The Boy from New York City

I slip on the glittery red dress that I bought specifically for this party. And yes, to Sarah’s dismay, I still buy my clothes. It’s something she has yet to understand but has accepted. Tonight was the big night. Or I guess it was supposed to be the big night before Alexzander changed everything on me. Now it’s just another Christmas Party. One in which I’m now engaged, not just a girlfriend.

“Sam, you’re lucky the first guests were our best friends.” Alexzander says, walking into the room.

“I know.” I reply, staring at myself in the mirror. Was I making the right decision? Here I was in my old room, going to yet another Christmas party. Nothing really changed, yet everything is different now.

Alexzander steps behind me and pulls me into a hug, “you okay?”

I look up at him with a sad smile, “do I have a choice?”

He turns me around to face him, “Hey, of course you do. I can still call this whole thing off if you want.” I glance away so he wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes. Why couldn’t I just tell him? Everything would be so much easier if the truth was out between us. “Okay, that’s it, something’s obviously wrong. I’m going to go end the party before it starts.”
Before he got too far I pulled him back over to where I was, “no, please don’t.”

“Sam, you’re obviously not okay about something, we don’t have to do this. There are a lot of other holidays to have a party for.”

“I’ll put on a smile, I promise. Just please don’t end the party at last minute. That’s not professional.”

Alexzander pulls me over to the bed and sits us down, “Life isn’t about being professional, Sam. I won’t go tell people to go home. But will you at least tell me what’s upsetting you?” I shake my head, not daring to trust myself to speak. For I know if I started to speak right now, every last bit of truth would leave my lips. “Is it about tomorrow?” I pull back a little and stare up at him in shock. How did he know? “Sweetie, it’s a hard day for all of us around here. Especially me. You don’t have to act like it doesn’t affect you too.”

“But it’s not like I knew her, them. You did. Your families were close. I just, I don’t know. Its hard being in this house, in this room, knowing what happened.”

“Do you want to leave for a bit?”

“No. I’ll get through it. We’ll get through it.” I look up at him, our eyes meeting, “it’s only one day, and then we can work at getting things back to normal.”

He cracks a smile, “normal isn’t in our dictionary dear.”

I shove him playfully and stand up, preparing myself for the party tonight. “Come on, we better be down there before your parents.” With that Alexzander jumps up and gives me a quick kiss before dragging me downstairs to where the party was slowly starting.

As I entered the room I could feel the stares on me. Though we had yet to publically announce it, let alone announce it to our family, everyone had heard about the engagement. Those people cheering us on at the mountain were also videotaping. “Ring! Where is the ring!?” I hear an all too known voice scream and watch as Sarah runs towards me. “I want to see! I want to see!” She begs as I hold my hands together in a way to hide the diamond

“I couldn’t have guessed. Now is that any way to treat your best friend?”

“How could you not call me like right after this happened!?” Sarah bursts and we turn at the sound of laughter next to us. I guess Alexzander couldn’t hold it in any longer. “And you! Don’t think you’re off the hook mister. I’ve been your friend longer, I expected a phone call.”

“Things have been a bit crazy around here Sarah, give us a break.”

She looks back at me, “ring.” I roll my eyes and show her my left hand. Sadly, that made it so I didn’t have enough hands to cover my ears at her shriek. “How could you give her such a small diamond!? You’re like the richest guy around.”

I knew that Alexzander would be a bit hurt by that comment and feel that the ring wasn’t sufficient enough. But that was a lie. The ring was perfect. I wouldn’t want anything bigger. I release my hand from her grip and turn to face an uneasy looking fiancé, “don’t listen to Sarah, she’s not me. The ring is beyond perfect.”

“But she’s right, the ring is-”
I press my lips against his to shut him up and quickly pull back, “perfect. I love the ring and I love you. There’s nothing more to it.”
“Okay, that may have been the sweetest moment ever, just saying.” Sarah interrupts and I laugh at her timing. “Come on loverbirds, you have a party to host.”

I stick my tongue out at her while pulling Alexzander along. She was, after all, correct in that we were currently hosting a party. Though really, there wasn’t much for us to do. The women kept asking to see the ring and hear the story while the men ignored the topic all together. If anything the question of children kept being asked to Alexzander. Something about producing heirs as quickly as possible.

