10 years ago.
Rhea stood at the ridge of the bridge , the stunning view of the endless sea and that salty smell of the sea breeze , for some it was naseauting but for her it was indefinite hope , Denver had told her to come here but she also had something to say to him , then she heard footsteps and there she saw him , he was expectedly walking towards her and now he was infront of her, a cheesy smile playing on his lips leaving Rhea curious, " why...why are you smiling like that? ", she asked , Denver walked close to her , his hands behind his back and then he brought out his hidden arms outstretching it towards Rhea, his hand holding a book, she looked at it curiously then she looked up at him then she took the book from his hand . She glanced at him for a while then she opened the book , it was her book, the one that had been thrown in the rain, his handwriting was so pretty and the books so neat , everything was written word by word , no missed sentences, everything was accurate, it was beautiful but...she closed the book , her stare cold, " let's not meet each other again...", it was short , she didn't falter , she just said it as it was, Denver broad smile died down almost immediately, he looked confused , " what are you.....", Rhea sighed not letting Denver complete his sentence, " we both come from different worlds ...I can't say I want to continue writing and still be friends with you.....you are a catalyst to me right now , so...let's stop it here", those words were so blatant, she was so non challant, almost like she didn't care of the words she had said to him.
She turned around to leave but Denver held her by her arm , the way he held her, he was being too gentle despite being hurt, " Rhea....", he called her name so softly like just a tiny broken line would damage it, she could feel her heart was going to burst, she wanted to cry but she held herself , she pulled her arm from his hold , " right now...I am not certain of my future , I'm not good in school, it's not like I have any plans for college and even if I did .....I don't have any majors I'm interested in....", she looked up at Denver who looked hurt, she had to hold herself, she wasn't going to break her resolve, she smiled as she took a step closer to him , " all I know how to do is to write...it's something that makes me who I am, if this doesn't work out I have nothing to fall back to", she took a step closer to Denver, " and if that happens...", she looked over at the sea , the breeze blowing to through their hair and messing it up , " I will be too ashamed to face you ", she said softly, Denver bent his head low , " should I ask you what is wrong or do you.....", he heaved as he clenched his fist, " do you want me to be that listening friend?", he asked as he looked at her, Rhea smiled as she leaned on the railing of the bridge not saying anymore as they both looked at the endless sea letting the silence between them answer the question.
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Present.
It was impulsive , was it the mood or the feelings she had suppressed for a long time, was it the fact that she felt lonely , was it the alcohol of yesterday that was interfering with both her mind and heart?, she didn't know what it was , she didn't know what had come over her , she sighed as she stood on her tiptoes , she leaned in and kisses Denver on the lips , what was she doing right now , Denver was shocked at the unexpected kiss, when he had pulled her to himself , he just wanted to tease her .....but then she did this, she didn't know how much he had restrained himself anytime they were of near proximity and there she just kissed him , he felt a certain heat all over his body and he clenched his fist, if he should do as much as touching her ,only God knew what was going to happen.
Like the heavens was listening to him, Rhea suddenly opened her eyes in realization and without wasting anytime she pushed him away as she quickly turned away from him, her hands on her lips surprised at what she had done , she kissed Denver , what was she thinking , how was she going to face him now, this is so embarrassing.
As Rhea was subconsciously hitting her head at her dreadful mistake , Denver on the other hand was flushed , that kiss was expected , but...he liked it, her lips, even with that brief contact, it was so soft, and he could feel his heart beating so fast, he was so flustered, " I.....um...Rhea", Rhea quickly turned almost startling him, she was blushing and she didn't even look at him in the eye, it was so ..... adorable, " um.....I need to go .....", the calculated Rhea who never stuttered , who never batted an eye when she spoke her mind barely caring if it hurt the other was flustered and before he knew it she had ran out of the house before Denver could even call her name . The house once again was silent all that could be heard was the fast beating of Denvers heart, his mind drifted off to that kiss again and unconsciously placed his hand on his lips , his cheeks were flushed red, " she's so careless", he muttered under his breath.
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I once had a dream that I liked a boy, eventhough I liked that boy, he was still unreachable, a boy who smiled a lot , had the most beautiful eyes and smelled like fruits seemed unreachable to me .
