Rea

 

“How do I look?” Rae said as she walked out into the living room to where Daisy was sitting. She gave her a twirl and waited for her friend’s opinion.

“Wow,” Daisy said as she looked up and gave her friend a whistle. “The good father is going to be sinning tonight. I wonder how many Hail Mary’s he will have to say tomorrow.”

“You really can’t help yourself, can you,” Rae sighed as she rolled her eyes and her friend just laughed.

She had decided to wear a burgundy, bib necked, shift dress that stopped just above her knees and a pair of ridiculously high burgundy coloured pumps, which made her slender legs looked longer and curvier. She had decided to wear her hair up in loose curls on the back of her head, and she had finished off her outfit with a pair of silver looped earrings that her mother and father had bought for her before she left Dublin.

“Do you know how long it’s been since I had a date,” Daisy sighed miserably. “I’m living vicariously through you. Please don’t ruin my fun.”

“Fine,” Rae sighed but she gave her friend a smile. “But you’re sure I look okay.”

“You look amazing, Sweets,” Daisy said. “In fact, I have never seen you look more beautiful before. I approve of the dress, and I have no doubt A.J will approve too. I like that he has brought out the brave Rae that I know has been hiding in there somewhere.”

The dress was one Rae had bought the year before, but she never had the courage to wear it. Even though it was not revealing, it showed far more of her body than she really felt comfortable with. She usually chose to hide herself as much as she could, but being with A.J made her feel less self-conscious; less worthless.

Before Rae could reply, there was a soft tap on the apartment door, and a million butterflies took flight in her stomach. She had no idea why she was so nervous about her date with A.J, but she was. She knew it was silly, and maybe even childish, but she knew that tonight was different. There was an unspoken expectation about tonight. She felt it when she had dressed.

Rae had taken great care as she dressed for her date. From the underwear she wore to the perfume she selected. She wanted this to be a night to remember for the rest of her life.

Daisy quickly climbed from the sofa and ran to answer the door before Rae got to it.

“Hi there,” she said as she opened the door.

“Hi, Daisy,” A.J’s voice floated in from the hallway. “Is Rae here?”

“I don’t know,” Daisy replied, and Rae could hear the amusement in her voice. “Rae, are you here for Father Parrish?”

“Daisy, you’re not funny,” Rae scolded her, but she couldn’t help but smile. “Let him come in.”

“Wait till you see what you have waiting for you,” Daisy grinned as she stepped back and allowed A.J into the apartment.

The moment he stepped through the door and saw Rae, he froze, as a slow smile filtered across his face. He looked incredibly handsome. He was wearing a gray suit, with a black shirt that was opened at the neck. His hair was still slightly wet from showering; he was freshly shaved, and he smelled beyond divine.

He was holding a bunch of bright summer flowers, though now he was almost choking them with nervous energy, and Rae couldn’t help but smile.

“Wow,” A.J said finally when he found his tongue. “You are….wow…”

“I take it you approve,” Rae laughed as she walked towards A.J and kissed him on the cheek. “And I think I should rescue those flowers from you before you choke them to death.”

“Sorry,” A.J replied with a nervous chuckle. “I guess I’m not really used to all of this.”

“Could you two be any cuter?” Daisy sighed as she picked up her handbag, and head back towards the door. “Enjoy your evening. I am off to live the dream and spend the next twelve hours mopping up blood and vomit. At least it’s my last night shift for a while.”

“I will see you in the morning, Daisy,” Rae said as she smiled at her friend.

“Goodnight, Daisy,” A.J said giving her a cautious smile.

“Goodnight, Father Alex,” Daisy replied with a grin as she pulled open the door. “Be good.”

With one last grin, she disappeared out the door, leaving Rae and A.J standing in the living room.

“I’m still not sure she likes me,” A.J said as he turned to face Rae. “And I guess I understand why. I just don’t know how to show her that what I feel for you is real.”

“Of course she likes you,” Rae laughed as she walked to the kitchen to put the flowers into some water. “She knows that you’re a good man. She is just protective of me. Also, she has the strangest sense of humour, but you’ll get used to her.”

She turned back to A.J and gave him a smile.

“You really do look beautiful tonight,” A.J said as he gave Rae a look that almost stopped her heart. “Breathtaking, actually.”

“You look very handsome, yourself,” Rae replied as A.J slowly walked towards her and stopped in front of her, and stared down into her eyes.

“I have never felt this way for any other living creature, the way I feel about you,” A.J whispered as he softly brushed his lips against hers. “It’s like with you, I have lost everything that I am. You are the reason I breathe, and the only thing my heart beats for.”

“I don’t want you to lose yourself,” Rae whispered as she reached up and softly pressed her hand to his face. “I love you as you are, all of you; even the parts I don’t understand.”

A.J pressed his lips against Rae’s once more, before he pressed his head against hers.

“We should go,” A.J said as he released a deep sigh. “Before my weak body loses its fight to resist you till we have our date.”

A.J took her hand and led her down the stairs to her car, but he took the keys from her and opened the passenger door.

“You want to drive?” Rae asked with a grin.

“Well, I thought that when a gentleman takes a lady on a date,” A.J replied with a nervous laugh. “He normally would offer to drive, but since I only have a bike, I thought that maybe you would let me drive your car instead.”

“Or,” Rae said as she leaned into A.J’s body, allowing herself to brush against him. “You could give me a ride on your crossbar. We would be a lot closer than in the car.”

“As tempting as that sounds,” A.J croaked, and Rae knew she was affecting him. “And it does sound very tempting. I think the safest bet, is to take the car.”

“You’re no fun,” Rae grinned as she pressed her lips to his. She didn’t know why, but something about tonight felt different; almost like something had changed between them. Or maybe something had changed in her, but she had no idea what.

