Like a Dream Come True

THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS. I’VE OUTLINED THE FINAL FOUR CHAPTERS OF THIS STORY, SO HOPEFULLY THE WORDS WILL FLOW AND I WILL BE POSTING FAIRLY FREQUENTLY FROM HERE ON IN. I WANTED TO SAY A FEW WORDS TO SOME OF THE POSTERS:

CU-KID: THANKS FOR SUCH A IN DEPTH REVIEW OF THE CHARACTERS. I LOVE KNOWING PEOPLE FEEL FOR THESE CREATIONS, BECAUSE I DO, TOO!

CD: I HOPE THIS CHAPTER DOESN’T CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT ME BEING SUBTLE. I PLAN TO END IN FOUR CHAPTERS, SO I NEED TO BRING THINGS TO A HEAD. BUT THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT!

ADAEE: THAT WAS A LITTLE SCARY – BUT I STILL MANAGED TO BE COMPLIMENTED! THANK YOU!

KALI: I WON’T TELL YOU WHO ENDS UP WITH WHOM (IF ANYONE) BUT I CAN SAY I’M PLANNING A HAPPY ENDING FOR MOST CHARACTERS. HOW’S THAT FOR AMBIGUOUS?

LADY RAIN: YES, I LOVE MAKING PEOPLE CRY. DOES THAT MAKE ME EVIL? THANKS FOR THE REVIEW.

DARK DRAGON: IF YOU READ THE OTHER REVIEWS, YOU’LL REALIZE YOU’RE NOT ALONE. AND I WAS SURPRISED TO FIGURE THAT ONE OUT MYSELF!

THANKS AGAIN FOR TAKING THE TIME (THESE ARE SOME LONG, AWESOME REVIEWS, PEOPLE!) TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. SPECIAL THANKS TO: KELLY, RENEE, MEMORYCHASE, SESSHY_LOVER, MICHELLE, AND DARK DRAGON.

-----

“This may have been a mistake, Starsky,” Lianna told her cat. It was seven-thirty on Friday night, and Lianna was staring around her apartment completely at a loss for what to do. She had refused an offer from Madison and Tavian to hang out, insisting she wanted to spend her first weekend night in her new apartment by herself. Having done that for thirty minutes, Lianna now felt ready to climb the walls.

“It was different all week when I was working,” Lianna thought. “I just stayed late, worked hard, and passed out right after I got home. But this – this is torture.” At that moment, Lianna’s cell phone rang, and she thankfully dove for it. Seeing Eddie’s number, she greeted him. “Hey,” she said, trying not to sound out of breath from running across the room to get the phone. “What are you up to?”

“Not much,” Eddie replied. “How are you doing? I just wanted to check on you, see how things are going so far. Is the apartment okay?”

“The apartment’s great,” Lianna sat down on the couch. “It’s just… a little lonely, I guess. But that’s to be expected. I mean, I spent over two months living with Joseph, and then three weeks living with Madison. I have promised myself that I am going to stay in this evening and get used to my surroundings. Which is making me want to kill myself more with each passing moment.”

“Well, I might have a loophole for you,” Eddie told her. “You can stay in your apartment, therefore not breaking your promise to yourself, but I could come by with Chinese food, wine and videos. What do you say?”

More than anything, Lianna wanted to tell Eddie to come over. Just to have someone there to talk to, to interact with, to stop her from thinking how lonely she was – and how much she missed Joseph – for just a minute… Nonetheless, she was nervous. What Vicky had told her about Eddie liking her made her uncomfortable. Still, maybe this is what she needed to do to get through this – hang out with Eddie as friends, drop subtle hints on her intention to never date again (or possibly join a convent, she wasn’t sure), and at the same time benefit from not being alone. “Chicken fried rice, red wine, and either a horror or comedy, and I will pay you when you get here.”

“The way you said that makes me feel cheap,” Eddie joked. “No, that’s great. I should be there in forty-five minutes. I expect you in comfy pajamas, no makeup, under a big blanket. You are going to do some wallowing and then some re-empowerment, and I plan to help you.”

