Sure enough, there was a massive spread of food waiting when we arrived back at Louis' place. And there were a few more people. I was shocked when I laid eyes on a young man who looked almost exactly like Louis.
"Ashten, this is my little brother, Colum." His brother wrinkled his nose at him, clearly not liking the term little brother. And the title only fit in terms of birth order, because Colum was almost as tall as his father. "And this is his girlfriend, Marie."
I shook hands with both of them. Marie was a tiny little thing; she couldn't have been much taller than 4'10". But with her piercing green eyes and wide smile, I could tell she was a powerhouse and she didn't let her size stop her.
Louis introduced me to one more person, a girl who was much taller than him as well. "This is my sister, Nicola," he said. I shook hands with her, and she greeted me politely, but she seemed a little distant. Maybe that was just her personality. With her side swept pixie cut, deep brown eyes, and bronzed skin, she seemed accomplished, worldly.
When we sat down to eat, I felt a little overwhelmed, surrounded by six people whom I didn't know very well. They started dinner with everyone holding hands, saying a blessing on the meal, which was completely foreign to me. Louis must have sensed my apprehension, because he squeezed my hand under the table and then let go.
As soon as the prayer was over, a cacophony of voices was released as everyone attempted to speak at once:
"Dad, how's the new position?"
"Are you still dating that guy, Nicola?"
"Colum, what are you and Marie doing for the Fourth?"
"Louis, how do you like scraping the scum off rich people's pools for a living?"
Everyone froze and looked at me, probably waiting for some bitchy reaction. I looked at Louis and lightly said, "We're quite a handful, aren't we?"
It was as if everyone let out an inaudible sigh of relief.
He gave me the best little smile and answered everyone, "The Norwoods are a great family to work for. And hey, I get to swim every day."
Mr. Tomlinson spoke up. "Heard any more from medical schools out there?"
"I have an interview with Johns Hopkins soon," he said, taking a bite of potato salad.
"No offers yet?" His dad sounded concerned.
"Not yet, Dad. I'm working on it."
His mom chimed in, "Well, you're not going to be able to start this fall then, are you?"
"Nope."
"What are you going to do when your summer job is finished?" His father asked.
"I don't know yet!" He sounded a little irritated. His father was going to say something else, but Mrs. Tomlinson gave him a pointed look, warning him to keep his mouth shut.
I guess maybe Louis could understand parental pressure a little better than I thought he could.
His mother turned to me and asked, "Ashten, what do you do for a living?"
I bit my lip nervously, wondering if they would give me a hard time, too, since I hadn't even figured out what I wanted to do yet, "I, um, I'm going to Harvard in the fall."
Everyone looked at Louis with wide eyes and then back at me.
I felt a bit timid saying, "I know Louis wanted to go there."
"More than wanted to," his brother said. "Harvard was a part of Louis' perfectly mapped-out life ever since I can remember. He would always say When I go to Harvard or When I graduate from Harvard. We all took it pretty hard when he didn't get in."
So Louis had his life all planned out for himself and then it didn't work out. How strange that my parents had orchestrated my life according to their own dreams, and I wanted nothing to do with them. Louis and I had that in common, at least, that life didn't seem to be turning out the way we wanted it to.
Louis shot his brother a glare, and then he quickly changed the subject. "Are you excited for Megan's wedding tomorrow?"
That led the discussion in an entirely new direction. I hadn't realized that it wasn't just Louis and me, that everyone in his family was going. Megan must have been a good friend of their family.
After dinner, we sat around the fire pit with everyone telling stories and reminiscing about their life, especially their funny childhood moments. It seemed that they were an exceptionally close family, still happy to be together after all these years. I couldn't help but feel a little like I'd missed out on something valuable as a child.
However, when his sister dropped a teasing remark about Louis' brief modeling career, I exploded into laughter, and everyone else joined me. But I noticed the irritated look on his face, I asked, "Wait, is she serious?"
He nodded and his sister kept giggling while she told me that he had done a short stint as a junior model for Giorgio Armani.
I turned and looked at him, exaggerating my absolute shock at this news. "I can just see you strutting your stuff down the catwalk." I moved my shoulders like I was cavorting on the catwalk and everyone laughed maniacally, giving Louis a good ribbing.
Louis' face lightened and he smirked. "Shut up."
Everyone was drinking beer or wine coolers. Louis offered me something more than once, and I politely declined, saying I didn't drink.
"You liked the Blue Lagoon I made for you," he whispered in my ear, causing a little smile to cross my face.
"Fine, anything you recommend – your choice. But I'm only having one." I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling a little chilled with the night air, even thought the fire was roaring.
