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Post by Delilah on Dec 24, 2008 2:23:04 GMT -5
She'd felt the change before the words were spoken. The guard had been dropped, and without thinking hers dropped too. She hoped for the better.
"I'm not good for you, Ayala, and I'm not good enough for you. You are not a whore to me, and you never will be. You make me so much more than I am, but if you don't believe me I won't make no fuss, just let you leave. Because that's where you belong, Yali. Not here. Not with me."
A smile broke across her face for a split second where it contrasted greatly with the tears that had dried on her cheeks. Her heart sunk as the rest of Vice's words processed in her brain. Wait...
"I don' know how we thought we could make this work. I love you, Ayala, but I don' know what I was thinking. What we were thinking."
She brushed the bangs out of his eyes and looked there trying to find answers. She didn't know what to say or even if there was anything that she could say. She was willing to give it a chance but he didn't seem like he would. So he'd slept with some whores, how many in this town could honestly say they hadn't? Like she'd said before, he was only human. He'd said that he hadn't lied and she knew that it was the truth. She could read it in his face, in his words, in his stance, in his everything. She was willing to accept him the way he was, past present and future but she wasn't sure that he even accepted himself in that way.
Not knowing what to say, she slowly took a step forwards and wrapped her arms gently around him. She hoped it would be enough.
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Post by Vice Ingram on Dec 24, 2008 2:42:10 GMT -5
He saw her confusion, saw the hurt that mangled her initial joy at his words. He knew it hadn't been what she'd wanted to hear, but also knew the the words had been waiting all along. If they were going to do this, they needed to realize what they were up against. But there he went again, thinking as if he could keep her. Even if she did still want him after the day's discovery, he wasn't sure if the idea was realistic. Like he'd said before, he had obligations, things he couldn't just walk away from. The thought entered his mind suddenly that perhaps she was one of these things, someone he couldn't just walk away from.
She seemed to be studying him, and he couldn't read the expression on her face. Her light fingers touched his forehead, brushed the hair from his eyes so that they could rest on her without distraction. It would take a lot of hurt to convince her to leave, hurt he wasn't sure he wouldn't to deal her, even if for her own benefit. He knew he couldn't. He couldn't cause her any more pain. He'd done enough.
Isaac was startled out of his thoughts as he felt her arms gently wrapping around him, encircling his waist, as if to erase the misery of the past few hours. And, though he knew he shouldn't, Isaac placed his own strong arms tenderly about the girl who now held to him, letting himself inhale her scent, enraptured by her trust.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, resting his chin on the top of her head.
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Post by Delilah on Feb 8, 2009 15:48:41 GMT -5
When she wrapped her arms around him, she'd hoped it would convey everything she was thinking. There was no way to put the thoughts into words. Everything was so mixed up..
I'm sorry
Her eyes squeezed shut as her arms tightened around him. His arms around her made her feel safe. His words sank into every fiber of her being and she hoped to g-d that they were true.
She loosened her arms reluctantly and leaned back a little, not taking a step back. She pushed up onto her tippytoes and kissed his cheek, right on the edge of his mouth. She stayed on her toes, not drawing back from him at all. "i'll take my chances with you, but will you take a chance on me?" she whispered.
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Post by Vice Ingram on Feb 18, 2009 12:59:46 GMT -5
It should have been simple. Everything, he told himself, should have been simple, but he'd made it complicated. As always. His thoughts were no longer raging, and the tempest inside his breast had subsided into a deeper calm, allowing him to relax as he worked toward a decision. He'd convinced himself before that he must either lose himself or lose the girl he now held, but as his thoughts strayed to their previous encounters, he realized that his reasoning had been completely skewed. Letting Ayala go would mean letting a part of himself go, the part that he'd so recently discovered existed. Try as he might, he couldn't deny the fact that he cared deeply for her, even loved her, and choosing to ignore such a fact would be unthinkable.
He felt her arms tightening about him, but did not return the gesture. He needed to think, and any more physical contact would intoxicate him, make the task even more difficult than he'd already made it. He had wondered if perhaps his rash actions that night in the warehouse had created an unnecessary predicament, but as the thought returned now, he scolded himself for thinking it. Yes, he needed to learn to exercise restraint, but had he not acted so boldly, he might never have come to this point. Regardless of his pending decision, this point was where he needed to be.
Feeling slightly relieved as he felt Ayala's embrace loosening, he brought his gaze down to meet hers, watched as she hoisted herself to kiss him softly.
I'll take my chances with you, but will you take a chance on me?"
He closed his eyes for a moment, struggling not to let their closeness impair his judgment any further. Why did she have to be so direct? He wasn't sure how to answer, and in truth, he wasn't completely certain he'd made up his mind. He had responsibilities as a leader; he couldn't just ditch his boys for who they took to be merely his latest flame. On the other hand, he couldn't fathom his lips shaping the word "no", seeing Ayala turn and walk out of his life for good. As he imagined the occurrence of the latter, his throat constricted, and the image seemed to shatter the concept of his current reality. Did he honestly think he could let her go?
It was then that he knew. Every doubt flooded from his mind, and a new sort of blitheness sprang up inside him. Her face was still very near his, but instead of closing the distance, he stepped back, said not a word, and caught her hand. Leading her in the opposite direction from whence she'd come, he stopped at the door to the lodging area. "You should know I don't make promises..."
Turning the knob without hesitation, he stepped into the room, and, placing an arm around Ayala's waist, gently pulled her inside. Isaac was not surprised to be greeted by stares, some curious, some slightly menacing, and he smothered a smile as he caught sight of Scamp leaning against the far wall. Suddenly remembering that Ayala was most likely questioning his sanity by now, he tightened his hold on her, and led her farther into the room, right into the middle of the raised eyebrows and stares. Pulling her gently to him, he encircled her waist with both arms, and brought his mouth to her ear. "I don't make promises, Ayala, but this is one I'm going to make. I promise that you can have all of me, whatever you want, and I promise I won't leave. I know I can't be perfect for you, but I promise I'll do my best. I promise to love you, and I promise I won't try to hide that."
As if to emphasize his words, he looked around at the amused expressions now fixed on him, and then brought his dark eyes back to Ayala's. Tilting his head, he leaned nearer, and slowly brought his lips to hers, kissing her once very softly, and again. Aware of the many eyes on his back, he lifted a strong hand, placed it behind Ayala's head, and then, stroking her silky hair, let his open mouth rest on hers, feeling a small smile begin to play on his lips. "Let them watch. You'll be here for more than two hours, you know."
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