Old ends new beginnings

Chapter 5

Two months had passed.

Two whole months and here they were, still together, happy and always smiling at each other.

Shit.

He had hidden himself, allowing Holly a little bit of happiness, knowing that he had lost her.

It was the best thing to do. He was not right for her, she had to be with someone who deserved her love, and Sean was the best man she could hope to find.

For the first time in his entire life, Vin wasn’t thinking to himself. Holly was too important, her happiness, her well being, were the most important things to him.

Even if she could never see him, Vin checked on her, but especially he was always there to see if Sean was doing a good job.

And he was certainly doing it.

A noise at his back startled him, and he somewhat tensed when he saw Josh approaching him.

"Hey." Josh smiled, stopping at some distance. "I didn't know you were here, too. Fancy some company or should I bugger off right away?"

“No, you can stay if you want.” he told him, trying to smile.

But he wasn’t able to do it since he had lost his Holly.

Sighing, Josh sat down in front of him, ordering himself a beer. Vin didn't seem in the best mood for a talk, and for some long minutes, they just remained silent.

"We've had a good shoot today." Josh said quietly, daring a quick glance at the other man.

“Yeah, not so bad, but I don’t dare to think that I’ll have to stay here for another year and more…”

Vin knew that the other man was somewhat intimidated by him, but it was his nature, and he didn’t do it by purpose.

Josh shrugged. "It's just work." he stated, studying his reaction to those words. "The one thing that worries me is having my ex-wife trying to keep my kids away from me, which is not a difficult task at all since I'm gonna stay here for a while." he paused, taking a gulp from his mug, and shook his head. "She even refuses to let me talk to them on the phone."

“Women can knock us very hard when they want…” Vin merely stated, sighing. “And I can understand you all too well. I’m feeling incredibly stressed and such…especially lonely.”

"I know." Josh murmured, nodding, without looking at him. "I've noticed. I don't think there's anything I can do, but you can rely on me...just in case."

“Thank you, Josh. And I know I’ve been quite harsh on you in those two months, but…you know…it’s been difficult for me to stay away from her life. To avoid her, to see them together, kissing and always smiling to each other…I’m so sorry for everything…”

What? Had he really just said that? Caught off guard by those words, Josh eyed him curiously for some moments, furrowing his brow, as if trying to register the fact that the other man had just said it for real. Then he sighed, averting his gaze.

"No need to apologize, Vin. I'm the one who's sorry to see you this heartsick." he said, then looked at him again and chuckled a bit. "You know, it kind of comforts me to know that despite all those muscles, you're quite a sensitive guy at heart."

“People think that tough guys aren’t able to love, to suffer, and that we’ve got all the girls we want. Bullshit. I can’t have the girl I love. I’ve lost her three years ago, and I’ve lost her again.” Sighing, he took another sip of his beer, looking away.

"I don't know how serious their relationship is," said Josh, propped up on his elbows on the table. "But I don't think they're actually looking forward to an engagement. Especially since Sean has divorced three times, and now he's quite cautious toward such matters. Understandably."

“I’ve observed him for quite a while. And I can see in his eyes that he loves her. If…if he should hurt her…”

At those words, Vin clenched his teeth in anger.

“He wouldn’t be able to act anymore, ‘cause I’ll make sure his face would be a mess.”

"Would be good for a start if you didn’t get yourself into trouble?" Josh scolded him. "I'm sure there'll be no need to screw up his face. Have you observed her as well? And if you did...you think she's in love with him?" he demanded, leaning towards him.

“Yes.”

That was the answer he had expected.

The look in her eyes that had haunted him for two months.

Josh sighed deeply, looking at his pint without really seeing it, and said nothing for a while. When he finally spoke, he looked at Vin again.

"I am sorry." he muttered, desperately searching for a glimpse of hope to relieve Vin of such a painful burden. "But...I could talk to her. She really cares about you, Vin, I know because she told me..."

