Page 68 of One More Kiss

Axel

“Where is she?”I growled, knowing I needed to get my attitude and anger in check. My hands gripped the bouquet of flowers I had spent almost an hour painstakingly picking out in the small flower shop on my way over here.

“Axel,” Bella’s doorman said with a deep breath. The old man looked exhausted in the bright light of the shining sun. His age was etched into his face and there was something else there that I just couldn’t put my finger on. “I don’t know where she is and even if I did, it is not my place to give away private information about the tenets of this building.

“Please, Mr. Cal,” I pleaded. He knew more than he was letting on and I needed to find Bella. After Sabrina called me and told me Bella rushed out of here in tears after a conversation, I jumped out of bed and rushed out of here. I had to make sure that she was okay. I didn’t plan on telling her about what I was working on for her. I wanted to plan something special and beg her to come back to me. I was going to show her that I was nothing like my father and her heart was safe with me. “I have to make sure she is okay.”

“Son, have you ever thought that you may be the cause of Miss Bella’s pain and anguish?”

The old man’s thought made me stop in my tracks. Everything around me froze as his question rattled around in my head. My had relaxed and the flowers I had brought for Bella fell to the dirty ground. My mouth fell open as words failed me. “What?” I asked, needing to hear the question again to make sure I had heard correctly.

Placing a firm hand on my shoulder, Mr. Cal shot me a look of warning. He took a slow deep breath while not breaking eye contact with me. “Axel, that girl is special and deserves the world. I don’t think you can give her that,” he said with a steady voice. “Bella is the only family I have left and I will not let you or anyone else hurt her anymore.”

“I love her.” The simple three simple words were the most honest that had ever fallen from my lips. I meant them with everything in me and was willing to do whatever I needed to in order to prove them.

“Then set her free,” Mr. Cal said softly as he removed his hand from my shoulder. Softening his stare, he took a step back to give me the air I so desperately needed.

“I can’t let her go,” I admitted. The words stung as they came. My heart threatened to shatter into a million pieces at the thought of never being with Bella again. No! That was not an option, I needed to find Bella and make this thing right between us. I had never felt this way about someone before and I knew if I lost her, I would never feel it again. I couldn’t let that happen.

Taking another deep breath, the old man’s eyes fell closed. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Opening his eyes as his fists clenched and then unclenched quickly, “She’s at the community city.”

“Thank you,” I breathed out as I bent down to pick up her flowers. Quickly inspecting the arrangement to make sure it was still perfect, I pulled out one of the sunflowers and offered it to Mr. Cal.

“Don’t you dare hurt her,” he said as he accepted the flower. Looking down at the single bloom, a smile pulled at the old man’s lips.

“I promise I won’t. I love her with everything in me and will make this right,” I said as I turned into the bustling traffic and started the quick walk to the community center. I knew exactly where I would find Bella when I got there and hoped that she would give me the chance to fix everything.

* * *

The soundof my voice singing along to a stripped-down version of my latest single filtered out of an open window of the old crumbling brick building I was standing in front of. “Trust in my love. I will never take it away.” The words resonated in my heart and I knew that I had to get inside to my girl and make her mine again.

“Hey Axel,” a voice called out, snapping me out of the trance I had fallen into listening to the words I had written for Bella.

“Hi James,” I said to the security guard that watched over the center.

“Here to see Miss Bella?” he asked as pulled the door open for me.

“Yup,” I replied as I stepped into the cool hallway of the building. Looking around the still dark space, I couldn’t help the shiver that ran down my spine. A tiny bit of fear settled in my stomach as the possibility of rejection floated around my mind. It was weird being here with no children running around. It was oddly quiet but the sound my voice floating from the speaker in the dance studio at the back of the building beckoned me. Answering the call, I put one foot in front of the other until I was standing in front of the door leading to the space that Bella lovingly referred to as her happy place.

As I opened the door, I couldn’t stop the breath from rushing out of my lungs. My eyes locked onto Bella’s slender frame as she glided around the space to the beat of the music. I knew the look on her face. She was in a whole nother place. She had no idea she was being watched and I took the opportunity to slip into the room, quietly shutting the door behind me. I stayed close to the wall as I made my way to the chairs set up in the corner for parents to watch their children as they learned and practiced new dances. Sitting down in one of the hard chairs, I kept my eyes locked on Bella. The way her body moved to the music was mesmerizing. Her lips moved along with the words but no sound came out. Her eyes fluttered as her body swayed. I found myself falling under a trance of my own as I watched her do what she was born to do.

The song ended and another off my band’s new album started up instantly. The tempo was a little faster and her body’s movements instantly adjusted to the change. I noticed a fine sheen of sweat covering her as she moved closer to me. Her chest rose and fell in time with the music and I sat back in awe watching the show she was putting on. Bella Armstrong was meant to dance and I was going to make sure she did.

“What are you doing here?” The music suddenly stopped and the magical place my mind went to faded away. Bella stared at me and I noticed the redness of her eyes. There was no way to deny she had been crying recently. “Axel?” Her soft voice demanded my attention.

“I’m here for a private dance,” I said without thinking.

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