To Take a Chance

She tried to get in on the conversation that the group was having, but she just wasn't able to relate to Vic, Shelly and Sami as they discussed all the attractive guests on the beach that night. Jon too wasn't taking part in the conversation, his eyes were on Anthea. He still seemed to be still feeling uncomfortable regarding their bathroom encounter.

"Anthea, I'm so sorry about what happened. I should have thought before I started knocking at a girl's bathroom door. I hope I didn't offend you," he said softly, so that only Anthea could hear.

"Honestly, it's okay. Actually I'm quite happy about it," Anthea replied, only to be met with a questioning look from Jon.

Not able to explain, she quickly moved away and made her way to some acquaintances that she had noticed. Suddenly, she wondered if it was Jon who was sending her the poems. But she quickly dismissed the thought. He certainly didn't seem the type to write poetry. And anyway, they'd been friends for so long, he didn't need to resort to poetry to tell her he loved her, if he did. No, he wasn't the one.

As the evening went on, Anthea moved from one group of people to another making sure that everything was alright. She also danced a lot, not saying no when men asked her. She quite enjoyed dancing as it helped her relax and forget her troubles. That was until she found herself dancing with Jon. Suddenly, her senses grew alert and her body tense. He wasn't making it easier either by looking down at her with those unnerving gray eyes of his.

"So, why did you walk away from me earlier?" he asked, not letting her go when she tried to gently move back from him.

"I uh…well…I don't really know." She said, staring at her feet.

"Well, I hope you find out soon. But I want you to know how I feel." He said as he slipped an envelope in her hands and walked away, leaving her staring dumbfounded at his retreating back.

So it was Jon who was giving her the poems. She opened it eagerly, longing to read the poem she knew would be inside.

You may not know how you feel,
Or don't want to accept it,
But you can give your heart again,
And not feel guilt.

Now you know who I am,
And you know how I feel,
It's for you to you to decide
Whether you want to heal.

Sanctuary in my arms,
Is all that I can offer you now,
Yet that's what you need.
The solace of love."

Below that, there was a note.

"If you want to take a chance, I'll be waiting near the life guard station after dinner."

She stared at the poem for a long time, not able to decide what to do. She put it away with her tapes and went in to dinner, her thoughts in turmoil. Should she take a chance with Jon? Would he do the same thing Felix did to her? Would she be able to love him?

She knew the answer to the third question. She had in a way always loved him. Even when she and Felix were together, she had still hung out with Jon, convincing herself that he was just a friend. Looking back, she realized that it might have been something more that friendship. She also felt guilty about moving on so soon. Wasn't she supposed to mourn the loss of her love for a longer time?

She sat through dinner feeling still not able to decide whether or not she wanted to meet Jon. That's when Shelly came to her.

"So, did you manage to find out who is sending you those poems?"

"Yeah. Jon told me."

"Oh; so what are you going to do now?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, he's obviously smitten. You've got him writing poetry for God's sake! So, what's wrong with him? Why not give him a chance? He's loved you for a long time you know. Even before you met Felix he was hopelessly in love with you."

"Why didn't he tell me then?"

"He was afraid you'd reject him."

"That's not an excuse! And at that time I really wouldn't have rejected him. In fact, I had a crush on him."

"He didn't know that did he? So, are you going to give him a chance or not?"

"What do you think?"

"It's your life Anthea, I can't make your decisions for you. But if it was me, I'd grab him. You don't get guys like that often. He's one in a million. Don't blow this Anthea."

Saying this, Shelly walked off, leaving a very confused Anthea in her wake; but when she thought about what Shelly had said, it did make sense. It was time she moved on, time she gave herself another chance to love. And yes, she admitted it to her self; she had always been secretly in love with Jon. She made her decision. She would go and see him tonight. She would give herself and Jon a chance.

She made her way to the beach quickly, not wanting to waste anymore time. When she reached there, she saw him standing near the water, his back towards her. She made her way to him, and smiled nervously when he turned to look at her.

"So you decided to come?" he asked, a soft smile on his face.

Not able to speak, she just nodded.

"What are you going to do then? Tell me leap off the nearest cliff or accept my love?"

She was staring down at her toes, unable to answer this question. Her resolve had abandoned her.

Strong fingers lifted her face up to his, a question in his eyes. She squirmed under the intensity of his gaze, not being able to find her voice.

"I want to be with you," she finally whispered.

She found herself being folded into his arms and her cheek nestled against his chest.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear those words Anthea," Jon said, his voice muffled in her hair. "No idea how long I've waited."

Anthea pulled away and turned her back to him.

"Jon, I need to explain."

"Explain what?" he asked, not reaching out to her. He knew that what she was about to say was important to her.

"When you gave me that poem today, I was feeling guilty. I was feeling guilty for being happy. If I loved Felix so much, then wouldn't it take me a longer time to mourn his loss? No, you only had to give me that poem and all thought of him fled from my mind. You won't believe how guilty that makes me feel. To make it worse, I loved you even when I was with Felix. I thought it was friendship then, but now I see that it's something that goes much deeper. Jon, I have no idea what to do. If you take me on you'll be taking a big chance; do you still want to do this?"

"I still want to."

"But why?" she finally asked, turning to him, not being able to believe that he would still want her. To Anthea, it seemed incredible that a person could love so much.

