The days passed slowly since Christmas and I started feeling guilty for having rejected Paul, but deep inside I knew it had been right.

In the middle of January, I wrote a letter to Lys. We have remained in contact, I sent letters to her and she phoned instead of answering them. She had a new boyfriend and was looking for a new job as well. I told her about me moving into a flat with Cyn and Dot, and that things with Paul were calm and monotonous (she wouldn't believe me and would struggle to know what was really happening).

A week after sending the letter, she phoned me and asked me if we were looking for a neew roomie. I told her we were and she offered herself. I was shocked by the idea, I mean, she was in Germany! Anyway I thought it would be great. But how the hell was she going to help us pay everything if she was jobless? I told her I had to ask Dot and Cynthia and I would call her later. When I asked them, they killed me with endless questions about her but finally agreed. So I phoned her and told her our decision, and she arrived the 26th of January.

That day, John and Lys came to pick me up at the office and we went to the Cavern to see their performance.

While we were waiting for the show to start, a crying Dot came and sat beside us. We asked her what was going on and she said Paul had broken up with her. She was so much in pain I felt bad for her. And then Paul walked in. I saw him coming out of the dressing room. It was the first time I saw him since Christmas and it hurted. My heart jumped with love, pain and longing for that man. I wanted to stand up, walk to him and hug him, kiss him and be with him again, but I knew I couldn't, or shouldn't. Then he saw us and stopped dead on his track. He stared for a moment and then turned around and left back to the changing room. That hurted even more. I didn't want him to leave but couldn't stop him either. Dot didn't see him, but Lys did and shook her head softly.

After Dot left, Paul and the rest of the group came with us because the show was starting in half an hour. I was silent, I couldn't say much with him a few inches away. In a moment, I couldn't stand the temptation anymore and looked at him. It was surprising that he was staring at me, so I looked away as naturally as I could. My heart jumped again.

When they finally left our table to go to the stage, I was in a bad, very bad mood. Lys noticed it and started asking me questions about what I felt for Paul. I obviously couldn't tell her I was deeply in love with him because I didn't want anyone to know about it, I was even trying to hide it from myself.

The show lasted two hours with a twenty minutes break in the middle but I was way to depressed to enjoy it.

I got up to leave. Lys was surely going to protest but when she saw my face and realized how I was feeling, she immediatly agreed. We where trying to walk through the crowd, (not really making it), and Lys had a fucking wonderful idea.

"Why don't we stay till there is space to walk?" She suggested.

"C'mon, I'm tired..." I complained.

"Just ten minutes..."

I sighed and we walked back to our table and sat down.

"Hey, Prue..." she said, "meet me at the entrance."

"But--" It was in vain, she was already gone. "Bloody hell..." I muttered looking at the floor.

I stayed still for a moment, till I felt a hand squeezing my shoulder and making me jump in surprise. I turned my head to see who it was and saw Paul standing behind me, smiling shyly. My expression at the sight of him should have been horrible.

"It's like you've seen a ghost... are you alright? you're pale..." He said.

I managed to nod and he sat on Alyssa's empty seat.

We remained silent till he said, "what's up? do you feel alright?"

"Yeah..." he looked like he hadn't believed what I said, so I agreed with him, "well, actually you're right, I'm not."

"What's up?" he asked a little concerned, "wanna talk about it?"

"Since when you're interested in my problems?"

He seemed a little shocked by my agressive answer. He frowned, "Since we became friends in Hamburg."

"Yeah, right..." I said sarcastically, put my head in my hand and sighed.

"Hey, are ye mad at me or something?" He asked.

"Why would I be?"

"I dunno... you're the one treating me like shit."

I felt bad about that, "I'm sorry..." I apologized, "I'm the one who feels like shit."

"Why is that?"

"Because I've just seen you again since we made love and now I miss you, want to hug you and I can't..." seemed the sincere answer, but I hadn't enough guts for that so I said instead, "lot's of things..."

He huffed, "Ok, don't tell me if you don't want to..."

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just long to explain..."

"I have all night..."

"But I haven't," I said, "Tomorrow I have to get up early and--"

"Why are you avoiding me?" he interrupted.

That shocked me and I asked bewildered, "What?"

"Yes," he said, "ever since we slept together you haven't even talked to me..."

"I hadn't had the chance!"

"That's bullshit," he stated.

"Bullshit? That's true! I haven't even seen you ever since!"

"You could have called me... or gone to the rehearsals, the thing is that you didn't want to..."

"And why would I do that? What would I be supposed to say to you? You know where I live, you have my phone number, you could have contacted me if you'd wanted."

"I knew you didn't want me to, so I didn't."

"You're so wrong!"

He knew he was, so he remained silent.

"Well, then... let's keep in touch since now..." Paul said after some seconds.

"Alright, I agree..." I said distractedly, looking at the floor.

"Great," he squeezed my knee with one hand and then got up. "Well, I'm leaving... See ya later, Prue."

He kneeled beside me to kiss my cheek in the same moment I turned my head to kiss his. Our lips met by accident and I quickly moved my head away. My God... I was sure I was red because of the shame. How could this stupid thing happen to us? and in front of everybody! I didn't know what to do, so I looked down at the floor.

When I looked at him, he was looking at me apologetically. "Sorry," he said.

"It's OK..." I lied.

He aproached to me and whispered in my ear, "so... if it's ok, can I do it again?"

"Why?" I wondered, whispering as well.

"Because I liked it, didn't you?"

What was I suposed to say? I hadn't liked it... I had loved it!