He came back not too long after, handing me a U of M sweatshirt, instructing me to put it on. "You looked cold." I slipped it over my head, immediately feeling warmed, and trying not to notice that it smelled like him. Then he handed me a wine cooler. "It's strawberry, tastes like there's no alcohol in it, so don't drink it too fast."
We sat around the fire late into the night, with people adding more wood and stoking it so it kept roaring for hours.
Louis eventually called it a night, telling everyone we'd gotten up very early for our flight. I couldn't believe we'd just flown in this morning; so much had happened already.
He walked me to the bedroom door and gave me a little hug.
"Thanks for everything, Louis, especially this," I said fingering the heart pendant that now hung around my neck.
"You're welcome. I just want you to enjoy your time here."
"I already am," I assured him. "This will be a superb vacation, a nice little break from everything."
I slept wonderfully that night, without any medication at all. I was tired, but I was also content. I couldn't define the incredible feeling I had inside, but I felt right at home with Louis' family.
I woke up rather early, to my surprise, since we'd had such a long day the day before. I took a shower and then decided to leave my hair down for the time being. When it dried naturally, it usually had a lot of curl. I would decide later if I wanted to do something special for the wedding. Danielle had taught me a few easy updos.
I ventured into the kitchen and found Louis, sitting on a bar stool by the counter. He was reading the newspaper intently, not even noticing me.
"Good morning," I said softly.
He looked up and treated me to his disarming smile. "Coffee?"
"Sounds perfect," I said, and I sat down on the bar stool next to his. "So it's true that you were a model?"
He rolled his eyes and said, "Please forget you ever heard about that."
"No," I said. "I want to see photos."
"Absolutely not," he insisted. "There is no way you will ever see those pictures!"
"Oh, really," I said mischievously. I looked around the living room, which opened up to the kitchen. It didn't take me long to spy a book shelf filled with photo albums. I jumped off my stool, but Louis caught my arm and held me back.
"Where do you think you're going?" He asked.
"Oh, just looking around your lovely home." I yanked my arm from his grasp and ran to the book shelf, dropping onto my knees and pulling an album into my lap. He raced over and blocked the rest of the shelf. Obviously, I didn't have the right album in my lap, or he would have taken it from me. I set it aside carefully and launched at him, trying to wrestle him out of the way. My mother would have been horrified at my actions, but I was starting to care less about what she thought.
Louis grasped my hands tightly and wrapped my arms around my body, holding me like I was in a straight jacket.
I had to catch my breath from laughing so hard. "Please, pretty please," I begged. "Just show me one picture. I promise I'll never tell another living soul."
"Fine," he relented. "One picture."
He grabbed a silvery album off the shelf and sat down on the couch. I plopped myself next to him as he opened the book. He purposely flipped to a specific page and I saw a younger Louis dressed in a suit, with his hair styled into a tidy quiff.
"Wow," I said with a bit of sarcasm in my voice. "You used to be really hot."
"Used to be?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Hey, you taught me this sarcasm crap, so you'd better be happy when I use it!"
I went to turn the page and he placed his hand flat on the picture. "Nope! I said one picture, remember?"
"Pretty please," I said, leaning in close to his cheek. "For me?"
He relented easily, turning the page. "Just one more."
I ended up coaxing him to let me see all of them.
There was one of him in a white sports coat, reminiscent of the 1980's, and he had a funny little smile on his face. I refrained from teasing him about that one. A casual shot in a blue polo shirt, a few closeups, a few photos of him in a blue and white striped shirt with red pants.
"That's quite the look," I giggled, unable to restrain myself. "Are you going to wear that for the Fourth?"
"Very funny."
I turned the page to find one more photo of him, shirtless, his unbelievably toned chest – without tattoos – on display. He had one hand in his hair and the look on his face was quite seductive. I tried to hide my reaction, but my heart started racing, seeing him like that. He was incredibly hot; I'd noticed that already, but this picture launched him into an entirely new category of sexy.
I hastily turned the page, fearing that I'd spent too long gawking at that one. He tried to stop me, saying "That's the last one." But he was too slow since I'd already caught sight of the next page.
It was a collage of pictures, all of the same pretty, freckle-faced girl. At the top, the name Katie was scrawled in permanent marker.
Maybe this was too personal for him. I glanced over and noticed that Louis had his lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes fluttering a bit.
"She was beautiful, Louis."
"Yeah," he nodded.
"Do you want to show me more?" I asked.
"Another time, okay?"
I quickly replaced the album and went back to my perch on the stool by the counter top. The coffee was a bit cold, so I went to microwave it. Louis had sat down and started reading the paper again. I sat next to him in silence for a long time.
