Give Me Your Heart

18: We Could Be

Sparing a small yawn into her hand, Riley padded through the apartment, her ears ringing with the repetitive thumping of the door. It had been a few days, after Gerard’s visit to her apartment, she hadn’t heard from him in over a week, but she was aware that there was a chance that things between him and Alexa had reached a conclusion.

She hadn’t been interested, after Gerard had offered to end things with the other woman, Riley had made a point of at least pretending that she didn’t want to know, but when Cassidy had stumbled across a picture of Alexa on the internet, accompanied by an article detailing the possible split, she had to admit that her interest had been piqued. She didn’t want to be a problem, she didn’t want to be the girl that got between a couple, but the idea that Gerard could possibly be single once again did interest her, even if she didn’t want to admit it. A part of her was a little hopeful.

Pushing a hand through her hair, she pulled it up into a ponytail before she pulled the door open. “Do you have any idea what time it is?” she complained.

Gerard, who stood on the other side of the door, quirked a smile, his blue eyes admiring her for a moment. She looked irked, she wore a small pout on her face, but the vest top she wore displayed the bump she carried, something he couldn’t help but smile at. It was only small, even despite the fact that she was approaching 20 weeks pregnant, the bump was only noticeable if he was looking for it, but he adored the chance to see it. It wasn’t something he got to do very often. “You’re glowing” he chirped.

Riley, who’d been looking down, lifted her head, her blue eyes staring up at him in awe. “Gerard” she noted “What are you…it’s barely 8 in the morning” she spluttered out.

“I know” Gerard quipped “But I sent a text to Cassidy and she told me you had the morning off. I bought your favourite” he quipped as he lifted the bag he held in his hand, showing it off to her.

Riley frowned for a second before she stepped aside, allowing him to step over the threshold. “You remember where the plates are, don’t you?” she posed as she followed after him.

“It’s not been that long” Gerard quipped with a small smile “Besides, you should go and sit down. You’re always telling me that you feel worst first thing in the morning” he added.

Riley offered him a little look before she padded through to the living room, taking a seat on the couch.

Gerard followed after her a few seconds later, settling the plate of food he’d bought for her on the coffee table. “This is still your favourite, isn’t it?” he posed as he moved to sit beside her, trying to spark a conversation. He knew what he wanted, from the second he’d almost kissed her, he’d been certain of the fact that there was some sort of unresolved feeling between them, but he doubted that just coming out and saying it was going to help. Riley had a stubborn streak, a bad one, and after their previous meeting, he doubted that she would make it easy on him.

“It is” Riley confirmed “Well, second favourite now. It would appear your child has a particular love of pineapple” she quipped, gratefully taking the plate into her hands.

Gerard shook his head. “You hate pineapple” he noted with a smile.

“I do” Riley quipped “But for the last few days, all I have wanted is pineapple” she added, her hand gently brushing over her small bump as a small grin formed on her face.

Gerard watched her for a second before he rested his head back, letting out a small sigh. “You know, I broke up with Alexa” he mumbled.

Riley nodded. “I do know that” she mumbled “Cassidy showed me an article the other day. It had a picture of Alexa in a bar flirting with some guy” she noted between mouthfuls of food.

Gerard nodded his head quietly, something which made Riley shake her head a little. “Please tell me that you didn’t come here to ask me to take you back” she murmured softly “Gerard, I thought I was clear with you…”

“Riley, this isn’t just going to go away” Gerard interjected, sitting up a little more “We both know that you still have feelings for me and I know that I have them for you, and no matter how hard you try, it’s not just going to go away because you think it might be easier. We messed up, Ry, both of us, and I’d like us to try and fix it” he insisted, his expression soft and earnest.

“You didn’t want to try and fix it before we broke up” Riley countered with a small shake of the head “We agreed that it was…”

“We got it wrong, Riley” Gerard interrupted “We should have tried harder” he insisted.

Riley studied the look on his face for a second before she shook her head, pushing herself to her feet. “Gerard, I don’t want to talk about this” she murmured “You’re just out of a relationship…”

“When are you just going to be honest, Riley?” he cut in, his voice raising a little in frustration.

“Gerard…”

“I love you” the defender insisted “Riley, querida, I love you and I know that you still feel the same for me too, no matter how much you try and pretend that you don’t. I know you do, Riley” he murmured softly.

Riley chewed on her lip for a second before Gerard stepped towards her, his hand gently tilting her head so that she looked up at him. “We could fix this, Ry, I know that we could, and you just need to give me the OK. Tell me that you want me and I’m yours” he insisted softly, his nose brushing against hers tenderly.

Riley swallowed a little, stuck for what to say.

Gerard offered her a small smile before he brushed a thumb over her cheekbone, encouraging her to lean into him a little as he pressed a kiss against her lips. Riley startled a little at the feel of his lips on hers, but she didn’t jerk away, something which made the defender smile a little before he backed away. “Say the word” he mumbled.

Riley was quiet for a moment. “No” she murmured gently.

“Riley…”

“Gerard, I am not just going to give you the word” she murmured softly “You need to decide what it is you want and I think it’s going to take you more than a week to decide that you want me. Take some time, Gerard, because if you do want to be with me, I need it to be for keeps. The last thing I want to do is have the kind of relationship that flits between good and bad, especially not now” she mumbled, her hand gently taking his and placing it against her bump “We need to be sure” she added gently.

Gerard looked up at her face for a second before he flicked his attention down towards her bump, staring at it for a moment before he let out a small sigh, knowing that she was probably right.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)