After 2

Chapter 174.

"We are all in here." Kimberly leads us to their dining room which like the rest of the house is perfect.

None of this is my style, I prefer old fashioned themes but its exquisite really. 

Two elongated rectangle tables fill the space, each table full of  multicolored flowers and small bowls with floating candles inside. Kimberly really has gone all out for this party. It's lovely.

Trevor is sitting at the table closest to the window along with a few other faces I recognize from Vance, including Crystal from marketing and her soon to be husband. Smith is seated two chairs down and he has his face buried in some sort of handheld video game.

"You look beautiful." Trevor smiles at me and stands from his seat to greet Ken and Karen.

"Thank you, how are you?" I ask.

His blue tie is the exact same shade of blue as his eyes.

"Great, ready for the move." He beams.

"I bet!" If only I were able to move to Seattle now.

"Trevor, its nice to see you." Ken shakes his hand and I look down when I feel a slight tug at my dress.

"Hi Smith, how are you?" I ask the little boy with shining green eyes.

"Okay." He shrugs.

"Where's your Hardin?" His voice is quiet.

"He's uhm.. he's not here right now." I don't know what else to say and the way Smith called him 'my harry' stirs something in me. The stone wall is already beginning to chip away and I have only been here for ten minutes.

"He's coming though?" He asks.

"I don't think he is." I admit.

"Oh."

"I could tell him you said hey?" I offer, knowing I am lying to the quiet boy.

"Okay. I like your Hardin." He half smiles and sits back down at the table.

Me too, but he's not mine.

Within fifteen minutes, twenty more people arrive and Christian has turned on his high tech stereo system. With only a click of a button, a soft piano melody spreads through the house. Young men in white collared shirts begin to circle the room with trays of appetizers and I help myself to something that looks like a small piece of bread topped with tomatoes and sauce.

"The Seattle office is breathtaking, you should see it. It's right on the water, it's two times larger than our office here. I can't believe I'm finally expanding." Christian speaks to a small group of us as and I try to appear as interested as I can as a waiter hands me a glass of white wine.

I am interested, I'm just distracted. Distracted by the mention of Hardin and the idea of Seattle. As I stare out the glass wall and onto the water I imagine Hardin and I moving into an apartment together and the excitement of a new city, new place, and new people. We would make new friends and start a new life there, together. Hardin would work for Vance again and he would brag all day and night about how he makes more money than me and I would fight him to be able to pay the cable bill.

"Tessa?" I am brought out of my pointless daydream by the sound of Trevor's voice.

"Sorry.." I stutter and he begins or finishes his story that I wasn't even aware he was telling.

"My apartment is close to the new building and it's right in the middle of downtown, you should see the view." He smiles.

"That sounds incredible, the Seattle skyline is so beautiful." Trevor tells me and I smile.