Finally he said, "Most of the time, it's manageable, but on days like today, it really hurts."
"Yeah," I whispered. "I'm sorry."
A short while later, he seemed to cheer up and said, "Let's go out for brunch!" I went back to my room to make sure my makeup and hair were perfect. I decided to wear a light summery dress because it was so darned hot outside. My hair hadn't exactly dried in curls, but it was wispy and I liked the way it fell around my face.
Louis took me to Chelsea, to show me the Purple Rose Theater.
"Okay, I believe you now, but if we see Jeff, I'll have to hide. I might have a hard time explaining why I'm here with you and not with Richard. He and my dad are pretty close."
Louis laughed, "Okay."
We went to a casual restaurant with outdoor patio-style seating. At first, I protested because of the heat, but Louis picked out a table under a very leafy, shady tree. We sat down in the worn, rattan chairs. At least the cushions looked clean. I didn't say anything, but I would never have chosen such a casual location.
However, when the food arrived, I was happy Louis had brought me there. It was incomparable to any fancy brunch I'd ever had in New York, LA, or even Paris.
We talked and laughed over brunch. He told me stories about growing up in this area while I gave him my initial impressions of his home and his family.
"Did you know that you put on a little British accent when you're with your parents?"
"So, I've been told," he smiled shyly. "I don't hear it, though."
"I find it kind of cute. Louis, all prim and proper, who would have thought?"
"Ah, so you do find me cute. My plan is working," he said with a wink.
"Are you ever serious?" I whined.
He leaned in and said, "I'm serious about this: you look stunning today. I love your hair when it's hanging down like that. It's so natural."
I looked down at my hands. "Thanks."
Like I said, he always surprises me.
When we got home, it was already time to get ready for the 5 o'clock wedding. I took another quick shower to wash off the heat from the day. Then I set about fixing my own hair in one of the styles Danielle had shown me. It wasn't perfect, but I decided I would let myself be less than perfect for today. Besides, I'd be wearing a hat with the dress that she'd picked out.
When I was finally ready, I met Louis outside.
My jaw hung loose. There he stood, wearing dark brown trousers – no, they were almost a dark maroon color – a plain white shirt with a black collar, and black suspenders. He looked so freaking adorable, I wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him right then and there.
He had the same reaction when he saw me. "You look lovely," he said.
How did he always manage to make me feel so special?
When we got to the church, I caught sight of someone familiar and I panicked for a moment. I racked my brain, wondering how I knew this person and if they were going to go running to my parents, telling them I was on vacation with Louis.
I relaxed when I heard Louis say, "Zayn!" That explained it; I'd seen him at The Underground.
"Zayn, this is Ashten," he said to his friend. Zayn picked up my hand and placed a delicate kiss on my knuckles. I giggled at his show of gallantry.
"Nice to meet you properly, Zayn," I said.
"Yes, these are definitely better circumstances than that night at the club, right?"
"Yeah," I laughed. "That night was all sorts of messed up."
Louis invited Zayn to sit with us. We went to the back of the church and a young man dressed in a tuxedo approached us and asked, "Bride or Groom?"
"Bride," Louis said.
The young man held out his arm for me and he politely escorted me to an open seat. Louis and Zayn followed. Of course, Louis sat down next to me with his buddy on his other side.
"So, you and Louis went to high school together?" I asked Zayn.
"All the way from Kindergarten, actually. And let me tell you, I have some stories about Lou here-"
"No!" Louis put his hand up in front of Zayn's face. "She heard enough embarrassing stories last night, thanks to my family."
"I'll bet," Zayn chuckled. "Did they tell you about his modeling career?"
"They sure did and I got to see the photos this morning," I said, playfully fanning myself as if I was overwhelmed with desire.
Zayn threw his head back laughing. Louis gave him a dirty look and he relented, not divulging any more juicy news about Louis. Yet.
The church filled up quickly. I surveyed the guests, finding most of them well-dressed and manicured. I was surprised, yet again, because I had assumed that I'd be in the company of poverty for most of this trip.
The groom's parents were seated, along with grandparents from both sides. Then the processional music began and we all stood up to watch the bride as she was escorted down the aisle by her mother and her father. I noticed that Louis looked a little teary-eyed and he has his lips set in a firm line like this morning when we'd looked at pictures of Katie. Oh, my gosh, was Louis a softie, crying at a wedding? I'd be sure to get some mileage out of this.
I discreetly grabbed his hand and squeezed, and he responded by keeping my hand in his grip. Once we sat down, he leaned over and whispered, "Megan is Katie's older sister."
