As I sped home to look up the address Dr. Rink had given me, I couldn’t help but to enjoy the rush of feelings washing over me. It was such a relief to know what my heart was feeling. My hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as I pictured running into Sean’s arms. I hoped he still felt the same; I had been so awful to him that it might already be too late.

I pushed down harder on the gas pedal.



At home, I ran upstairs to my computer and frantically typed in the address, but my hands were shaking so bad I made a few typos. Finally, I got it right and a map of the town popped up on the screen.



The neighborhood was in an unfamiliar part of town, but at least it was only a 20 minute drive away. My heart pounded in my chest and I had to take a few deep breaths to steady myself. I couldn’t do this! How crazy was I to actually think I could drive over to Sean’s house and ask him to take me back? I’m pretty sure that classified as stalker behavior.

I decided to wait until tomorrow to make the trip. It was already getting late, and the girls would be home soon. Besides, maybe a good night’s sleep would help clear my head.

----------------------------------------------------

For the first time in a long time my sleep was restful, and my dreams were once again filled with hazy high school memories.



I woke up with a big smile on my face and knew I had to see Sean. I’d come all this way, and I had to do everything I could to win him back.

I was suddenly hit with a panic that I hadn’t experience since college. What should I wear? Should I dress up? I mean, I wanted to impress him right? Was this a date? What was date etiquette these days anyway?

I glanced at the window, and one look at the overcast sky told me to dress casually. I threw on a bright new top and a comfortable pair of jeans, smiling like a goofball the whole time.



-----------------------------------------------------

I pulled up to 135 Birchwood Ave half an hour later and gaped at the house in front of me. This was Sean’s new place? It was such a change from the modest bachelor pad of an apartment he’d been staying at for the past few months. But sure enough, Sean’s familiar black truck was sitting in the driveway.

I parked my van on the curb and got out. I’d been right about the rain and was glad I hadn’t dressed up.



I approached the bright red front door and knocked.



Just like yesterday, there was no answer. I knocked again and waited a few more minutes. Still nothing. I peeked inside the front window, but the only thing in sight were boxes. No Sean.



Well, I hadn’t driven all the way out there for nothing. I tried the doorknob, but it was locked. Frustrated, I began pacing. Obviously he was home, I mean, his truck was there and everything!

Maybe the back door was unlocked, or maybe I could see Sean from another window and get his attention. As my thoughts wandered, so did my feet. They’d taken me right around the house.

I stopped at a picket fence at the back of the house. There he was, napping beside a little pond in his back yard. My heart swelled at the sight of him. Trembling, I stepped through the wooden gate and approached my destiny…



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Sean's POV

I was dreaming of the ocean. The water lapped at my feet and the chilly air whipped around me. A voice called to me in the distance and I turned to see a figure several yards away. It must have been an angel, her voice was like music. I ran to find her but the waves crashed around me and the ocean spray misted my face.

A tiny bead of water landed on my nose. It was raining. I’d fallen asleep in the back yard, barely sheltered by the draping branches of an oak tree.



“Sean?”

A smile spread across my lips as my dream of the angel lingered.

“Are you awake?” she sang again.

No, not a dream. I would recognize that voice anywhere. But why would Kat be here? I hadn’t even told her I’d moved, coward that I was. But what else could I do? She said she never wanted to see me again and I wanted to make her happy even if it meant being unhappy myself.

Footsteps sloshed through the rain, coming closer.

I opened my eyes, squinting into the rain. There she was - my angel. My breath caught as I took in the vision of her beauty.



“Kat?” my voice cracked. Clearing my throat, I started over. “Kat, what are you doing here?”

I pushed myself out of the wooden lounge chair. Giving my stiff back a quick rub, I looked at Kat with a better perspective now. She looked nervous, scared.

“Oh Sean, I’m so sorry!” she blurted out.

“Sorry for what?”

“For how I treated you. I had no right to – “

“There’s no need to apologize,” I said, holding out my hands. “If it was for the best…” I trailed off, unable to speak the painful words flitting through my mind: That I would do anything to make this woman happy, even if it meant walking through fire.

“No! that’s just it. It wasn’t for the best! I’ve been miserable the past few weeks. And you were always such a good friend. I miss you.”



So that was her game? She was feeling blue and tracked me down to alleviate her discomfort? How I despised the word ‘friend.’ It had become my undoing. But it was the role I had taken upon myself and even after all I’d given up, I’d still failed to please her in the end.

I rubbed my face with one hand. “Why did you come here?”

The flicker of pain on her face in that moment was enough to bring kings to their knees. I groaned inwardly and cursed myself for being so heartless.

Almost instantly she hid the pain and I watched her gather confidence. Drawing herself up to her full height, Kat stared straight into my eyes.

“Let me say that again.” She reached for my hand and took it in her own. “Sean, I’ve been miserable without you.”



Could it be that my ears had deceived me? Was I reading her all wrong? Fighting the soft stroke of her thumb against the back of my hand and the vulnerability I saw in her eyes was like fighting a losing battle. But I didn’t want to feel this false hope for the impossible anymore. She’d been leading me on for too long. And I’d been letting her.

Several seconds had passed in silence.

“I suppose it was stupid of me to come here like this,” she said. “But I didn’t know what else to so. I thought I had lost you again, Sean. Forever this time. And that made me realize something. I… I’m in love with you.”



My pulse beat in my ears, so loud I couldn’t think, couldn’t speak, could only act. I pulled her into my arms until we were merely a hairsbreadth apart. Our noses touched.



“Say it again,” I commanded, wanting to fall to my knees and beg to hear those words once more.

“I love you Sean, always and forever.” Her full lips grazed my mouth as she spoke and I quickly closed the gap between us. I overtook her with kisses that threatened to consume me.



She met my intensity with fervor, needing me as much as I needed her. I explored her mouth, and planted loving kisses on her cheeks and jaw, remembering their curves and plains. And all the while her hands caressed my face, my neck, my back.



When I finally drew my head back, it was to catch my breath. But Kat used the reprieve to bury her face in my neck. I felt warm tears against my skin.

“Are you okay?” I asked, confused.

She nodded.

“Are these tears of sadness, or tears of joy?”

“Only joy,” she mumbled and I saw her lips curve into a smile against the fabric of my shirt. I lifted a hand to her face to wipe away the tears, but she shivered in the cool breeze. “Don’t let go,” she whispered.

I pulled her closer to me. “Never, my love.”

We stood like that in the back yard for a very long time, until the rain had passed and only the wind was left, swaying us back and forth in its gentle rhythm.



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Just curious - Whose POV do you like better, Kat or Sean? I thought that Sean's perspective adds to the story, we know almost everything about how Kat feels by this point. I'd love to hear what you think!


Sean’s house is by teril02 at MTS. Here: http://www.modthesims2.com/download.php?t=261775