t h i r t y f o u r
" not hopeless, just single "
-

-

Two days after Christmas, Simon decided to bite the bullet.

Finally taking Cora's advice, he'd phoned Adela that morning with the excuse of wanting to come and pick up any of his old belongings he'd left with her. She seemed in a chirpy mood, agreeing to gather them all together for him to run over and get them.

There wasn't any nerves, but there was a sense of anticipation to see her again. Just her. They could finally talk now without prying ears listening to every word, searching for meaning and wanting to know the story neither of them really knew all too well either. They'd lived it, but only their half.

She was quick to open the door after he knocked and he couldn't help but look her over as she greeted him with that familiar smile that seemed like that of a ghost's to him now. he didn't look her over in lust, just in memory. Just in wondering how she was, remembering how she used to be.

Her hair was loose as always, stroking her shoulders as she tilted her head with a smile, beckoning him to come in. She'd dressed herself in a cosy wool jumper and a pair of old sports leggings with a hole in the knee. It wasn't odd to see her dressed like this. It was how she dressed when she was just lounging around their apartment, but it was such a contrast to how she'd looked when she'd turned up to the party.

"I put all your stuff in a box so it's easier for you to carry," Adela explained, gesturing to the medium sized box on the breakfast bar. "I was surprised at how much of your stuff I'd stolen." She even laughed.

"It's fine," Simon replied, leaning over to peer into the box. "I didn't miss it too much."

"Do you want a drink or something? Or have you got somewhere to be? I bet Catherine's waiting for you back home," Adela rambled, going up on her toes as she stretched for a mug out of the cupboard.

Simon came around behind her and grabbed the mug with ease, along with one for himself. Adela slipped out from beneath him and turned to fill the kettle.

"I'm not with Catherine anymore," Simon said, leaning his weight against the counter.

"Oh," Adela replied, flicking the kettle on to boil. The noise between them filled the silence that had lapsed. "I'm sorry, Simon."

"It's fine," He said, watching her flit about the little kitchen putting the tea bags into the mugs, getting the milk out of the fridge ready, and getting a half-eaten packet of biscuits from the tin.

"What happened?" She'd run out of things to keep herself busy with and was left to face Simon. Even meeting his eyes now was hard, but she forced herself to. They were as blue as ever, just how she remembered adoring.

"It just wasn't right, y'know? Not anyone's fault really," He lied.

"Ah, so it was mutual?" The kettle flicked off and Adela poured the boiling water into the mugs, leaving the tea to brew.

"Yeah," Simon said and then he drew in a sharp breath and continued, changing the topic, "I didn't really come here to talk about Catherine."

"Right, your clothes." Adela removed the teabags and added the milk. Simon moved to her side and took the mug, the same mug he'd always used for tea when it'd had its home in his cupboards.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about some things. Do you think we could sit down?"

Adela made herself nod. "Of course, the sofa's as good a place as any, I guess," She said, leading the way and taking a seat on one side of the old, battered sofa she'd scrounged up from an antiques store. "So, what is it?"

"I made a mistake," He admit, the words coming out of his mouth feeling like a weight lifted off her shoulders.

Adela folded her legs beneath herself, resting an elbow on the back of the sofa as she looked at him through long lashes. "With Catherine?"

"No, with you. I shouldn't have been so selfish and I'm sorry," Simon apologised, both his hands clutching onto the mug even though the heat was borderline painful.

"It's okay," Adela uttered, not lying. It was okay now. It hadn't been then, but it was now.

"It's not." Simon glared down into the tea, trying to forge the sentences together in his mind before he blurted out the wrong thing and blew it all over again. "I shouldn't have just dumped you like that. I was wondering whether, well, whether I could get another chance?"

"Another chance?" Adela repeated, brows creasing into a dark frown.

"Yeah, a second chance. You mean a lot to me Adela and I know you feel the same, so I just wanted to know if you wanted to start over again?" He sounded painfully hopeful, even delusional.

"You can't just pick to come in here and ask for me back now that you're done with whatever and whoever you've been doing because I'm not stupid enough to think that all you've been doing is dating Catherine," Adela said, anger coiling around her tongue. "I'm enjoying being single. It's been good for me." Her fury dissipated as quickly as it came when she looked into those ocean eyes, defeated and still. "Maybe it'll be good for you too."

"Maybe," He mumbled, voice muffled as he lifted the tea to his mouth and drank. "So, guess we're just friends for now then?"

"I'd like to be just friends, yes," Adela replied, offering him a gentle smile. "Look, you need to learn how to be single, okay? You don't need to be in a relationship every waking hour of the day."

"I know," He grumbled in response.

"Take some time to do something for yourself. You like football, right? Well, try to join a team or something. Take a trip with friends. Do something you've always wanted to do. Just don't rush yourself into a relationship again, okay?"

"You're right," Simon said. "Thanks, Ads. God, I'm fucking hopeless, aren't I?" He rubbed a hand over his face and tussled his hair.

"Not hopeless, just single," She remarked, smiling still, as brightly as ever.

-

-

Lewis stopped by that evening and found Adela huddled on the sofa, curled beneath a fluffy blanket pulled up to her chin, watching a re-run of Love Actually.

At the sound of him entering her little flat, she turned her head and peered at him from over the top of the sofa. With a soft smile she greeted him.

"I didn't know you were coming by," she said, "but you're more than welcome to join me in swooning over Hugh Grant." A lopsided grin found its way onto her mouth as Lewis shrugged off his coat and made his way to the sofa where he collapsed next to her.

"Good day?" He asked as she lifted the blanket to wrap him into her nest of warmth. Lewis wrapped his arms around her as she rested her head on his chest, looking up at him.

"Simon stopped by earlier to get his clothes he'd left with me," She told him, curling her arms around his body. "He said he wanted a second chance."

"Okay," Lewis replied, loosening his grip on her slightly. "And you said no, right?"

"Of course I did," She said, never faltering, eyes shining genuinely up at him. "I told him we should just be friends."

"He's not going to be coming around often, is he?"

"I don't think so," Adela responded, another grin working its way onto her face. She let out a soft laugh as she hoisted herself onto his lap, straddling him, holding his face with her hot hands. "Are you jealous, Redman?"

"Who knew you were such a flirt, Chase," He chuckled, craning his neck to peck her lips. "Besides, you made it quite clear how you feel about me. I'm not worried one bit."

Adela's cheeks flushed pink. "I'm glad you're not worried because I'm not worried either," She admit, her hands slipped around his head and into his hair. "I trust you."

Her body tightened as Lewis' hands slid up her legs, holding the backs of her thighs as she sat on him. Feeling a spark of confidence, Adela dropped her mouth to his, gripping him tightly as she moved against him, in more ways than one.

The blanket dropped from around her shoulders, the cold against her back. Lewis held her hips, fingers beneath her shirt on her delicate bare skin. And soon he was guiding her shirt over her head, dropping it on the floor.

When the door flung open, smacking against the wall, Adela jumped away from him, yanking the blanket around herself.

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed, looking at them over the top of her stack of boxes. "Fucking finally!

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