“I haven’t got the right to go to her and ruin her life. I know she’s happy now with Sean. With me…she wouldn’t be so happy, ‘cause I always make her suffer. There’s nothing I can do. I should just try to forget her, even if for two months every fucking night I can’t help but dream of her. I can’t go on like this. I can’t…”

Sighing again, Josh gulped all of his beer at once and stood, looking at the other man. "Come on," he said. "I'm going for another pint. And I'm offering whatever you'll be able to drink."

Nodding, Vin stood, stretching his powerful muscles, and walked along with Josh, his face tired and his eyes full of sorrow.

"Holly?" Sean called out, closing the door of their hotel room. He put the keys and some magazines he'd just bought down onto the small table, and carefully looked around before heading to the bathroom. "Honey?" he tried again, peeping into the room.

Walking silently, the girl smiled to herself, and, just a second before Sean turned around to see her, she put her hands on his eyes, pressing her body against his back.

“Guess who?” she chuckled, gently nibbling at his shoulder through the thin material of his shirt.

"Mmm. Must be my love..." he smirked, taking her hands into his and turning around to hug her tightly.

"Hi..." Sean then whispered, staring intently to her eyes. "I missed you so much today..."

A moment later, his mouth closed over hers to claim a well-deserved kiss, at first only caressing her lips, then gently probing within her mouth with his tongue when she granted him access. All the while he held Holly's face with both hands, stroking her cheeks, and, when they eventually parted, he couldn't help but smile.

"I've got some news for you."

“I hope it’s good.” she smiled back, gently tugging at his shirt.

“Look, I prepared an hot bath for you and I put relaxing oils in the water. You should have it now, or it will get too cold. And…you look tired, so after that I’ll massage your back, and cuddle all night…I’ve missed you so much, love…”

"Have a bath with me then, would you?" he asked, lifting his arms up so that she could easily remove his t-shirt. "So I'll tell you everything while bathing."

“Okay!” she chuckled, swiftly unzipping his jeans and guiding him towards the Jacuzzi.

Then she undressed herself, and entered the tub with him, hissing in pleasure when the hot water touched her body.

"I love it when you do that..." Sean grinned, dragging her closer until she was, as a matter of fact, sitting on his lap. "Shall I tell you the news first, and molest you afterwards?" he asked mischievously, while nibbling at her shoulder.

“Tell me the news, and maybe afterwards we’ll have something to party about…” she grinned back, rubbing her palms up and down his arms.

"Okay, okay..." he chuckled, shifting his gaze to meet her eyes. "First, Abigail and my girls are arriving in a few days, and they'll stay here for a while. And, well...I was chattering with this guy today, I guess he's a co-director or something, and he told me about a nice, tidy apartment down the road to the studios...I went there later, and, indeed, it's a delightful place we could share... just the two of us."

“Just…the two of us?” she asked, knowing that maybe in that exact moment she looked stunned.

“It would be...”

Unable to speak, she told him what she thought of his idea, by kissing every inch of his face and neck, smiling like a fool.

“I am so happy you…you considered to live with me…” she whispered between kisses.

But then she remembered his other news, and a panicked expression appeared on her face.

“Oh, shit! I can’t stay there with your daughters! What could I do? And what if they don’t like me? What if they want to spend some time alone with their daddy?”

"Shhhh..." he hushed her, playfully placing a hand upon her mouth and smiling. "They already know everything, and I can also tell you that they're looking forward to meet you. And I can't wait to live with you. And..." he stopped, sliding his hand down to cup her chin, all the while looking intensely in her eyes. "And I love you, Holly."

In that precise moment, it was as if her heart skipped a beat, and she almost forgot to breathe.

He loved her?

Was that the same Sean that had told her “I’ll never marry again”?

“Oh, Sean…” she started, her eyes full of tears.

“Sean I…I love you too, and so much but…”

She suddenly took his hand to her mouth, hiding a strangled sob.

“Shit…I hate him…why can’t I live my life and simply forget him? Why? What’s wrong with me? Shit!”