“Did you say your ex was gay, or you were?” Lianna teased.

“Funny,” Eddie replied dryly. “See you in forty-four minutes.”

As she hung up the phone, Lianna smiled to herself. It was possible that Eddie had a crush on her, but had no intention of ever acting on it, right? After all, Lianna had had plenty of crushes over the years, but she had never actually approached anyone about it. “That’s it,” Lianna nodded to herself. “He might like me, but if so, it’s just an innocent crush. He’s got to understand I’m still totally caught up in Joseph, and the thought of being with another man is the last thing on my mind.”

Feeling a bit better, Lianna strode into her bedroom to change into her least sexy pajamas and wait for Eddie to arrive.

-----

“No, no more wine for me,” Eddie put up his hand as Lianna lifted the bottle. “Three glasses is my limit.”

“I used to be that way,” Lianna said, feeling a little lightheaded as she poured her fifth glass. “Then, dating Joseph, I got used to drinking a lot more. But considering how my body’s reacting right now, I actually think that I have lost my tolerance. So this is it for me.” She held up her glass. “Here’s to relearning how to drink like a normal person!”

Laughing, Eddie shook his head. Lianna took a sip of her wine and looked at him. She was glad he had come over; they had had fun all evening. And Eddie hadn’t made any motions or said anything at all alluding to the idea of him liking Lianna as more than a friend. While it was possible Vicky had been wrong, Lianna – in her drunkenness – suddenly felt a need to know.

“So,” Lianna in her inebriated haze tried to think of a subtle way to feel around the subject. “You haven’t mentioned anything, but have you gone on any dates in a while? I mean, you’re a nice, handsome, funny guy. I’m sure girls are interested in you. Girls, you know, that are ready for dating and stuff.”

Smirking slightly, Eddie tilted his head. “Lianna, Vicky already admitted to me what she said to you,” he told her.

At Lianna’s look of shock and embarrassment, Eddie laughed a little. “No,” Lianna tried to object. “I mean, I told Vicky… when she said… I told her that you didn’t think of me like that. I didn’t mean… with what I just said… shit, did I just fuck up things between us?”

“Not at all,” Eddie’s eyes got wide. “God, I’m so glad you aren’t avoiding me.”

“So, you mean…?”

“You’re a great girl, Lianna,” Eddie gave a shy grin. “And yes, I guess I do have a bit of a crush on you. God, I hate that word. It makes me feel twelve… Anyway, I think you’re terrific, but I know you don’t feel the same way, especially with all that you’ve been through with Joseph. And even if you hadn’t been… I guess I’m just not you’re type, or something. Gotta admit, not the best feeling in the world, but I can accept it. I mean, as long as I still get to sit around and watch crappy movies, and eat bad takeout, and make jokes, and just spend time with one of the coolest people I know.”

Looking at Eddie with appreciation, Lianna suddenly felt tears prickling in her eyes. “I’m sorry that I don’t-” she began, but was cut off immediately.

“Don’t finish what you were going to say,” Eddie gave her a sad smile. “That just would make me feel like more of a loser. You have nothing to feel bad about, Lianna. You never offered any more than your friendship to me, and in truth, that’s enough.”

“So, no weirdness?” Lianna asked hopefully.

“None,” Eddie said. “Well, unless you’re uncomfortable knowing that I’m still going to have naked dreams about you. But don’t worry, I have those about most of my female friends. Sometimes there are more than one of you at a time in them, and sometimes it’s just all of you in an orgy, with me sitting back and watching.”

Elbowing Eddie, Lianna laughed. “Thanks, Eddie,” she said after a moment. “I’m in a really bad place right now, and your friendship is helping me so much. I don’t want to do anything to risk losing it.”

Reaching over, Eddie ruffled Lianna’s hair. “You won’t,” he promised.

-----

Waking up with a crick in his neck, Eddie blinked a few times into the light as he reached back to rub the aching muscle. Looking over, he saw Lianna passed out cold beside him on the couch. One quick glance at his watch confirmed what he had guessed. He and Lianna had both fallen asleep during the last movie they were watching, and it was now the middle of the night.

