Chapter 10: Love Vs. Lust

Lily decides to celebrate her newly minted adulthood by going out dancing with Leo. They meet up at the Cathedral, the hottest night club in Riverblossom Hills.

"Hi there, gorgeous," Leo grins as he draws her in for a kiss.

Both self-proclaimed party animals, Lily and Leo naturally gravitate to the dance floor. After dancing for hours, Leo casually asks Lily if she wants to go for walk with him down to the beach.

"You know, so we can be alone together," he explains.

Lily notices that Leo sounds uncharacteristically nervous. She gazes at him curiously, wondering what is going on, but she readily agrees.

At the beach, they sit down together to watch the stars. Lily snuggles close to Leo, comfortably leaning against him. She closes her eyes, trying to savor everything about this moment. For an instant, Lily feels complete, like she finally understands what it means to be loved.

Likewise, Leo feels himself relax as he sits beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist. Lily's presence soothes his rattled nerves, and he allows himself to sit back and enjoy the exquisite evening. Tonight, he's going to propose, and he wants everything to be perfect.

After a while, Leo helps Lily get to her feet. They stand together quietly for a minute, enjoying the absolute stillness of the night. Finally, Leo breaks the silence.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" he asks, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Sure I do," Lily smiles contentedly. "I was playing in the sandbox at the park, and you came over and sat down next to me."

"I thought you looked so lonely, sitting in that giant sandbox all by yourself," he reminisces. "Do you remember what you said to me?"

Lily giggles. "Of course I do."

"You told me you were never going to get married," Leo looks at her carefully, with questioning eyes. "Did you mean it Lily?"

Lily's heart begins to race. She tries to speak, but her tongue doesn't seem to want to work.

"I sure hope not," he says quickly. "Because there is something I want to ask you."

She looks at him apprehensively, her voice still stuck in her throat. She silently begs him not to do what she thinks he's about to.

Carefully, he gets down on one knee, and with an anxious smile he proclaims, "Lily West, I love you more than anyone else I've ever known. Will you marry me?"

The terrified expression on her face speaks for itself.

After a long silence, she pushes the lid of the box closed. Leo gazes at her, a pained expression on his face.

"I'm sorry Leo. It's not that I don't love you," she tells him softly. "I'm just not sure I'm ready for marriage. You understand, right?"

He slowly gets up off his knee, and with an edge of bitter disappointment in his voice, he replies, "I will wait for you then. Forever, if I need to."

"I don't deserve you," she murmurs weakly, her eyes full of tears.

He reaches out and gently strokes her cheek, wiping a teardrop off her face. "You deserve to be happy, Lily. You just need to realize it," he tells her.

That night, they go home separately, Lily wondering if she'll ever feel ready for marriage.

The following day, Lily heads down to the salon to apply for a job as a stylist. Ever since she was a child, she has watched the poor, colorblind souls of Riverblossom Hills struggle with fashion. Now that she is an adult, she feels her calling is clear.

The weekend arrives, and with it brings graduation. Lily and Leo share a ceremony, as they were classmates in high school.

"Congratulations Lily!" Leo sneaks in a kiss after the ceremony.

Lily laughs. "You deserve the congratulations, Mr. Valedictorian." She pauses for a second before saying, "We should go out tonight. To celebrate."

Leo hesitates. The pain from Lily's rejection still stings, but with a little persuasion he finally agrees.

That night, they go to the Reserve Tavern. Lily promptly heads to the bar and orders a Cherry Casanova. Never having been much of a drinker, the juice has an immediate effect on her. Her eyes widen, and she suddenly feels extremely turned on.

She slides out of her chair, and spotting Leo she immediately grabs him and pulls him into a passionate kiss.

When they come up for air, Leo looks at her questioningly. "What was that for?" he asks.

"You just look so sexy tonight," she exclaims.

The grumpy bartender kicks them out right before closing time. As they stand outside on the sidewalk kissing each other goodnight, Lily gets an idea.

"Come back to my place," she urges, giving him a rather suggestive look.

"Lily!" Leo sounds shocked. "But, don't you want to wait?"

"Wait for what?" she laughs. "No time like the present!"

"It's just... I thought..." Leo trails off, not really sure what to say. He'd always assumed they'd save it for their wedding night, but they never did have that discussion...

"Come on Leo!" she pleads. "I really want to..."

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"Yes," she interrupts. "I'm an adult now. I've waited long enough! Please, don't make me wait any longer," she begs.

Leo smiles anxiously. "Well, alright. If it's that important to you..."

She shrieks excitedly.

He follows her home, and she leads him to her bedroom. Pushing him onto the bed, she kisses him lustfully.

They spend the entire night making love, and the next morning Lily decides to ask Leo a question of her own.

"Last night was fabulous," she announces as they cuddle on the bed together, exhausted by their busy evening.

"You were amazing Lily," he tells her.

"How would you like to be able to do that every night?"

"What?" Leo asks, unsure of where this is going.

"I mean, what if you were to move in with me? Then we could be with each other all the time," she explains.

Leo hesitates. He would much rather live with Lily his wife than Lily his girlfriend, but as he doesn't think that is going to happen any time soon, he reluctantly agrees.

The very next day he moves into the West household to start his life with Lily. Sure, it may not be under the ideal circumstances, but he can adjust... Right?


Challenge Notes:

The events in this chapter *may* not have occurred in quite the same order as I wrote about them. But that is just because I needed control of Leo for some of the scenes (mainly the proposal). Other than that, it is pretty accurate, down to Lily rejecting Leo. She has commitment issues, so that is to be expected I guess.

This chapter was a bitch to write though. I kept deleting everything and starting over. *Sigh* I think I finally got it to come across the way I wanted, but it took forever! Hmm... I just realized I only talked about 2 people during this whole chapter. I hope it doesn't sound bland. Maybe I should rewrite it again... *Scratches head* Screw it, I'm leaving it this way! Hope you enjoy!