just_muse_me | 19.10.2. Here and Now lyrics
19.10.2. "Here And Now" - Luther Vandross
One look in your eyes and there I see
Just what you mean to me
Here in my heart I believe
Your love is all I'll ever need
Co-written with paramedically
[Follows THIS, THIS and THIS]
Ali was in more than an awed dazed. That morning she had thought she was already having the best birthday of her life, but Andrew had just kept consistently topping it all day. First the amazing breakfast, and then the day out together with Jamie as a family at the water park where Ali was sure she hadn’t laughed that much in years. Turns out Jamie was quite the little water baby and loved every minute of being wet. The day had been wonderful and Ali hadn’t thought of her troubles back home once, for the first time since she found out she was pregnant.
But it was now evening, the sun just having set, leaving the beach in the soft glow of the moonlight. True to his promise, Andrew had arranged the most amazing romantic dinner which they shared on a specially arranged candlelit table for two on the beach complete with roses, champagne and soft music playing in the background. There was a butler to serve them and the food had been superb, right down to the dessert that was aptly named ‘Death By Chocolate’; a hot chocolate gateau with layers of white, dark and milk chocolate drizzled with chocolate sauce and garnished with strawberries. It had been huge, and intended for two, so they shared, feeding each other with the long elegant silver dessert spoons. Not a single drop of even the sauce was left.
They were only bathed in candlelight now with the moonlight bouncing off the softly lapping water on the shore. Ali was watching the water’s edge with a gentle smile on her face. She didn’t even notice the mood music change a little and the butler politely disappear. But she soon recognised the song and turned back to Andrew with a grin. “This is one of my all-time favourites,” she told him and then reached over to tap the end of his nose affectionately. “Who have you been talking to?”
“My lips are sealed,” Andrew laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. He held his hand out to her over the table. “May I have this dance, Miss Sullivan?” he asked her, eyes shining in the candlelight.
Ali’s hand fell into his and she was up in a shot. She had kicked her silver Jimmy Choos off ages ago when it was impossible to walk in them on the soft sand. She had then spent the rest of the meal in a beautiful red evening gown and bare feet. Andrew had matched the ensemble in a gorgeous tux with a silver shirt and bare feet. It was perfect.
Andrew led her away from the dinner table and a little further down the beach. The music could still be heard, but they had a little more privacy. He took her into his arms, holding her close and pressing their cheeks together as they started swaying slowly to the beautiful song ‘The Way You Look Tonight’, this time sung by Phil Collins. “You look beautiful, Ali. Not that you don’t always look gorgeous, but that dress is driving me wild,” he told her, his lips close to her ear as they danced together in the sand.
Ali smiled, tipping her head back a little and indulging in the way his breath tickled her ear. “You scrub up quite well yourself, Mr Connor,” she teased, brushing her hand down his back and giving his butt a soft squeeze. “And I’m loving the moves. You better be careful, or I’ll be demanding a slow dance before bed every night.”
“And that would be a problem because…?” Andrew joked back and turned his head so he could catch her lips in a soft kiss. He started to sing softly along with the song. “You're lovely, with your smile so warm, and your cheeks so soft. There is nothing for me but to love you, and the way you look tonight…”
Ali laughed, her hand going up so she could stroke her fingers affectionately through his hair. She held his gaze, enjoying the way his blue eyes were shining in the moonlight. Romance. She missed it. She missed feeling this bursting love for someone that spanned even beyond sex and affection. He was spoiling her, and while she didn’t think she deserved it at first, she soon dropped her hang ups with his gentle persistence and nudging, and now she was addicted. She didn’t want to let him go and she didn’t want this moment to end. She rested her forehead against his, shifting just that little bit closer to him and rubbing her nose against his. “I love you right back again,” she told her, her nose scrunching up from the depth of her smile. “Nothing could top this. After Sunshine, this is the best moment of my life.”
“Nothing at all?” Andrew asked her. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and he stroked her face with the backs of his fingers. “Lovely ... Never, ever change. Keep that breathless charm. Won't you please arrange it? 'Cause I love you ... Just the way you look tonight.”
“Nothing at all,” Ali confirmed with a tiny nod, grinning at him again. “You have a very sexy singing voice, you know that? And there you tell me you just get it out for Karaoke nights. Does this mean I’m special?” she teased.