Standing up, Eddie picked up the wine bottle and glasses, and brought them into the kitchen. He then threw away some garbage from dinner before heading back into the living room. Taking his jacket off the back of the couch, he slid it on and looked down at Lianna. She was sleeping peacefully, so he didn’t want to wake her to have her go into her bedroom. Instead, he turned off the TV and pulled a blanket from the back of the sofa to cover her with.

Lianna shifted slightly, but didn’t wake up. Dropping down to one knee, Eddie pushed some stray hair back from her face and gently kissed her forehead. “This will have to be enough for me,” he said sadly to himself. Rising, he looked down at Lianna once more and smiled at her beautiful, still expression.

“It’ll have to be enough.”

-----

“You know, you didn’t have to take me out to dinner for my birthday,” Lianna told Eddie as they entered the lobby to her apartment building. “I mean, it was really nice of you, but you didn’t have to do this.” It had been about a month since Eddie had admitted his feelings for Lianna to her, and to Lianna’s great relief, it didn’t seem to change things between them. In fact, they hung out regularly now, and Eddie had just taken her out for a celebratory birthday dinner.

“Are you kidding me?” Eddie gave Lianna a grin as he followed her to the elevator. “I always do nice things for pathetic people. After all, if I didn’t take you out, who would have?”

Giving Eddie a mock-appalled look, Lianna hit him lightly on the shoulder. “You’re heartless,” she scolded as the elevator doors opened onto her floor. “You know Tavian and Madison are out of town this weekend, and that we’re celebrating my birthday next weekend. You don’t have to call me pathetic!”

“I’m sorry,” Eddie gave Lianna a grave look. “You’re right. That wasn’t a very nice thing for me to say.”

“No,” Lianna jokingly pouted as she put her keys into the doorknob. “You are a very mean person-”

“SURPRISE!”

Lianna nearly jumped out of her skin as she entered her apartment. There were over a dozen people inside, headed by Madison and Tavian, both of whom had huge grins plastered across their faces. Behind them were a myriad of people from Lianna’s work, as well as people she had gone to school with.

“Happy birthday, Lee!” Madison bounced over to her friend. “God, you looked shocked when you walked in here just then. I’m so glad you didn’t figure anything out about the party. When Eddie first said we should throw you a surprise party, I wasn’t sure if we would be able to pull it off.”

Madison excitedly kept talking, but Lianna couldn’t focus on what she was saying. Instead, she gave Eddie a questioning look. “This was your idea?” she asked in a soft voice once Madison had finished her rant.

“I just thought it would be nice,” Eddie’s cheeks heated under Lianna’s gaze. “You deserve to be reminded that there are lots of people around you that care about you – lots of friends. Besides, Madison did most of the work.”

“Yeah,” Madison replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “You just came up with the idea, invited her friends from school and work, bought most of the food and drinks, AND took Lianna to dinner to keep her out of the way while everyone arrived. Yeah, I barely see how you’re even allowed in here, considering how little you did.”

“You know,” Tavian interrupted, wrapping his arm around Madison’s waist from behind and resting his head on her shoulder. “I know this seems foreign to you, but in some cultures people actually just say ‘thank you’ instead of going off on a sarcastic tirade against someone who was generous.”

Looking over her shoulder, Madison smirked at Tavian. “And in some cultures, guys go months and months without sex.”

“Okay, I don’t want to be the cause of anyone’s ruined sex life,” Eddie laughed. “Listen, Madison, I was glad to help with the party. Lianna, happy birthday. You should probably go greet the rest of your guests. Tavian, could you help me get some of the drinks I hid in lobby earlier?”

“Sure thing,” Tavian grinned, realizing Eddie’s embarrassment in the situation. He kissed the top of Madison’s head and then Lianna’s cheek. “Happy birthday, Lianna. You deserve a good one.”

Putting her hand on his arm, Lianna smiled at Tavian, and then watched him and Eddie leave the apartment. Turning back to Madison, who had a feline grin on her face, Lianna immediately frowned. “We’re not dating,” she told Madison clearly. “We’re not going to date. We’re not going to fuck. So drop it, okay?”

