Love and dances - Joel Dawson

Only you

A/N: here it is! The last chapter of this story! I hope you have enjoyed it! And, as usual, there will be an epilogue coming as well, so make sure you read them both!

Dear Maple,

This is now my formal apology to you. From the bottom of my heart, I hope you accept it.

The music was soft and the lights were off, the only source of brightness coming from the fireplace and the candles around them, but as Joel swayed with Maple around her living room just like they had done a thousand times over before, he found he didn't particularly care for it. In fact, he quite liked the feel of it, finding it to be very intimate the way Maple allowed Joel to keep one of his hands on the small of her back while his other one held hers just beside their bodies as she laid her head against his shoulder and let him guide her around the room as they danced.

"You got a lot better." Maple spoke up at some point, her voice still low and soft, almost as if scared of bursting their little bubble. "You almost didn't step on my foot tonight."

"Yeah, well, I had a great teacher." Joel spoke back to her, his tone also softer than usual and his smile gentle when Maple tookba second to pull her head back from him and look into his eyes. "She helped me a lot with my dancing cause I was terrible when we met."

"Were you?" Maple practically hummed, playing along with Joel's words as the young man nodded down at her.

"Yep. Just dreadful. Almost hopeless, I'd say." He continued as Maple giggled quietly. "But she didn't only help me with my dancing, you know?"

And, at that, Maple frowned, pulling her head from Joel's shoulder again as she stopped moving altogether, keeping her eyes on him as the man before her licked his lips nervously. Just one look at her eyes told Joel everything he needed to know. She definitely didn't expect him to say something like that, but if the little hopeful glimmer in her eyes was anything to go by, Joel knew she wouldn't mind hearing what he wanted to say. And he wanted to say those words. He needed to say them. After all, this whole thing had been his idea only so he could ease his way into an apology. And apology long over due, sure, but an apology nonetheless. He wanted to do it and he knew what he needed to do, but, as he looked down at Maple as she stood in front of him with her hands as far away from him as they could get while Joel prayed she didn't pull away from his touch on her waist so he could continue to ground herself a little, he found saying what he had been planning to say was proving to be a lot harder than he had expected it to be.

"I'm sorry, Maple." He blurted out, any and every type of long, pretty speech he had prepared for this slipping from his mind as soon as Maple bit her lip with a small frown on her face. "Gosh, Maple, I... I'm so sorry."

"Joel..."

"No, listen, I..." Joel interrupted the girl before she could even start saying something, his hands around her waist tightening as he pulled her closer to him and Maple struggled to keep her tears at bay. "I was... I was so stupid, Maple... And not just that night. I mean... I said stupid shit that night of the benefit and I'm so sorry for everything I said, but when I said I'm sorry I mean... I mean I'm sorry for how I treated you. Or rather... For how I didn't treat you."

"Joel..." Maple shook her head with a pout on her lips. "Joel, I..."

"I know." Joel nodded quietly, his own eyes brimming with tears as he pulled one of his hands away from her hips to rest over her cheek instead. "I know, but you were right, you know? About everything you said that night. About... About how ungrateful I was and how you did everything for me and I just kept on focusing on Aimee instead."

"Of course you were..." Maple shrugged, her eyes leaving Joel's to look down at the the floor, even if she didn't move her head much, considering he still had it in his hold. "You were in love with someone else."