by Hotcheri
Wendy punched the air triumphantly. “I knew it!” she crowed.
“Wait, where did Celsi tell Ahmed?” I asked her, trying to get to the bottom of this perplexing situation. CiCi and Ahmed barely spoke. I couldn’t imagine her telling him her business.
“She stayed at his place last night,” Wendy said breezily, leaning closer to me. She nudged me in the stomach. “So spill. Why her? Is it a prank? A bet? What?”
Running a hand through my hair, I ground out, “No prank or bet, Wendy, damn!”
Did she really think I had nothing better to do with my life than plot and scheme against innocent girls?
Pouting, Wendy said, “I’m just trying to figure out why you would ask her to the gala! She’s not one of us!”
Joanna nodded, a frown creasing her forehead. “Yeah, why would you ask her over me?”
“Jo, I told you why I couldn’t ask you,” I reminded her patiently. Her scowl deepened.
“You didn’t tell me why you couldn’t ask Lynn, who waited for your call,” Wendy said accusingly.
I debated on whether to reply ‘because Lynn was as boring as hell and I’d rather have my aneurysm implode than spend an evening with her’ but decided against it and muttered, “I’ll send her an apology note.”
Joanna shook out her hair. “What’s the appeal then, if you’re not planning anything?” she asked coldly.
“I just- I wanted to do something nice for her,” I explained, tugging on my ear.
“Why? You don’t even know her!” Wendy gave a surprised laugh at my answer, staring at me.
“She’s helping me with my extra credit work in Science, okay?” I lied.
“Like you care!” Joanna spat bitterly. “Since when has Luke Astor cared about anyone but himself?”
Since he looked in the mirror and saw a jerky, egotistical son of a bitch staring back at him. In essence, since he realised that if he didn’t change, he would turn into his father.
Shrugging, I stared into Joanna’s cold grey eyes. “Maybe I’ve changed.”
She snorted scornfully. “Yeah right. You’ll never change. You want to nail her, don’t you?”
I burst out laughing, more from surprise than anything else. Me nailing CiCi? Hell no! The thought never crossed my mind before, but now it was, and in a big way. Great.
“Jo-,” I started, putting a hand on her bare shoulder. She shook it off.
“No! Don’t ‘Jo’ me! You say you invited a total nobody to one of New York’s most elite events just because she’s helping you in class?” Her eyes flashed angrily and I took a step back. “So thank her with flowers! Take her out for ice cream! Don’t bring her to a place like this and not expect me to think you’re trying to get her into bed!”
Why the sudden obsession with my sex life? Even if I did want to get CiCi into my bed (oh, God), it was none of Joanna’s business.
Wendy nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” she agreed in a smug tone as I glared at her balefully. “She’s an outsider, Luke. She won’t fit in with Manhattan’s rich and famous.” She smirked. “You should have thought of that before you started feeling all charitable.”
Taking a deep breath, I looked down at my sneakers. “She’ll fit in,” I said firmly, more for my benefit than for Wendy’s.
“How? She’s from the ghetto! El Barrio, remember?” Snickering, Wendy continued. “Your dad’s gonna hate her! This is gonna be classic.”
My heart sank. Uh oh.
I hadn’t thought about the dad factor. Lucas George Astor Senior was, without doubt, the biggest snob out there. When he found out that CiCi was from East Harlem, he would go off on her big time. I wished I could say I was lying, but I had seen it happen enough times to know that it wouldn’t be pretty. Why hadn’t I warned CiCi about it when I had the chance?
Simple case of not thinking things through.
Still, I couldn’t let the girls see that Wendy had raised a very valid point- what would dad do when CiCi walked into the ballroom?
Smiling with a confidence I didn’t feel, I said, “Don’t worry yourselves. I got this.”
Wendy snickered, a sound I was starting to get tired off. “Please,” she said disdainfully. “All you’ve got is a hot mess on your hands.”
“Speaking of hot messes, what the hell is she gonna wear?” Joanna asked snottily.
I shrugged casually. “Uh, clothes, maybe?”
