!! Oh!! You are totally staying with me, right?”
“That’s my plan.” He walked inside with his bag.
“So…how? What? Why?” he laughed and took one of my hands in his.
“Syd…ever since I left you in August, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Phone calls weren’t enough; I knew I had to see you again. And when you told me Chris got you off work for New Years Eve, well, I thought I’d come surprise you with a visit.” I didn’t let him say anything else because I jumped into his arms again and started kissing him. The force caught him off guard and he stumbled backward, causing us to crash into the couch. Laughing, we disentangled ourselves and sat properly. “Wow…if I knew I was getting that kind of greeting I would have come sooner.”
I giggled. “Michael, I meant what I said on the phone. I really do love you.”
He stared at me intensely. “Sydney…I’ve fallen so in love with you over the past few months. Like I said, you were all I could think of. But I didn’t want to say it back on the phone. I wanted to wait until today. I love you too. So much. Who knew my boring family reunion would have brought me the best thing in my life.”
He is so sweet. My Michael. My rock, the person I called when I was upset at two in the morning. “You are so great,” I responded. Man, I was such a dork. Oh well. “So how long are you here for?”
“Until the third at night so about four and a half days.”
It’ll do. “Awesome. Oh my god, I’m totally telling Chris I can’t come to his party now.”
“Don’t do that, Syd. We should go, you made a promise to him.”
I pouted. “Fine, but we are leaving before midnight. I want you all to myself as much as possible.”
“Deal.” He kissed me. “Okay, when do you have to work while I am here?”
Work. Shoot. “Hmmm…. Actually, just tonight from four until one… I can get out of clean up, and then I have the lunch shift on the second, so that’s eleven to four. So at least it isn’t TOO much time.”
“Not at all. Do you get a dinner break tonight?”
“Yes, of course. We’ll spend my break together. If I combine that with my two fifteen minute breaks, I get an hour and a half so I’ll arrange that.”
“Great. So…what are we going to do for the next four hours until you have to go?”
I gave him a devilish look. “We’re staying right here to make up for four months…” I pulled him close to me and we leaned in for another kiss.
Three hours of making out later, I was on my way to work with Michael promising to take care of our dinner plans when I called to tell him what time my break would be. I was on cloud nine. Life had just gotten pretty good. I made up with my dad and suddenly entered into a relationship with the out of towner I fell for.
One my way, I pulled out my cell and made a quick phone call. “Hey! So I am bringing a guest with me tomorrow night.”
“What?” Chris said, shocked.
“Um, remember Michael?”
“The tourist you fell in love with?!”
“Yeah. Well, um… he’s here! He came to surprise me. Isn’t that sweet?” Chris knew I kept talking to Michael despite his warnings, and hadn’t been happy about it.
“Sydney…”
“No. I know what you are going to say…I’m only going to have my heart broken. But I won’t! I swear. He loves me. Like, really loves me. And I love him too. He’s really great. You’ll see…”
“Whatever. I’ll see you guys tomorrow then,” Chris said, either jealously or angrily. I couldn’t decide.
“Don’t be this way. I’ll see you. Bye, Chris.” I hung up. Work flew by, as did dinner and before I knew it, I was on my way home at one in the morning. I let myself into my place quietly, figuring Michael would be asleep, which he was, on the couch. The couch. Not exactly where I planned to have him sleep. Tip-toeing over, I leaned down and kissed him as deeply as I could. I felt him start to respond and saw him open his eyes slowly.
“Hi…” I said. “What are you doing out here?”
“I wasn’t sure where you wanted me to sleep,” he admitted groggily.
“Michael. We slept in the same bed the first day we hung out, you silly boy. Get your ass up and follow me.”
“Damn. Such a slave driver, Bristow.” He got up, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. After kissing a minute or so, he swooped me up and carried me into my room, placing me on the bed and kissing me some more.
I sighed. “As much as I like this,” I mumbled in between kisses, “please let me go change and clean up from work.”
