"Twirl, you know you want to." Gustavo exclaimed, grinning widely.
Honestly, I'd never been a twirl in my dress kind of girl, hell I barely wore dresses, but now seeing myself for the first time all glammed up... I twirled once and stopped abruptly to gawk more at myself in the full-length mirror.
"What time is it?" Sammy asked worriedly.
"It's just after six thirty!" Gustavo shrieked, looking at his Blackberry.
"Oh my goodness, you're going to be late!" Maria announced loudly, she rushed back to the rack and pulled out a sapphire blue clutch. "Here this matches the dress. I've packed all your essentials in them."
I took the clutch from her and turned to face all of them. "Thank you, thank you all so much!"
"Go now, Mr. Barns arranged for a private car to take you to where you need to go!" Maria urged. "We'll clean up and lock up, leave the key, we'll leave it at the front desk!"
I left my room key on the counter and rushed to the door, but before leaving I turned to face them all once more, they all stood there with a happy satisfied looks on their faces. "Thank you again!"
As I left the room, Sammy yelled. "Hurry, and take lots of pictures, lots of pictures of yourself!"
"I will!" I yelled and rushed out of the B&B. Outside waiting beside the curb was a Black SUV, the driver wore a black suit and rushed out upon seeing me. He had a buzz cut and was the same height as Xander, but looked to be the same age as my dad. As I reached the car, the driver opened the back door.
"Hello, Ms. Gellys?" he asked.
"Yes, that's me." I replied happily.
"My name is Daniels and I'll be driving you to your destination today." Daniels explained as I slid into the car.
"Thank you." I told him and he closed the door. He rounded the car quickly and entered into the driver's seat.
"Where to Ms. Gellys?" Daniels asked, putting on his seatbelt.
"The Pacific Banquet Hall, do you know it?"
"Yes I do, it's going to take twenty five minutes to get there, is that okay?" Daniels asked.
"Yes, that's okay." I grinned widely as Daniels pulled away from the curb.
This was it.
Go time.
CHAPTER 9.
*Demetria*
Saturday April 20th 2013 Pink clouds, lace, and silk were the key elements of a room so large, a family of four could have lived comfortably inside it. Sitting in front of a table filled with every facial product known to man, with a large mirror nestled behind it...... I, Demetria Rose Williams, gazed at my reflection with a scowl.
I just wanted one thing in this life, and I was DENIED it.
A man who made my entire body quiver violently for hours, while he whispered sweet things into my ear. My love for him only grew with the first stroke of his strong, clever hands, but I knew I loved him even before we began our spontaneous encounters of lust.
It's been many months since my last encounter with Xander, which was wrong-very, very wrong. The anxiety that filled me day after day finally became too much last night.
Sighing, I glanced around my average sized bedroom, eyeing strips of wallpaper on the floor, and remnants of drywall that dusted every inch of my custom, cherry hardwood floor. I couldn't be blamed, it was a reaction I was sure any normal person would have expressed, if not worse.
All of a sudden, a disgusting vision paralyzed my mind. I envisioned another woman sliding her fingertips all over him.
"Silence, thief!" I whispered to the whore in my mind, a promiscuous commoner who had no business being anywhere near Xander.
The final memory of our time together flashed before me; he was fast asleep after a marathon of passionate lovemaking. I exhaled a deep breath, and damn, it felt good to be able to breathe again, even if it was only temporarily. My neck tilted further back, allowing my eyeballs to roll back. There weren't any drugs out there as potent or as alluring as anything that had to do with Xander.
I was addicted for life.
"I love that man," I murmured softly.
It felt good being able to say the words out loud, an oath that I had no shame in screaming at the top of my lungs if it wasn't for Mother's weird behavior every time I mentioned anything involving Xander or any other man. Mother was protective of her sweet little girl, even though her sweet little girl was bordering on twenty-nine.
"I love Xander!" I yelled louder, not giving a damn all of a sudden. Three erratic knocks rudely interrupted my mantra.
"Demetria, darling! Why are you yelling, is everything okay?" The doorknob shook, indicating Mother's discomfort with the fact that I was being loud and that the door was still locked.
"I'm fine," I yelled so that she could hear and hopefully go away.
"Darling, you scared me!" Mother rattled the doorknob once more, probably hoping I'd unlock it and let her in to make sure, with her own eyes, that all was okay.
I was okay.
I was always okay.
I wasn't crazy.
"It's fine, everything is fine. You can go away now!" I ordered, and then moved over to my custom-made vanity table. I needed to touch up my makeup and apply more hairspray; my curls were feeling dull. The doorknob rattled again as I sat down on my plush, purple-velvet chair. I eyed the door with annoyance. "What is it?"