Joanna glared at me angrily, her nostrils flaring slightly. “I mean she’s poor,” she started.
I raised a hand to stop her. “Quit bringing that up!”
So what if CiCi was poor? When we were together, it didn’t matter.
“I’m not lying, am I, Wendy?” Joanna once again looked to Wendy for backup. This time, Wendy got the hint, took it and ran with it.
“She’s as poor as a church mouse,” she said, flipping her hair.
“So how’s she going to pay for her dress?” Joanna smiled vindictively. “Bet you didn’t think of that!”
Wendy nodded in agreement. “You’re gonna bankrupt her,” she said snidely. “There’s no way in hell she’ll be able to afford a nice dress, unless she robs BCBG.”
Cattily, Joanna said, “Prepare to be stood up.”
“Celsi Sawyer.” Wendy shook her head, giving me a pitying look. “I can’t believe you would stoop so low. You’re getting weird, Astor.” She inclined her head in Joanna's direction. “Let’s go, Joanna. Leave him with Faith. She’s probably the only date he’ll hang with tonight.”
Joanna smirked, the expression looking unbelievably ugly on her face. “Have fun.”
They sashayed away from me in the direction of the ballroom, leaving me feeling pissed off, confused and just a little bit tense.
What had that been about?
As soon as they were out of earshot, the bathroom door cracked open and Faith peered out.
“Are they gone?” she whispered, looking around the door.
I nodded. “Yup, all gone.”
She sighed with relief, opening the door wider and stepping out to stand next to me. “Good. Joanna acts like I’m two. I’m almost six. I don’t like it.”
Smiling ruefully, I took her hand. “Neither do I,” I admitted.
Hand in hand, we walked back to the ballroom and joined Hope, who was sipping on some wine. I picked up her glass and snuck a gulp, winking at her.
Dutch courage.
Thanks to the girls, all thoughts of me nailing CiCi had been pushed to the back of my mind (in retrospect, probably a good thing, since I couldn’t think straight while I was imagining it) because now I was sure that I was going to be stood up. And there would be no way to defend myself from dad if I didn’t have a date for the night because I was the one who had messed up by inviting CiCi when I knew full well that she was poor. Just thinking that she had to buy a dress because I had invited her to the gala made me feel like a slime ball.
I was a jerk and I knew it.
Hope shook her head disapprovingly as I set her wine glass down.
“If your dad saw you-,” she started, a warning note in her voice.
I spread my arms wide. “What? He’s doing the same thing!” I grinned.
“Still, you’re a minor. You can’t drink.”
I winked at her again, patting her hand. “That doesn’t stop me,” I joked.
She smiled affectionately at me. “I know,” she said grudgingly. “You’re impossible.”
“But he looks nice, right mommy?” Faith spoke up, swinging her legs against the side of the table.
Hope smiled and nodded. “Oh, yes, he looks very handsome. Your dates a very lucky girl.” She looked around the ballroom where people were meandering to their seats as the chairman of the event took to the small elevated stage at the front of the room. “Speaking of which-.”
“She’s not here yet. Maybe she won’t even show.” I slumped dejectedly in my seat, drumming my sneaker clad feet on the ground.
“Nobody normal would stand you up,” Hope said, pinching my cheek gently. “And since I know you wouldn’t date a not-normal person, you have nothing to worry about.”
I gave her a lopsided grin. “Thanks for your faith in me.”
Faith looked at me. “What?” she asked, having heard her name.
“Not you, princess,” I told her and she giggled.
“Oh, sorry!”
My phone vibrated in my pocket and I slipped it out and flipped it open.
It was a text from CiCi. Apprehensively, I opened it, sure that she was just texting me to let me know that she was over it and was going to watch Shazia’s fashion show debut instead.
I’m outside the hotel.
A short, simple, to the point message that made my heart soar with relief. She didn’t bail on me! I could take that as a win.
“Mommy, look at Luke’s face,” Faith giggled as I put my phone back in my pants pocket.
“Must be a message from his date because he sure looks happy,” Hope agreed, an interested look on her face.