"Well..." I said hesitantly and then smiled, "what do you think?"

"Mmm... let me see..."

"Don't," I said suddenly, "just do it."

He smiled and took my hands, pulled me and made me stand up with him. Then he embraced me tightly and lifted up my head with one finger to look at him. We stood like that for some moments, gazing at each other's eyes and I started wondering why the hell he was taking so long. In the middle of my thoughts, the waited kiss arrived. I closed my eyes and let my heart do all the job without even caring if anybody was seeing us. I had been waiting so long for him to kiss me again, and he was finally doing just that. Our tongues were caressing each other eagerly and I was sure the people was starting to notice. I tried to contain my hands from touching him all over, so they were allowed to just caress the back of his head and his hair. It was something so wonderful and unique. I loved him so much and that kiss was the only thing I needed to be glad again.

A sudden yell made us stop dead. We separated from each other a few steps. I started looking around nervously; cause it had sounded like John, a furious John.

"Don't worry..." Paul said, "It was that drunk over there."

I looked where Paul had pointed, there was a man, dancing and singing.

"See?" Paul said when I looked back at him again.

"Anyway," I said, "I gotta go..." I was sure it had been John who screamed, something was telling me he had seen us.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, nothing..."

"Nothing? don't leave," he pleaded.

"Paul, I'm sure it was John who screamed, not that drunk over there."

He started laughing, not believen a single word I'd said.

"I mean it," I said.

"Don't be paranoid, luv!"

"I'm not paranoid!"

Paul sighed, "Let's go to another place then..."

I shook my head, "no, sorry Paul, not today... call me tomorrow and--"

"Oh, come on! he haven't hired a detective to follow us!"

"I feel better this way..."

"But I don't."

"Don't be so pushy, ok? Please, let's talk tomorrow, don't make me feel worse..." I pleaded.

"Ok," he agreed, "I'll walk you home, then..."

I thought about it a little. Lys was surelly out with any boy, so there wouldn't be any problem in accepting Paul's offer.

"Right, let's go..." I said.

He took my hand in his and we went out together. I looked around at both sides of the street and saw (on my right) two people kissing in the darkness, and the girl's shape seemed Lys'.

We walked one block and I was already getting tired.

"Why don't we take a bus?"

"No, let's walk..." he said.

"We don't agree in anything..." I told him, laughingly.

"Oh, yeah, we do."

"Do we?"

"Yep..."

"In what?" I asked.

He grabbed me by my shoulder and gave me a brief, deep kiss that left me dizzy.

"In this..."

"Umm... come again?" I said and we started laughing.

He hugged me sideways and we continued walking.

Then I had curiosity about something, "Paul?"

"Mm?" he replied.

"What happened with Dot?"

He looked at me, "Dot?"

"Yeah, Dot, what happened with her?"

"I realized I didn't want to be with her anymore..."

"Have you ever loved her?"

He looked strangely at me and then looked back to the horizon.

"I dunno... maybe..."

"And why did you cheat on her?"

Paul didn't look at me this time and didn't answer either.

After some seconds of silence I said, "Hey, Paul, I asked you something..."

"I don't think I wanna answer that..." he simply said.

"That's because you don't have and answer, right?"

"Right..."

"Fine..." I smiled.

He saw me smiling, "you don't believe me?" he asked.

"Not even a word." I replied and kissed his cheek.

We kept walking silently, still hugged and each one of us was deep in thought. We finally got to my door and stopped there.

"Well..." I started.

"You know?" he interrupted, "you made me think..."

"I made you think?"

"Yes, about why I cheated on Dot..."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and I realized why..."

"Why?"

"Well, I think I cheated on her because I cared about her but not enought to be completely faithfull..."

"Oh... I see..."

"You believe me now?"

"Do you want me to be true?"

"Yeah, of course."

"No, I don't believe you."

"Why?" he frowned.

"Because I have my own hypothesis..."

"And which is your hypothesis?"

"Let it be, honey..." I said and kissed his lips, trying to distract him.

He broke away a little rudely, "C'mon, tell me about it."

"Well, I will tell you... I think you cheated on Dot because you can't keep your pants zipped. You can't or you don't want to."

His jaw dropped, I'm sure he didn't know what to say.

"Ain't I right?" I asked.

"Well... I'll leave you with your hypothesis."

I just laughed because I'd left him without a reply.

"When you think of an answer, tell me," I said.

"C'mon..." he complained, "let me be..."

"Don't worry, it's alright..."

We stayed in silence for some seconds.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"No, Dot's here..."

"Let's stay here, then..."

"Do you promise me you won't get mad about what I'll say?" I asked.

"What is it?"

"I need to sleep. It's too late and tomorrow I have to be up at seven o'clock."

"Oh, right... you gotta work..."

"Yes, and if I don't work I get fired, and if I get fired I don't have money, and if I don't have money--"

"I know," he laughed, "I know. Don't worry Prue, it's alright."

"Good, then..."

"I will call you tomorrow, I promise," he said piercing his eyes in mine.

"I'm glad you will... I'll be waiting..." I smiled.

He smiled too and put his head down and his mouth on mine for a marvelous kiss.

"I'm glad we're like this..." he said when we broke away, "I needed this in my life again."

"Me too, Paul..."

After some seconds of just looking at each other and kissing some more, he said:

"Alright... I'm leaving again. I will call you tomorrow, fine?"

"Fine..."

"Bye, Prue..."

"Bye, Paulie, see you tomorrow."

Another kiss and he left, leaving me happy and waiting anxiously for the next day.