Month: September 2021

Holly

Standing in line was one of the worst ways to waste time, especially if you had forgotten the current book you were reading at home like I had. Instead, I resorted to eavesdropping on the people around me, which could be interesting but was never guaranteed entertainment.

Unfortunately the discussions I had been listening to were growing stale. At least they were until I heard the annoying immediately behind me call out. “Cade, over here.”

The nasally whine that always seemed to accompany her non-stop chatter didn’t disappear as she frantically waved down whoever Cade was. And I know this about her voice because I had been listening to her on the phone with one friend or another for the past hour straight.

I was about to put more effort into ignoring her when the sight of a broad and trim man making quick strides my way thoroughly distracted me. I nearly gave myself the hiccups because of how chaotic my breathing immediately became, which would have been mortifying. 

He wasn’t movie-star-drop-dead gorgeous. He had a subtle, classically handsome type of look. As he neared, I looked down towards my feet. 

It was only after I looked away from him that my logical sense of reasoning returned and I fought against the blush as I realized that he wasn’t coming over to see me but was coming in response to the girl behind me. He must be Cade. 

Luckily, I hadn’t done anything so foolish as waving, winking or smiling at him in a flirty way. My suspicion was confirmed when I was battered by the woman’s arms as she threw them out for a hug. “Cade! You can not even believe how horrible it has been to be stuck here…” Her voice dropped lower but I could still hear her clearly say “behind this woman.”

The silence that followed was mortifying beyond anything I could have possibly imagined.

Cade finally spoke. “Jazie, that was unkind. What could this woman possibly have done to warrant a comment like that?”

“Where she can hear you.” I added, turning to flash them a snarky smile.

Cade laughed. “Valid point.”

The whiny girl, Jazie, stepped between the two of us, cutting me off. So I turned back around to face forward.  “There are so many reasons, Cade. I’m just so mad right now though that I can’t think of them.” Jazie huffed. 

And since I wasn’t looking because I had turned back around to shuffle forward in the line but I think it would be safe to assume that she sullenly crossed her arms to pout. That’s how I imagined she looked because it was definitely how she sounded.

For the next several minutes the two of them whispered back and forth to each other and I had to fight to not try and hear what they were saying. I mean, I was standing right in front of them. I really wanted to know what she was saying about me. It took alot to stay out of it but I did. And now that I think of it, I’d rather not know what Jazie really thought about me. What she’d said aloud was enough.

Cade surprised me when he appeared next to me, holding out his hand. After a second or two of staring at it I slowly reached out and shook his hand.

Immediately his polite, friendly smile intensified. “Hi there. Since we are stuck standing in line next to each other and my sister here is being her usual charming self, I thought I’d introduce myself so I could say sorry. My name is Cade and this is Jazie. And we are both sorry.”

“Holly.” I nodded briefly, letting my smile out a little, then pulled away. “It is a pleasure to meet you and you have nothing to be sorry for.” I looked straight over at Jazie with an irritated smile. Pointedly holding eye contact with her, I waited for her apology and was disappointed.

She simply laughed and looked away.

“So, where are you headed?” Cade angled toward me.

“Through the airport security.” I grinned. My cleverness really knows no bounds.

“Aww, you are a thrifty traveler then.”

Looking over at his face, I searched for any clue that would tell me that he was making fun of me. I couldn’t find any, though I admit he did look highly entertained.

I shrugged. “That depends. If I’m the kind of girl that wants to go through airport security then I would need a ticket. And if I wasn’t planning on using the ticket and only bought it so I could go through the achingly dull wait of this security line, I would say that airport security hopping would be a very expensive hobby…and boring.”

“Impressive.” He nodded. “So which are you? Creative and thrifty or expensively boring?”

“Well, I don’t go through security or their lines for fun. So I don’t know. Does that make me cheap or high maintenance?”

He looked me over as if assessing my appearance. “Tastefully frugal.”

Jazie snorted. “If I didn’t have to be here, I would not be. You both are being all sorts of sappy weird and gross. Cade, scare her away so I don’t have to look at her anymore.”

