Every Single Part Of Me
Story by Daisy
~~*Chapter Eleven*~~
I walked solo down the park path, the same park that I had first met Bethany at. I leaned against the bars that surrounded the community pool and stared in, hoping to find Bethany swimming there. She wasn’t. I shoved my hands in my pockets and continued on. I stayed there all day.
It was beginning to get dark and I stood silently, watching the stars come out.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” I whipped around quickly at the sound of Bethany’s voice.
“Bethany,” I whispered, moving towards her with my hands outstretched. She took a step back and I stopped. We stood there, staring at each other and sharing a conversation with our eyes. Unspoken words bit into my heart as I realized all the pain that she, too, had been going through. I longed to reach out for her but her eyes told me not to.
“Nick,” Her voice wobbled and she cleared her throat to regain control of it. “Nick, every single part of me wants to love you. Every single part of me wants to let you love me. But there’s just one part of me that kept telling me to stay away from you but I didn’t listen. And I should have.”
“No.” I stepped towards her and she took another step back. I cringed from the pain in my heart of seeing her back away from me.
“I can’t believe that you were really going to use me for your sexual pleasure. I thought we had something more.” Her eyebrows creased and her eyes began to get teary. I stepped closer and again she stepped back. “Nick, I can’t let myself love you if that’s all that you want. I’m afraid to trust you now. I…”
“Bethany, please!” My voice was a high-pitched whine but I didn’t care. “I’ve never felt anything for anyone the way I felt about you. I had never felt such bliss when I felt your arms around me or when we kissed. I’m sorry that I ever thought about…” I stopped, but forced myself to continue with the harshness of the reality. “I’m sorry that I ever thought about using you for the sex. In the beginning, yes, that’s all I was in for, but now?” I stepped closer again, thankful when she didn’t move back. “I’m in it for love.”
Her eyes shone brightly with tears. She closed her eyes and just before she dropped her head, I saw one single tear trickled down her cheek. I brushed it away with my thumb, holding her face with my hand afterwards. I titled her face upwards until her eyes met mine.
“Bethany, tell me you love me. That’s all I need to hear.”
I watched her face as she struggled inwardly, debating whether or not to trust me. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I thought about the chance of losing her.
“Bethany, I never meant to hurt you the way I did.” She looked away, forcing me to take my hand from her face. “If you were any other girl, I would have stopped trying after you refused me just once. If you were any other girl, I wouldn’t have even sought after you after we danced and you left me.” I reached for her hands and clasped them in mine. “But, Bethany, you’re not any other girl. You’re you. And…and I love you.”
Her head picked up quickly and she looked me in the eye, not believing if she had heard me right.
“Bethany, please. Tell me you love me and I promise that I’ll be yours forever.” I shifted my weight from foot to foot nervously as I watched her contemplate the answer. She finally looked up at the stars.
“They’re really beautiful.” She said absently. I looked up at them and then back at her. She was staring at me with a smile on her face.
“Nick,” she paused.
“Yes,” I stepped closer to her so that my forehead was just barely touching hers.
“Nick, I love you with every single part of me.” She smiled broadly and I shared her smile. I wrapped her up in my arms and held her tightly, not wanting to let go. I kissed her lips softly, welcoming the nervous butterflies in my stomach that accompanied the kiss. I wrapped one arm around her waist and slid my hand through her hair, kissing her softly under the moonlight.
“Nick, promise something.” She said when we broke apart. I reached for her hand and intertwined my fingers with hers and began walking down the path.
“Anything.”
“Don’t try to push me into anything.” I turned to look at her and she continued. “You’ll know when I’m ready. And only then…”
I nodded, fully understanding. I slid my hand around her waist and we walked along the park trail, caught up in our own bliss for our newfound love.