Couldn't she see that I was busy?
"Demetria, darling, I forgot to tell you that Madeline Barns called just now. It seems her son is back in town, and she's hosting a small, garden tea party tomorrow. You remember Xander, don't you?"
A warm sensation exhilarated every inch of my being.
I felt my eyeballs slowly rolling back.
Xander was back.
He came back to me.
To be with me, and this time, it's going to be forever....
CHAPTER 10.
Saturday April 20th 2013 My eye began to twitch....the beautiful dress, the makeover, it distracted me when I should have stayed mad at him for all the TRICKS he'd pulled on me.
He was the fucking apple, and the fucking snake....
He wasn't a white knight. There wasn't a fucking horse galloping, carrying him to save innocents in despair. That Mother Fucker had a cellphone with unlimited capabilities and a bottomless bank account.
Xander Barns is not a hero. Learn it. Remember it. Live it.
I glanced out the window as Daniels drove through a very familiar neighbourhood at a reasonable speed.
My phone vibrated, chiming with an incoming text.
Xander: By the way, you're welcome. Didn't I tell you it was all an easy fix? I dare you to doubt me again. I request the pleasure of your company, after your father's party is over of course.
XX.
Marisa: By the way, thank you...even though YOU threw my clothes OUT!!!!!! But nevertheless, thank you, and yes, I will never doubt you again. But then again, I probably won't go out with your rich ass ever again. You're too much trouble. As for your request...what the hell do you want my company for? I'm boring; I thought we clarified this in one of our earlier session's, doctor.
Punch Punch Xander: Marisa, you've got the stop selling yourself short. You're not boring, far from it, actually. As for your comment about me being trouble...if you continue to speak to me like that in your next text, I'm going to have to change my pants, as it's hard to hide certain marks whilst wearing black dress pants. As for you meeting me after your father's party, it's a requirement since you've got something I want. I've been dreaming all day, Baby. So be a nice kitty, and don't make me wait too long, okay?
XOXO...
Marisa: Fine! How do I get to your place?
Xander: Daniels will be waiting for you in the parking lot of the facility. Just tell him when you're ready. Can't wait to see you...all of you.
Marisa: The only thing you'll be seeing is the ceiling of an ambulance...fucking asshole!
Later, douche!
Xander: Rock-hard status.
I shook my head and a smile forced its way across my face. I guess I wasn't as offended as I thought. This was just who Xander was: a kinky, asshole, douchebag bastard.
On that thought, Daniels pulled the car on to the highway.
"Would you like to listen to some music?" he asked while making the turn.
"That would be great right about now. Rock n Roll if available, please," I answered him.
"That's not a problem." Daniels turned the radio dial and settled on the local rock station. A familiar hard-rock tune overtook the entire vehicle and my blood sizzled in inspiration as the lyrics, the beat of the music hit every inch of my body.
Yeah, that's better.
Daniels pulled the car to the front entrance. I stared out, watching the party-goers walk with their families on the sidewalk, all dressed to the nines, just like I was. I grabbed the handle of the door, and as I turned to say goodbye to Daniels, from the corner of my eye, I noticed something that caused my body to instantly freeze.
Ben!
I instantly let go of the door handle and lowered my body below the window.
"The windows are tinted, Miss Gellys." Daniels informed me with a hint of amusement.
Thank God for tinted windows. I sighed in relief as I spied the family of five trek up the stairs. The women, his mom and little sister's dresses, were beautiful. The men, his dad and little brother, all decked out in black and navy suits. Ben, however...I couldn't really see what he was wearing.
Mom had the nerve to invite the cheater and his family, but that shouldn't surprise me, because A: Mom was a traitor who cared more about her bitchy best friend than her daughter, and B: it was all my fault anyway, so why should everyone have to suffer when I was to blame.
I checked the time on my phone; it was 7:20pm.
"Okay, I'm going to go in now." Before stepping out, I turned to Daniels, "Wish me luck?"
Daniels smiled at me from the rear-view mirror. "Good luck."
CHAPTER 11.
Present Day So... now you know what I've been through.... and all I had to say to that was that if it wasn't for 'people' like me, cops and ambulance would go out of business.
911 was invented for people like me.
But thankfully, I didn't need to use 911 just yet.
The great thing about making mistakes in private was that nobody had to know.
My secret would come with me to the grave.
No one would ever have to know what happened these last twenty-four hours...no one.
The party was packed to the rafters. The room's lights were dimmed low as fun party lights moved around. I entered the room, oblivious to any of the other partygoers who were all busy enjoying the music, probably already on their third drink from the open bar I saw on my left and the huge line around it.
The theme was gold and sea blue.