Chapter 28

                                Three Years Later

                “This is hideous.” Clarice sighed, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a large wedding gown that was tight from the waist up, but the bottom puffed up drastically. It looked more of a Disney princess costume than a potential wedding dress. Clarice pouted as she stared at the atrocious looking wedding dress, before she stripped out of it. “I swear, I’m never going to be able to find the perfect dress.”

                “Don’t say that.” I assured her, as I handed her the seventh wedding down that she was going to try on today. “You’ll find one, for sure. This place is huge.”

                Clarice pursed her lips, before she put on the next wedding dress. I had to admit that it wasn’t the worst dress out there, but I knew that it wasn’t extravagant enough to please Clarice. It was just a bit too dull and plain for someone as unique as Clarice. Clarice came to the wedding dress boutique today, in the hopes of finding a wedding dress that showed off her curves, had a sweetheart neckline, and had crystals all over the bust.

                “I hate this dress.” Her negative comment confirmed my predictions. She groaned, before she took a seat on the couches beside me, leaning back and closing her eyes. “Who knew wedding preparations were going to be so hard? I mean, I still have to meet up with the florist to get the centerpieces, and then I have to find my bridesmaid’s dresses, and do cake tasting.”

                I gave her a weak smile. “Hey, the last one doesn’t sound too bad.”

                She gave me a bland look, before she let out a long sigh. “But, when it’s all over, Damian and I are going to a relaxing honeymoon vacation in the Bahamas.”

                “And while you guys will be enjoying the sun, I’ll be studying for my midterms.” I groaned. Clarice suddenly turned to me with a weak smile on her face, a mischievous glint in her eyes. I slapped the palm of my hand to my forehead, as I gave her a dull look. “What do you want?” I asked.

                “Well,” Clarice gave me a puppy dog look, “since Damian and I are going to be gone for a whole week, we needed someone to babysit Aiden.”

                My eyes widened, as I shook my head. “No, Clarice.” As much as I loved spending time with Aiden, I couldn’t flunk on my midterms. “I can’t!”

                “I know it’s going to be a lot of work, but I can get my friend Liam to help you out!” Clarice promised, giving me a hopeful smile.

                Oh, I know where this was going.

                Clarice has been trying to set me up with one of her friends that are in her college classes for the past two years now. Apparently, Liam is some kind of heir to an oil company in South America. As Clarice would say, Liam is a “real catch”.

                “No, Clarice.” I sighed.

                Clarice huffed, as she crossed her arms stubbornly. “Why not?” she pouted. “You haven’t been with anyone since Alex! It’s time to move on.”

                I glared at her, as I rolled my eyes. “I’ll move on when I want to move on, Clarice. God, I can’t believe you’re even bringing him up.”

                Clarice gave me a guilty look, as she sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I just don’t want my best friend to grow old because of some guy that broke her heart in high school.”

                I stared down at my palms, thinking back to all the times Alex held my hand. It seemed like just yesterday that he was still beside me, holding me, and kissing me. But, in reality, he’s gone. He’s been gone for three years already. But, it didn’t seem that way, because the look in his blue eyes, and the sound of his sweet voice was still so fresh in my mind.

                Truth be told, I still love him.

               But, yet, I still can’t help but hate him so much. He’s ruined every chance that I came close to moving on from him. Everything a guy asked for my number, I couldn’t help but wish that it was Alex who I would be able to call. It just sucks how much I hate that I love him.

                “Okay.” I finally said, letting out a ragged breath of air. “I’ll go on a date with Liam.”

                Clarice’s eyes went wide, as she blinked. Her expression told me that she wasn’t sure if I was being sarcastic or not. After a moment of silence, and her studying my face closely, she concluded that I was, in fact, completely serious.

                She let out a laugh of disbelief, before she whipped out her phone from her purse. “Alright, I’m on it right now.” She muttered, sneaking glances at me once in a while.

*

                On the next Friday night, Clarice gave Liam the information to my dorm room on my university’s campus. It was a little past eight o’clock, and I was dressed in a simple strapless black dress that went mid thigh, and a pair of red heels just to jazz up my outfit. Throughout the years, Clarice forced me to learn how to walk in heels, snapping at me that if I was going to be the maid of honor at her wedding, I would have to wear heels.

                There was a sudden knock on my door. My roommate, Carmen, had already gone out with her boyfriend for the night, so it was just me in the room. I opened the door, and standing by the doorway with a boutique of red roses was who I assumed to be Liam.

                “Hi, are you Aerial?” he smiled, holding his hand out for me to shake.

