Incidental Happenstance

by DeSalvo, Kim

  Her heart jumped in her chest. He still hoped to be seeing her next year! She couldn’t control the smile that took over her entire face when she gladly accepted.

  Dylan hit the button on the device the elevator operator had given him and within a couple minutes, two waiters appeared to whisk away the crackers and bring the entree: warm cheese soufflé, French onion soup, and a carafe of Sauvignon Blanc. The waiters greeted the couple warmly, and then disappeared back to the lift. “Seriously?” she said. “You just hit the button and they come flying up the elevator to take care of your every whim? Must be hard to get used to that kind of treatment,” she added sarcastically.

  “Not so hard,” he replied with a smirk. “There are some perks that come with celebrity that are pretty damn nice.” He took her hands in his and looked at her seriously. “There are sacrifices, though too, Tia, always remember that. Sometimes there’s a pretty big price to pay.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “That part is incredibly hard; I see how you struggle with it.” She kissed his fingers and then picked up her fork. “Tonight, though, we have the easy life.”

  He smiled. “And I’m all for enjoying every minute of it.” He speared some soufflé onto his fork and fed it to Tia across the table. They ate that way, sharing bites and sipping wine, talking about everything and nothing. They’d reached a certain comfort level with each other now, and the silences they shared were as easy as the exchanges. Time passed slowly; the leisurely pace of the French dinner and the quiet of the city view allowing them to relax and enjoy every moment. The waiters appeared after each course and with polite efficiency cleared their table and set up the next round of incredible food paired with just the right French wines. She sipped slowly, not wanting anything to cloud her mind on this perfect night. They got up and walked around the platform occasionally, taking in the views arm in arm and walking off one course before starting on another. It was a delicious evening, unhurried, elegant, casual, and she didn’t want it to ever end.

  Dessert was mousse au chocolate, complete with a sparkling candle in the center. “Make a wish, Tia,” he whispered, and there was no question in her mind what she would wish for, what she’d been wishing for ever since she’d met Dylan, and she closed her eyes and blew out the flame. His intent gaze met her own as she opened her eyes, and she knew that he could read her wish in them.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said, and went around the curve to the left, coming back with his guitar slung over his shoulder.

  “You’re going to sing happy birthday to me,” she said, touched and amused.

  “Something like that,” he replied and moved his chair out from the table, facing her. He began with the Happy Birthday tune, singing the words slowly, smoothly, turning it into something she never thought it could be. But when it ended, he kept strumming and said to her, “I have something for you, Tia. I’ve been working on it for a while now, and finally I think it’s ready.” He began with a hum, low in his throat, smooth and sensual, that wound around the soft sounds of the guitar, building in intensity and complexity. It was nothing she’d heard before, and when he started to sing, her heart absolutely melted.

  When you looked into my eyes/and saw through my disguise/no one was more surprised than me…It took a little while/but it was written in your smile/you make me what I want to be…We took a spin around the stars/and now the universe is ours…It’s impossible to hide/the love I have inside/there’s a real kind of magic when our worlds collide.

  You amaze me, entertain me, mesmerize me, recognize me… See right through me, how you do me, with you I need no disguise… You elate me, and inflate me make me see what’s there inside… Just like heaven/ all this love /that I find when our worlds collide.

  As he held out the last note and strummed the final chord on the guitar, he raised his eyes to hers and saw the tears that spilled there. He saw in her tears everything that he felt, everything that he poured into the song, and he leaned the guitar against the wall and pulled her into his lap, wiping her tears and kissing her damp cheeks.

  “You wrote me a song,” she whispered. “I can’t believe that you wrote me a song. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.” More tears slid down her cheeks and she held his face in her hands and looked into him. “You are the most amazing man, Dylan Miller. I still can’t believe I found you. I…” she hesitated, catching herself before she said more than she should. “…don’t know what to say. Words can’t describe what this means to me. What you mean to me.”

  He stood them both up and walked over to the edge, looking over the city of lights. “I have some more words for you, Tia.” He kissed the top of her head and took a deep breath. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so nervous, even though he was quite certain she felt the same way he did. “Every word in that song rings true and it was so easy to sing it. A bit harder to say it.” He cradled her face and met her gaze. “I guess I suspected it right after I met you—that first night. Probably when you made me work so hard at getting you to go out with me.” He smiled, remembering.

  “Sean asked me what you meant to me that night at Paddy’s, and at that exact moment you looked over at me and smiled, and without a thought I blurted, ‘I could get lost in her.’” Tia’s eyes melted and a smile touched her lips. “You challenge me, Tia, and you make me a better man, and you…” he kissed her softly on the lips. “…You take my breath away every time I look at you.” The intensity of his gaze held her. Her mind was reeling, taking in every word. He stared straight into her soul. “I’m in love with you, Tia. Hopelessly, helplessly, completely in love with you.”

  She felt her knees go weak, and her heart seemed to soar out over the city, but somehow she managed to keep her legs. “Oh my God,” she said breathlessly, taking his face in her hands. “I’m in love with you too, Dylan. So incredibly much!”