"It's okay." Sean murmured with a sigh, and held her tight against his chest so that she wouldn't be able to look into his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel guilty. "I am sorry, love, I am so very sorry...I shouldn't have said that. Don't cry..." he whispered softly, cradling her into his arms.

“No. It’s me that’s sorry. I love you so much, but I was not brave enough to admit it. And…I was craving to hear those words from you.” she managed to say, lightly fighting to be free and look into his eyes. “My heart is twisted. I don’t deserve your love, ‘cause I think that I’ll never forget him, even if I want to…”

She looked intensely into his eyes, and stood up, wrapping a towel around her waist and walking to the bedroom.

When she left the room, Sean briefly closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, sighing deeply. "I'm such a fuckin’ idiot." he mumbled to himself, shaking his head as he reached for a towel. Moments later he was in the bedroom, facing Holly.

"I ruined everything, didn't I?"

Shacking like a leaf, Holly looked into his eyes, before to embrace him tightly.

“Sean…I love you. It’s just…d-do you love me even if you know that he’s still important to me? What…what did I do to deserve that? To deserve...you?”

"I'd give up anything for you." he whispered huskily, trying to fight back the tears. "I don't care about...about the rest of the world, as long as you stay by my side. You're the one person who made me believe again...in love, in marriage, in life, in destiny, in anything...I love you Holly, I love you so much..."

Smiling like a fool, she raised her head to look at him, gently caressing his cheeks.

“I love you too, Sean…I love you. I’ll never stop to telling you that. I love you…kiss me…please?”

Without a word, he freed her of the towel, then took off his own and dragged Holly towards the bed, falling on it a few moments later with her laying on top of him. And then he kissed her, slowly and deeply, one hand twined in her soft hair and the other travelling along her spine, his eyes shut. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

“I love you.” she whispered between kisses, caressing his hair and shoulders.

His brooding eyes always haunted her, and she felt the familiar knot in her lower regions, and slowly began to kiss and nibble his neck, delighting in the musky fragrance of his skin.

Closing his eyes again, Sean tightened the embrace and placed many soft, lingering kisses all over her face, neck and shoulders. His thoughts slowly turned into a thick haze as he kissed her, his brain into mush. The only thing he was still able to figure out clearly was that he wanted her. Desperately. He was feeling almost dizzy with desire, his head spinning and his body reacting enthusiastically to her attentions.

"Make love to me." he suddenly breathed, pressing their bodies even closer so that Holly could feel for herself just how alert he was, and just how he longed to love her.

She pulled back a little, tilting her face up to him, and began to kiss him with a fierce passion and possessiveness.

Her searching lips and probing tongue moved down the solid slopes of his chest, teasing tiny rose-colored nipples to full erectness, causing Sean's hips to push upwards involuntarily and a purr to escape his throat at the combination of sensations between her mouth on his nipples and her hands on his skin.

Gripping his shoulders, feeling her breasts brushing against his chest, feeling the heat of his breath against her neck as he broke the kiss and began gently nibbling and kissing her shoulder, she couldn’t help but moan in response, letting him know her desire. “My love," she whispered into his ear, and then in the next moment, he was entering her.

Sean instinctively grabbed her waist with both hands, pushing her downwards while his body arched off the bed of its own volition, silently asking for more. A few moments later, he was completely sheathed within her, and holding his breath as sensations washed over him. A pair of stormy grey eyes fluttered open to look at Holly as he began to rock his hips back and forth, biting his lower lip to stifle a moan.

Sean's senses were in overdrive. He could feel the soft cotton of the sheets rubbing against his legs and buttocks with every movement, he could hear the faint humming of the air conditioner, he could hear soft, ragged breaths coming from Holly's slightly parted lips, and, above anything else, he could feel the unbearable friction of her inner walls clenching around him as he slowly thrust inside her.

She made love to him in a slow, yet intense fashion that drove her over the edge not once, but twice…her second orgasm being much more explosive than the first. So much so, in fact, that she actually bit Sean's shoulder in the peak of her pleasure to avoid screaming out loud. He hissed in a sharp breath of combined pain and ecstasy as her reaction triggered his own climax. He shuddered violently and groaned against her neck as he released his passion inside her body.