Cade ignored his sister and leaned over to whisper into my ear, “She’s not normally this whiny. What did you do to irritate her so much?”

“Nothing.” I whispered back. “Until you showed up she has been on her phone the whole time, going on about traveling with ugly, normal people. I haven’t said anything or looked her way. Is it possible that she’s just crazy?”

Cade burst out laughing. “Just disgruntled that she isn’t being swarmed by adoring fans.”

“So my ignoring her is why she hates me?”

“Jazie fancies herself an up and coming star on several social media platforms.” He glanced over at his sister. “Though she is not quite the influencer she thinks she is. I am glad she insisted I come on this trip though. It has been a pleasure to meet you.”

Ally

“Cooper, I don’t think you understand how this works.” Ally laughed as he leaned back against the wall.

She shook her head. “You have to talk to a girl before you can ask her out.”

”I knew I was missing something.” He glanced over at her, where she was leaning her shoulder against the wall next to him. “And out of everyone here, who should I talk to first? They all look the same to me.”

“Then pick one. Talk for a minute, then if she is still interesting after that minute you keep talking to her. Do that until she is no longer interesting or until it’s time to leave and you get her phone number.”

He groaned and laughed at the same time. “That sounds a whole lot like speed dating without anyone to ring the bell when it’s time to move on to the next one.”

With a well aimed punch to his arm, she flashed him a smile. “Cooper, I’m not the one making you find a date to bring to your big family dinner or find yourself shamed for life. That is your mother.”

“I’ll be shunned Ally, not just shamed.” He tapped his head against the wall in frustration. “Does she really think that forcing a girl to come to a tense family gathering is going to inspire me to propose to her? And even if I did theoretically propose to this stranger, the girl would have to be crazy to say yes after knowing me for less than a week. And I don’t want a crazy or desperate girlfriend, fiance, or wife.”

“Ironically, you are pretty desperate at the moment too. It could be a match made in heaven.”

“Not funny, Ally.”

Ally continued to scan the room. “Your mom just wants you to be outrageously happy and give her grandbabies. And to her that means finding a girl to fall in love with. And apparently you haven’t brought a girl over to meet her in over a year. She thinks you are a lost cause. Now, start small and just focus on finding a girl who doesn’t annoy you to death in the first few minutes of conversation.”

“Why don’t you have to bring a date?” He glared at her. As if it were her fault that his mother had singled him out as the only one required to bring a date.

Pushing off the wall, Ally attempted to drag Cooper with her. “I am not her darling child. Just her friend’s daughter that has been around forever. Now, as your wingman or whatever, I will help you get started.”

“How would you help?”

“I can start the conversation, introduce you, then all you would have to do is flirt long enough that she melts into a pile of goo in your arms. Then you can ask her to dinner.”

“Melts into a pile of goo? Do I really want that? And I think you overestimate my flirting abilities.” If he could have leaned any further into the wall, Ally was guessing that he would have.

“I’ve seen you flirt. You have got it down fantastically. I think you just need to want to. Besides, you have plenty to work with.”

“Plenty to work with?”

Ally folded her arms and smirked. “You keep repeating me. And yes, you are the cliché fantasy. Haven’t you heard the phrase tall, dark and handsome.”

Cooper leaned forward, his attention riveted on her face. “You think I fit a fantasy cliché? Or your fantasy cliché?”

She bit her tongue. Now was not the time to be dipping into that conversation. “Focus, Cooper.”

He suddenly pushed off the wall and stepped directly in front of her. “I’ll make you a deal.”

“What deal?” Ally’s eyes narrowed.

“If I do my best and try to convince someone to come to my family’s dinner and still end up solo at the end of the night, you have to be my date to the dinner.” There was a light, dare I say a gleam, behind his eyes as he spoke.

Shaking her head she laughed, “Not a chance. I’m already going. And your mom knows me and would know that I was your fake date.”

“You wouldn’t be fake.”

That pulled her up short. “What do you mean by that?”

