How long will I love you

The Heart of Life

You rang  the bell to the villa shyly. It had been two days since you met him, but it was still so fresh in your memory that every time you thought about it , it would never fail to send warmth to your cheeks and bring a smile to your face.  You never expected yourself to come that day to his house , but you surprised yourself anyways.

After few long awkward moments , the door to the villa opened , and out came the man himself, wearing a plastic apron covered in paint and a glowing smile complementing his  handsome face. You could swear that every time he gave you that billion dollar smile, you could feel the tingling in your stomach growing with an unfamiliar feeling.

“Hey, come on in, we were waiting for you.” He gestured you to come inside and you, hesitatingly entered the large house.

He took your coat and hung it on a nearby hanger, while you grabbed the 20$ wine you bought from Walmart.

“ I didn’t know what to bring in, so here’s the most affordable option I could find”

“ you didn’t have to bring in anything, you are a gift in yourself” , he said, chuckling.

“ Is that what you say to every pretty girl you invite over to your house?” you asked, crossing your arms smugly.

“ I don’t know, you are the first one in a long time , so you tell me if it worked , so that I could  use it in the future” he said, earning a snort from you.

“ That’s hard to believe , given your looks and status”

He chuckled , shaking his head “ Believe me, I may look like I bed women daily , but I am sort of a one woman man"

You laughed and  blushed at his remark, and in an attempt to change the topic, you asked- “ so where is the rest of the party?”

“In here- now you may want to wear this before you enter” he  said offering you an apron. “ Though they know you are my guest ,I cannot guarantee they will be on their best behavior, so I apologize in advance”

“ who is in th-“ , and before you can finish, a splatter of paint had made its way to you and hit you square at your chest, thank God for the apron.

Your surprised face was met by two giggling kids , facing you with paint buckets in their hands and the rest of the paint on their small bodies .

“ Dad, is she your  special guest?” , the shorter one asked Oscar, still laughing.

“ Yes it is , and look how you welcomed her”, he said trying to sound  hard, but failing to be while controlling his own laugh.

“ It’s fine, in fact it’s the best welcome I have received in years” you said smiling nervously.

Oscar rubbed his hands together, and finally collected himself enough to introduce you.

“ Kids, this is my friend Y/N L/N”
You waved a short hi, receiving excited hellos in return.

“ Y/N , These are my kids , Miguel” he said pointing to the taller , blond one, -“ and this is Derek” , who raised his hand on hearing his name , with brown hair like his father .

You smiled , feeling warm suddenly. This day is definitely going to be remembered by you forever.
—————————————————
Present

The play was about to begin , but no sign of you . With a sigh, Oscar took his assigned seat , and looked to the empty one on the left given for his plus one , even when he didn’t have any. He didn’t get any time to process this morning, but now, as he waited for his son’s play to start, Oscar could think  of nothing but you.

How the past years have made you even more beautiful than he remembered, or maybe his memory wasn’t that sharp anymore and you were  always this beautiful. He had lost all hope of finding you again , and was fine living his monotone life for his children. But now when you were  back, he thinks , maybe , just maybe, there is still hope for us. He could still picture you and him, happily lying in bed together, while you are curled up into his side  with an arm around his torso , while he clings to you as needy as ever. He could imagine you and him laughing, with you snorting about that one silly pun he made hours ago . He knows now, with all the new responsibilities, these past years would have taken a toll on both of you, making  a different person  then you and him  used to be. Even then, with little to no chance of being together now , he imagines this cocoon of happiness, where no one can disturb you two, where  it's just Oscar and Y/N , happy laying in each other’s arms, laughing , kissing, cuddling and forgetting the world even existed.

His chain of thoughts are broken by a familiar face breaking the chain of people sitting in his row, apologies making their way out of  her mouth profusely as she makes her way to him through the row full of irritated people. His heart skipped a beat as you sat down next to him, though without sparing him a glance.

“ Hi” he said quietly.

“ Did I miss it?” you ask, while settling down in your seat .

“ No, you are just in time” says Oscar , giving you a timid smile.

You return the smile, and sit  there waiting for the play to start. You look at the brochure, given at the entrance to see what the play was about , it was Robin hood, and sure enough, Derek was King John. Smiling to yourself , you look over at  Oscar , who is gazing at you dreamily, but he knows  what you want to ask him.

“ No I did not ask him to audition for  specifically  this role. I am not so shallow”

You stifle a laugh as much as you could , but end up snorting loudly. Everyone looks at you , and you mutter an apology. Again.

“ Still can’t hold in a laugh, can you” Oscar asks , eyes sparkling with mischief.

Before you could reply , the play begins. But none of you are interested in it.  In between scenes, You keep on stealing glances at him while  he does too. Sometimes, you would  look at each other at the exact same time,  smile  and look down to your feet or towards the play with a blush. Somewhere between the performance, Oscar's hand is  on yours , and sometime after that , you sit there with your hand intertwined in his , a relaxed smile on both of your faces. It was only during Derek’s parts, that you actually care about what is going on around you .

An hour and a half later , you two are applauding for the cast and crew as they bow down and the curtains fall.
The auditorium is empty soon after , and you wait for Derek to join you .Soon enough, an excited Derek runs  towards you and hugs you with the same excitement. You pat him on his back while his dad ruffles his hair , praising him.

“ We are having a celebratory dinner at Aubrey’s, come with us”
You hesitate to answer for a moment, thinking of your daughter , waiting for you at your neighbors’ house.

“ Come on , it will be just like old times, besides Mig would kill me if he can’t meet you” Eugene pleads.

“ Alright, just let me make some arrangements for my daughter”

“ Why , can’t she  come with us? ” Oscar says with some hesitation.

“ Oh no, it’s- it’s fine. She won’t let you eat in peace”

“ Well , weren’t we  the same at her age?  I say we bring her too. We can finally have dinner like a big family” Eugene responds quickly.

Both , you and Oscar exchange a look.
Family. It sounded so foreign to you now . Realizing the awkwardness he caused, Eugene is about to retract his statement, but your  phone rings ,thankfully.

Excusing yourself quickly , You attend the call from your neighbor, and asked her to wait for you as you come pick Sara up. Hanging up, you tell the guys about picking her up on the way , to which they excitedly agree. Derek goes ahead to talk to his  driver regarding the route, leaving you and Oscar, alone in silence.

“ I never imagined that I’ll meet you here”

Oscar’s statement startled you out of your daze.

“ Neither did I. But I did remember the promise.”

Oscar smiles , and looks at you with a gaze so smoldering, that makes you want to kiss him right then and there . He gaze falls to your lips , but quickly make its way back to your eyes.
“ I….I don’t know where to start Y/N… So much..”

“ Then let’s don’t , we could enjoy the present now, as it is . We could eat dinner , as a “family”,  you say quoting Derek.

“We will talk when one of us finds the words to, so right now,  just… let’s go where the night takes us” you say ,shrugging your shoulders.

“ You were always better at these things than me” he sighs shaking his head .

“ And I still am. Come on , let’s go”, you say offering your hand to him to hold.

Smiling brightly like love stuck teenagers , you two made your way to the parking lot hand in hand , and finally at peace for now , together.