After their lovemaking, Holly rested her head on his shoulder, still on the top of him, eyes closed, thinking about what they had discussed before.

Though Sean didn't dare to say anything, he was thinking about it as well. Inevitably. After a sigh, he started to stroke her hair thoughtfully, holding her tight within his arms, but said nothing.

“I don’t want to leave you, Sean,” she murmured mere moments later. “But you should date someone better than me, ‘cause I can’t love you as much as you love me…even if when I’m with you, everything seems so perfect, so right and… magical. It feels so good with you, and…I would really like us to live together, and to know your daughters. I think I’ve been dreaming about that since I took those photos in London…”

At her words, he smiled; remembering the night when she first showed him said photos. Their first night together. He could still remember anything about it, every occurrence, every detail, every word they exchanged.

"I'll take you to see that apartment tomorrow," he said, lowering his gaze to look at her. "And if you like it, we'll move there right away. As for my daughters...you'll meet them in a couple of days, and I'm more than sure that they'll love you. But not as much as I do."

Smiling back, she kissed him slowly and tenderly, and shifted her weight to lie down at his side.

“You told me that every time you married…that ruined everything, and you spent a lot of evenings with your friends. What if…it would happen again? I know it’s selfish but…what?”

"I have never been this happy," Sean stated, holding Holly's eyes with his. "And all I want is to spend twenty four seven with you...I hang out with my friends anyway, once in a while, but, in that case, you could come with us and share a pint. Sounds good, now doesn't it?" he chuckled, kissing her forehead. "I'd even marry you tomorrow, Holly. I've never been this sure about my own feelings before."

“Marry me?” she asked, a little confused, her eyes widening in surprise. “I think it’s too soon...”

"It is," he nodded, smiling. "So I guess I'll ask you again in a while. For now, I'll be more than glad to introduce my girls to you...and to show you that lovely apartment tomorrow. Would you really agree to share it with me?" he asked, giving her a sweet smile and tightening the embrace.

“Sure!” she nodded, enthusiastically.

“We’re sharing this room, so I think it would be… a dream to share an entire apartment. I can’t wait to see it.”

"You'll love it, I'm sure..." he began, smiling dreamily. "There’s a wide lounge as you enter, then a lovely kitchen, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a huge balcony. So very huge that we could actually live just on it. I can't wait to show everything to you."

“And I can’t wait to see it,” she smiled back, looking intensely at his dreaming face.

“Now you should get some rest. Tomorrow you have two early shoots, and, before we eat lunch, we could go and see this apartment, okay?”

"It's a deal, sweetie." Sean mumbled, snuggling closer and resting his head on her breast. "I love you. So much..." he whispered, smiling, and closed his eyes.

“I love you, too.” she whispered, but he didn’t hear her.

Watching him sleep, Holly thought about what was happening between them.

She felt horrible about him, because she loved him but not as much as she loved Vin.

A few hours later, Sean woke up, and, after a quick shower, he put on a pair of jeans and a shirt, all the while looking at Holly, who was still sleeping peacefully.

She was about to meet his daughters, and they were going to live together. And, above everything else, there was the fact that she loved him. He still couldn't believe that it was actually happening, it indeed was a dream come true. She was a dream come true.

Sean smiled to himself as he scribbled a quick note, just a reminder of all the love he felt for her, leaving it on the nightstand before walking silently out of the room.

Holly was waiting for Sean in the hall of the studios; she had prepared her backpack and was drinking a coke, leaning casually against the doorframe.

Before she saw him, she heard his deep laughter, and his voice, his strong English accent, and felt herself smiling when she finally saw him walking with some other guy of the crew.

"No, I'm serious, it's great to work with you." the guy was giggling, while playfully patting Sean's back.

"Yeah, whatever." the other replied, smirking, "You say that to anyone, don't you? I'm just one of the many innocent actors you deviously juggle everyday. You pimp!"

