After That Summer

Prologue

This is a draft of the story that I am working and writing currently. Please bear in mind that this is in the process of being edited so pardon me if you find tense changes and grammatical errors. Just enjoy it for what it is, and, be sure to leave a comment if you wish to nicely. Thank you!

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Prologue

Mid-July, 2009.

Happy. Delighted. Alive. Exuberant.

The feeling within her heart was more than any of these words could express and explain.

Nerissa Fairbanks just couldn't believe her eyes. This was coming someday soon, she knew it, especially through the gossip and people around her but she never knew it would be so soon, now.

A vision that was so true yet so dreamy.

This was like a dream. A dream that many women out there could only wish for to come true.

Perplexed and unsure of what was happening and predicting it to be a vision, she faintly smiled at him.

He was already down on his knee looking up into her eyes, with so much love that her heart ached. Her eye let down a drop of tear, her breathing was unsteady and he smiled.

She had made a way into his heart from the moment she knocked at the glass door of his office at his penthouse that late Sunday afternoon for seeking permission to her little coffee shop in his property.

As the whole town had been quoting, he was the most eligible bachelor in town. Jermaine Cunningham was a business tycoon who was smart, intelligent, charming, and insanely handsome and a billionaire. He owned more than half of the town, including where he was standing right at the moment, and above all he owned her heart too.

He still remembered how her pink sundress perfectly fit her body. The way she tugged her auburn bangs behind her ears and flashed a small smile every now and then to him during the conversation for the approval of coffee shop, was still fresh in his mind. It was maybe the first time he felt something. Something different.

His gaze on her that day had made her uncomfortable but today it was only and everything she asked for. His presence around her made her happy and his laugh was a piece of sweet music to her ears. She always has been nervous because of his reputation and standard in the society. Nerissa lived with her mother and a little sister in a small villa that her family owned from many years now in the outskirts of town. It was a small world, far from the Cunningham's luxurious penthouses and other larger villas.

She wasn't rich as Jermaine but her life hasn't been normal. Her needs always got fulfilled before she even asked for, pampered and loved.

Did she really deserve him? The question always rose in her mind. She often felt like she didn't belong in his world, with him.

"Nerissa, my love, Will you marry me?" He was already down on his knees and holding out a ring in his hand.

"I..." she began but her words got lost in her mouth.

"Yes." Finally letting out a big gush of air and finding the correct word for his question. Her voice thick with emotions overflowing.

He couldn't help but smile. She had never imagined this, not even in her wildest dreams. She didn't think that this day would ever come to her. It was kairos. She loved him more than anything. Her heart hammered harder in her chest.

He had a faint flush on his cheeks and a sparkle in his eyes as he took her left hand slipped the ring on her finger. The time was just right, perfect and real.

Another tear escaped her eye but this time he stood up and dabbed them away with his fingers.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear tugging the strands of her curls behind her ear. Draped in a yellow-white summer dress and her curls down her back, she looked beautiful as ever.

"I love you too, Jermaine." She said in a hushed tone. Her voice wasn't loud but he heard her. It was enough.

Even in the dimly lit garden by the stars and moon above and a lamp few meters far away their connection was seamless. Love was so beautiful and precious.

Six months of togetherness and their eyes clearly displayed the love they had for each other. The numerous stars and lonely moon hung above them as they held each other in their arms, witnessing his proposal and acceptance. They stood there in silence for a few minutes, their bodies still firmly locked together. Everything else faded away as their arms wrapped around each other, heads leaned closer as their lips met for a slow, lingering kiss, before the lightning struck the sky. A heavy rain was on its way.

The rain might chill the weather. The summer was too hot to handle.

The lightning struck again and this time louder, maybe it wasn't just rain but a storm was coming up. Nerissa held Jermaine tighter as they walked inside the coffee shop.

"By the way, Jermaine, there was someone wanting to meet you this morning. She told me it was important and she would come to meet you after the closing hours. She must be here." She blurted out as they walked.

"Who was she?" He tightened his hold on her waist making her look at him as the air blowing chilled them.

"I don't know." She simply shrugged looking back to the back door of the coffee shop.

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A/N: Hey everyone! please do give me some feedback. It gets better, I promise. Don't forget to vote if you liked it.