New Life: A Second Chance

Lance's eyes bulged wide open upon feeling that sensation and quickly jerked his hand away.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry! Static," Lance mumbled, settling himself down again while looking at his hand. He shook head slightly, thinking that it was really strange.

Gareth, on the other hand, was stupified.

Static?

Static??

Lance felt it too?

And he called it static??

When their hands touched, Gareth felt like a part of him that had been missing, was filled. It sounded utterly ridiculous but that was what he felt.

A connection.

With a total stranger??

Gareth had already felt something towards that lone figure sitting in the cafe, nursing that cup of coffee like his life depended on it. There was this air of melancholy about him as if he was separated from the rest of the world.

It was that image that struck Gareth, which made him want to know the young man.

Who would have thought, from the little interaction that they had, Gareth was feeling more and more intrigued. When he was ordering, he had the d.e.s.i.r.e to cheer up this fellow.

What better way to do that than to feed him, right?

It was surely a wonderful thing to be able to make someone happy.

However, unfortunately, this place only had desserts. Gareth was hesitant about that, and wasn't sure if the young man would be willing. Yet, surprisingly, the young man liked sweets too, just like him. 

It was really an additional bonus and it made him think that his initial interest would introduce him to a bosom buddy. It was hard to find someone who he not only could feel comfortable with, but also one that would enjoy sweets like him. 

Yet, who would have thought, that life would offer him something even more surprising.

That slight touch of theirs made him feel something he never thought possible.

Gareth began looking at Lance with even more interest now.

The only thing Gareth wasn't sure of 100% was whether Lance swung his way. If he was straight, then Gareth wouldn't do anything more than just be friends. 

As they waited for the cakes, Gareth couldn't help but study Lance more. 

He surmised that Lance was in his early to mid-twenties. He had this sort of 'fresh' look like a college student. He was a brunette and Gareth could tell that his hair was fine. 

Thus, the hairstyle that Lance adopted was the classic comb-over; which was essentially a hairstyle that had him have a long section of hair on top of the head parted to one side and combed towards the other.

The cut would help make the hair appear full, hence it is often popular with guys with fine hair. Gareth had to admit, it suited Lance very well. 

Gareth had an itch to run his hair over that comb-over, to feel the texture in between his fingers. It looked so soft and fine, and Gareth had a bit of a fetish for it.

No, not fetish because people often associated that with 's.e.x.u.a.l fetishes'.

No, to him, it was more like something that he really, really liked and appreciated. It didn't have to be linked with any s.e.x.u.a.l fantasies of any kind, but rather, an innocent feeling of "I really like this".

At first, Gareth had put down his initial interest in Lance because of that but now, he knew it was much more. And he didn't even know him that well yet.

Suddenly, he felt the work trip wasn't going to be as boring as he thought it would be.

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That night, Joseph was wide awake, despite the late hour.

He just couldn't sleep.

The entire day kept playing and replaying in his mind.

He hugged his pillow and rolled about on the bed in absolute joy.

Going out for lunch with Kay had already been a dream come true, but a movie after that? It was beyond expected and utterly unbelievable. 

Yet, that's what they did.

A meal and a movie.

Just like a real date.

It had been so surreal and even now, the adrenalin hasn't quite settled down yet.

Joseph had a really stupid grin on his face and he sighed. 

Today, he learned a lot of things

First, he was not over Kay. He never had been.

That realisation made him feel rather helpless at first, until he found that there was absolutely no awkwardness between them. Despite not seeing each other for two years, right after they 'got back together', so to speak, it was as if the years didn't matter.

It melted away and that invisible bond that he felt with her only strengthened itself.

Thus, he was hit with the second thing.

He was never going to get over Kay. 

This was not a mere crush.

He was in love with her.

Truly, madly, deeply.

Suddenly, the lyrics to the song by Savage Garden filled his mind and it gave him a sense of what he really felt.

I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy.

I'll be your hope, I'll be your love, be everything that you need.

I love you more with every breath, truly madly deeply do

It was true.

He not only loved her, but his feelings for her were growing deeper with every breath that he took. He had initially thought those lyrics were a lot of hogwash or at the very least, severely exaggerated. 

However, he now knew that it wasn't.

It was exactly how he was feeling right now.

Perhaps it's because he had suppressed his feelings for her for so long. He had been in denial for so long. He had made so many excuses about his feelings for so long that the moment he finally admitted to himself that he was in love with her …

It just exploded.

The feelings, that is.

With this, he made a final resolution.

The heck with this age gap, and the fact that she was far above him. If he was never going to try, he would never know, right? Even though it seems like 'fat chance' situation, he was going to go for it.

Otherwise, he was going to regret this forever.

While Joseph was thinking all of this, Kay was going through something similar as well.

She had this silly grin on her face, cherishing the entire day's experience.

It had gone far better than she thought it would.

The meal itself was warm, sweet, and everything she expected it t be. They talked, they laughed and they shared the same jokes as before. She never felt like this in all the blind dates that she had gone on.

With Joseph, she could be herself. 

Well, she was herself on the other blind dates as well but she could tell that it wasn't the same. The guys seemed to have this pre-conceived notion of what she was like, or what she should be like, that she never truly felt 'herself'.

Or rather, that they could see her, for her.

With Joseph, he took all of what she was, and is, and rolled with it. He accepted her wholeheartedly, no judgment.

That was the first thing that made her warm to him all those years ago and it didn't change now.

In fact, it was stronger than before. 

The fact that all her other blind dates could not even compare to Joseph made her even more convinced that this feeling she had for him was not just a passing phase.

[A/N Heck, I would think those years of stalking him would have told you that .. *cough]

Her feelings for him were true.

She was in love with him.

Truly, madly, deeply. 

It had been such a perfect day today. She managed to ask him out to watch a movie after the meal, after hinting about the latest blockbuster in the cinema that seemed interesting. He had immediately picked it up and asked her if she wanted to see it.

Well, duh, of course she did.

As long as it was with him.

They had popcorn, they laughed, and they made a promise that they would always watch movies together. That if there was a movie that they wanted to watch, they must call the other first.

After all, they enjoyed each other's company and Kay didn't have that many people who liked the same movies she did. Her circle of friends was limited, after all. It was because of that she did not manage to watch a lot of the movies she wished she could.

Kay sent a silent apology to Lance when she had told Joseph this after the movie. And true to Joseph's kind nature, he immediately offered himself to accompany her for any movie she wanted to watch, any time.

Kay smiled.

The day would have been even more perfect if they had held hands and ... kissed. 

Kay blushed just thinking about it.