Oh, I mouthed out. I was so glad he told me that, or I would have felt awful, teasing him about tearing up. "I'm sorry; this must be a tough day for you," I whispered into his ear.
He just nodded, but he kept a tight grip on my hand for most of the wedding. It wasn't very long, but it was sweet and poignant, the bride and groom confessing their undying love for one another, their commitment to stay true to one another in good times and in bad.
After the couple had left the church, I pulled on Louis' hand a little and he looked over his shoulder at me. "Why didn't you tell me this was Katie's sister?"
His flippant reply stung a little bit. "I didn't think you'd care that much."
"Louis," I insisted. "Why did you think I wouldn't care?" He turned, fully facing me. I took hold of his other hand while people filed around us, heading to greet the newlyweds outside.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that as insult. I just...I guess I just didn't want to get you down, so I didn't want to make a big deal out of it."
"I hope you know that I do care about you."
"I know," he said, looking a little bit apologetic. "It's just...this is really hard for me. I mean, Katie and I had talked about getting married after we were done with undergrad. I-" He choked and clamped his eyes shut tightly. But a small tear escaped anyway.
There was hardly anyone left in the church. I wiped the tear and said, "I'm so sorry." Then I wrapped my arms around his waist and he locked his around my shoulders. He stood there for a bit, letting me comfort him.
When we finally joined everyone else outside, Zayn came rushing up behind Louis and put his head on Louis' shoulder. "Are you guys ready for some fun?!"
"Damn right we are!" Louis laughed.
Zayn followed us in his car as we followed the wedding party around town, honking our horns. People came out of houses and businesses to wave and hoot and holler for the newlyweds. I found it cute that people in this small town still found the tradition important.
We soon came to a gigantic building that looked like an old barn. "What is this place?" I asked.
"It's a barn," Louis answered simply.
"You're kidding, right? This must be some kind of joke." But as we neared the barn, I saw people from the church filing in and I heard music coming from inside.
I stopped and gawked at Louis. "It's not a joke...." I felt a bit sick to my stomach, wondering how I would survive for who knows how long in a barn! I'd never set foot inside one in my entire life.
"Oh, stop being such a snob," he teased me.
"Louis, I'm not a snob just because I don't want to eat dinner in a barn! Animals live in a barn, and they...poo...in a barn."
"Poo?" He snickered. "Can we at least look inside? I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." He gave me the old puppy dog eyes and I couldn't resist.
When we walked in, any expectations I had were completely blown away. The ceiling of the barn was draped in billowing cream-colored fabric. Between the slivers of fabric hung tiny lanterns that looked like a million stars. The effect was that it felt like we'd just stepped into a romantic scene in a classic movie.
My eyes still were still wide as I looked around. The tables were clothed in the same billowy fabric that hung from the ceiling. Huge clusters of peonies, roses and hydrangeas were placed in pots and vases of varying sizes along the tables. The dinnerware looked like a collection of antiques, none of them really matching, but the effect was still breathtaking.
I looked in one corner and saw an impressive 3-tiered wedding cake, along with an extravagant table where guests could place their gifts and cards.
"Louis," I whispered. "You were right. This is unbelievable!"
He smiled and put his hand on the small of my back, directing me to our table. I took my seat and Louis pushed the chair in for me. A true gentleman, I thought. Zayn sat down soon after and the table gradually filled with people. It appeared that Louis knew every one of them. I guessed he'd probably gone to school with them. They talked and joked and reminisced. I saw a new side of Louis, kind of like he'd been with his friends at The Underground, but he seemed even more at home here. It was his home. It must have been hard for him to leave this place just a few months ago. He had such good relationships with everyone.
"Ash?" I heard Louis ask. I brought my wandering mind back to the here and now. I opened my eyes wide in question.
"I asked if you wanted a drink," he said.
"Oh, um, how about a ginger ale. I had a little headache after that wine cooler last night."
"Lightweight," he teased.
He came back quickly with a beer for himself and a glass for me, but the glass was empty, except for some chunks of ice. "They didn't exactly have ginger ale, but they had this," he said, producing a can of something called Vernors. "It's ginger soda, but it's got a little more of a kick than regular ginger ale."
He opened the can and poured it over the rocks.
I took a sip and the carbonation practically exploded out my nose. I swallowed harshly and coughed a little. It definitely had a little more zing than I was expecting. Before I could catch myself, I let out a small belch, and then I looked at Louis in horror. What would he think of me doing that in public?
He just threw his head back and laughed. "Yep! That's how most people react to Vernor's."
I put my face in my hands and said, "I'm so embarrassed!"
He leaned over and said, "It was cute. Everything you do is cute."
