Across the Miles

by Kristen Dickerson

  I still have my doubts.

  I still have my questions

  I'm not really sure if I'll ever fully learn my lesson

  But now I have someone worth fighting for

  This school of love is in session

  All of these fools will rush in

  So let's be fools in love

  The song ended, and Liam didn't even hear the applause. The show ended with that song, and Liam swiftly left the stage, running straight into the arms of Rose, who planted a swift kiss on Liam's cheek, before whispering, “You mean so much to me.”

  Even though they knew it should be impossible, maybe, Liam thought, they would still be able to give this relationship a try.

  “What about a long distance relationship?” Liam questioned that night as they lay in bed, both on their sides, facing one another, so close that their noses were touching. They had taken to sharing a bed after that night at Rose's house. They realized that they both slept much better when the other was close by.

  “I think after having you this summer, that wouldn't be enough. I want all of you, Liam. I think we both deserve that.”

  “You're right...” Liam said, hesitantly. After the show that night, they were now three-fourths of the way through the tour. Liam could see the end in sight. But he didn't want to see the end. He couldn't stand the thought of Rose leaving him at the end of all of this.

  “But we can still text one another. And call. We'll stay in touch. I could never forget this summer,” Rose persisted.

  That wasn't enough for Liam. He knew there just had to be an answer to them being together longer.

  “But what about your eyes? I don't think I could handle not seeing your beautiful olive green eyes,” Liam pleaded.

  And that caught Rose off-guard, because, when Liam said that, he hadn't been looking at her eyes.

  “You know the color of my eyes?”

  “Of course I do. I mean, I couldn't figure it out at first. I couldn't tell if they were blue or green or what. But now I know they're olive green.”

  And this time, when Liam said it, he was looking directly into Rose's eyes, and Rose couldn't stop the blush from spreading across her cheeks. She tended to blush a lot around Liam. He just had that effect on her. She couldn't imagine that he would ever stop making her blush.

  But Rose couldn't get distracted from the argument she was trying to make. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, before responding, “Okay, well when you miss my eyes, we can talk with webcams. And after releasing another album, or two, you'll probably have enough money to buy a private jet. We can still be friends. We can keep in touch. Maybe I can come visit you during breaks from school, or something,” Rose tried reassuring Liam, while trying to reassure herself at the same time. She was just as upset over their situation as he was.

  “I just... I need you, Rose. I need you to breathe. To live. This summer, you've become a part of me. I lo-”

  “No. Don't say that,” Rose interrupted quickly. “Please don't say that. I don't think I could take it if you did. Not without knowing if we'll be able to make it past next week.”

  Liam hesitated before speaking again, “Rose, I may not have all of the answers now, but I'm trying here. I'm trying to find a way to make this work. We'll be together, and not just through webcams and phone calls and private jets, although, if that's what it takes, that's what I'll do. We'll make it past next week. I promise. I'll do whatever it takes. I know we'll make it, because I can't imagine my life without you in it. I can feel it. We're going to make it, Ro-”

  But Liam was cut off again, this time by Rose's lips on his.

  Wait... what?

  Rose's lips were on his. Rose was kissing him. All of Liam's wildest dreams were coming true. And oh, he should probably kiss her back now.

  Liam responded eagerly, brushing his tongue gently against Rose's bottom lip. Rose opened her mouth, allowing Liam's tongue to enter and battle with her own. It wasn't a fight for power or dominance. It was simply an expression of pent-up love and emotions.

  Liam grabbed Rose's arms and pulled her on top of him. Rose straddled the young superstar, deepening the kiss, before suddenly jerking back, pulling up for air.

  “Oh my god. What am I doing?” Rose gasped out, mentally slapping herself for being so stupid.

  “You were kissing me. Why'd you stop?” Liam asked, not completely in his right mind yet, still high off of the feeling of Rose's lips on his.

  “I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. You mean the world to me, Liam. I wish we could have been doing that all summer, but I just completely disregarded that whole conversation we just had. We don't know how to make this work, Liam. I know you're trying. I know we're brainstorming, but, in reality, we only have a week and a half left together.” Rose explained, trying to rationalize to herself why she had stopped kissing Liam.

  “So why can't we do this for the next two weeks?” Liam questioned, still not seeing a problem in his high state. He knew, deep down, that they probably shouldn't be doing this.. that they would end up getting hurt, but, after kissing Rose like that, the woman he loved, he couldn't think straight. He couldn't find a reason to not just keep on kissing Rose.