He stared into her eyes for a very long time until she could barely think straight. The last time they had been this close they had been in high school and he had been trying to convince her that they both needed to practice kissing. He had almost convinced her back then and his gaze was still just as effective. Only, Jessica Florez interrupting had saved Ally from agreeing to his dumb idea back then. Jessica must have overheard their conversation because she had swooped in and planted a kiss on him without even looking at me.

“You can practice with me.” Jessica had cooed at him. And thus started their dating relationship that had lasted until graduation. 

Shaking her head, Ally pulled herself back to the present. There was no Jessica Florez to distract him now. “Cooper, I am not going to be your fake date. Go find yourself someone who can.”

“I don’t want a fake date.”

There was something in the way he looked at her that got her heart pumping wildly and her breathing kicked up a notch. He stepped closer. So close that she could feel the heat from his body against hers, even though they were not touching. As his head leaned in closer to hers she couldn’t find the motivation to look away. He was going to kiss her.

At the last second she whispered. “Is this all to save yourself from your mother and her dinner?”

Cooper abruptly pulled back. His eyes pierced her. “Is that what you think this is?

“Yes.”

He practically jumped away. “It wasn’t. Now, do we have a deal? I’ll try, really try. And if not, you go with me…as my real date.”

Without thinking it through she heard herself laugh lightly. “Deal.”

“Let’s get this over with then.” Cooper strode off in the direction of a knot of girls standing off to the side near where we had been standing. 

Ally watched him walk away, stunned, and finding herself slightly hoping that he did fail. If only so that she could be his real date for once.

Kaela

“Kaela Maricosa.” Father’s voice boomed throughout the house, causing Kaela to jump up from her desk.

Quickly she emerged from her room. “Yes, Father?” 

“Come to my office immediately. We have business to discuss.” His voice bounced off the marbled halls.

Rushing to the large oak doors separating her father’s home office from the rest of the estate, Kaela paused and took several deep breaths. She’d learned quickly that arriving in his presence winded and out of breath was considered unseemly and thus, expressed prohibited.

College couldn’t come soon enough.

Opening the door, Kaela pasted on a smile. “Father?”

“Kaela. Come in. We need to talk.”

“Yes, Father.” Settling gracefully into the large wingback leather chair situated across from her father’s large oak desk, she smoothed her dress across her lap.

He fingered his steeples and looked at her as if he were analyzing her. “Kaela, your mother has brought to my attention a few matters needing my consideration and guidance.”

Kaela waited quietly, while frantically going over what she could have possibly done wrong that would warrant an office visit.

“Are you considering attending a secondary educational institution?” His eyes narrowed as he spoke.

Kaela’s ramrod straight posture may have been the one thing keeping her from wilting into the chair.

“Yes, Father.” Her gaze focused down on the desk in front of her. Weren’t seniors supposed to do that?

“That will not be necessary.” His hand sharply cut through the air between them.

She couldn’t stop her mouth from dropping open.

“Close your mouth, girl. And listen.” He didn’t wait for her compliance. “There is no need to get all emotional about it. I am looking to correct your misassumptions. You will not be needing to attend any further education. In fact, that brings me to the other important matter I need to inform you of.”

“More?” Kaela nearly choked on the word.

“Such outbursts are unseemly. Get yourself under control. Immediately.” He barked. His fist slammed on the desk.

“Yes, Father.”

“Now, I am expecting to receive Stafford Walsh III in just a few minutes. You are to quietly sit in the corner and be as attractive as you can manage.”

Kaela glanced down at what she was wearing.

Her father must have caught the look. “Yes, your wardrobe is not ideal. I had supposed that you would have been keeping your appearance neat and comely, as expected of you. Go and change, then come back as soon as you can. Your late appearance to the meeting may prove to be more conducive to what I intend.”

Going back up to her room she mentally ran through her options. How exactly was her appearance essential for him to meet with a client?

She debated on how long to take changing and what to change into but in the end, she was back down at her father’s study door dressed in a pretty and modest yellow sundress in under 5 minutes.

Knocking, she held her breath. At his mild ‘enter’ she slowly opened the door.

