Nostalgia

2·0

It took all of my willpower and restraint, and the reminder that James would kill me if he found out, for me not to go wandering around James's apartment. I mean, I was his ex-turned-fake girlfriend so I had little to zero rights here. Just a responsibility to my family and a constant feeling of dread.

But despite this restraint, I still dressed up in his room. Though I was careful to not touch anything, my eyes still had their freedom.

The room looked empty for the most of it, and it was painted grey. James always had a thing for monochromatic colours. The only colour difference was the orange rays of sunlight seeping in through the windows. His white desk was orderly with books and files stacked in neat piles and a small lamp at one end. The large bed was on one side of the room,close to the wall, covered with white sheets and a grey blanket.

Other than those features, there was nothing else, a sign that he'd just moved here. I had so many questions, for example what was he going to get from living directly opposite me? Was I the only one affected by his presence? Why was I affected by his presence?

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath, staring into his mirror. I needed to get out of my own head and get ready for tonight. I needed James's parents to think we were back together and not see through this facade.

A bit nervous, I wiped my hands on the satin material of the dress I was wearing. I had zero jewelry on, zero makeup, save for the lipgloss that I'd thankfully carried with me. My hair which was naturally curly had just been brushed, and thanks to James' hair products, it was one of the few things that were going right with my dressing. I'd held it up in a bun with strands falling out and framing my face. Simple, but pretty.

But my shoes.

My shoes. I'd totally forgotten about shoes! Now my feet were clad in James' oddly comfortable fluffy house slippers. It was either that or the pink sneakers I'd worn today.

I mentally groaned. Tonight was going to be so embarrassing. Slippers? To an evening party? Even more reason for the Grants to despise me. I was going to publicly disgrace myself!

My phone's screen came on with a buzz, yanking me out of my mental breakdown. On the screen, a simple text was displayed. Even though the ID read "unknown", I knew that phone number anywhere.

Received from: Unknown

I'm downstairs. Black Range Rover.

I mentally groaned again, already dying in embarrassment. James was definitely going to be disappointed. And he'd call this entire thing off. And my family would be ruined.

Fuck.

As if the voices in my head weren't enough, I was hit with looks of disgust, disapproval and shock from everyone in the lobby the second I stepped out of the elevator. With my gaze cast to the ground, I hurried out of the building, and scanned the street for a black Range Rover. The second I spotted it, I hurried towards the car and knocked twice on the passengers window.

As the glass came down, James's straight face came into view and I held my breath.

Here goes nothing.

He unlocked the door while I opened it and quickly got it, shutting the door beside me and releasing the breath I was holding.

"You look stunning," I heard James comment, and when I looked to him, he was still looking at me. Recently, he was always putting on a black suit and a dressing shirt but each time I saw him, the effects it had on me only heightened.

My words caught in my throat and goosebumps rose on my skin as I muttered, "Thank you."

Part of me was glad he hadn't noticed the slippers yet. The dress covered my feet so no one would notice it for the rest of the night. Hopefully.

James motioned towards the box on the dashboard. "I got your shoes, and some jewelry for you to put on tonight."

His words made my brain pause for a second. Did he say he's gotten me shoes? In a daze, I took the box, staring at it like it had a grenade inside. "I didn't say--"

"Just take them, Avery." James sounded impatient, slightly amused even. But he wasn't smiling. "I know Kong isn't back yet. And you don't have any makeup on. Not that you look any less beautiful though."

I felt the blush creep up my necks and settle on my cheeks, completely embarrassed right now. "Thank you," I said. "You also look amazing, James."

This was the first time I'd complimented him out loud ever since he came back into my life and it felt right. There was no hatred there, just honesty because he did look great.

For the first time this evening, he smiled and his eyes twinkled. It made my heart stop. "Thank you. Are you ready?"

I nodded, and he began the drive. I opened the box and put on the jewelry; a silver necklace with diamonds decorating it and matching earrings and a bangle. Just from the way it looked, I knew it was expensive, but I wasn't going to say anything about it. I'd return it after the party.

Finally, I took out the shoes from the box. They were the same color as my dress. A beautiful pair of swade high-heeled sandals.

Only after slipping the shoes on did I realize that James remembered my shoe size. I looked up at him. This man never ceased to surprised me. Sitting there, I couldn't help but wonder if he truly hated me or if he wanted me just as much as I did him.

"Is something wrong? You've been watching me for the past eight minutes," said James, eyes still focused on the road. I shook my head.

"No." Save for the fact that you kept my shoe size in your memory all this time!

"We're almost there."