Andrew gave a small nod himself, smiling back. “More than,” he told her. “You’re amazing. Your strength is like nothing on this earth, and even when you’re sad and hurting, you’re still beautiful. You’re a wonderful mother, and wonderful lover. You look gorgeous in your cow jammies, and even more gorgeous when you’re hair is all messy and you have baby powder brushed across your cheek without realising it. You swear like a drunken sailor, but I love every word that comes out of your mouth. I love how you’re hot when you get that glean in your eye like you want to smack someone who has pissed you off, or when you stomp around the apartment when you’ve run out of Ben & Jerry’s. I love that you try to eat vegetarian food with me even though you wouldn’t know what tofu was if it smacked you in the forehead. When you cry, I just never want to let you go. But when you laugh, it’s like it bursts out of you and lights up a whole room. So yes, Ali Sullivan, you are special. You and Jamie have become my whole world, and there is just one more thing I want to add to prove my point…”
He paused long enough as the song drew to the end to take a small black velvet box from his pocket, snapping it open and go down on one knee in the sand. “Will you marry me?”
Ali would only realise much later that it was Tiffany’s. She had feared for so long that if a moment like this ever was upon her again, she would get a horrible sense of dejavu back to the time Mark proposed to her and she would freak out. But Mark Campbell only very briefly entered her stunned thoughts before he was gone again. This was all Andrew. Andrew down on one knee after spoiling her with the most amazing day and evening of her life. After being the guy who loved her unconditionally, no matter what, and who took care of her daughter like she was his own. He sat with her for endless hours while she sobbed her grieving heart out and sobbed even more in self-loathing. He didn’t once demand anything of her, or want her to be anything she didn’t want to or couldn’t be. Who loved her cow jammies and just laughed if she farted on him in bed. Who looked fucking hot in a suit and did this cute licking thing with a spoon when he shared her dessert.
She waited two beats for something inside her to tell her to back the fuck off as quickly as she could. Because this was a marriage proposal. A forever deal. Forever, forever. It was a very gorgeous engagement ring in very talented fingers. Fingers attached to Andrew who was her Knight in Shining Paramedic Coveralls. Who was that warm hand in that ambulance when she had nothing and no one else…
“I-” Ali choked out through a sob that caught in her throat before she could stop it. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilt over. Yes or no? There was no fucking question. “Yes! Y-Yes, I’ll marry you,” she laughed tearfully, catching her hand around his that was offering the ring up to her. She dropped to her knees in the sand, not giving a flying toss about what it would do to the expensive gown, her lips claiming his, and she kissed him like she never wanted to stop.
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Word Count | 1,486
One look in your eyes and there I see
Just what you mean to me
Here in my heart I believe
Your love is all I'll ever need
Co-written with paramedically
[Follows THIS, THIS and THIS]
Ali was in more than an awed dazed. That morning she had thought she was already having the best birthday of her life, but Andrew had just kept consistently topping it all day. First the amazing breakfast, and then the day out together with Jamie as a family at the water park where Ali was sure she hadn’t laughed that much in years. Turns out Jamie was quite the little water baby and loved every minute of being wet. The day had been wonderful and Ali hadn’t thought of her troubles back home once, for the first time since she found out she was pregnant.
But it was now evening, the sun just having set, leaving the beach in the soft glow of the moonlight. True to his promise, Andrew had arranged the most amazing romantic dinner which they shared on a specially arranged candlelit table for two on the beach complete with roses, champagne and soft music playing in the background. There was a butler to serve them and the food had been superb, right down to the dessert that was aptly named ‘Death By Chocolate’; a hot chocolate gateau with layers of white, dark and milk chocolate drizzled with chocolate sauce and garnished with strawberries. It had been huge, and intended for two, so they shared, feeding each other with the long elegant silver dessert spoons. Not a single drop of even the sauce was left.
They were only bathed in candlelight now with the moonlight bouncing off the softly lapping water on the shore. Ali was watching the water’s edge with a gentle smile on her face. She didn’t even notice the mood music change a little and the butler politely disappear. But she soon recognised the song and turned back to Andrew with a grin. “This is one of my all-time favourites,” she told him and then reached over to tap the end of his nose affectionately. “Who have you been talking to?”
“My lips are sealed,” Andrew laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. He held his hand out to her over the table. “May I have this dance, Miss Sullivan?” he asked her, eyes shining in the candlelight.
Ali’s hand fell into his and she was up in a shot. She had kicked her silver Jimmy Choos off ages ago when it was impossible to walk in them on the soft sand. She had then spent the rest of the meal in a beautiful red evening gown and bare feet. Andrew had matched the ensemble in a gorgeous tux with a silver shirt and bare feet. It was perfect.