Sitting in the chair she had recently vacated was a man only a few years older than herself. He turned toward her, no doubt wondering who would be interrupting their meeting. Her father motioned her to the chair in the corner he had previously spoken of.

“Pardon me.” She whispered and sat down.

Kaela didn’t listen as the two of them went back to discussing terms of some legal contract. It wasn’t until she heard the word union that her attention focused on the two men in front of her. The man sitting across from her imposing father was speaking.

“…My father has ordered me to ensure that decorum will be maintained and be an utmost priority in both public and private settings. I have also been instructed to obtain written and signed confirmation that all of my father’s requirements are met.”

“I can sign that now with ease.”

“From both parties.” Mr Walsh paused, glancing briefly over at her. “Today.”

Father nodded. “Kaela come over here and sign these papers, then return to your chair.”

Seeing no reason to not do as he said, she signed the several sheets of paper he placed in front of her before returning to her seat.

“I will return these to my father and we can proceed from there.” Mr Walsh rose. “Miss Maricosa can see me out.” He raised his hand in Kaela’s direction as if he wanted her to take it. She hesitated, glancing at her father. At his nod, she rose and took his hand.

Hers tingled at the contact.

Neither of them said a word as they navigated the halls to the foyer. It wasn’t until they reached the front door that he stopped.

“Do you have any idea what you just signed? You didn’t take the time to read any of them.” He asked her softly.

“No.” She shrugged. “But it couldn’t be much worse than here.”

At that, he squeezed the hand he was holding tighter. “What do you mean? Are you being mistreated?”

Kaela quickly shook her head. “No, no. I was informed today that my father will not allow me to go to college and it has been hard to wrap my head around. Yet, he still hasn’t told me why.”

“The papers.” Mr Walsh repeated, pausing to be sure she was listening. “You signed a betrothal agreement.”

“Betrothal. To who? I’m still in high school.”

His hesitation was much more noticeable this time. “To me.”

“You?” She stepped back. “No. How old are you?”

“I am a college freshman. We wouldn’t get married now. It would be in a few years.” He hurried to reassure her. “I knew that our fathers have been planning on this for a very long time and I wanted to meet and get to know you well before marriage was even close to happening.”

“And that’s why I can’t go to college.” Kaela’s shoulders slumped. At least he couldn’t be that much older than her.

“Not while under your father’s care, no. I, however, see no issue with you going to school.”

“Really?”

He glanced back in the direction of her father’s office. “Kaela, I believe that marriage is about two people caring enough about each other to support both of their dreams together. A partnership, not a tyrannical rule.”

“I believe I may come to like you, Mr Walsh.”

“Stafford, please.” He brushed a kiss on her hand. “I look forward to getting to know you and your dreams, Kaela.”

Mona

Mona groaned as the covers of her bed were thrown off of her.

“Get up.” Miriam said, folding her arms and standing over her as Mona attempted to blink her eyes awake.

“Why?” She groaned again, trying to pull her sheets back over her face to block out the fading sunlight. “I just finished studying for my data analysis class a few hours ago. I want to sleep.”

“Not a chance. You promised me we would go out. I’m holding you to that.”

“Tonight?” As Mona finished struggling to wake up, she was met with an interesting sight through the crack in the doorway. “Who are they?”

Miriam giggled. “Don’t worry about them. And yes, tonight.”

Mona ignored her and continued to peer around Miriam at the men surrounding Jason. “Are you taking up a collection? Because if you are, I am going to have to find somewhere else to stay.”

“No!” Miriam protested with a laugh. “Besides, my room isn’t big enough to keep that kind of collection. Jason brought them to hang out.”

“Hang out? Do I really take that long to get ready?”

Miriam was already nodding before Mona finished the sentence. Shrugging, Mona headed straight to the bathroom, not acknowledging anyone. It wasn’t until she got back to her room that she faced Miriam with a curious stare. “You aren’t trying to set me up so that you don’t have to keep dragging me away from my desk whenever the two of you want to go do anything, right?”