He relinquished his grip and I slid away, grinning. “Be right back.” I quickly grabbed a cute little tank top and pajama pants and ran into the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. When I came back into the bedroom, Michael was asleep, or so it appeared. Disappointed, I walked to the empty side of the bed and climbed in, pressing a light kiss on his forehead before curling up close to him. I shut my eyes and willed myself to go to sleep.
The next thing I knew, Michael had closed his arms around me and flipped me up so I was lying directly on top of him.
“You sneak! I thought you were asleep!!” I cried, pounding a fist on his chest. He laughed.
“Looks can be deceiving.” He put his left hand on the back of my head and pulled me down for a kiss.
“Mmmm…” I sighed. “You’re forgiven.” We made out for a while before drifting off to sleep. Before I lost total consciousness, I gently stroked his face. “I love you, Michael. Thank you for coming to visit.”
“I love you too, Sydney. I wish I could see you every single day.”
~~~
We slept in until almost one in the afternoon. I ended up completely curled into Michael with his arms enveloping me against his chest. It was the most perfect way to wake up.
“Hi,” I mumbled into his chest when I felt him move just slightly.
“Good morning, Baby.”
“I’m going to take a shower,” I paused, thinking carefully about what I was about to say next. “Want to join me?”
“What?”
“You heard me. The offer stands…it’s your decision.” With a teasing smile, I slid out of bed and sashayed over to the bathroom, leaving a stunned Michael on the bed, pondering my proposal. I’d never been so bold before and truth be told, this was new territory for me. But I truly loved him, and felt like nothing was off limits.
I stepped into the warm water cascading down, wondering if he was going to join me. On one hand, he would be a complete gentleman and give me privacy. On the other, he still was a normal, red-blooded teenage male with raging hormones.
I began to lather shampoo into my hair. About ten seconds after I started, I heard the shower door slide open and felt his hands in my hair. “Let me…” I dropped my hands and let the sensations of his head massage take over. “Lean back…” he instructed, allowing the water to rinse the suds out of my hair. Once I was sure the soap was gone, I turned around to face him, smiling.
“Hi.”
He grinned back, keeping his eyes trained on mine. What a gentleman. “You sure about this, Syd?”
“Never been more sure of anything,” I said, leaning in for a kiss. After “exploring” some new territory and washing up, we left the shower, got dressed and wandered up to the Strip for something to eat.
After we ordered, I blushed a bit and asked Michael if he’d ever had sex with anyone.
“Once, yeah, last year at college. I was drunk, she was drunk…not the greatest scenario. What about you?”
“No…” I admitted quietly. He looked surprised. “I know, I know. After me telling you to shower with me this morning, who would have thought otherwise, right?”
“Syd…I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable then…we don’t have to do anything you are not ready for,” he said, taking my hand.
“That’s the thing…it felt so natural for us to be that way this morning. I really love you, Michael. I never felt more connected with anyone in my life. And I am really glad you came to surprise me because I can’t imagine wanting to start a new year off with anyone else but you.” I leaned down and gently kissed the hand that was holding mine. He smiled and leaned across the table to kiss me on the lips.
“I feel the same way, Syd. I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I thank my family every day for planning a reunion last summer in Vegas.”
We continued to be mushy with each other for the rest of the meal and made our way back to my apartment to relax for a few hours and get ready for Chris’ party. Around nine, we made our way to his house and knocked on the door.
Kelly, Chris’ twin, flung open the door. “SYDNEYYYYY!” She cried. “Ooohh… who is the eye candy?”
I laughed. “Kel, this is my boyfriend,” I said with a glance toward Michael. We technically hadn’t established our relationship but whatever. I saw him grin. “Michael. He’s from Arizona and goes to college in Washington.”