After another good laugh, the guy walked away, still giggling. Sean smiled to his Holly as he approached her, and stopped only mere inches away.

"There she is..." he chuckled, "...my precious."

Smiling sweetly, she kissed him tenderly, caressing his hair.

“Your note this morning was incredibly beautiful…I love you, too.” she whispered on his lips.

"Can you even imagine how much I've missed you today?" he murmured, circling her waist with both arms. "I was looking forward to see you the whole time...I just can't live without you...and I love you...awfully."

“Are you tired? ‘Cause if you are, we’ll see the apartment tomorrow, you should get a good sleep.” she murmured with a worried frown on her face.

"I'm fine." Sean said slowly, retreating to look questioningly at her. "But, yeah, you're right. We'll see it tomorrow, if that's what you wish."

Why?

Why, why, why?

He couldn't think of any other word, save why. Why was she pushing him away again? Why couldn't she just forget Vin? Why couldn't she love him as much as he loved her? Sean restrained himself from asking those questions out loud only with great effort. Without another word, he reached for his bag and didn't look at Holly as he searched for the keys, hoping that she wouldn't notice the sadness in his eyes.

“Sean?” she suddenly called at him, walking to stop him.

“I wasn’t saying that I don’t want to live with you. I was just worried ‘cause last night you really slept only a few hours, if you say you’re fine we can go at the apartment even now…”

She hadn’t missed the expression on his face, and couldn’t help but feel her heart squeezed when she recognized hurt in his eyes.

“It was just a misunderstanding, love…can you believe me?”

Sean sighed, bowing his head, and ran a hand across his face before nodding, even so faintly. A moment later, he was into her arms, his face buried in the dark fall of her hair, his hands clutching almost desperately at the soft fabric of her shirt.

Yes, she was there. Real. She was there, her body fitting so perfectly against his, her scent so sweet it was almost dazing. She was there, yes, and she still wanted him.

"I'm sorry..." he mumbled, his voice muffled by Holly's hair and by the unbearable need to cry that was squeezing his throat like a vise.

“Don’t be. It was a misunderstanding, nothing more,” she whispered, tightening her grip on him.

Trying to calm him, she caressed his back, whispering soft words to his ear.

When he was smiling again, she took hold of his hand.

“Now let’s go to see our new home.”

Said home was quite near to the studios and they didn't take the car to get there, mostly because Sean had declared a 'major need for a good walk'. To tell the truth, he just wanted to walk hand in hand with his Holly, like any other couple, something they couldn't probably afford in England where almost anyone knew his face.

A few minutes later, he stopped, smiling, and gestured towards a lovely white house, fenced and built on two levels.

"Here it is." he smiled, rummaging into his bag for the keys. "Isn't it nice?"

“It’s wonderful,” she smiled, walking with him to the house. “But it could also be the worst house on the whole world. It would be wonderful just because you’re here with me.”

Smiling in response, Sean opened the door and took her hand, guiding her inside.

"As you can see, ma'am, this is the lounge. Does it suit your taste?"

The room was indeed wide, and accurately furnished. In front of them, there were the stairs leading to the upper floor, and, at their right, a small corridor led to the kitchen.

When they had finished the house tour, Holly was more than happy.

She was walking into the huge bedroom, and sat on a chair, looking into the big mirror, a content smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Sean smirked as he approached Holly and then kneeled before her, gently caressing her legs. "I suppose that the answer about the house is yes?" he smiled. "Shall we move here tomorrow?"

“Yes,” she whispered contentedly. “I love you Sean…”

"I love you too." he replied, ducking his head to kiss Holly's hand before getting on his feet. "We could take our things here tomorrow morning. Hurry!" he chuckled, taking her hand to drag her towards the stairs.

Giggling, she followed him, gently squeezing his hand.

“Where are we going now? “ she asked when they were outside the white house, looking down the street.

"To the hotel," he replied, smiling. "So that we can have a shower and change our clothing...and then we're going out for lunch. We must celebrate."

“Okay, love. Let’s go.” she smiled enthusiastically.