“I promise that I am not. As far as Jason trying, I don’t know. He didn’t say anything about asking a guy to date you for a long time.”

“Wait. What?” Mona threw up her hands. “Are you saying that Jason has tried in the past?”

At her nod, Miriam spun around and out of the doorway. “I think I will wait out here with them. Hurry quick. The dancing starts in less than 30 minutes and it is a 20 minute drive.”

Dancing?” Mona shrunk. “I hate dancing.”

It was Jason that looked over at her and smiled. “Hey Mona. Glad to see you’re alive.”

“I was studying.” She growled leaning in the doorway of her room.

“Was is past tense.” He perked up, nodding his head at me. Immediately the two guys turned their heads almost in comical unison to look at her as well. Mona blushed. Jason continued. “If you are done studying, then you can help me take these two fine friends of mine on a tour of the city tomorrow. They are new to the area.”

“Transferring in late?” She eyed the thinner blonde first. He wasn’t super skinny, like she would weigh more than him, but definitely trim and in shape. The other one was dark, dark everything. Dark black hair, dark brown eyes, dark blue shirt. She couldn’t see his pants because the couch he was sitting on was blocking her view but she was guessing that they were dark too.

The blonde shook his head. “I’m just dropping Trey off. He’s starting next semester.”

As Mona went to disappear back into her room she paused in the doorway, glancing back at Trey. “You know that coming early isn’t like getting a head start.”

“Maybe not from an educational standpoint but I’m sure there are plenty of social activities to occupy him while he hunts down a job.” Blondie said.

“And you are?”

“Harry.”

“Are you his interpreter? I admit, stony silence is a hard language to pick up.” She gave both of the newbies a flirty wink, smiling towards Trey.

All three guys chuckled but Mr Dark Mystery still didn’t speak up.

“Alright then. I’ll change and we can go.” Mona slammed her door and fought the urge to flop onto the bed. Opening up the opposite side of the closet she perused all the ‘fun’ clothes Miriam insisted she would need for going out. Since that very expensive shopping trip, the only going out that required any sort of dressing up was when Miriam ambushed her into a social event.

Emerging a few minutes later in a cute, flirty green dress and strappy sandals, Mona headed straight for the door. “Coming?” She called when she reached for the doorknob.

Both Trey and Harry stood almost automatically and quickly joined her out in the hallway. Jason was in less of a hurry as he continued to whisper in Miriam’s ear.

“So, are you two being forced into social activity as well or is that just me?” Mona slowed her pace as the three of them strolled down the hallway so that she could hook arms with both of them.

Trey seemed startled to find her standing there, and even more surprised that her hand was on his arm. Had he already forgotten her?

“Not exactly.” Trey answered, a slow smile spreading across his features as he focused completely on her face. “Jason has a way of being very persuasive.”

“In what way?” She couldn’t disguise her curiosity. Jason didn’t seem persuasive at all, then again he hadn’t really ever tried to convince her of anything.

Trey glanced back in the direction of her recently vacated apartment, probably looking for Jason, and then over at Harry. Mona purposely didn’t look away from Trey’s face, waiting. He cleared his throat and kept his eyes staring straight ahead toward the exit.

Harry laughed as we neared the front door. “Jason promised there would be lots of gorgeous college girls no matter where we went.”

“And that is what convinced the two of you to come out tonight? Pretty girls?” Mona sighed. 

Harry flashed a bright smile her way but she pointedly ignored it. He was looking more and more like a flirt than a friend or dancing buddy. She refocused on Trey who was still not looking at her.

Cocking her head to the side she caught Trey’s gaze by nudging his hip. She smiled brightly. “You coming for the pretty girls too, Trey?”

“I’m coming for you.” He finally held her gaze and didn’t look away.

“Me?”

His smile was worth the wait as it warmed her completely, heat tingling along her cheeks. “After meeting you, I don’t think I can let you out of my sight. Some other lucky loser would snatch you up in a heartbeat and I’d never get to dance with you.”

She softly squeezed his arm. “You only have to ask. I’d say yes.”