“I didn’t know Syddie had a boyfriend! She’s been hiding you!” Kelly squealed. It was obvious she’d gotten into her mom’s champagne punch. “Welcome, welcome, both of you. All us kids are downstairs. Mom made us our own batch of punch. You didn’t drive did you?” We both shook our heads. She grinned and pulled us inside and we made our way back downstairs.
“There she is!” I heard Chris yell and suddenly two arms were around me, swinging me into the air. Once he put me down he looked at Michael. “You must be the tourist Syd fell for,” he said, glaring at him.
“Christopher. Be nice. This is Michael.” Michael stepped forward to shake his hand but Chris just stood there. Finally when I slapped his arm, he shook Michael’s hand and walked away.
Michael gave me a questioning look and I just shrugged. “He’s not usually like that. Sorry…”
“It’s okay. I’m here with you and that’s all that matters.” We joined hands and mingled with the crowd. I introduced him to my friends and everyone genuinely made him feel welcome. Well, everyone except Chris who kept glaring at him whenever he got the chance.
“Kel,” I said an hour later when I pulled her aside. “What is up your brother’s ass? Seriously. He’s being such a dick.”
She gave me a sympathetic glance. “Oh, Syddie… my brother’s had a crush on you for months. He’s just jealous.” I sighed.
“Great…gain a boyfriend, lose one of my best friends.”
“He’ll get over it…oh my god…Syd… he’s talking to Michael!” I looked over. felgercarb.
~~~
“So, Michael, is it?” Chris said, sauntering over to him.
“Yeah…”
“I just want to tell you that if you hurt her in any way, I’ll kick your ass. Sydney’s special. She deserves to be treated like a queen.”
“I know.”
“I’m not joking.”
“I’m not joking either. Listen. I don’t know what you have against me since you met me oh, like, an hour ago. But I love Sydney and I don’t intend to hurt her. If you have a problem with that, it’s your own business. But if you were really her best friend, as she claims you are, why don’t you just try being happy for her?” After that, Michael turned around and went upstairs to get some food.
I had seen them talk from across the room and once I saw Michael leave, I ran over to Chris and slapped him on the back of his head. “What did you say to him?”
“Nothing. I’m just looking out for you.”
“Well, STOP IT. I know what I am doing. I told you, I love him. Accept it. I don’t want to lose you as my best friend. Chris, you mean everything to me also. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have had a place to live or a job or friends or anything here. And Mike is great so give him a chance. But since you’re being such an ass right now, I’m leaving.” I turned and also ran upstairs, almost running into Michael, who had a plateful of food.
“Turn around,” I commanded. “We’re going home.” He looked baffled as I pulled the plate from his hand and dragged him to the coat closet.
“Sydney, darling! I haven’t seen you all night!” Chris’ mom said as she noticed me. “Wait, Sweetie, you’re leaving? Before midnight?”
“Hi Mrs. Tyler. Yeah…this is Michael, my boyfriend. He’s from out of town and only here a few days so we only stopped by for a little.”
“Oh! It’s nice to meet you, Michael.” Mrs. Tyler said, firmly shaking his hand. “You guys MUST take some food back with you…please? I ordered way too much.” She pulled us back to the kitchen and prepared a Tupperware full of food for us. I used the time to call a cab. Once she was done, she handed it to me and kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks for coming, Sydney, Michael. Have a happy new year!”
“You too! See you soon,’ I promised and we slipped outside to wait for the cab. Once on the stoop, I felt Michael’s arms slide around me.
“Boyfriend? I like the sound of that,” he whispered into my ear. I smiled.
“Well, I didn’t know what else to say…this is the out of towner I showered with this morning didn’t sound as good.” We laughed. The cab came and we went back to my place. It was 11:30 so we sat around my TV talking until midnight.
“Happy new year, Sydney,” Michael said, leaning over and giving me an earth-shattering kiss.
“Mmmm,” I moaned into his mouth. “Happy new year. I love you,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. We kissed for a minute and I started tugging at his shirt, anxious to pull it off. He helped me with that effort and tossed the shirt on the couch before sweeping me up and carrying me to my bed. He gave me a look before setting me down and I responded with a kiss. Moments later, clothes were shed and we definitely found a nice way to bring in the New Year.
