Love with Secrets

Both of us broke into laughter and our laughter subsided as we saw Zach at the entrance of the Gymnasium…

It was awkward. The two guys stood and stared at each other. Zach’s anger was showing on his face and he turned around his red face and walked away while stomping his feet on the cold and hard floor. I turned around to get a glimpse of Billy but his blue eyes locked onto mine. His icy cold blue eyes always gave me a relief and the hint of gold with the blueness gave the warmth I survived on.
“If you guys are done staring at each other, can I say something?”

I flinched a little when I heard an unexpected voice. I turned around to see Jerome walking towards us from the corner of the gymnasium. I suppose he had been there the entire time and had noticed everything. He stood about 3 feet away from us. So…this is awkward…I thought to myself. I never had such an encounter with him. I barely ever talked with him even thought we had been in the same class since long time ago.

He spoke with his cold voice, “The only girl in the school who has been rejecting my offers is getting fought over by two of my very cute competitors when it comes to being cute and number 1 in the school. Sorry if I disturbed you guys but I think you are very, very interesting Aisha. I would like to ask you this again, Will you go out with me?” I never said yes to Jerome. This time, his soft and kind yet cold voice was unusually calm and strange…you know, not so sexy like. His voice was too soft and it almost sounded poisonous.

I felt Billy get closer to my back and then grabbing my hand gently. We turned around and walked away. When we were safe from Jerome’s gaze, we stopped in a corner of the hallway.
“What did he mean by fighting?” I questioned.
“Nothing,” he replied, “See the thing is that I met you before and I found you first. You are mine and not Zach’s. He obviously has feelings for you and it looks like you do too. But, you are mine and I want you all to myself…”

His voice trailed off and he stopped. I knew what he wanted to say and when I looked at him, he turned away.
“Look Billy, I told you, you are my best friend and I need to think about this so for now, let’s drop the conversation and talk about something else. So are you attending Sarah’s wedding?”

His smile returned as he asked me who Sarah was. I gave him a You-are-very-forgetful-person kind of look and he laughed. He said,
“I know who she is alright; she is Mara’s older sister. Of course I am going to her wedding, I mean it’s a wedding so there is food and I hope there is white milk, I love it more than I love you.”

I punched him lightly on his right arm and we broke into a unanimous laughter. I must admit, he was kind of cute when I thought about it but Zach was just something different and there was no way I was going to like Jerome. He was a different species and he was hot but that’s not the only thing I needed. I wanted someone who cared about me and understood me. So far, Billy did and somewhere inside, I hoped that Zach did too.

The week passes slowly and Friday arrived. It was time for a wedding. Mara came over with her dress and we got ready together. It took us a while, a long while. Zach was also invited because he knew the groom. Billy, Zach, and to my dislike, Adrian, were waiting for us outside and I had 29 missed calls from them. I really didn’t see what Mara saw in Adrian but who cares, she likes him and she was happy so I was also happy.

We finally got ready after 2 hours. Mara wore a long red dress which dragged behind her. He had her hair up in a tight bun and had lilies in them. She wore her red heels which matched her nails. She looked gorgeous.
“Compared to what you are wearing, I look like a beggar, Adrian won’t be able to stop himself today,” I commented.
“Yeah! Look at yourself in the mirror; think about what Billy and Zach will think. You look outstanding. One of them will surely kiss you today,” she replied, grinning.

She was right; I did look really nice today. I was in a white dress. It was strapless and had many layers which were made of a lot of see through and soft cloth. It stopped right on my thighs and exposed my legs and my arms. My hair was in soft curls and reached my mid-back and my straight bangs kept interfering with my vision, but it looked cute. I wore a really delicate necklace which matched the earrings and the shimmering diamond bracelet. My shoes were 4 inches tall and were white.

We both took a change of clothes and headed out the door. Adrian had a red shirt on and I realized that Mara and he had planned it. Zach was in a soft pink shirt. I looked at Billy, in the middle, and he was all black with a silvery white tie, which matched my dress. All three guys were wearing black pants had on a black jacket. We headed to the wedding, without any exchange of words.

The wedding was half way over and we decided to go and eat in a restaurant, my treat. Zach looked lonely so we invited him too. Jeff had gone to France for 10 days so was unable to attend the wedding or our planned dinner. Forgetting about Jeff, we walked, in pairs. Mara and Adrian held hands; behind them was Zach, with his hands in his pockets, lonely. Behind Zach, Billy and I trailed along slowly. It was very awkward. This was the first time Billy and I had been together without saying any words. I tried to break the silence by talking to Zach, trying to make him feel not so lonely but didn’t work. I walked a bit faster and tried to talk to him. We were soon engaged in a conversation and Billy was all alone in the back now, blending in with the dark night.

I felt a hot gaze from Billy’s blue eyes and I turned around to meet his eyes…