(Zach ^)
Shale
"As proud of you as I am, do we have to talk to any more people today," I groan, slamming my head against his hard chest as we swayed to the music.
I hear his chuckle, moments before his lips meet my head in a gentle, affectionate kiss.
"Sadly we do, but tonight..." he says suggestively, causing my o pull back and look at him with raised eyebrows.
"Um, no, because my sister is here and sleeping at my house," I smirk, causing his face to fall.
"But...that's not fair! Shale," he whines like a child. "Tonight is my special night, and I need you," he says, pulling me closer to him.
"Well, then you'll just have to wait until tomorrow night...oh wait, Dravin will still be here. So how about, in three days?"
"Ugh, Shale, you're killing me," he groans, leaning his forehead against mine, his face in a permanent pout.
"I'm just messing with you. She can stay at my house, while o go over to your tonight, but tomorrow night, and the day after that, I need to spend with her. Then, we can discuss our new housing arrangements," I say, causing is head to jerk up as he look as me happily.
"Great, so she can help you pack while she's here?" he asks hopefully.
"Hah, maybe," I laugh, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss him.
***
"So I see you've gotten along just fine in New York," Dravin says, eyeing Cole as he talks to some other businessmen.
"Yeah," I say softly, watching him
His eyes flick up to meet mine and offers me a breathtaking smile to which I return, ignoring my heart's stutter. I turn back to look at Dravin and find her face in a permanent smirk.
"You really like him, don't you?"
"Of course I do! I love him. He asked me to move in with him earlier..."
"Ohmygod!" she yells out in a rush, causing people to turn around and look at her disapprovingly. "When are you moving in?"
"As soon as your fat ass leaves my apartment," I laugh, causing her to let out a sharp gasp.
"Hey, I happen to love my fat ass, thank you very much! It helps me score some hot dates."
"Well, have you scored any lasting hot dates?" I inquire, taking a sip of champagne.
"Ugh, no! They're all jackasses," she says, rolling her eyes.
"Well, I'm sure you'll find someone, I mean look at you..."
"I know, I'm flawless, like Beyoncé," she chuckles. "Where is our heavy metal loving friend?" she asks, randomly.
"In Syria," I whisper, not meeting eye contact.
"What!"
"She got deployed again..."
"What the actual fuck! Why the hell didn't she tell anyone?"
"I think it was easier for her, to know that no one knew where she was. She's worried that she won't make it back, and leave everyone here hung up over her death..."
"That bastard," Dravin murmurs, but her eyes are glistening with tears. "What makes her think her life is that important to the rest of us?"
"Dravin!"
"I know, I know, I'm just kidding. I'm trying to get over the fact that she didn't even tell me. I swear when she gets back, I'm going to kill her," she growls, though I can tell she's as sad about it as I am. "How long?"
"Three years," I say, looking back for Cole, wanting him here with me, but not seeing him anywhere.
"Holly hell! That's a too fucking long!" Dravin exclaims, causing me to turn back to her.
"Yeah I know. You should have seen her before she left. She was pushing everyone away. There was this really hot blond haired guy, and he was so whipped with her, but she lashed out at him and kept avoiding him. It was awful, and he was so hot..."
"You mean like the guy coming behind you?"
"Huh?" I ask in surprise, turning around. "Oh my god! Zach! What are you doing here?" I ask, slightly confused and put off at this unnerving coincidence.
"Cole's my buddy, plus I'm the CEO of Verona Corp., so I have to go to these formal events, all of them," he sighs, rubbing his temples. "Anyway, that's not why I came over here. Have you seen Olivia, I know she said she was in the Marines and that she was being deployed, but I don't care. I want to tell her that I can wait for her while she's gone," he asks, looking around me as if she'll just magically appear.
I look back at Dravin, seeing her surprised, but sad expression on her face. I turn back to Zach with a sigh, not really wanting to tell him.
"She already left," I say, quietly, looking down at the ground.
"No..."
I nod my head, causing him to let out a strangled sigh.
"I knew I was going to be too late. Just...next time you talk to her, tell her what I said..."
"Zach, as much as I hate this, I think you should attempt to move on. I mean you really only spent one night with her, but there is a high chance that she won't make it back and..." I choke on a sob, but feel a comforting hand on my back as Dravin comes to stand up beside me.
"I'll see you some other time," he sighs, cutting me off, walking away from me, his shoulders slumped over.
I turn to look at Dravin, seeing the tears in her eyes. I pull her into a tight hug, burying my head into the crook of her neck.
"You did the right thing. She still might come back, but she will definitely be different, I don't know if she would want to come back into relationship problems," Dravin sighs, pulling away from me with a soft smile.
"Yeah, I hope so," I sigh, wiping my eyes as I smile as well.
"Now, let's go find your handsome man."
Cole
"Cole," a familiar sweet voice says from behind me, causing my hands to ball into fists.
I quietly excuse myself from the group of business men I was talking to and maneuver my way away from Bea, trailing after me.
"Cole!" she exclaims, frustrated and annoyed with me, causing me to whirl around and face her.
"What do you want, Beatrice?" I snap, causing her to flinch back, but she recovers quickly.
"I-I just want to talk to you," she says, looking offended and sad, but I'm going to fall for her act.
She almost cost me Shale, the woman I love! And she knew what she was doing the whole damn time!
"I have nothing to say to you..."
"Just let me explain. I'm sorry for what I did at the Charity Ball, I didn't know you were actually serious about her," she defends.
"Well, I was, I still am," I bite back harshly.
"I know that now, and I'm sorry, but...can we at least go back to being friends...?" she asks, looking nervous at my reaction.
"I don't know if we can ever go back to being friends, Bea. You cornered me and kissed and knew that I was in a committed relationship with Shale. You also knew that she was nearby and bound to see it. You planned that out, and I have no idea why but..."
"Because I love you!" she cries out, taking a step towards me, desperately. " I've loved you since middle school, and I thought you felt the same way. When we dated in high school it was perfect, we were perfect, but then you ended because you said it "didn't feel right" you broke my heart, and now you are running around with some gold digging slut named after a fucking rock!"
"Don't talk about Shale like that! I know you're are pissed at me, and I guess you have every right to be, but if you actually loved me, you would be happy that I found someone. I'm sorry that that person isn't you, but you are going to find someone that loves you back."
Though it may be hard, based on your personality.
"Goodbye, Bea," I say, turning around, only to find shale there with a surprised look on her face.
How long had she been standing there?
I move over to her, about to rap my arms around her, but she moves away from me, shaking her head. I give her a confused look, unsure why she's acting like this.
"Don't rub it in," she whispers, motioning back to Bea who was watching us angrily, with a hint of sadness on her face.
If I didn't love her before, I definitely would have fallen right here and right now. Even though Bea was horrible to her, she was being nice for her benefit, not wanting to rub our relationship in Bea's face. She really was perfect.
"Come on, let's go home," I say, walking beside her towards the crowd.
She looks over at Dravin as she comes up beside Shale, giving her a big hug.
"Here, there are the keys to the house," Shale says, handing them to Dravin.
"I'll be waiting to hear all about it tomorrow," she winks with a smirk, before sauntering off with the car keys in her hand.
"Now we can go, home," she says, wrapping her arm around my waist and tugging me out of the restaurant.
She called it home!