Throwing her hands up, Madison conceded. “Fine,” she said. “It’s your birthday. I won’t give you any grief. But come one, you have to admit that the adorable, funny, smart guy is completely smitten with you-”

“Madison…” Lianna’s voice was warning.

“Fine,” Madison grumbled. “I’ll get us some drinks; you go greet your guests.”

Laughing, Lianna watched as Madison stomped into the kitchen. Since Lianna had first introduced her to Eddie, Madison had been sure that he was the perfect person for Lianna to get over Joseph with. The problem with that, though, was two-fold. The first part of the problem was that Lianna just didn’t feel THAT way about Eddie, although she thought he was kind and funny and a wonderful friend. The second part of the problem was, well, that Lianna wasn’t sure there was any way for her to be over Joseph yet.

-----

“Thank you so much for coming, Sandy,” Lianna smiled at her boss. It was a little past midnight, and most of the party attendees had left. It had been a wonderful time, and Lianna was actually feeling pretty tipsy from the champagne Madison had been feeding her all evening. She had managed, however, to avoid doing shots, which she was glad about. “And the watch is beautiful. Thank you so much for the gift.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Sandy was a little tipsy herself. “And it was a great party. I must say, I was wondering what made you bounce back so quickly from what happened with your ex, but once I laid eyes on Eddie tonight, I understood. He’s a keeper, Lianna. And what a looker!”

“Eddie and I aren’t together like that,” Lianna replied, looking over to the corner where Tavian and Eddie were sitting having an animated discussion. She couldn’t help but smile when she saw them both burst into laughter, although she had no idea what was so funny to them. “Eddie and I are just friends.”

“Whatever you say,” Sandy followed Lianna’s gaze. “It’s not my business. I’m just your boss. However, as an older friend, I have to say I recommend that you ask for one dirty, sweaty birthday present from that cutie tonight.”

Her mouth dropping open, Lianna couldn’t believe what her boss had just said. “Sandy!” she exclaimed, laughing. “Shame on you!”

Shrugging, Sandy just smiled. “Hey, on Monday, I’ll blame what I’m saying on the wine,” she told Lianna. “But for right now, I say jump his bones. You need to do something for you and you alone. But enough from me. I’m going home. I’ll see you on Monday. Happy birthday, again.”

After seeing out the last few stragglers, Lianna walked over to the table where Madison, Tavian and Eddie were gathered. “Thank you guys all so much for tonight,” she said, looking around. “God, this was one of the best birthdays I have ever had. You guys are great friends.”

“And now that everyone is gone, you have no more excuses to not do a birthday shot!” Madison’s eyes were dancing. She poured a brown liquor into a shot glass and pushed it in front of Lianna. “Come on – mazel tov!”

“You’re giving me a Jewish toast?” Lianna asked incredulously. “You’re the most Irish-blooded person I’ve ever met.”

“Hence, the alcohol,” Madison looked at Lianna like what she was saying was completely clear-cut. “Now drink!”

Laughing, Lianna shook her head. There was no reason to even attempt arguing with Madison at this point. “Mazel tov!” she called out and downed the drink that burned her throat and tasted like burnt ash. “Ew, ew, ew!”

“Here,” Eddie handed Lianna his beer. “Chase it with this.”

Taking a big swig of the beer, Lianna’s mouth tasted much better. And it only took a few minutes of sitting around, talking to everyone, for Lianna to start feeling the effects of the shot. In her drunken haze, she looked around the table and smiled at her friends. She was lucky to be celebrating her birthday with such good people. Madison, with her wild streak and wonderful heart. Tavian, with his easy demeanor and great sense of humor. Eddie, with his kindness, his generosity, his thoughtfulness, his-

At that moment, Lianna’s cell phone went off. Questioningly, Lianna reached for it, not knowing who would call her at nearly one in the morning. “Hello?” she answered inquisitively. The phone number of the caller ID had been listed as ‘blocked’.

“Lianna?” a voice came over the line. “Did I wake you?”