When they entered the room they shared, Holly took off her shirt, walking toward the bathroom.

Slowly, she removed all of her clothing, letting them fall on the floor, and started the water.

Clad only in his boxers, Sean arrived a few moments later and hugged her from behind with a huge, amused grin on his face. Without any warning, he dragged her under the shower, chuckling and holding her tight.

“Sean!” she almost cried, the hot water running on her body, wetting all of her underwear. “Let me go!”

"Shhhh, quiet! They'll think I'm torturing you!" he smiled, and let go of Holly to take off her panties and bra. "Any better?"

“You…” she almost growled, jumping on him, and entwining her legs around his waist, pulling him towards the wall.

“Do you want it that way? Cause I was planning a nice, hot, quiet shower, not a dirty one...”

"Mmmm. Either a nice shower or a dirty one would be just as good to me." he grinned, then swiftly turned around to pin her to the wall, placing both hands on her buttocks in order to hold her up. "The choice is yours, my sweetest little Holly." he whispered on her lips, without averting his eyes.

Without any word, the girl looked at him and entwined her hands in his hair, pulling him roughly towards her, kissing him deeply and passionately, bruising his lips in an almost savage way.

When their lips parted, Sean looked at her for just a moment, wide-eyed and panting, before he fiercely assaulted her neck combining slow, lustful licks and quick bites, yet hard enough to bruise. Without stopping his ministrations, he began to slowly rub their groins together, moaning in delight despite the fact that he was still wearing his boxers.

“Take it off.” she managed to say, between ragged breaths and low moans.

The combined sensations of her breasts rubbing on his skin, his groin pressed in hers, and his licks and bites, were almost too much for her, and she was shaking helplessly, clinging to him for dear life, her nails digging into is shoulders.

Still licking and biting relentlessly, Sean lowered his boxers, not wanting to let go of Holly, and then let the garment slide down to his ankles. When he looked at her again, he was breathing raggedly and trembling against her, his eyes two dark pools of pure need. A moment later, he ducked his head again to lick away the tiny droplets of water that had gathered in the hollow of her throat, and slowly pushed himself all the way inside, shudder after long shudder.

She moved slowly at the beginning, but some moments later she needed more, and the look of pure lust in Sean’s eyes confirmed that he wanted the same.

Then every coherent through was lost, and their fast rhythm was driving her insane, the pleasure rippling along her body, and she was almost overwhelmed with sensations when he drove her over the edge.

Utterly spent and satisfied, she remained trembling in Sean’s strong arms, trying to regain her composure.

"So tell me, my love...was this...a nice shower or a dirty one?" he suddenly chuckled, still holding her tight, his face buried between her neck and shoulder.

“Definitely dirty…” she murmured, holding him tight, kissing his temple and caressing his hair.

“But we should wipe up, or we’ll get a cold…and more…I’m starving.” she chuckled some moments after, looking at him.

"So am I," Sean smiled, retreating to look at Holly as he let go of her. "And I love you. So much." he whispered, still smiling, and switched off the water as he leaned towards her for a kiss.

About twenty minutes later, they were climbing down the stairs, hand in hand, and when they reached the hall Sean couldn't help but briefly gaze around in case Vin was somewhere in the surroundings. Though he'd have never acknowledged it, he was starting to be afraid. Afraid that he could take his beloved Holly away from him.

Holly led him towards a small little restaurant down the street, not noticing his worried frown.

Now and then she stopped before a shop, talking with him about buying some presents for the little girls.

They sat in a corner of the restaurant, to have more privacy, and ordered some roasted meat and salads, all the time looking into each other’s eyes.

"They'll be here next Friday," Sean announced while pouring her some red wine. "So I was thinking...since we're moving to our home, I could leave my hotel room to Abigail, and...If it is a problem for you to have the girls at home with us, well...they could stay at the hotel with her. Anything that suits you, love."

“It would be simply wonderful to have them with us, love.” she smiled, sipping her wine.

