Smoke And Crimson

Starting Over

"I just don't love you anymore." These words played over and over in my head. After 7 years together how can you just not love someone anymore. I looked at myself in the mirror. My long blonde hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. Bags under my eyes, I haven't slept in days. I knew I needed to go on with my life but how? "Destiny, Amanda's here" My roommate Jenn yelled from the bottom of the stairs. "Coming." I said. Who knew a broken heart could hurt so bad? Just 2 months prior he asked me to be his wife, now he doesn't love me anymore? I make my way down the stairs to meet Amanda.  She's one of the only people who have been there for me since the breakup.  We have been best friends for 7 years. I met her through Andrew. I guess the hardest part about this breakup is that my best friend is his twin sister. Sometimes it hurts to look at her because I see him in her eyes. "Girl you need to get out of this funk. Andrew is a jerk and he has no idea what he is missing out on." Amanda says as she rushes over to hug me. Deep down inside I know she's right. It's been 3 weeks and I haven't even heard a word from him. "Get in the shower and get dressed, we are going out tonight. You need to get your mind of my loser brother and no offense but sitting here in your own sorrow isn't helping." She said. "Ugh, fine. But I'm only going because you're my best friend." I said as I made my way up the stairs to my bedroom.

After a long hot shower, I make my way to my closet to figure out what to wear but Amanda already beat me to it. She laid out my black leather skirt, knee high boots and my pink crop shirt with my leather jacket. I know she won't settle if I was to come down in anything else. Reluctantly I get dressed. "I'm coming in!" Amanda says from the other side of my door. As she walks in she has a huge grin on her face. I know this look. It's the one she gives me when she wants to do my hair and makeup. "Fine" I sigh without her even asking. She lit up like a kid in a candy store. After what seemed like hours my hair and makeup is finally done. I look in the mirror and barely recognize the girl staring back at me. My long blonde hair is curled to perfection.  I never wear dark makeup, but she has my eyes a smokey grey and my lips are crimson red. "Looking good hot momma" she says as she smiles. Suddenly the heartbreak seams a little more bearable. "We ready to go?" I ask as I grab my purse. "After you" she giggled. We make our way to the club. As we pull into the parking lot I'm beginning to have second thoughts. I guess she could see the concern on my face because she says " hey its going to be ok. Andrew isn't going to be here tonight" "ok." I say as we head inside.

The music is so loud I didn't even hear Amanda ask me if I wanted a drink. The next thing I knew I was being drug to the bar. So typical of her. I giggled in my head. Standing there waiting for our drinks and talking I notice this guy at the end of the bar. I was just drawn to him. I never felt a connection like this before in my life. I must of been staring at him for a while when Amanda finally cleared her throat and laughed. "Don't be shy, go talk to him" she yelled in my ear. "As if" I replied. We both made our way to the crowed dance floor. Tonight I just wanted to let loose. To forget all about Andrew and have fun. So that's what I did. A few drinks in and we were feeling pretty good. I haven't even noticed that the guy from the bar was dancing right next to me. I don't know if I was blushing or not but I pulled Amanda off the floor and we headed to the bathroom. "He was dancing right next to me, I can't believe it" I giggled. Maybe because I was drunk or maybe because I thought he was cute. Either way it didn't matter because I knew as soon as we went back to the dance floor that there was no way I'd be able to find him again. After a few more drinks we decided to call it a night.  Walking out to the car I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and there he was. "Hey, I'm Anthony. But you can call me Tony. I been looking for you." "Looking for me?" I asked puzzled. I can hear Amanda laughing. "Yes" He replied. "You two are in no position to drive, let me take you home." I don't usually get in a car with someone I don't know but he was right. Neither one of us were in any shape to drive.

Before I could reply we were walking to his car. "I'm Destiny and this is Amanda " I said shyly. "I know" He said. He knows? How does he know? I didn't bother to ask. Amanda and I just rested our heads on each other until we arrived at the house. "Do you mind if we talk?" Tony ask Amanda.  "Don't keep her out to long" she laughed as she headed inside. He turned to me and smiled. "I bet you are wondering how I know your name and where you live." He said. I just blushed. Truth is I did want to know how he knew this information but I was  too afraid to ask. He leaned back against his car and lit a cigarette offering me one as he did. I lite mine and stood there looking into his eyes. "I guess it's time to cut the the chase huh?" He asked. I just nodded my head. Just then it hit me. This is Anthony Chambers. He was the hottest guy in our high school. It's been about 8 years since I last seen him. He studied my face as if he knew I finally figured it out. He grinned and said " 8 years and you haven't changed one bit. You are still as beautiful today as you were in high school. I could feel the blood rushing to my face. "I can't say the same for you" I said " you've grown so much." Just then I noticed there was something different in him. Something I haven't seen before. It's like a fire was burning in his soul. He eyes were shimmering. His black hair was as dark as night. "Hey I kept you out here long enough. I think you should get some rest. Have a good night. I'll see ya around" just like that he was gone.

It's been a week since Tony drove us home and I haven't seen or heard from him. I don't know why I wanted to see him again so bad. Maybe it was the tingle I got when I looked into his eyes. All I know is I have finally been able to sleep and I don't even think about Andrew anymore. "Destiny, there's a package for you" Jenn says as she rushes out the door. Jenn works at the hospital and is always on call so she's never home. I walked into the living room and opened up the small brown box. Inside was a lovely black dress a pair of silver high heels and a ticket for an upcoming concert. Looking puzzled at the box I noticed there was a card. Inside the card read " I'm still wearing the smile that you gave me. I know I haven't been in touch but please wear this outfit and meet me at the pier at 9pm tonight. <3 Tony" I glanced over at the clock and it was already 7:30. Quickly I called Amanda for help. She was at the door in 15 minutes and had me all ready to go by 8:15. I called an Uber and headed to the pier.