In shock, Lianna stood up from the table and nearly fell due to her intoxication. Eddie caught her, though, and steadied her, giving her an inquisitive look.

“Joseph?” Lianna finally forced out. She was too surprised to be speaking to Joseph to notice the looks pass over everyone’s faces. Madison had rolled her eyes. Tavian’s eyebrows had shot up in wonder. And Eddie’s face had just fallen. “Is that you?”

“Yeah,” Joseph sounded sheepish. “I know it’s late there, but I’m in LA right now, and I just saw the date on a ticket I signed for a fan, and I realized it’s your birthday. Did I wake you?” he asked again.

“No,” Lianna began weaving her way towards the bedroom for some privacy. “No, Madison and Tavian and Eddie are all here. They threw me a birthday party.”

“Oh,” Joseph sounded a little sad suddenly. “Well, I don’t want to ruin your good time-”

“Don’t hang up,” Lianna replied quickly as she sat on her bed, blushing at how pleading she sounded. “I mean, I haven’t talked to you in so long. So… how are things?”

“Things are okay,” Joseph said. “But listen, I had no right to call. Your there with a guy, after all…”

Biting her lip, Lianna willed her head to stop spinning. “No, Eddie’s just a friend,” she told Joseph. “You remember him, right? From my graduation?”

“Oh yeah,” Joseph seemed to relax at this bit of information. “Of course. So, how was the party? Did you have a good birthday?”

“I did,” Lianna leaned back into her pillows. “But I… I’m glad you called.”

“Really?” Joseph sounded incredibly hopeful.

Tears filling her eyes, Lianna didn’t know what to say. “Yeah,” she replied. “I know… I know we’re broken up, but sometimes…” God, she thought to herself, what am I doing? But she couldn’t keep the words from tumbling. “I just miss you sometimes.”

“I miss you, too,” Joseph said softly. “So much.”

There was silence for a moment while both people just let their feeling sink in. “You know,” Lianna told Joseph. “I really appreciate that you called for my birthday, but it’s rude for me to stay on the phone too long-”

“Oh, okay,” Joseph sounded deflated.

“Let me finish,” Lianna smiled a little to herself. “It’s rude for me to stay on the phone too long right now, but if you have time to give me a call in the next couple days…”

“I will,” Joseph replied immediately. “I promise. Listen, Lianna…” He paused as if trying to figure out what to say next. “Just have a happy birthday, okay?” he wimped out.

“Thanks,” Lianna wiped the tears that had fallen over her cheek away. “And we’ll talk soon.”

“We will,” Joseph confirmed. “Goodnight, Lianna.”

“Goodnight, Joseph.”

It took a few more minutes for Lianna to pull herself together enough to return to her friends. As she approached the table, she was met with three questioning sets of eyes. Sitting down in her seat, she stared down at her hands and said nothing, fully aware of the acute silence in the room.

“Okay, don’t think that you’re going to get away with saying nothing,” Madison’s voice was teasing, but firm. As Lianna lifted her eyes, Madison gave her a grin. “You at least have to give us something. We were dying out here. I would have been eavesdropping if Tavian hadn’t been a goody-two-shoes and said I wasn’t allowed.”

Looking around, Lianna felt her cheeks heat. Everyone was waiting for her to say something. “Joseph just called… to wish me a happy birthday,” she finally said.

“Oh, well, that was nice,” Tavian tried to be supportive.

“Yeah,” Eddie echoed Tavian’s sentiment, but his voice didn’t hold any emotion.

Reaching out suddenly, Lianna grabbed the liquor bottle and poured herself another shot. “Any takers?” she asked, looking around. “No? Okay, just the birthday girl, then.” The liquid burned her throat, but it allowed her a moment to not think about her conversation with Joseph or the looks she was getting from her friends. “Okay, enough gloom. This was too fun a night to end on a bad note!”

“You’re right,” Tavian nodded. “But I think everyone’s had more than enough to drink, so we should probably all get some rest. Do you want to stay here tonight, Madison?” he looked at his girlfriend. It was obvious everyone was concerned about Lianna’s well being.