>o<
Around nine in the morning, I woke up with a huge smile on my face. I was lying next to the greatest guy I ever met in my life and all I could see in my dreams was having a future with him. I lay there for a while, just staring up at the ceiling and dreaming about what the future could hold for us.
“What have you been so busy thinking about,” I heard a while later. I turned my head to see Michael watching me intensely.
“Just some stuff,” I smiled devilishly. Leaning over to the nightstand, I grabbed a condom and proceeded to put it on Michael.
“Just stuff, huh?” He asked. I laughed.
“Not this, actually,” I admitted. “Other stuff. But then this popped into my head,” I said, crawling up towards his mouth to kiss him. “I just want to say good morning.”
>o<
After a small nap, we finally pulled ourselves out of bed around 11:30 and lazily made breakfast. We cuddled in the living room, watching cheesy movies on TV in our pajamas until around three in the afternoon when we finally decided we should shower and get dressed.
“So, what do you want to do?” I asked Michael around four once we were showered and changed.
“Whatever you want, Syd. As long as it is with you.” I smiled. Before I could answer, there was a pounding at my door. We glanced at each other and I went to open it. Standing there was Kelly, gripping Chris’ arm and looking furious.
“Um, hey, guys…” I said unsurely as I stood before them. “What are you doing here?”
“Chris has something to say to you and Michael.” Kelly said sharply. I let them in and Michael immediately came over to drape his arm around me.
“Hey, Kelly,” he said to her with a smile. He nodded at Chris and continued to stand there with his arm around me as if to protect me.
“Hi, Michael. Nice to see you again,” Kelly replied with a smile and then pinched her brother’s arm.
“Ow, Kel,” he whined but stopped once she gave him her death glare. “Fine. I’m sorry for how I treated you guys last night. It was wrong…”
“And obnoxious!” Kelly broke in.
“Yeah…anyway, Syd, I’m really glad you’re happy, and Michael, I’m really sorry for what I said and thanks for making Sydney feel special.” After he finished his speech he clammed up again and shoved his hands in his pockets.
I looked at Michael and he shrugged. “Fine, Chris. We accept your apology. But if you pull this felgercarb again…”
“I won’t, I swear.” I smiled at him.
“Well, that’s all we came here for…we’ll leave you two now…” Kelly broke in, winking at me. I laughed.
“Actually…we were just thinking about what we could do.”
“Why don’t you guys go to the Tournament of Kings dinner show at the Excalibur? Tickets aren’t that expensive and you should still be able to get some for today.”
“Great idea, thanks!”
“Come on, I’ll drive you up closer to the strip so you don’t have to wait for the bus.”
I smiled gratefully and we grabbed our stuff and headed out with Kelly and Chris. As predicted, we were able to get two remaining tickets for the earlier show and decided to hang around the strip for a few hours until it started.
Dinner was a lot of fun and afterwards we curled up on my couch to watch some movies.
“I don’t wanna go to work tomorrow…” I whined.
“Aww…poor baby…” Michael teased. I pouted and he quickly kissed my lips.
“Mmmm, maybe I’ll call out sick.”
“Sydney, no. Don’t do that. Dave was nice enough to give you New Year’s Eve off.”
“I know…but…I want to be with you. You leave the day after tomorrow!” I wrapped my arms around him and he smiled down at me.
“We’ll see each other again, Syd.”
“But not for a long time.” I started thinking about how the next time I’d really have the opportunity to see him would be in March during spring break and was incredibly sad at the thought of almost three months without being near him. Maybe this relationship was a bad idea. Maybe Chris was right.
“Hey,” he said, gently tilting my head so he could look into my eyes. “We’ll make it work, Syd.” Then he kissed me again. Okay, no, Chris was definitely wrong. He is soooo worth it.