Maybe it was that they were going on a date. Rae loved the idea that she wasn’t his dirty little secret anymore, locked away from the world to see, as she had been for the last couple of weeks. It made her feel happier, like they were really a couple.

With one more smile, she slipped into the passenger seat, as A.J closed the door before he hurried to the door on the driver’s side.

As he sat in the car, he glanced over at Rae, and gave her a warm smile, before he started the engine, and pulled away from the kerb.

“Dinner was amazing,” Rae said as she and A.J walked back to the car. “Tonight was…perfect.”

“The night is far from over,” A.J said as he stopped and pulled Rae into his arms. He stared into her eyes for a moment before he softly pressed his lips to hers. Then he gave her a broad smile. “I have an idea.”

He took hold of her hand and hurried to the car. He pulled open the door, and Rae couldn’t help but smile at how excited he seemed. Once she was in the car, A.J hurried around to the driver’s side and climbed in.

“What are you so excited about?” Rae asked as he slipped the key into the ignition, and the engine roared to life.

“I want to take you somewhere,” he replied as he pulled the car away from the kerb.

Rae watched him as he drove, having no clue where they were going or what he was thinking, but she couldn’t help but smile. The truth was, she really didn’t care where they were going. As long as she was with A.J, then she was happy, and nothing else mattered.

Fifteen minutes later, A.J pulled the car into a deserted car park, next to an empty beach.

“What are we doing here?” Rae asked as she gave A.J a questioning look.

“I always wondered what it was like to walk along the beach in the moonlight,” A.J explained as he unfastened his seatbelt and opened the car door. He hurried around to Rae side of the car, and opened the door for her, then offered her his hand. “I always thought that to do it with someone you truly love, was probably the most magical thing in the world. It’s just you, the girl you love and the moon. It would be like there was no one else in the world except those two hearts that were meant to find each other.”

Rae took his hand and gave him a smile, as she stepped from the car.

When they reached the edge of the beach, Rae slipped off her shoes and set them on a bench, then took A.J’s hand as he led her down the sand dune, and onto the beach.

“This place looks so different in the moonlight,” A.J said as they walk side by side in the sand.

“Is this some place you come to often?” Rae asked as she glanced up at A.J.

“My mom brought me here when I was a kid a couple of times,” A.J replied, and Rae could hear the sadness in his voice. “They are the only real happy memories I have of her, so I like to come here from time to time.”

 “You don’t talk about your family,” Rae said as she watched A.J closely. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t have a family,” A.J shrugged. “There was just Mom and me; I never knew who my father was. To be honest, I don’t think even my mom knew who he was.”

“I’m sorry,” Rae said, unsure of what else she should say.

“It’s okay,” A.J replied and gave her a smile. “I have laid those demons to rest a long time ago.”

“What happened to your mother?” Rae asked cautiously.

“I don’t know,” A.J replied honestly. “My mom wasn’t a very good mom. Oh, she tried from time to time, but she just wasn’t meant to be a mom. She went out to work one night when I was about eleven, and she just never came home.”

“She left you?” Rae gasped, shocked by his revelation.

“She had left me long before that night,” A.J shrugged. “But I don’t blame her. Her life was hard before I came along, and having a baby; well, I wasn’t part of the plan.”

“What happened to you when she left you?” Rae asked, feeling so sad for this man she loved so much.

“Stan took me in,” A.J replied with a smile, surprising Rae. “He was my teacher at the time. He was the first person who ever really noticed me; the first person that ever really cared whether I lived or died. He was the only one I could think of to ask for help when I needed it. And he came running. He took me home with him without having to think about it. Stan is more like a father to me now. He is the only family I really have…”

“And you’re going to break his heart,” Rae said without thinking as the enormity of the situation finally became clear to her.

“I told you that things for me were complicated,” A.J replied as he stopped and turned to her.

“You did,” she nodded, but she had no idea why her eyes were suddenly blurry from unshed tears. “But now I get it.”

“Hey,” A.J said when he saw Rae’s tears glistening in the moonlight. “Don’t be sad. Telling him is going to be hard, I know, but it doesn’t change how I feel. You are what I want, Rae. You believe me, right?”

“Of course,” she said with a laugh through her tears. “I’m just being silly.”

“Well, Silly Girl,” A.J said as he slipped his arms around her waist and drew her to him. “I want you to know that you have nothing to be worried about. I will figure this out. I promise.”

“Okay,” Rae said and smiled before she leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips.

“We should head back to the car,” A.J said as he gave Rae a grin, and he took hold of her hand to lead her back toward the car. They stopped when they reached the bench where Rae had left her shoes. She sat down to put them on, as A.J ran to the car, and opened the door.

Rae looked up as the sound of music suddenly filled the night air. As she did, A.J switched on the head lights and climbed back out of the car.

Rae sat and watched him as he walked back towards her with the biggest smile on his face. She loved just how happy he looked.

“Will you dance with me?” He asked as he held out his hand to her.

Rae smiled, as she slipped her hand into his and allowed him to pull her to her feet, and into his arms. She rested her head on his chest, and slowly they began to move in time with the music.

Rae recognised the song that was playing on the radio, and she smiled. It was Fix You, by Coldplay.

“I love this song,” she whispered as she closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of his aftershave. Over the last couple of weeks, it had become her favourite smell in the world.

“I like this song, too,” A.J replied as he held her tightly. “I don’t know why, but it always makes me think of you when I hear it.”

“Me?” Rae asked without looking up at him.

“Well, us,” he clarified. “I want to be the one to fix you, Rae.”

“You already have,” she whispered as she lifted up her head and looked up at him. “In more ways than you can ever imagine.”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” he breathed against her lips. “Promise that this is forever.”

“Forever and always,” Rae whispered.