                I nodded, as I gave him a small smile. I took his hand, and to my surprise, he held it up to his lips, giving me a peck on the back side of my hand.

                “Nice to meet you, Liam.” I forced a smile, trying to make my voice not sound uncomfortable or shaky. I mean, after all, this was the first date I’ve been on in three years.

                Liam handed me the bouquet of flowers, as I took them willingly. “Thanks.” I smiled, plucking on one of the cherry red petals. “These look really nice.”

                I put the flowers on my desk, before I grabbed me red clutch bag, and followed Liam outside. “So, where are we going tonight?” I asked him.

                “A restaurant with the finest wine they sell in the country.” Liam smiled.

                I opened my mouth, trying to tell him that I didn’t drink, at all, but I didn’t want to make a bad first impression. After all, first impressions never go away, now do they?

                “That sounds great.” I put on a smile, as Liam opened the door of his expensive looking car for me. I slid inside, the cold leather seats touching my bare thighs.

                As Liam starting driving, I couldn’t help but notice that there was an awkward silence between us. I snuck a glance over at him, noticing that he didn’t seem the slightest bit uncomfortable. In fact, he had a calm smile on his lips, as his fingers drummed lightly to the beat of the music that was coming from the radio.

                I took the time to notice that he had curly blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. But, I also noticed that his blue eyes were nothing compared to Alex’s. My mind flashed back to how Alex’s eyes used to glow whenever he looked at me.

                My heart clenched with pain, as I tore my gaze away from Liam.

                This is exactly what I meant when I said that Alex ruined every chance of a relationship I ever had. Every man that I was affiliated with was compared to Alex mentally in my mind, and Alex was always better than them.

                It was like I could never move on from him.

                “We’re here.” Liam’s voice suddenly interrupted me out of my thoughts, as he parked in front of a restaurant that looked absolutely spectacular from the exterior designing. There was a fountain in the center with a marble statue just a few feet from the front door. Lights were decorated all over the place, as Liam held the door for me to go inside.

                “Thanks.” I whispered.

                The waiter seemed to recognize Liam immediately, as he quickly escorted the two of us to a private seating in the back of the room. It was a tiny square table with silky table cloth, and a single lit candle in the center. I noticed two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine off to the corner, as the waiter popped open the champagne to give us each a glass.

                Before he poured any liquid into mine, I stopped him. “I’m fine, thank you.”

                The waiter nodded, as he handed us two menus. As soon as he left, Liam turned to me with a curious frown on his perfect features. “What’s wrong? You don’t like red wine?” he asked worriedly. “Because I’m pretty sure they have different kinds of-“

                I let out a low laugh, shaking my head. “I just don’t drink, Liam.” I assured him. “I’m fine with water, anyways.”

                Liam looked relieved, as he nodded. “That’s good.” He flipped through his menu, as he stopped on a certain page. “Do you want to try some Rigatoni con la Pajata?”

                My head snapped towards him, as I frowned with confusion. “What?” I asked.

                Liam laughed, taking a sip of his red wine. “It’s pasta. Try it, it’s really good.”

                I nodded in agreement, considering the fact that I couldn’t even pronounce any of the other items that were on the menu. When the waiter came back, Liam ordered two Rigatoni con la Pajata’s for us, and spoke to the waiter in fluent Italian.

                When the waiter left once again, Liam turned to me with a cocky smile on his face. “So, Clarice tells me that you haven’t been on a date in three years?”

                My cheeks turned bright red, as I made a mental note to kill her afterwards. “Yeah.” I muttered. “It’s kind of embarrassing, though.”

                Liam chuckled, as he leaned closer to the table. “Why, though?” he took a piece of my brown hair, twirling it with his fingertips. I gulped, as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I reminded myself that Liam was only trying to be nice. “You’re far too beautiful to be single for three years.”

                I gave him a weak smile. “Thanks.” I wasn’t ready yet to get into my life story, so I decided to shift the attention to Liam. “So, tell me about you. What year of college are you in?”

                Liam’s face seemed to light up when I decided to talk about him. “Well, I’m in my last year. I’m graduating a year early, because I completed all of my courses already. It wasn’t easy trying to get all of my extra classes fit into three years, but my dad has connections, you know? After all, my father is the founder and owner of Sun’s Oil all over South America.”

                Somewhere along the lines of, “Then my father became a millionaire.” I began to doze off. All Liam was telling me was how filthy rich he and his father were, and how he could buy whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.

                I was almost relieved when the food came, not because I was starving, but because Liam finally shut up.