The dinner was impeccable; I was quite impressed. Louis and his friends continued chatting away, making me laugh with crazy stories of their high school antics.
During a break in the conversation, a pretty girl across the table from us asked, "So, Louis, are the two of you going to be next?"
My face got hot as I looked shyly at Louis, hoping he wouldn't say something embarrassing. Instead he stuttered a little, "N..no, it's not like that. We're just friends."
Luckily, it was time for champagne and toasts. I gladly took a glass, and as soon as the first toast was given, I chugged some.
"Easy, girl. That's going to hit you hard if you don't slow down."
I waved him off, already feeling a little buzz.
After several more toasts and a second glass of champagne, I was starting to feel very relaxed. The dancing was about to start so I excitedly said to Louis, "Are we going to dance? I love to dance. But I guess I'm not really sure how to do anything except ballet, jazz and some tap. What do-"
He put his hand over my mouth. "Feeling that champagne now?"
I nodded, losing my balance a little. He grabbed my arms and laughed. "You're drunk!"
"No, I'm not," I pouted. "I'm just happy!" I said, drawing out the eee sound at the end of the word.
He led me to the bar and asked for a tall glass of water. "Drink," he instructed. He supervised me until the water was almost gone. "Good girl."
"Let's dance!" I said, still feeling lightweight and carefree.
This time I was the one dragging him behind me as I sped to the dance floor. As soon as we got there, I threw my hands up and started dancing and Louis joined me with a huge grin. Zayn and some of his other friends joined us. We danced for a long time, celebrating with the bride and groom and with each other.
The DJ started playing some big band music and everyone paired off and started swing dancing.
"Um, I don't know any swing," I told Louis.
"You said you knew some jazz, right? This will be similar, except you'll follow my lead. Just pay attention to where I'm leading you."
I was still nervous, but I nodded.
We started slowly, but I picked up on his style easily. Soon we were swinging, twirling and dipping as if we invented the dance. We laughed most of the time because it was outrageously fun. Jazz lessons with Mrs. Cortina was always so boring, but now I was thankful for everything I'd learned.
After several big band songs, I was getting thirsty. A slower song began, "Give Me Love" by Ed Sheeran, which was one of my favorites. I started walking towards our table, thinking I would sit and enjoy the song with a cool drink, but Louis captured my wrist. Without a word, he pulled me close to him, wrapping one arm around my waist and linking his other hand together with mine. I cautiously slipped my arm around him too, then tightened my grip over the lean muscles of his back. He moved us together, slowly, taking small steps but mostly letting the music carry us away. I hoped that he couldn't feel my racing pulse, or hear it, since his cheek was pressed to mine. For as many times as I'd imagined him holding me close, this was far better than anything I could have dreamed up. My knees felt weak as he breathed out over my cheek, and when he sang quietly into my ear, I literally felt that I would collapse if he let go of me.
"All I want is the taste that your lips allow....Give me love like never before, 'Cause lately I've been craving more."
I commanded myself to stop reading more into the words. It's just a song, Ashten.
Still, I couldn't stop myself from breathing heavily with the emotion that was overtaking me. I had no idea what I was doing, and I knew that I couldn't let myself fall any farther. This was just a crush, an innocent fling, nothing more. We both knew that we couldn't be together like that. But I was terrified, knowing I was in serious danger of falling completely in love, not just with this moment, but with this incredible man.
The song ended, and Louis slowly pulled away, his cheek sliding against mine until our lips were just centimeters apart. The intense look in his eyes startled me, but I didn't move away, I couldn't. It was like I was trapped in some magnetic field, binding me to him. He warm breath caressed my skin and I knew that he wanted to kiss me. I didn't care about anything else. I just wanted his lips on mine.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" We were harshly interrupted by the booming voice of the best man. "It's time for the bouquet toss!"
I closed my eyes, cursing him for ruining our moment.
Louis told me to go and get a good spot with all the other single women.
I pouted and said, "I don't want to catch the bouquet because I don't want to get married!" But he pushed me in that direction anyway.
I didn't catch the bouquet, I didn't even try. Not that I believed in superstition, but I hoped it was a sign that I wouldn't be the next person to get married. Even better, I hoped I wouldn't have to marry Richard at all.
* * * * *
Things are heating up! Are you excited?
I'm like an absolute maniac writing this story! I think of new details all the time - I've started carrying a notebook around with me so I don't forget anything. But I'm just a little discouraged because I've been spending so much time crafting this story, but hardly anyone is reading it. I know people are busy with school, so maybe that's why.
If you've been reading, THANK YOU! Would you please share the story with a friend or your followers?
xoxo