XLV

After taking off his sunglasses, folding them and tucking them into his back pocket, Richie’s right arm snaked under Frédérique’s arm, then under the thin, straight courtain of hair all the way across her back so his hand rested on her right side ribs, his thumb discretely touching the curve of her breast. Frédérique’s high-heeled sandals compensated for their different heights, so she was able to rest her left cheek on Richie’s right shoulder, molding the curve of her nose to his neck, her left hand grabbing his right biceps and the right one resting above his left pec, wrapped in Richie’s hand. Richie bowed his head just enough to press the corner of his lips against her temple.

He pulled her tight and they started swinging to the music, remaining silent the first minutes, simply enjoying the proximity they had longed for so much, completely ignoring the scrutiny of the people surrounding them. Then almost unconsciously Frédérique started humming the words to the song that was playing on the background.

Ne me quitte pas
Il faut oublier
Tout peut s'oublier
Qui s'enfuit déjà
Oublier le temps
Des malentendus
Et le temps perdu

“What does it mean?” Richie whispered.

Frédérique was so enraptured by Richie’s scent that she hadn’t consciously realized the words to the song, so she took a second before translating in a low, soft voice

We must forget
all that can be forgotten
that already has passed away
Forget the times
of misunderstandings,
and the times lost

In Frédérique’s meaningful words, Richie felt how she was opening up to him, inviting him in, no walls or boundaries but those that separated both of them from the rest of the people in the party. Frédérique stopped her translation and pulled apart to look into Richie’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Richie…” she began, apologizing sheepishly. She paused and closed her eyes, frowning slightly “I was overwhelmed I guess…I’d been hurt so much I wasn’t planning on being with anybody, but then I met you and I couldn’t resist. And everything happened so fast, everything changed so fast…”. She felt her tension rise so she paused to take a deep breath and opened her eyes wide as she continued to explain patiently. “Everyone else before you had ran away when I told them about my condition, and what you said in the interview gave me a reason to think that you’d run away, too, so I needed it to end bef-“

“Shhh. S’alright, babe” Richie interrupted her with a coo and pulled her closer reassuringly. He just wanted to make sure she knew how he felt about it. “But I told you that it’s you, just you, what I want and what I need. Nothing else. That hasn’t changed. You get that?”. He emphasized by giving her hand a tight squeeze. Whatever her condition was, it wasn’t important to him right then, he’d wait for her to tell him when she was ready.

She nodded to confirm that he’d gotten his point across and her heart fluttered: that’s what she felt, too and the heavy burden she had carried in her heart for so many years was finally lifted off. Yes, she and Richie were together, that’s all that mattered. All her fears and doubts had finally disappeared. “I thought I had made the right decision, that if I stayed I’d be standing in the way of what you wanted, of your happiness”. She relaxed again with a deep sigh and finished. “I’m really sorry…I never meant to hurt you, all the contrary”.

Richie kissed her temple and they danced silently for additional moments until it was Richie’s turn to speak, again in a secretive voice. “I thought you just needed some time to think, so I waited and after we met at the office I realized I couldn’t wait anymore and I called you before the show but you didn’t answer. That’s why I decided to go to your house the next day and fight for you”, he sighed. “I was so happy at Mohegan because I was sure I’d get you back soon. Then she, uh…” – Richie frowned – “…congratulated me and that was it, then you shut me off again and I didn’t know what to do…I didn’t find out you’d been there until Monday when Jon-“

“What are you saying?” Frédérique interrupted him and pulled apart to meet his eyes “I called you and left you a message…then I dropped my phone and it broke”. She kept her quizzical stare.

“What message? When?” Richie frowned and his pulse raced.

Frédérique shook her head slightly and closed her eyes to recall the memory. “I don’t know…the show had ended, you must have been showering or something”.

Richie stared into some place on the floor behind Frédérique as he tried to make sense of what she was saying. He shook his head as he reasoned out loud. “No, I shoulda gotten a missed called message or somethin’”. Then it hit him. For Christ’s sake. As it sank in, he involuntarily clenched his jaw: he was definitely upset, but simultaneously felt bad for judging Nikki without having confirmed it, so he would give her the benefit of the doubt until they had a long, long conversation.

