Honesty

- Hey. - He replied, still surprised. - What happened to your hair?

She smiled, sitting next to him.

- The less harmful form of self-destruction I could think of. - She confessed. No point in lying to him. As dumb as it sounded, she knew he knew, if not everything, at least a little about why she had been acting the way she had lately. 

- Why would you want to self-destruct? - He asked, a little horrified.

Rhi sneered.

- I don't particularly like myself lately.

- That's weird. I like you more every day... - He observed seriously.

Rhi shook her head.

- You shouldn't.

He frowned.

- OK, what's going on?

- I am questioning my whole life. My perfectly-planned life is upside down.

- That's unsettling. I'm very sorry. - He commented. He was either clueless or mastering the act of pretending to be. - And why is that?

She laughed quietly at the irony of him asking that.

- I think you know... - She was careful to look away when she said this. 

He gave her a gallic shrug.

- My unwanted affection?

-  Unwanted...? - She mocked. - That's far fetched, God bless your soul. 

She took a sip of water from the bottle she carried. He frowned.

- Were you actually in the West Coast or just wanted everyone to piss off? - He inquired.

- I came back last night. I'm not just flushing cause I'm talking to you, I actually got a tan this time round. I went out and walked under the blistering California sun.

He smirked at the comment about her flushing for him. 

- Did you surf? - He joked.

- No, but for the first time, I didn't tag those who did as suicidal dunces.

Paul bit his lip, trying not to laugh out loud.

- Do you still want me to represent you on Wednesday? - She whispered.

He assented.

- There aren't many things I want more, to be fair.

- It's settled then. - She said, standing up. - I'll see you at court. Call me if you need anything.

- You said that before going to Cali...

- You didn't call anyway. Phone is on this time ok?

- Yes. - He murmured as he saw her lower her face to level it with his and kissed his cheek. Their eyes met, very close, and she smiled. He smiled back and she started jogging away. 

-

- There's a horrible thing I need to tell you, Lee. - Rhi told him that night, when they were having dinner in her flat. He seemed really nervous, so she blurted it out. - We need to talk.

- That's the horrible thing? - He asked, with half a smile on. She nodded. They laughed, dissipating the tension. - Why of course we need to talk, we're getting married in six months, we haven't seen each other for a couple of weeks cause you went away and came back with a very... different, yet incredibly sexy haircut and ah, yes... I have missed you terribly.

She smiled, but became serious quickly.

- Lee, I have been very upset since that text message you got, you do remember which one, surely? - He nodded. - Between that and the Italy trip, and your constant absences... I am worried you're not ready to take this step.

He gulped and took her hand between his.

- Love, you don't need to worry about any of those things. Work has certainly been hard, but it's almost over. Please trust me.

- Yeah, about that... I also needed to tell you...

Whether Lee was seeing other people or not, she needed to confess she had thought of doing the same... so to speak. She needed to come clean. Her phone went off then.

- Oh, I have to take this, I have a very important audience this week, wait... just a second... Yes? Yes, darling, thanks a lot... so he agreed to come? Excellent. Does Paul know...? Great, excellent, I didn't want him to know, I don't need him to be any more apprehensive than he alredy is about it. Alright dear, I'll see you tomorrow.

Lee was thoughtful when Rhi came back to the table.

- So... who's Paul? - He asked before she could even sit.

- A client, the one whose audience I have this week...- She had not intended to tell every detail to Lee, he seemed a bit uncomfortable at the moment. - That was Lydia, my assistant.

- I know. Do you call all your clients by their first names? - He was trying to sound nonchalant, but Rhi could see his ears were red. She didn't know Lee could act like a jealous alpha male. She wasn't sure if she should be alarmed or flattered.

- Sometimes, as a joke. Sometimes because they ask us to...

- And which is now?

- A bit of both. Lee, can we go back to what we were discussing? - She felt hypocritical saying it like that, but he didn't have to know the nasty details.

- What were we discussing?

- Whether we are ready to get married, basically.

He stood up, walked around the table and took her in his arms.

- I am ready to give you my life. I gave it to you the minute I met you. These days without you made me realise how much I need you to feel complete. There is nothing I want more in this world than to be your husband. - He said looking her square in the eye.

She blushed, feeling weak in the knees. She threw her arms around his neck and he kissed her passionately. 

- Do you still want to be my wife? - He asked, short of breath, as they continued kissing each other voraciously. She nodded and he lifted her up in his arms, carrying her to the bedroom.

He took off every piece of her attire, even her diamond earrings and kissed every patch of skin he uncovered, smiling at the unusual tan lines on his oh-so-new-yorker wife to be. He then made love to her tenderly.

As their sweaty bodies became one, Rhi thought this was it. This was what she wanted. She had forgotten for a second, but she remembered now.