I collapsed to the floor immediately I had closed that door, I grasped my hair , this was so embarrassing, how was I going to face him , I should just stay indoors for the rest of my life , after I had set boundaries I was still the one who crossed it, what had come over me, I was very much sober , I sighed helplessly , screaming internally , what have I done and then.....a knock , I was a little startled , I could easily tell who it was, I remained silent, not daring to answer , " um.....I...I just dropped some food for you...I packed some of the souffle pancakes , I saw how you ate them earlier, you must have really liked them that was why I packed it, I.... I also packed some soup, just put it in your fridge , if.....if you aren't ready to eat it yet", his voice was pinned in all three emotions,nervousness, awkwardness and .....timidness, I walked up to my door, staring at that door handle , I should at least apologize shouldn't I and I should also thank him for the food , I took a deep breathe after my not so convincing inner monologue, I was about to open the door when...., " hey Rhea.....", his voice was softer , warmer, my hand remained on the knob not turning it, waiting to hear what he was going to say, " I'm not mad at you for what you did, if you think I am ....I am not mad,.....it is also kind of my fault, I gave a rather deceiving approach didn't I ", that hint of awkwardness and embarrassment could easily be heard in the voice and for some reason I found it both amusing and ...cute, my eyes widened with realization at my thoughts , what was I thinking just now ..., I backed away from the door, " so let's pretend as if this never happened", those words for an unclear reason stung but it was better that he had clarified the situation, " okay then....I will get going", and then he was gone, I could finally breathe ,it felt like I had been holding my breathe for too long, it was an impulsive thing I had done and I regretted it.
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Denver layed on his couch still thinking of Rhea , right now his mind was disoriented , his cheeks turned red at the thought of the kiss once more, when he had held her when she stumbled,he didn't want to let her go , he scoffed....., she was selfish , always thinking about herself , she just kissed him out of the blue while he just had to hold himself so that he won't respond to the kiss , he sighed as he looked at the time, he should be on his way to work right now.
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A few days had passed after the kiss , Denver was barely home cause of work and Rhea occasionally tried to write but...she just couldn't without her hands trembling and staying at home wasn't helping, eventhough she goes outside to find inspiration, she was writing a thriller and the riding lyre didn't seem like something interesting to be found inspirational, she sighed , she was frustrated at this point, maybe she should go for a walk or something, let her breathe some fresh air and maybe she may come across one or two this has that may inspire her , she unlocked her door as she made her way to the elevator and then she was gone.
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" Dude c'mon, this only happens once a year ....are you really going to miss it, they said it is the perfect time for people to meet and fall in love ", Thompson whined as Denver locked the restaurant, a bag of pastries tucked securely under his arm , " it will be a long line and besides it's just fireworks ", Denver muttered, Thompson scoffed as he stepped in front of Denver , a stern look on his face, " it's not just fireworks , people fall in love there , aren't you tired of being alone huh..., you are handsome , you have your own business, you are a chef, you are tall and you have a great physique , like dude you are every woman's dream", Thompson sighed clearly frustrated, Denver smirked, " why are you all in on my love life", he said as he took a step closer to Thompson, startling him,then Denver leaned closer " do you have a crush on me?", Thompson face furrowed with disgust as he pushed Denver away who just chuckled with amusement, " dude I like women ", Thompson said still recovering from the shock, " tsk ....since you are so desperate you better go now or you would loose your soulmate ", he said teasing him but that seemed to push the right buttons and before he knew it Thompson was gone, "tsk...", Denver sighed as he shook his head in amusement before he began to walk away, he already liked someone but....his mind went back to the kiss them he smiled, he wasn't sure if she liked him back.
People were rushing to the site of the fireworks, it was an annual thing before Christmas fireworks were always blasted to the sky, it symbolized hope and faith, for a better next year and people would make a wish, it was like a new years resolution and unlike Christmas and New year this was very special, rhe air was cool , it was refreshing eventhough it was impossible, he wished that he could watch the fireworks....with Rhea.
" Denver....?", that voice , it was familiar , he looked up and their eyes met, a little distance away from him stood Rhea , Denver stared at her , he was surprised and she also looked shocked , as he stared at her this sudden warmth engulfed him, it was bubbly and exciting, " Rhea...",he whispered her name in disbelief ,his wish had come true.