“He lit up like a jack ‘o’ lantern,” Faith continued, a cheeky smile on her face.
I growled mischievously as her. “Did you just compare me to a jack ‘o’ lantern?”
“I’m sorry!” Faith collapsed in a fit of giggles.
“Is your date here?” Hope asked.
I nodded, getting to my feet. “Yeah, she’s outside. I’ll be right back,” I told them.
Feeling like I was walking on air, I exited the ballroom and spotted Robyn and her boyfriend approaching me.
“Hey, Robyn. Hey, man,” I said, waving to the duo.
“Hey, Luke, what’s up?” Robyn’s date replied, beaming at me.
“Hi Luke! Your dates in the foyer, go get her!” A smug look on her pretty face, Robyn added, “I’m sure you’ll find that she looks beautiful tonight.”
Grinning back at her and already beginning to move away, I said, “I think she always looks beautiful.” The amazed look on Robyn’s face was classic. “Have fun, guys.”
I left Robyn looking bewildered and walked to the foyer. People (probably guests of the hotel) were hanging around but I saw CiCi immediately and, for almost 10 seconds, I forgot to breathe.
CiCi spotted me and slowly walked towards me, one hand playing nervously with the skirt of her shockingly pink dress. She had a nervous smile on her face which faded as our eyes met. A warm feeling coursed through my body and my heart started thumping irrationally as a spark of chemistry passed between us. Hell, not even a spark. A huge, lightning bolt of electricity that had my mind going round in circles.
‘I’m just happy to see her, that’s all,’ I thought to myself, but somehow, that theory wasn’t washing. Sure, I was happy to see her, but there was something else underlying, something more.
Robyn was right. She did look beautiful. My eyes roamed over her body, noting how the pink dress offset her dusky brown skin perfectly and clung to her in all the right places, how her locket was lying against her skin and how her rich brown hair fell down to her shoulders.
For a second, even though the foyer wasn’t empty, it was just me and her as I moved closer to her, unable to take my eyes off her.
Before I could tell her how beautiful she looked, how beautiful she was, she caught sight of my outfit.
“OMG, I’m overdressed, aren’t I?” she burst out, actually wringing her hands as I drew up to her. I opened then closed my mouth, not sure what to say. “Luke, why didn’t you tell me this was a casual event? Then I would have worn one of Shazia’s old dresses instead of buying this hugely expensive dress!”
She pulled at the dress, a pensive look on her face as she bit her full bottom lip.
Didn’t she know that I couldn’t think straight right now?
I settled for giving her a blank look and saying, “Huh?”
I didn’t, in all honesty, understand what she was on about. Hell, with her looking this amazing, could you blame me?
She gestured at me. “You’re wearing sneakers! And I’m wearing 4 inch heels!”
I finally found my voice and some modicum of control against my raging hormones. “No wonder you look so tall. CiCi, what-.”
“You could have told me not to get all dressed up, Luke!” Her forehead was creased with worried lines as she looked at me. “I feel so stupid! I mean, you’re not even wearing a tie!”
I scratched my neck. “That’s because ties are uncomfortable. And I’d rather be dead than wear pointy dress shoes.” I cringed as CiCi gave me a blank look, still looking upset.
“Luke-,” she started.
I took her hands in mine, squeezing softly. “CiCi. You’re not overdressed,” I assured her, looking deep into her eyes. “If anything, I’m underdressed.”
She still looked uncertain, her pink glossed lips parting. “You mean- I’m okay?” she asked hesitantly.
I stared at her. Why did she not realize how beautiful she was?
“You’re more than okay. You- you’re pretty much perfect.”
Her eyes lit up, even as she said, “Flattery will get you nowhere.”
I gave her a crooked smile. “I mean it,” I said honestly. “You look amazingly beautiful.”
I swear I saw tears in her eyes as she smiled gratefully at me. “Thank you Luke.” Clearing her throat, she continued shyly. “You look very handsome.”
“Thanks,” I said, breathing in her scent. Strawberries and cream. Delicious. “Shall we?”
