Denver stood at his dining as he looked at the table before him, it was empty , the plates were already washed too, in the middle of the dining table was the book he had bought at the bookshop, for some reason he was nervous, after she had slept at his place, his mind had been in shambles , he had expected her to leave in a hurry , probably considering what happened as a fleeting moment , but...., she had washed the dishes and she....., he slowly approached the table as he took the book from the table , holding it like it was the most fragile thing ever to be handled.
He gently opened it and on that first page , what he saw was a beautiful black inked sentence in perfect cursive radiating in fragile elegance , a simple " thank you for the meal ", it wasn't an autograph for a fan , just a simple message thanking him for a meal, he had not expected it, his legs felt weak all of a sudden that he had to hold the head if the dining chair, his heart beating so fast , he thought she will run away again, at that moment he heard a soft clicking of a lock, he didnt know when his legs moved or when he sprinted towards the door as he abruptly opened it, and there they stood , his door still slightly opened , both their gazes remained unfaltered.
Denver gently nudged his door closed , his eyes still on Rhea, they both didn't know what to say, " you signed the book...", he said finally breaking the silence , Rhea nodded slowly, he sighed as he took a step closer to her , " would you walk away or should I probably take it that I am being a fool again.....", Rhea smiled a little , " I want to be selfish so...I want to strong you along", Denver bit the inside of his lips as he heard her say those words so calmly, the tension between them was palpable, " so basically....., you want to use me ", though he was gentle , you could hear that tiny strain in his voice, almost like he was holding back. " I want to be inconsiderate.....", she said as she took a step close to him , " you asked me once before that why I live like this....back then....I didn't know the answer , if I could turn back time I would change everything, from when I met him to when I met her..., I will change everything", her voice full of guilt and resentment.
Denver looked down at her trembling hands that she clenched so hard that her knuckles were turning white, if you look into her eyes, you could see it, regret, hatred and defiance, whoever made her feel this way , made her feel resentful, whoever made her hands tremble this way , he wanted to kill them , his jaw clenched and without giving in a second thought , Denver took hold of Rheas hand and clasped it with his....., Rhea looked up at him , his warm hands engulfed hers an he gently and soothingly rubbed her hand, his hands were comforting, the type of care that made you feel safe , that was how Denver felt, " i don't mind if you string me along , and i don't care if you use me....., just tell me what I can do for you Rhea", his eyes were focused on her hand, caressing every tender line of her palm.
Rhea bent her her low , " Denver....., I just want you to do what you do...., I don't want to seek revenge, I just want redemption out of this, i feel suffocated everyday I wake up, it is like my life has no meaning,I...I want to break out of this cycle, so....,could you lend me strength...", Denver paused , those words seemed to echo , of course she had all of his strength , what he wanted was for her to also use her strength .
Rhea watched him closely, curious of what type of expression he would make , any slight disapproval whether through his expression or words because she will probably regret thei later, if he showed just a brief moment of disdain, she will cut off his madness , this was a last minute choice she had made, she wasn't sure if herself yet , if she could do it....., as her thoughts spiralled , she felt Denver pull her in and...he embraced her, it was unexpected but she knew she didn't want to push him away instead she melted in his embrace , though she didn't hug him back, she felt warm and she could feel her lips quivered as her eyes began to sting , she didn't want the tears to fall , she raised her head up to stop the tears from falling but Denver gently placed his palm on her head and placed it against his chest, " if you trapped those tears...., you are just trapping bad memories, that can make you sick...", his voice came out as a whisper, it was soft and soothing, as he gently patted her back and thiae trapped tears finally fell , those tears of despair , guilt and hatred fell and she cried on his chest.
" I didn't do it...", she muttered, her voice cracking ,almost like she didn't want him to hear her,but Denver listened, as he also muttered a " I know", an assurance he had been wanting to give her , that someone out there didn't judge her , that someone believed her and that someone liked her so much, " i know you didnt", he repeated those words as he could feel that he was also tearing up, it was painful to imagine what she had been through , how lonely she felt when no one believed her , but that will change henceforth because he will make sure to never leave her side again.