  He brought his face closer and kissed her, soft, gentle and deep, his gaze never leaving hers. They held each other for what seemed a long time, caressing, kissing, and whispering things they’d waited so long to say. Finally he led her back to the table and they sat. He picked up his wine glass and she raised hers. They touched glasses and he said, “To the woman I love,” and she cried all over again and climbed into his lap. “I can’t believe this,” she whispered, “I’m so happy!”

  He knew she had some hard truths to face before she could commit to a relationship with him, but not tonight, he thought. Tonight was a happy night, and they were in the city of lovers. He intended to make the most of it, for both their sakes. He pulled a square box from his pocket. “Happy birthday, my love.”

  “Oh Dylan, I can’t possibly accept anything else from you! You’ve just given me the best gift I could ever hope for. You love me, and there’s nothing else in the world I could possibly need!”

  “I do love you—God it feels good to say that!” he said, kissing her again. “But I saw this, and I just couldn’t resist. It’s just a little something to remind you of this night,” he said, pulling the lid off the box to reveal a diamond-crusted Eiffel Tower hanging from a delicate gold chain. “I was hoping it would help you remember how much I love you, even when I’m far away—I want you to remember that you’re always close to my heart.”

  “How could I ever forget this night? It’s been the best night of my life!” She giggled. “I guess I say that a lot when I’m with you don’t I? But this has most definitely been the best so far.” She turned around so he could fasten the chain behind her neck. “It’s so beautiful, Dylan, thank you. But I don’t need anything to remind me of this night. I’ll be playing it over and over in my head every day and see it in my dreams at night. And my song—you have to record it for me so I can listen to it while I’m missing you and hear your voice singing just for me. Oh God,” she thought aloud. “Are you going to put that on a CD?”

  “That’s the plan,” he mused. “The guys liked it. Bo’s got a rough recording and is working on laying down the beats for it as we spea
k. We go into the studio after the movie wraps. I was thinking it could be the title track, actually. I like the name, ‘Worlds Collide.’ Kind of has a double meaning, you know?”

  “Oh! A song written for me that I’d hear on the radio? That I could put on my iPod? That gives me goose bumps!”

  “So, what do you say we have our traditional after dinner drink and get out of here? I can think of another way to show you how much I love you, and it starts with getting you out of that gorgeous dress.” He looked at her and raised that one eyebrow, and her heart immediately fluttered in her chest.

  “And here I didn’t think this night could get any better,” she smirked, “but I think you just figured out a way.”

  The moment they entered their suite, Dylan swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed, laying her down and looking deep into her eyes. “I love you, Tia Hastings,” he whispered.

  “I love you, Dylan Miller,” she breathed back.

  They made love, slow and easy, each feeling the new intensity that came with knowing that they were going to build a future together. The glittering Eiffel Tower around Tia’s neck sparkled in the moonlight that drifted in from the window and they fell asleep in each other’s arms, each dreaming of what that future might bring.

  Tia woke up the next morning curled in Dylan’s embrace and smiled, reliving the incredible night they’d shared. He stirred, and pulled her closer, whispering sleepily in her ear, “No, it wasn’t a dream—I am in love with you.” He kissed her head and she rolled over to face him, smiling sleepily.

  “Oh God, I love you, too,” she said, her smile getting bigger. “I’ve wanted to tell you for so long and it just feels amazing to be able to say it! I don’t think I could ever get tired of saying it--I want to shout it from the balcony and have it tattooed on my arm. I love you, I love you, I love you!” she said, kissing his cheek, his forehead, his nose.

  He wrapped his arms around her and just enjoyed the feeling of her naked body pressed against his own. He glanced at the clock over her shoulder and frowned—he had an interview later this morning, and as much as he didn’t want to do it, he needed to make sure Tia really knew what she was in for with him if they were going to go forward in their relationship. Putting it on the table now would give her some time to think about things while he was out, and she could make an informed decision. He was hoping that she’d decide to give it a go, but it wouldn’t be fair to her not to let her know the harsh realities before it was too late for either of them to go back.

  He pulled back, running his hand down her arm and settling it on her waist and said, “Listen, baby, there are some things you need to know, before you decide if you really want to give us a go. Some of them aren’t easy to say, or to hear, but I have to say them.”

  “There isn’t anything in the world that would change my mind about wanting to be with you Dylan,” she said firmly. “Nothing.”

  He smiled at her thinly, then sat up and got out of bed. “Let’s do this over coffee, shall we? Once again, you had me up all night and I need some caffeine.”

  When they were seated on the balcony nursing steaming mugs, Tia looked at him. “Don’t try to scare me, Dylan—there’s nothing you could say to me that would make me feel differently about going forward. I love you.”

  “I love you too,” he started. “It’s not so easy, though Tia, being in love with me. You have to think about that.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked. “It’s the easiest thing in the world. Completely natural,” she smiled.