“They will be so happy to spend some time with their daddy, and, if they’ll stay with us, you’ll also be able to kiss them goodnight.”

Smiling at that thought, she looked at him, knowing that with his daughters he was more than sweet.

He smiled back, and reached for her hand over the table. "You can't imagine what this means to me...to have both you and them with me. You are the people I love the most."

“I love you too.” she whispered, squeezing his hand.

The maid served their salads and the meat, and they started to eat, making projects for the days to come.

Back to the hotel, while on the way to their bedroom, Sean suddenly stopped. A moment later, he was dragging Holly towards one of their reserved halls, where a noisy congregation of actors and crew members were gleefully toasting and sharing a laugh. Vin was nowhere to be seen, so Sean stopped at the door, smiling when Josh turned to look at them.

"Hey! Come in and have a seat, will ya?"

“Sure!” she smiled to him, sitting between Sean and Josh, and hugging Eileen.

Some moments later, she heard heavy footsteps, and Vin appeared in the room.

When their eyes met, Holly froze in place, her mouth suddenly dry.

Moving as if he hadn’t noticed her, the man sat in a chair, opposite to her, looking intently at her.

Doing his best to ignore Vin, Sean took the bottle of beer that Josh was handing him, and squeezed Holly's hand into his.

"So...what's this all about?" he asked, taking a swig from his bottle and then looking at him.

"This...this what?" Josh replied, chuckling due to the overly high amount of beer he had consumed and the strange euphoria that was permeating the room.

"All this celebrating and stuff, I mean."

"Oh, I don't know," the other man shrugged, smiling. "Just a nice meet up or something. Who cares? Just drink."

Trying to ignore the pain that she felt, Holly took a sip of beer, forcing herself to look at the floor and not into Vin’s eyes.

The man, from his side, had noticed the way Sean was acting, and purposefully tried to force him to speak.

Maybe Holly would pay him some attention.

“So, Sean, how did your early shoots go? I hope everything worked out.” he stated, trying to be friendly.

Sean stared at him for some moments before shrugging. "No arguments, no injuries, no disasters. I guess it worked out all right, yeah." he said evenly, his voice lacking even the barest hint of enthusiasm. Then he flashed a sidelong glance at Holly, and, indeed, he didn't like what he saw there.

The said girl was pale, her face was like a mirror that showed all the pain she felt inside.

Her eyes were fixed on Vin’s face, and he was looking at her, too.

I love you, Holly. I should have understood that long time ago. God…I love you.

He would have been able to say that, to scream all his love for her, but the only thing he was able to do was stare at her, his eyes showing sadness, longing, love and pain.

But this time it was Holly that broke the eye contact.

“I’m not feeling very well. I’ll go up into our room.” she told Sean, squeezing his hand and walking away.

Only when she was alone in their room, she was able to breath normally again.

Into the bathroom, she washed her face with cold water, sighing deeply.

It was not time to analyze what she felt.

She just had to move on, to start her life with Sean, and nothing more.

Kicking away her jeans and boots, she pulled off her white shirt, dressed in an oversized t-shirt, and laid on the bed.

A few minutes later, Sean entered the room and carefully closed the door, all the while looking at Holly. He said nothing, though, and with a deep sigh, he quickly disappeared in the bathroom to come into view again some moments later, dressed only with his boxers. Still, he didn't seem to feel like talking and he quietly lay on his side of the bed, turning off the light.

By his side, Holly looked at the ceiling for a while, then quietly approached him, putting her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

His hot breath on her neck, and the regular beat of his heart relaxed her, and she sighed deeply.

“Do you still feel that we should live together?” she whispered after a while.

“’Cause I don’t blame you if you changed your mind.”

"No, I haven't changed my mind." he sighed, staring at the ceiling. "Honestly, I was starting to think you were the one who did. Do you still want to live with me, Holly?"

“Yes…” she whispered, gently caressing his chest. “And if you feel that it’s okay, this evening we could go out to celebrate and tomorrow we’ll move out to the new house.”

"All right." Sean mumbled, closing his eyes. "Now get some rest."