Andrew led her away from the dinner table and a little further down the beach. The music could still be heard, but they had a little more privacy. He took her into his arms, holding her close and pressing their cheeks together as they started swaying slowly to the beautiful song ‘The Way You Look Tonight’, this time sung by Phil Collins. “You look beautiful, Ali. Not that you don’t always look gorgeous, but that dress is driving me wild,” he told her, his lips close to her ear as they danced together in the sand.
Ali smiled, tipping her head back a little and indulging in the way his breath tickled her ear. “You scrub up quite well yourself, Mr Connor,” she teased, brushing her hand down his back and giving his butt a soft squeeze. “And I’m loving the moves. You better be careful, or I’ll be demanding a slow dance before bed every night.”
“And that would be a problem because…?” Andrew joked back and turned his head so he could catch her lips in a soft kiss. He started to sing softly along with the song. “You're lovely, with your smile so warm, and your cheeks so soft. There is nothing for me but to love you, and the way you look tonight…”
Ali laughed, her hand going up so she could stroke her fingers affectionately through his hair. She held his gaze, enjoying the way his blue eyes were shining in the moonlight. Romance. She missed it. She missed feeling this bursting love for someone that spanned even beyond sex and affection. He was spoiling her, and while she didn’t think she deserved it at first, she soon dropped her hang ups with his gentle persistence and nudging, and now she was addicted. She didn’t want to let him go and she didn’t want this moment to end. She rested her forehead against his, shifting just that little bit closer to him and rubbing her nose against his. “I love you right back again,” she told her, her nose scrunching up from the depth of her smile. “Nothing could top this. After Sunshine, this is the best moment of my life.”
“Nothing at all?” Andrew asked her. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and he stroked her face with the backs of his fingers. “Lovely ... Never, ever change. Keep that breathless charm. Won't you please arrange it? 'Cause I love you ... Just the way you look tonight.”
“Nothing at all,” Ali confirmed with a tiny nod, grinning at him again. “You have a very sexy singing voice, you know that? And there you tell me you just get it out for Karaoke nights. Does this mean I’m special?” she teased.
Andrew gave a small nod himself, smiling back. “More than,” he told her. “You’re amazing. Your strength is like nothing on this earth, and even when you’re sad and hurting, you’re still beautiful. You’re a wonderful mother, and wonderful lover. You look gorgeous in your cow jammies, and even more gorgeous when you’re hair is all messy and you have baby powder brushed across your cheek without realising it. You swear like a drunken sailor, but I love every word that comes out of your mouth. I love how you’re hot when you get that glean in your eye like you want to smack someone who has pissed you off, or when you stomp around the apartment when you’ve run out of Ben & Jerry’s. I love that you try to eat vegetarian food with me even though you wouldn’t know what tofu was if it smacked you in the forehead. When you cry, I just never want to let you go. But when you laugh, it’s like it bursts out of you and lights up a whole room. So yes, Ali Sullivan, you are special. You and Jamie have become my whole world, and there is just one more thing I want to add to prove my point…”
He paused long enough as the song drew to the end to take a small black velvet box from his pocket, snapping it open and go down on one knee in the sand. “Will you marry me?”
Ali would only realise much later that it was Tiffany’s. She had feared for so long that if a moment like this ever was upon her again, she would get a horrible sense of dejavu back to the time Mark proposed to her and she would freak out. But Mark Campbell only very briefly entered her stunned thoughts before he was gone again. This was all Andrew. Andrew down on one knee after spoiling her with the most amazing day and evening of her life. After being the guy who loved her unconditionally, no matter what, and who took care of her daughter like she was his own. He sat with her for endless hours while she sobbed her grieving heart out and sobbed even more in self-loathing. He didn’t once demand anything of her, or want her to be anything she didn’t want to or couldn’t be. Who loved her cow jammies and just laughed if she farted on him in bed. Who looked fucking hot in a suit and did this cute licking thing with a spoon when he shared her dessert.
She waited two beats for something inside her to tell her to back the fuck off as quickly as she could. Because this was a marriage proposal. A forever deal. Forever, forever. It was a very gorgeous engagement ring in very talented fingers. Fingers attached to Andrew who was her Knight in Shining Paramedic Coveralls. Who was that warm hand in that ambulance when she had nothing and no one else…
“I-” Ali choked out through a sob that caught in her throat before she could stop it. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilt over. Yes or no? There was no fucking question. “Yes! Y-Yes, I’ll marry you,” she laughed tearfully, catching her hand around his that was offering the ring up to her. She dropped to her knees in the sand, not giving a flying toss about what it would do to the expensive gown, her lips claiming his, and she kissed him like she never wanted to stop.
All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe
Word Count | 1,486