“What?” asked Frédérique moving her eyes from side to side so she could meet Richie’s.

“I think I got an idea about what happened”, he sighed arching his eyebrows in acknowledgement, “and I don’t know what to say…”. Frédérique didn’t require further explanation: she didn’t need one, it was enough to know that it had been one more of those unfortunate coincidences.

Another slow, beautiful song started and Frédérique rested her cheek again on Richie’s shoulder as Jon’s accurate words came to her mind. “You’re both guilty of sucking at communicating”.

“I thought you were lying when you went to my apartment”, she confessed secretively, “That’s why I was so upset…and then you left, and confirmed my theory”,

Shit. Yes, it all made sense to Richie now, and it seemed that the entire universe had conspired to keep Frédérique away from him - his heart ached again when he realized how close he had been to losing her forever, but he was too happy now to be resented, and thankfully he had been able to find his way back to her. That realization supported his confidence so he ventured to tease her, curling his lips in a smirk and letting out a soft, sarcastic chuckle. “You still think we should leave things to karma?”

Frédérique answered mirroring Richie’s reaction and her warm breath flapped the collar of his shirt. He, however, winced when he remembered what had happened that night after he’d got home, mainly because he himself couldn’t bare the thought of Frédérique having done precisely the same thing. A cold rush crawled up his spine and he swallowed before speaking gravely. “Please, let’s never talk again about what happened while we were apart. None of it should have happened. It wasn’t meant to happen.”

Frédérique slightly nodded against Richie’s neck and couldn’t resist placing a soft kiss on his delicate skin.

They both continued dancing slowly, grateful that despite all the misunderstandings and mistakes, they had finally found each other again. They had finally been able to talk, listen, understand, let go of the past and forgive each other - all the clouds had disappeared, and they could start fresh again.

After the song ended, Richie bowed his head even more to speak against her ear with a husky voice. “I’m yours, Fred…Please tell me that you’re still mine”.

She looked up and looking into his eyes she replied firmly. “I’m yours, Richie…I always will be”.

Not a moment had passed since she had pronounced those words that their lips had clashed and they were both kissing passionately. Frédérique’s arms encircled Richie’s neck and his, in turn, her waist, pulling her so tightly to him that all the air in her lungs was expelled. But she couldn’t care less. They felt enclosed in a sort of bubble, oblivious to all the activity going around the rest of the dance floor. Their pulses started to kick up and a little moan resonated in Frédérique’s throat, but she suddenly giggled, broke the kiss and pressed her forehead against Richie’s and they both tried to catch their breath. She told him, still giggling softly and blushing a little.

“Richie, we’re not alone”

Richie had been so lost in the kiss that out of habit his right hand had crawled down and held a tight grip of Frédérique’s butt cheek between his thumb and the other four fingers. He chuckled hoarsely and loosened his grip, not daring to look around.

He pulled Frédérique back against him. “You look so beautiful, babe”, he said as he nuzzled her neck. “And I didn’t even have time to change”. He chortled softly and started kissing his way up to her jaw, then her chin. “Or shave, OR have a shower. I must stink”.

Frédérique smiled demurely but spoke with a desire-loaded voice before placing her lips on his. “You look and you smell just perfect”.

The kiss fueled Frédérique’s desire: Richie’s kisses were going to be the end of her, she knew that much, and the pressure of his fly against her stomach was doing the rest.

“You know…”, she spoke between soft kisses, “all the rooms in the house and the hotel are taken by the guests…I hope you don’t mind that we might have to share one”.

Richie hummed throatily in anticipation and added against her ear, with a lustful low voice. “My luggage’s still in the car…”

“Then I think you should go fetch it now and then I could, um…show you around the house and help you settle in?”, she smirked mischievously, her voice almost inaudible.

Richie continued the delicious teasing, arching an eyebrow. “Um…Now?”

They stopped dancing, Frédérique pulled apart and placed her hands over his pecs while Richie placed his hands on her hips. Frédérique’s hooded eyes met Richie’s and he stiffened a grin in response. Oh yeah, that look again. And he wanted her, too. So bad.

“Yes, now”, she ordered, trying to keep a straight face. “Meet me at the main door.”