The evening went on like that for a couple hours. It seemed as though every time I got near my fiancé I was pulled away by another woman. And the same went for Alexzander. Our time together was very limited. Finally we were able to spend a few minutes together and in those minutes decided it was time to make our announcement. Though by now every lady in the room knew what was going on and every man didn’t care.

Alexzander clinked a champagne glass he picked up, and to my amazement it didn’t break. The sound echoed throughout the room and everyone suddenly became quiet. “Good evening everyone, thank you for joining us on this beautiful night.” He pauses and glances down at me as if I were to say something. I give a little shake of my head to indicate that I wasn’t about to speak and he continues on, “As you all know by now, Sam Rose and I have been dating for a while now and just this past week I proposed to ho her. I think it’s quite obvious by now that Sam is no longer my girlfriend, but now my fiancé. Thank you for everyone who has been there through our relationship and we hope that you celebrate with us as we take this next step in life. Enjoy the rest of the party.” He held up the glass for cheers and when that was finished the music began playing again.

I lean against him, not daring to let go in fear of being pulled away by another group of women. “That wasn’t so bad,” I comment more to myself than anyone else. Though when I feel Alexzander vibrate I know that he heard.

“What, were you scared of the crowd or something?”

“Or something.” The rest of the evening went by quickly. To me, it was the best part. Alexzander and I just stood around as people came up to us with congratulations. We didn’t have to move or really speak at all, and no one had an excuse for pulling me away from safety.

Once the party finished we decided to do a quick round of cleaning. Of course we hired people to do the most tedious parts, but picking up the trash I convinced Alexzander to have us do. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”

I glance up at his words and blush a little, “no, it must have been forgotten in the craziness of everything.

He closes the gap between us in a few steps, “well you look gorgeous. And it seems as though you’re becoming popular among the ladies.”

I laugh, “Actually it’s you who’s getting popular. How many women was it this week? Like 6 that you supposedly cheated on me with.” His laid back appearance became quite timid at my words. As if the topic wasn’t something to be joked about.

Alexzander looks straight into my eyes, “I will never cheat on you.”

Since I have a tendency to say idiotic things at the wrong moment, I probably shouldn’t have opened my mouth after his comment. But even with this knowledge, I did so anyways, “well it is just a business deal so I don’t think it would be considered cheating.” Before I knew what was happening Alexzander had me pressed up against the wall and his lips against mine. This kiss was different than the previous ones. It was filled with passion and emotion that I never would have said existed between us. I guess I was wrong.

The sound of a cough makes us separate faster than vinegar and oil. We turned slightly, still catching our breath from the kiss, only to see Liam standing there in the doorway. “You know, you should really make sure all the guests are gone before having sex with my sis-” Liam coughs again to cover up is mistake, “assistant.”
Though I totally caught onto Liam’s words, I couldn’t help but notice the look on Alexzander’s face. He didn’t seem too happy about something and I had a feeling that something wasn’t Liam’s mistake. I watch as he glances between Liam and me before speaking, “if you’ll excuse me, I have some paperwork to sign and send off tonight.” And with a simple kiss on my forehead, he bids goodnight and leaves the room.

Liam waited a good five minutes to make sure we were completely alone before going on with the attack. “I say stay away and you say yes to marriage?! Are you a fucking idiot!?”

“Why should I trust you? Give me one good reason to take your word on something like this.”

“Because I know what happened and you shouldn’t be a part of it.”

This made me shut-up for a moment. He knew? “I just want mom and dad back. That’s all. I just need to know that they’re alive at least.”
A moment of sensitivity flashes across his face before he returns to his cold, tough self. “Your mom and dad are alive. Now call of the wedding.”

“No.”

“Samantha, this isn’t up for discussion.”

“Says who? You have absolutely no power over me. None! I really like Alexzander. He makes me feel safe and I’m finally happy. Isn’t that what I should strive for in life?”

Liam groans as if I were the typical annoying little sister. Which I guess I was in this case, “you don’t know how to listen, do you?”

“No, you don’t know how to listen. Alexzander and I care for each other, we are getting married and that is not up for discussion. It is going to happen. You can support us or not, I don’t really care. But I do know that Alexzander cares, so if you cherish your friendship on any level with him you might want to at least act happy for us.” I walk past him to leave but stop in my tracks, “one more thing; don’t pretend as if I don’t matter to you. Because if that were true, you wouldn’t have talked about me with your daughter.” With that I head off to bed for the night, knowing already that I would get little to no sleep.