We Will Always Have Paris

Twenty-One

Marilyn's POV:

I don't know how long I slept. But I awoke to someone pounding on my door with enough force to shake the room. The one problem with Farrand dorm room doors was that they didn't have little peepholes so I had no idea who was out there. I glanced at the clock, its red numbers read 11:30. It was too dark to be daytime, did Emilie forget her key?

I opened the door suddenly and Michael fell into the room. "Marilyn! I didn't think you would be awake." He sat on my bed, "Good, you're dressed."

"Yes, I am. Michael what is this about?"

"Does it have to be about anything?" he had a bag over his shoulder and another bag resting outside my door. "Here, put this on." He handed me the bag from his shoulder. I opened it slowly, worried about what might jump out of it. I pulled out a gray dress with darker gray flowers all over it. It had a sweetheart neckline with lace and a full skirt.

"What in the world Michael?"

"We're going to a costume party!"

"At 11:30 at night?"

"No, no its tomorrow. But it's in the mountains and we should leave tonight."

"No."

His face fell, "No?"

"No, I can't go to some party with you!" his kiss from earlier today still lay on my lips

"But...why?" he asked softly

"Because you're not my boyfriend."

"We've gone to parties before." He said sadly, hanging his head.

How could I deny him? Michael was the ice to the fire burning in my soul. When Gerald touched me I felt the flames lick my body, when Michael touched me I felt the refreshing coolness of spring water.

"Fine, let's go." He shouted, throwing his arms around me. "Just don't kiss me again."

He grinned sheepishly, "Okay, I'll try." He still hadn't apologized but that was the thing about guys, he didn't have to say it for me to understand that he was sorry. "Do you have any classy jewelry?"

I shook my head.

"Okay well I brought some pearls and there's rings and whatnot at my house in Vail."

"Vail?!"

"Yes, Vail. Cole and Raya are going to meet us there and Harry and Emilie might come up too."

I grabbed my toiletries bag and a pair of sweat pants for the road. We left at exactly 12:00 and Vail was roughly two hours away.

"Will your parents mind that we'll be arriving so late?"

"Nah, they won't wake up unless we do something really rowdy." Michael winked, I laughed. I ended up falling asleep after we left Boulder, the car pulled me into a dreamless slumber. When I woke up, Michael had me in his arms in the doorway of his room. It was dark but I could still see the sports trophies and banners lining his walls, a brown dresser in the corner and an extra-long double bed next to the window.

"Is this absolutely where you live my..." I stopped that quote early, suddenly recalling when Gerald had said that to me in Paris. I had been tired and hungry and not about to put up with the stranger that I had spent an entire night with, but that quote from The Great Gatsby had lead me to believe that Gerald and I would live lives like Daisy and Gatsby; so far we hadn't, but here I was being courted by Michael.

"You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." Michael said, laying me on the bed gently.

"We've shared a bed before," I mumbled, "Besides, I'm cold." I was Daisy indeed.