*

                “So, I hear that you went on a date with the son of some owner’s oil company?” Hayden asked me the next morning.

                I was at his apartment, one he rented after he moved out of his parent’s house for college. I laid flat on my fact on his bed, fumbling around with a Rubik’s Cube that I found under his bed. I also found a half eaten slice of pizza there, as well, but I decided to just leave it there.

                “Did Clarice tell you?” I asked, cursing when I had an entire side completed with the exception of one square.

                “Well, Clarice told Damian, and Damian told me.” Hayden chuckled, stuffing a few fries in his mouth. “So how was it?”

                I shuddered, as I turned towards him. “It was horrible.” I muttered. “All he was talking about for the entire night was how much his father makes annually.”

                Hayden laughed, kicking his feet up to his desk. “Was it a lot?”

                I glared at him, as I tossed one of his pillows on the bed at his chest. “That doesn’t matter!” I snapped.

                Hayden grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. He wheeled his chair towards me, as I gave him a glare. “So, Clarice and Damian are getting married in three months?”

                I nodded. “Yes, sir. I went dress shopping with her last week.”

                “And how was it? Did she find a dress?” Hayden asked.

                I shook my head. “Nope. Every dress she tried on, she called disgusting.”

                Hayden let out a chuckle, as he dipped his fries into a goopy pool of red ketchup. “Tell me when you guys are going to the cake tasting thing. You know how I love my free cake.”

                I laughed, as I gave him a light push on the shoulder. “How are you and Aubrey?”

                Hayden and Aubrey officially reunited their long awaiting relationship during the last year of high school. It took Hayden a lot of convincing for Aubrey to finally forgive and forget Hayden, but Hayden tells me that it was all worth it.

                I couldn’t disagree with him, either, because ever since Aubrey and Hayden began to date again, I got a new friend. Aubrey, Clarice and I would all go shopping and just hang around together. We all forgave each other, and became pretty darn close over the years. Clarice even named Aubrey as one of her bridesmaids. The other one was one of her close friends from college, and another was her cousin, whom I’ve met quite a few times.

                “We’re doing great.” Hayden smiled. “I think she finally trusts me again.”

                “Don’t break the trust.” I gave him a look, before giving him a playful grin. “I don’t want her to be a bitch again.”

                Hayden laughed, and opened his mouth to say something. But, before he got to, his laptop let out a ring.

                Our heads snapped towards the loud alarm, as Hayden got up to check his screen. He frowned with confusion, before he turned to me, biting his lips. “It’s Alex. He’s calling me on Skype.”

                I stared at the screen with a blank expression, before I let out a deep breath of air. I gave Hayden a weak smile, shrugging. “Answer it, I don’t care.”

                Hayden stared at me carefully, before he answered the webcam chat on Skype. Immediately, Alex’s face popped up on the screen.

                I held in my breath, as I stared at how much he had grown throughout the three years. Even though the webcam was a bit dark and blurry, I could tell that his jaw line had gotten much defined. He was wearing a white v-neck t-shirt, and I could see that his muscles have gotten slightly bigger. I almost smiled when I noticed that his hair was still the same, and his eyes were still as bright as ever.

                “Hey Alex.” Hayden said cautiously.

                Alex gave Hayden a tired smile, and that’s when I noticed the bags under his eyes. “Hey man.”

                Since Alex didn’t seem alarm, I assumed that he couldn’t see me yet. After all, I was pretty much hiding myself under Hayden’s covers.

                “Isn’t it really late in France right now?” Hayden asked, frowning. “Why are you calling me for?”

                Alex let out a chuckle that made my heart stop. “Am I interrupting something?” he teased. “I see someone on your bed. Is Aubrey there?”

                Hayden bit his lower lips, as he turned back to look at me. I tried to tell him not to tell Alex that I was here, but Hayden mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

                “It’s not Aubrey.” Hayden sighed. “It’s Aerial.”

                The webcam on the other side got extremely quiet, as I held my breath, waiting for Alex to say something.

                Anything.

                “Really?” Alex asked, voice unsteady. “Can I see her?”

                My eyes widened, as the pace of my heart sped up. Was I really ready for this?

                “Uh, sure.” Hayden scratched the back of his neck. “Aerial, Alex wants to see you.”

                I cursed under my breath, as I slowly, and painfully, got up from Hayden’s bed. I tip toed over to Hayden’s webcam. I bit my lower lip, as I let out a nervous breath of air.

                “Hi, Alex.” I managed to choke out.