“I can stay,” Eddie interjected. “On the couch, I mean.” He looked at Lianna. “That way, you know, you have some one to talk to, if you need it.”

“I’d like that,” Lianna said sadly. Even though the shot had made her head fuzzier, it hadn’t made her heart feel any better. It would be nice to have Eddie to talk to – not about Joseph, of course. Just about things that would allow her to NOT think about Joseph. She knew that if Madison stayed instead, that would be the only topic of conversation.

Tavian and Madison left shortly after that, and Eddie helped Lianna to the bathroom so she could wash up. He took pajamas out of the drawer and handed them to her, and then waited for her to finish so he could help her to the couch. He got her a big glass of water and some crackers before settling on the couch next to her. “Take these, too,” he handed Lianna two ibuprofen tablets.

Taking the painkillers from Eddie appreciatively, Lianna swallowed them. She was feeling a little better after washing her face and putting on her pajamas, and the water was definitely helping. “I’m sorry,” she frowned at Eddie, who seemed unsure why she was apologizing. “I mean, you must think I’m such a nut job.”

“I do,” Eddie agreed immediately. “It’s one of my favorite things about you.” With that, he turned on the TV and leaned back into the couch.

“How long did it take you to get over Meredith?” Lianna asked suddenly.

“Oh,” Eddie was obviously surprised by the question. “Well, see, our relationship was pretty bad for the last year. We used to get along so well, but towards the end we got in fights all the time. And we were each other’s firsts, you know, but we didn’t have sex the last six months we were together. I’ve got to say, it does make the pain be a little more bearable to know she’s actually gay, considering how unattractive I felt during that time.”

“Is she pretty?” Lianna asked. “Meredith, I mean?”

“Yeah, she is,” Eddie smiled to himself. “And funny, and wild. I really was head-over-heels for that girl, but… well, I guess I’m destined to always say ‘she didn’t feel the same way about me’.”

Lianna couldn’t help but blush a little at this. “You’re going to find someone,” she told Eddie softly. “Someone who sees you for the unbelievable person you are. Someone who thinks they are the luckiest person in the world to have you by their side. Someone who’s not gay, or certifiably insane.”

Laughing at this, Eddie shook his head. “I’m sure I will one day,” he said in a way that said he wasn’t near sure. “But as for your question, even though Meredith and I had a bad last year, it still took me months to get over her after we had actually broken up. And remember, we were still kids. I’m sure it gets even harder as you get older.”

Leaning her head back against the couch, Lianna shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. She hadn’t meant to talk to Eddie about Joseph, but it was all that was going through her mind. “I think not being able to be with the person you love hurts pretty bad at any age.”

“Wise, grasshopper,” Eddie smiled. “So, that call really got to you, huh?” He reached back and pulled the blanket down from the back of the couch, spreading it over both he and Lianna. “You kind of looked sick there for a few minutes.”

“It’s just really hard,” Lianna said in a frustrated tone. “There’s so much about Joseph I still love. And yes, there were problems that needed to be worked through, but every relationship has that. It’s just… It’s just that I can’t get past the fact that he slept with Frankie.”

“I can understand that,” Eddie nodded sympathetically. “I guess you have to figure out if that’s actually something you can never get past – in which case, you should then allow yourself to let go – or if you could get past this – in which case, you then have to talk to Joseph.”

“I’m sorry,” Lianna said suddenly. “This isn’t cool for me to be talking to you about.”

“It’s fine,” Eddie insisted. “I said I’m your friend, and that’s what I am. But maybe now isn’t the right time to talk about this at all. We’ve both drank a lot, and your emotions are running pretty high. Maybe we should just see what’s on the tube, alright?”

“Okay,” Lianna agreed. Within minutes, Eddie felt her head leaning against his shoulder and looked down. Lianna was fast asleep against him. Gently, he slid his arm around her and let her settle against his chest. He brushed the hair from her face and pulled the blanket more securely around her, taking a moment to allow himself to study her face up close. After all, considering everything, it looked like this would be the closest he would ever get to being with her. And like he had told himself before, that would have to be enough.