CiCi nodded, looking uneasy as I took her hand and led her to the ballroom.
“I’m scared. Nervous. All those things,” she whispered to me.
I squeezed her hand, marveling how it seemed to fit perfectly in mine. “Just don’t look directly into anyone’s eyes,” I joked.
“Not funny.”
But she was smiling, so I assumed that it had been a little funny.
“At least Faith will be happy you’re in pink, just like her,” I said reflectively.
We walked into the ballroom and immediately, it seemed all eyes were on us. Or rather, on CiCi. Obviously. A beauty in a vibrant pink dress, who wouldn’t look? I was having a hard time keeping my eyes off her myself!
“Now I know what Cinderella felt like when she arrived at the ball,” CiCi whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
I grinned at her, my eyes on her face. “Tonight, you’re my Cinderella,” I told her.
She smiled back. “Lucky me.”
And we walked to our table, neither of us knowing what the night would bring.
***
I should have known it was too good to be true. You know that saying ‘the good things never last’? I guess that would sum up the gala night perfectly.
And it started so well, too. My date showed up looking like she had just stepped out of a high fashion magazine and took my breath away, she looked that amazing. And Joanna’s reaction...
Let me just clarify one issue. I’m not usually a vindictive guy. In fact, people who know me will tell you that I never make fun of anyone’s misfortunes and I totally don’t laugh when someone falls. Well, not to their faces, anyway.
That being said, I just couldn’t help feeling a certain amount of malicious pleasure at the look on Joanna's face as I proudly led CiCi to our table. Trust me; I’ve never seen so many emotions fight for dominance on one person’s face. Anger, amazement and straight up jealousy flickered over Joanna's heavily made-up face as she stared at us from her table. Her words from earlier echoed in my head- ‘speaking of hot messes, what the hell is she gonna wear?’ and I laughed to myself.
Eat your words, Joanna.
At this moment in time, I was positive that CiCi looked prettier than any female in the room. Probably even the entire hotel, but maybe that was just my hormones talking.
Joanna wasn’t the only person eyeballing CiCi from her table. Her sleazy stepdad was giving
my date a slow, lascivious head to toe look, probably trying to undress her with his eyes. Meanwhile, Joanna’s mother was giving her husband the evil eye. I shook my head, biting back a grin. What a screwed up family.
Unfortunately, I had a lot to learn about just how screwed up a family could get, or as I should say one family member in particular.
And yeah, I’m talking about my father.
Everything was going so well when CiCi and I got to our table. Faith bounced up and down in her seat, clapping her chubby hands at the sight of CiCi.
“Celsi! You’re here! And you’re wearing pink!”
“Hi, Faith!” CiCi also looked very happy to see Faith as she patted her on the shoulder. “You look so pretty in your dress.”
Difference between the way CiCi complimented Faith and the way Joanna did it- sincerity. Joanna’s gushiness when dealing with Faith was about as believable the existence of mermaids. And CiCi- all you had to do was look at her smile to know that she meant every word she was saying.
I pulled out a chair for CiCi next to mine, placing my hand on her back to steady her. She flinched at the sudden contact and gave me a wide eyed glance, just like I knew she would.
Smiling sheepishly at her, I whispered, “Sorry,” without feeling sorry at all. Was it a crime that I liked touching her, even though I wasn’t a touchy feely guy? It wasn’t my fault that her skin was so soft!
Faith shot CiCi a wide smile as she sat down. “Thank you!” She turned to Hope, who was looking curiously at CiCi as she arranged her dress over her legs. “See, mommy? I told you I wouldn’t be the only one here wearing pink!”
I grinned wryly. “Obviously Faith has an ulterior motive for being so happy to see you,” I joked, sitting down next to CiCi.
Hope nodded indulgently, smoothing back Faith’s hair. “I see, Faith.” She turned her attention to CiCi, extending her hand across the table. “Hi, I’m Hope, Luke’s stepmom.”
CiCi shook Hope’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Hope, I’m Celsi,” she introduced herself.
“I’ve heard lots about you, Celsi, mostly from Faith,” Hope continued.