We stayed up pretty late and I had a hard time getting up in the morning to be out of the apartment by 10:15.
“Bye…” I said, gently kissing Michael before I left. “You know where to find me if you need me.” I felt guilty leaving but he assured me he would be fine until I got home. Reluctantly I dragged myself to work and through my shift. Finally it was four and my day ended. I quickly hurried back to my apartment only to find Michael in my kitchen, cooking something that smelled incredible.
“What on earth…” He looked up from what he was doing and grinned.
“I found the grocery store and thought I’d use my skills to cook you a fantastic dinner.”
“You can cook?” I said, my mouth hanging open.
“Very well. My mom is French and she insisted I help her in the kitchen, ever since I was a little boy. So tonight I give you Suprêmes de Volaille Véronique, or, chicken breasts & grapes in white wine/cream sauce. And for dessert, chocolate mousse.”
Oh my god, I was salivating. Not only was Michael incredibly sweet, incredibly hot, incredibly fun in bed (well, based on my limited experience), but also he could cook. I wanted to marry this boy. Now.
“You gonna say something or just stand there drooling?” He asked, coming toward me and wrapping his arms around me.
“Oh my god, marry me,” I blurted out. “WHAT? SYDNEY ANNE, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?” He looked startled.
“I mean,” I squeaked out, “this looks amazing. I’ll um, be right back…just gonna go change from work…” I walked away shaking my head. Why was I such an idiot sometimes?
As I stood in my room, changing into some comfy sweats, I felt two arms wrap around me and lips kiss my neck. “So, was that a marriage proposal, Miss Bristow?”
I laughed nervously. “Uh, sorry…I um, tend to blurt out random things sometimes…”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“What?”
TBC... tomorrow!!!!!
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First! Fantastic update. I can't wait to see how Sydney gets out of this situation. Marry me? Has she lost her mind?! Although, I'd marry Vaughn in a second, so maybe she's not so crazy. Thanks for the PM!
NadiaSantosFan
Cadet
i loved the update! Thanks so much for the pm!texasalias2004
Cadet
Awe Cute update. I am glad that Kelly made Chris apoligize. I can't wait for more.
texasalias
texasalias
SpygirlAmy
Cadet
oooo that was GREAT!!! i loved it!! i am glad that Syd and her father are now on good terms.
i love how cute they are together!! its great!
cant wait for more!!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE update soon thanks for the PM
oooo that was GREAT!!! i loved it!! i am glad that Syd and her father are now on good terms.
i love how cute they are together!! its great!
cant wait for more!!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE update soon thanks for the PM
i love how cute they are together!! its great!
cant wait for more!!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE update soon
thanks for the PMoooo that was GREAT!!! i loved it!! i am glad that Syd and her father are now on good terms.
i love how cute they are together!! its great!
cant wait for more!!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE update soon
thanks for the PM
oooRevesDouxooo
Cadet
thats crazy!!! but the good kind of crazy!
i was thinking about this today and i wondered.. who did jack hire to look after syd?.. because it would suck if it was like chris or something.. but anyway..
update again soon..
i was thinking about this today and i wondered.. who did jack hire to look after syd?.. because it would suck if it was like chris or something.. but anyway..
update again soon..
derevkointraining
Cadet
thats crazy!!! but the good kind of crazy!
i was thinking about this today and i wondered.. who did jack hire to look after syd?.. because it would suck if it was like chris or something.. but anyway..
update again soon..
hahahah! no, this is not like "Chasing Liberty" or "First Daughter." He just hired a simple private detective.
AliasSydney502
Cadet
OMG!!
hahahz!
they did it!! twiceeeeee... heh
Marriageeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..........
What ELSE is VEGAS For!?!??!
Awesome, just incredibly awesome.
hahahz!
they did it!! twiceeeeee... heh
Marriageeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..........
What ELSE is VEGAS For!?!??!
Awesome, just incredibly awesome.