  “Because where will that leave us? We'll be heart broken when this all comes crashing down. I don't want to get in too deep.”

  “But I'm already in too deep. There's no stopping that. It's too late. Rose... I'm- I'm in love with you. There. I said it. I, Liam Walker, love you, Rose Moore. So I don't see why I can't show that to you.”

  Rose was crying now. So Liam reached up and pulled Rose back close to him, attempting to comfort her the best way he knew how.

  “I... I love you, too, Liam. I do. I really do. I just... I don't know what to do.”

  “Hey, shhh, it's okay. I'm sorry. It's okay. I love you. Don't worry. We'll figure it out, okay? I'll do everything I can to figure it out. But, for now, can we please just be together? I don't think I can handle another day being with you without having all of you.”

  Rose nodded, unable to speak through her tears, and then buried her head into Liam's chest. They eventually fell asleep, wrapped up in one another tighter than ever before.

  Liam was, surprisingly, the first to wake the next morning. He usually slept longer than Rose, but took advantage of the opportunity this time to watch the young woman sleep. Rose was laying half on top of him, so Liam adjusted himself so that he could look down and see her face. Rose looked like an angel when she slept. But then again, Rose looked like an angel all the time. Liam was so in love with her. He didn't care that he had only known Rose for that summer. He didn't care that they were so young. He didn't care about anything in that moment except for Rose. He would definitely find a way to be with her for as long as possible, no matter the cost.

  Rose began to stir in her sleep, gradually waking up. Slowly, she opened her eyes, only to see Liam looking down at her with a loving expression on his face.

  “I like waking up to your face,” Rose said smiling up at him.

  Liam smiled back down at her, placing a kiss to the top of her head. “Good morning, sleepy head. You haven't changed your mind since we talked last night, have you?”

  Rose had to think for a minute about what they had discussed the previous night. She was still pretty out of it from being asleep. But then it all came rushing back. They had kissed. And told each other that they loved one another. They had basically said “screw it” to the future and decided to live in the here and now. And Rose had never felt so happy.

  Rose leaned up and pressed a passionate kiss onto Liam's lips. She could feel Liam smiling into the kiss.

  “I'll take that as a no,” Liam joked, after they both finally pulled away from each other.

  Rose snuggled her head back into Liam's neck.

  “Can we just stay like this forever?” Rose mumbled into Liam's neck.

  Liam smiled. So Rose was in this just as deep as he was.

  “You know, I was just thi
nking that. I'm pretty sure that can be arranged.”

  And with that, they fell back to sleep, content to spend the entire day just laying in each others arms.

  Chapter 14

  And now they were in the final countdown. There was less than a week left on the tour. The end was fast approaching

  But Rose and Liam had decided to stop trying to figure out a way to be together after all of this ended and just enjoy the here and now. They just wanted to enjoy whatever time they had left together. So neither of them spared a single thought about what would happen when the tour ended. They figured that if an idea struck them on how to be together, it would just happen. Until then, they were just completely consumed with thoughts for one another.

  They had the day off after Liam's performance in Portland, Oregon the night before. They didn't have to travel again for two more days, when they would go to Los Angeles to finish off the tour with one final performance.

  Now, Rose and Liam were walking around in the downtown area of San Francisco, hand in hand, following the sound of the music in the park that they could hear pounding from a few blocks away, enjoying their day off in the warm sunshine. The music surrounded them, as did the people and culture of they city, and they instantly fell in love with the place, not even knowing where to start first.

  “Let's shop around a bit before we go to the park to listen to the music,” Rose suggested.

  So they spent the afternoon going into various shops, most of them filled with old rock and roll vinyls and tourist t-shirts. They took turns trying on crazy hats that they found in stores, and taking pictures of one another on their cell phones, documenting their date.

  The couple loved spending time together, regardless of what they were doing, but the thing they loved most was taking in each new city they traveled to together. The company they found in one another was just an added bonus. And San Francisco was no exception. They loved the vibe and the music and buildings and shops. Rose was in paradise from all of the boutiques, and Liam found at least ten vinyl records that he ended up buying. They wandered into a few museums and ate lunch at a small cafe that they found. They even got matching airbrush tattoos on their arms from a booth on the side of the street.

  Before they knew it, the day was drawing to a close.

  “I can't believe you actually bought those massive, purple sunglasses,” Rose joked, as they made their way back to the tour bus.

  “Hey now, you're one to talk. At least I didn't buy rainbow tube socks,” Liam nudged Rose in the side, both of them laughing.