  He shook his head and scooted his chair closer to hers, putting his arm around her. “We still have some hard realities to figure in, though,” he said sadly, tucking her hair behind her ear and kissing her cheek.

  “Yeah, I guess we do, huh,” she conceded.

  “I’m so glad it’s easy for you to love me. I feel exactly the same way—like it’s such a natural fit with us. Being in love with someone like me though…has complications. Tough ones, sometimes. I think you need to know what you’re in for if we…” his voice trailed off, and he pulled her closer.

  “I know,” she said. “It’s hard to go out in public, I lose my privacy, you’re traveling all over the place, women are constantly throwing themselves at you…but as long as we love each other, I could learn to deal with it.”

  “But that’s not all. The paparazzi are relentless. I live on a ranch to try and keep them at bay, but even so, they have these long range cameras, they go through my trash, they lurk in hotel lobbies and outside restaurants… I avoid them as much as I can, but they’re always there. I absolutely never talk to them or give any statements; I don’t buy the tabloids, and don’t try to attract their attention. But I’m in the public eye and they’re determined to give the public as much gossip as they can—especially after that ‘sexiest man’ thing. And when they don’t have any real stories, they make them up. They try to link me with other celebrities, fabricate relationships—there has to be a whole different level of trust between us than the usual relationship.”

  “I do trust you Dylan. I’m not going to lie and say I haven’t had a few pangs of jealousy here and there, but I fell in love with the person you are, and I have complete faith in you.”

  He kissed her again, and smiled. “I’m glad you know that, and I’d never betray your trust; but it still isn’t easy when you see articles in those damned magazines that allude to things that aren’t real. People believe them, and they can be awfully hurtful. When they find out about us they’ll pick your life apart, baby. You’ll be a story—the girl who landed the sexiest man alive,” he said, making air quotes with his fingers. “They’ll dig up info about you any way they can—they’ll talk to your co-workers, former students—anyone who’ll give them a crumb of information. They’ll find out about Nick—are you prepared to have that dragged through the media? To have them say that I was your rebound relationship?” Tia looked pained, but she had to know it all in order to make the right decision for her.

  “You don’t always know who your true friends are, either,” he continued. “People suddenly come climbing out of the woodwork pretending to care about you, but all they really care about is what they can get from you. Believe me; I learned that lesson the hard way, more times than I can count. They could make life uncomfortable, at least for a while. Of course, there is the travel aspect of my job too. This tour is different, and I’ve chosen to spend the money so that we could spend quality time together. But when we tour the States it’s totally different. Mostly we sleep on the bus when we travel between cities and it keeps me away for months at a time.” He sighed, and pulled her closer. “It’s a lot to think about, I know,” he said, “but you do need to think about it. I’ll be gone for a few hours today, so you’ll have some time to make an informed decision,” he finished, kissing the top of her head and resting his lips there.

  Tia moaned deep in her throat. “Oh, it’s not fair!” she exclaimed. “I said it on our first night—why can’t you just be a normal guy? And you said, ‘I am a normal guy, Tia, I’m just not in a normal situation.’ I know it’s going to be hard sometimes, Dylan—I’ve seen the tabloids and the TV shows. But it all comes down to the same thing anyway, don’t you think?” She hugged him tight. “If we love each other, we work it out. We just figure it out as it comes. Because I do love you, and can’t imagine my life without you in it anymore. I just can’t.”

  “I know—I feel exactly the same way. I just need to give you all the facts in case you…” he didn’t want to finish the sentence; didn’t want to give her an out, but he had to be fair, “…decided that it wasn’t right for you,” he finished.

  Tia sat up straight and looked into his eyes. “I don’t need a single second to think about it, Dylan Miller,” she said, taking his face in her hands and kissing him gently. “You are right for me, and life without you wouldn’t have any meaning. I’m sticking, and you’ll have to get used to it. I do trust you completely—I’m working really hard to get ov
er the jealousy thing, and I will. We’ll face whatever happens together, because you are my life now.”

  Dylan felt relief sweep through him and he planted gentle kisses on her cheeks, her forehead, her nose, her lips, running his fingers through her hair and down her back, pulling her to him. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he whispered. “Because I want you to be mine, Tia. Exclusively.”

  “I’ve been yours since the start, Dylan. Didn’t you know?”

  “And I’ve been yours. It’s just that I’m a guy, and it took me a little longer to figure it out,” he said with his famous half-smile.

  She entwined her fingers through his. “I’m so glad you finally did.”

  “Me too,” he said, kissing the back of her hand. “But there’s one more thing we should talk about. Something else we need to get figured out.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I was thinking, that since you’ve already made the decision to keep me a secret…”

  “I’m not keeping you a secret, Dylan. I’m telling people about you, I’m just not telling them exactly who you are.”

  “And I think that was a smart decision on your part. The last thing I want to do is make your life difficult. This is going to get tricky for you, Tia, and going public with our relationship right before I go off to make a film on the other side of the world would definitely create problems for you.”