The feeling that we call love was alien to her understanding. Her parents had been cold and aloof, calling her their 'accident'. The only time she had felt truly loved was when she was with Felix. And he had left her. She just didn't want to take a gamble, put her heart at someone else's mercy.

She was telling Jon this, and he still wanted her? She found this unbelievable.

Jon seemed to realize this and sat down, pulling her down with him. He hugged her to him.

"Anthea, I don't care if you won't be able to trust me. Trust will come eventually, and I can wait. You shouldn't be feeling guilty either. You've got to understand that just because Felix left you, doesn't mean I'll leave you. I'm in love with you Anthea, and no matter what, I'll stick by you."

"But that's what Felix said too." She mumbled, almost to herself.

Suddenly, he turned her towards him and kissed her. It was a soft and gentle kiss which brought tears to her eyes. Jon kissed away the tears saying, "Give me a chance Anthea. I won't hurt you."

That's when Anthea finally understood how much Jon loved her - really loved her - and wouldn't leave her as Felix had. Secure in this knowledge of his love, she wound her arms around his neck, kissing him as he had kissed her, trying to show him that she loved him too.

They kissed for a long time, feeling their passion build up. When it got too much, they made their way to Jon's room, trying to get there quickly so they could sate their hunger for each other. They reached it and Jon pulled her inside as he locked the door. Vic was just going to have to find somewhere else to sleep.

Anthea found herself trying to pull off Jon's T-shirt while at the same time she shed her clothes. She finally managed to unfasten the button on his jeans and pulled the zipper down, helping him step out of them. Jon was also trying his level best to get Anthea naked. She had shed her shorts and halter and now he was trying hard to get her bra off.

Anthea helped him, unhooking it as he bent his mouth to her breasts, pushing her bra off her and baring her small breasts. His mouth traveled to her nipples, teasing them as they stood erect. Anthea clutched his hair as he began to suck on her nipple, his free hand inside her panties.

He pulled away for a minute as she stepped out of her panties and he out of his boxers. Then they fell on to the bed, reaching out to caress each others' body. Anthea ran her mouth down Jon's chest as he fondled her breasts. She slowly traveled down his stomach to his hard cock, which was now standing erect.

She took his hardness into her mouth, teasing the tip with her tongue. Jon groaned as she worked on him, sucking and licking to bring him pleasure. She cradled his balls in her hands, giving them a squeeze as she continued to lick his cock.

Jon felt his loins tighten and then release his hot cum into Anthea's mouth. He watched as she swallowed every drop. He pulled her up to him, kissing her and tasting himself. He then made her lie on the bed and proceeded to lick her pussy, returning the favor.

He ran his tongue over her outer lips, his fingers softly stroking her clit. Then he gently put his tongue inside her. She arched her back, clutching his hair and crushing his face against her. He was pleased at her reaction and continued to thrust in an out of her, knowing that she would come. She finally orgasmed violently, her juices coating his chin and mouth. She pulled him up now, needing him inside her.

He quickly slipped into her, feeling her vaginal muscles squeeze his hard manhood. He began to thrust into her slowly, pulling almost all the way out and then sliding back into her. She was writhing beneath him moaning at his deep penetration of her.

They came together, lost in the feeling of the other's body as they reached their climax.

Afterwards they lay still for a while, Jon's long body draped over Anthea. When they finally regained their breath they made love again. It was dawn when they finally managed to sleep, their arms and legs tangled together, tired yet sated by their intense love making.

When Anthea woke up in the afternoon, she found Jon sitting up and writing. She looked over his shoulder as he penned her another poem.

"I can hardly believe that
I finally have you by my side.
And trust me, I'll never let you go,
I'll be there forever, until I die

I gave you my heart
A long time ago,
And now you've accepted,
Accepted the love which I show."

That was all he had written and he was starting on the third stanza when she grabbed the pen from him and wrote down a stanza herself.

"The profound love I have for you,
Cannot be measured,
Yes, you can love in return,
And allow me to cherish."

Epilogue

Anthea was waiting for Jon to come home so she could tell him the good news. He would be home anytime now, she thought as she glanced at the clock.

As if on cue, she heard the door open and Jon's cheery voice call out, "I'm home!"

Anthea rushed out to meet him, practically throwing her self at him as she hugged him. She then pressed a quick kiss to his lips and showed him a file that had been lying on the coffee table.

Puzzled, he opened it and read it. As he read, his puzzlement turned to joy. He let the file fall to the floor as he picked her up and twirled her around happily.

"So, what are we going to name her?" Anthea asked when he finally set her down.

"Melinda." Jon replied, his face creased in a huge smile.

Those had been adoption papers. A few moths after Darla's and Felix' s wedding, Anthea and Jon had also tied the knot, more in love than ever. A year later, they had a baby boy whom they named Aaron. He looked exactly like his father, with his black hair and gray eyes. Wanting another child, they had tried adoption and now, they could finally bring home a little girl. Life just couldn't get any better than this.

Anthea picked up the file from where Jon had dropped it and went to heat up the dinner and check on Aaron. 'And all this just because I took a chance' Anthea thought to herself as she saw her little son fast asleep in his crib.
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Thank you ray, for editing this story.

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