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INSIDE DENVERS HOME
I was sitting at the dining table as Denver brewed some coffee, that's Tring scent of coffee bean being carefully grounded into coffee powder filled the air, this was the fourth time I had been to his home but I still felt tensed up, his home was spotless as usual and it smelled like sweet and spices , I felt a little guilty telling him all those things and true to my words, I was already regretting it, if I said I wanted to pull away now ..... , my thoughts were interrupted when Denver placed a cup of coffee infront of me with a rich layered moist looking slice of chocolate cake , I looked up at him , a small smile on his lips as he sat down opposite me.
" You seemed lost for a second there .....", he said warmly, I placed my two hands at the side of my coffee mug, not touching it but the heat still radiated warming my hands. I looked around the back at the cake , " do you always have pastries?....", I asked genuinely curious , cause everytime he brought me food , there was always a freshly baked pastry inside the bag . Denver smirked a little , " sometimes..., but i brought this from the resturant today , since we closed early, I had time to bake , so I just decided to bring it home...., at least there is someone to share it with", saying that he took his fork and took a small cut if the cake , it dipped down and bounced back in, the frosting smeared a little on the plate, he took a bite , while he cheesed, he smiled in satisfaction, it was like watching a commercial of the most delicious treat , with a very handsome man to pose as te model.
He looked at me , " it's good..., try it", i looked at the cake , even without tasting it, you could easily tell that it was delicious , I took my fork and cut into it then I took a bite, it was moist , buttery an easily melted in my mouth , the frosting was sweet, it reminded me of the first dessert he gave me , the conches, " is it good?", he asked somewhat enthusiastically, I just basically nodded , of course it was good . He heaved in relief as if my opinion on how it tasted was very dependable.
As I kept eating he cake , I just couldn't help but wonder when and how he got to cooking, the little times we spent with each other in highschool , he didn't seem like someone who would ever take cooking as a profession. I onow it had been ten years , people dreams, thoughts and opinions would change, but his was unexpected , I was curious and before I knew it....., I asked him, " why did you start cooking?", i know I shouldn't ask about it, it had not told him anything about my life, I had no business asking , I was about to brush it off but instead he lazily leaned his head on his palm, an amusing stare, a curious glint on his eyes and a smike threatening to form on his lips, like he had been wanting me to ask that question, " should I say....., i wanted to surprise everyone", " surprise everyone?".
He sighed almost helplessly , then he scoffed , " I would say people expected things from me so easily, they elt they could tell what I wanted to be...", he smiked , it wasn't exaggerated, it was somewhat quiet , " everyone expected he obvious , they said since I was smart, I could be a doctor, an engineer or lawyer , or since I was tall and had a good physique, I could be an athlete, or with my good looks I could be a model or an actor, it was all decided...it felt suffocating", I knew how he felt, I had been on that same boat too, but the way he told me about his life with ease , it was admirable, I wondered if I could one day open up as easily as he had done,, " so....., i decided on deviate for the path they had laid for me, I went to France and studied culinary art..., and when I cook , I feel like myself,.....", he snickered a little as he rested his head on his chair, " it was overwhelming and exciting at first , but as time went on...., I really enjoyed it, at first it was just about trying something new but...., it became something that I had grown to love....", it was pure , cheerful , that was how I had felt about writing before, but now..., " if you love something ,.....never stop loving it because having such affection for such things mean....you never want to stop doing it....", his words struck me , I won't lie , I loved writing and I still love it so much but.....I am scared to start all over , to strategic a new page of something that I love , I felt a small smile formed at the corner if my lips , as I bowed down , my hands vaguely touched the mug, it was warm but my hands still trembled slightly, " but....., i dont onow where to start .....", i muttered , I sincerely didn't know where to start.
Then I felt his hands hold mine, his warmth was nice , I knew that if I stopped loving to write then I will be nothing , cause I had nothing going on for me , that thought was scarier than death itself.
He held my hand in his , his eyes not leaving mine as he gently entwined his hand with mine, his gaze gentle, an emotion easily readable, then he spoke softly, " let me hold your hand then", i felt it , that electrifying feeling , the tingling sensation , I easily recognized it, I couldn't say it out but I knew what it was , Denver who made my heart beat like this , it was obvious that I liked Denver very much.