  “They're awesome and look fabulous on me. You can't blame me for wanting them,” Rose retorted

  “Yeah, yeah. Sure. So, what next? Want to go listen to the live bands in the park, now?” Liam asked Rose, as they dropped off their purchases onto the tour bus.

  “Only if you'll dance with me,” Rose replied, flirting with Liam. Liam smiled down at Rose.

  “As if I'd ever give up any excuse to hold you close to me.”

  They slowly made their way back to the park, Liam's arm wrapped low around Rose's back, both walking in silence, taking in the fresh night air.

  “This summer has been so amazing,” Rose suddenly said, breaking the comfortable silence.

  “Yeah. It really has been. I thought going on tour would be pretty great on its own. I was going to get to explore the country and sing for my adoring fans. But who knew that it all wouldn't have meant a thing without you by my side. I never thought I would have found someone as amazing as you. How did I get so lucky?” Liam questioned.

  “You know... I was just wondering the same thing.” Rose replied, reaching up to give Liam a short kiss on the lips as they entered the park, greeted by the sound of live music.

  “You promised to dance with me,” Rose reminded Liam.

  But Rose didn't need to remind Liam, because as she was speaking, Liam was grabbing Rose's hands and pulling her close, beginning a waltz-like dance.

  Rose giggled as Liam spun her away from him, then pulled her back in, dipping her backwards. Liam began humming along to the song, swaying in time with the music.

  “You're a natural,” Rose said.

  “So are you.”

  Then Liam pulled Rose close, placing his hands on Rose's hips. Rose wrapped her arms around Liam's neck, pulling him close, leaving no space between their bodies. Their foreheads rested against one another and their noses were touching. They could feel the air from each others breathing brush against their faces.

  Liam had never felt so close to someone in his entire life. Not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. Rose had become a part of him, and he never wanted to let go. He wanted Rose by his side, forever and always. And he wanted people to know that this beautiful, talented, kind woman that he was currently holding loved him back, because nothing had ever made him feel so special than the knowledge that someone as amazing as Rose could love him.

  “I want people to know about us,” Liam said out of the blue, speaking his mind out loud.

  “Umm... Liam. We're dancing together in the middle of a crowded park. And you serenade me in front of sold-out crowds pretty regularly now. I'm pretty sure people know that we're together,” Rose said, laughing at Liam's silly remark.

  “No, I mean, like, for real. Not just paparazzi shots and rumors. And not implied through us dancing together in the park, either. I want to show you off to the world. Scream from the roof tops that I'm in love with Rose Moore! I want everyone to see how awesome my girlfriend is.”

  “Girlfriend?”

  Liam and Rose had never discussed what they were. They were just together. That was enough for them. So Rose was surprised to hear Liam refer to her as his girlfriend. Completely flattered, but still surprised.

  “Ummm... crap. Sorry. I didn't mean girlfriend...” Liam stammered, pulling away from Rose in embarrassment.

  “You didn't?”

  “Well, I did. I just- I'm sorry I just assumed. I haven't even asked you...” Liam started babbling, nervous that Rose would reject him. He seriously hoped that he hadn't screwed everything up.

  “So ask me,” Rose replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Liam was shocked.

  “What?”

  “Ask me to be your girlfriend, Liam. I promise that if you do I'll say yes,” Rose winked, pulling Liam close again, resuming the slow, intimate dance that they had just been doing.

  Liam smiled brightly at this.

  “Okay. Ummm, well... Rose Moore. I love you. You're the most amazing person I've ever met and I would love nothing more than for you to be my girlfriend.”

  “Yes, Liam Walker, I would love to be your girlfriend,” Rose responded, sealing the deal with a kiss.

  “Mmm... I'm happy.” Liam stated, eventually pulling away from the kiss, continuing the slow dance with his girlfriend. His girlfriend. Yeah, he liked the sound of that.

  “Me too.” Rose replied.

  “Can we just stay like this forever?” Liam asked

  “We said that we would stay like this forever the other night when we were laying in bed, too. You can't have both. You'll have to pick one.”

  “Well that's no fair. I want it all,” Liam pouted.

  “Well I already have it all.”

  “You do?”

  “I have you, don't I? That's all I'll ever want.” Rose replied, smiling up at Liam. Liam spun Rose again, but this time when he pulled her back, he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

  They continued to dance some more, content with silence. After a few minutes, Rose questioned, jokingly, “So... when do you start showing me off?”