"Oh my gosh Guys! I am so excited to go dress shopping," Rosa said as she was pulling me and Savannah through the streets of LA.
"Woah woah woah Rosa, what got you all riled up?," I said and Rosa stopped in her tracks and covered her face and squealed so loud that everyone stared at us.
"I don't know if you guys already know but I have this really huge crush on Lucas and he asked me OUT! Can you believe it?!", She said as she jumped up and down squealing.
"You literally look like a giddy school girl," Savannah pointed out making me laugh.
"Rosa, would it be insane for you to hear that Lucas also has a huge crush on you?," I teased and Rosa looked so happy as she said, "That would be the best news ever."
"Well then there you go," I said and she squealed again and said, "You better not be joking."
"Well then you can just ask him tonight," I said and she smiled widely and said, "All the more for me to pick the perfect dress."
I turned my attention to Savannah and asked, "Are you going with someone Dr. Wilson?"
"Ohh Umm, I didn't really get asked by anyone, well I kinda just went home straight after talking to you guys," she said and I smiled and said, "Don't worry, you don't need a date to look awesome and feel awesome."
"I'm actually kind of nervous, I never even attended prom back in Africa, I was always in touch with the wildlife, I loved the nature much more than people," She explained.
I smiled at her reassuringly and said, "I'll make sure you'll have the best experience, I promise."
We scouted the LA streets and eventually stopped at a shop that caught our eyes.
We went in the shop and Rosa immediately went on and picked dresses off racks, saying oos and aahs as she picked various styles of dresses.
I then looked at Savannah and she seemed hesitant to pick out a dress.
"Savannah, are you okay?," I asked and she shook her head and said, "I was never the type to pick a dress, back in Gauteng, I would always be found wearing worn out camo shorts and tank tops."
"Hey, maybe we'll find something that will match your aura," I suggested and she nodded and went to the racks.
She then started going through the racks looking uncertain until she finally found a dress that made her feel intrigued.
"You found something?", I asked but I already knew what she was eyeing.
She takes out the dress from the rack and says, "I have to try it on."
I smiled at her and said, "By all means."
I pointed to the dressing room and she excitedly went in.
I turned to Rosa who looked distraught at all the dresses she's picked.
"Hey Rosa, are you okay?", I said as I approached Rosa who looked so worried.
"Alex, what if I pick the wrong dress and he won't like how I look?," She asked and I laughed and said, "You sound like you're attending your first prom."
Rosa slumps as she buries her face in her hands. I patted her back then said, "Rosa, this isn't high school anymore, wear what you want and if he doesn't like you for you then he's not worth it."
Rosa removed her hands from her face then gave a small smile.
"Thanks Alex, I know just what to pick," she said.
Rosa picks a dress and goes into a dressing room.
Savannah finally comes out in the dress that she chose. It was a beautifully vibrant orange mermaid dress that had a cheetah print lining on the busy line.
I smiled and said, "It's perfect."
Rosa then comes out in her gown, a honey gold silk gown that hugged her figure and complimented her tan skin.
"You look gorgeous Rosa," I said and she smiled then said, "Enough about us, where's your gown?"
"Oh, I haven't really picked something-," I said but suddenly I catch Rosa calling one of the sales lady's attention.
The sales lady then picks out a dress from the rack and hands it to me.
Rosa then smiles and says, "Here try it on, I thought you might love the dress, pays a bit of homage to your home country, but still very modern."
I smiled as I looked at the dress, I hugged Rosa and said, "Thank you."
I went into the dressing room and slipped into the dress. I walked out of the dressing room to admire myself using the mirror outside.
The dress was beautiful. It was a pearlescent white strapless gown that had décolleté neckline. The dress was simple with no other design than the pearlescent shine it gave.
Rosa walked up to me and put on a golden necklace with a jade pendant shaped like a dragon.
I smiled and hugged Rosa then said, "Why are you always so thoughtful?"
"You deserve the best Alex," she said and a warm feeling filled my chest as all three of us admired our looks in front of the boutique mirror.
Alex's apartment, 8 pm.
I put one last spritz of the perfume I had on my dresser and I straightened out my dress.
I admired my look one last time. I wore the jade necklace I bought a few hours ago as well as the dress. I put on matching earrings and I placed my hair in a loose high bun.
I decided to put one last coat of my trusty nude lip gloss then smoothed out the light brown eye look I had on. That's when I heard a knock on my door.
"Coming!," I said as I quickly made my way to the door grabbing my purse and phone along the way.
I opened the door and saw Dr. Wright waiting for me. He wore a black suit that fit him like second skin and the first few buttons of his inner white shirt open as he opted to not wear a tie.
I gave him a smile and said, "Well, you clean up good, Dr. Wright."
He looked like he was about to return the compliment but he gaped as he took in my look.
"I....errrr...Umm....I'm at a loss of words, there are simply no words to describe how gorgeous you look Alexandria," he said as he offered his arm and I laced my arm around his.
"Ohh, so are we at the first name calling now, can I call you Damien then?," I teased and he gave a low laugh then said, "Ah yes, but at work, you must call me Dr. Wright."
"Alright then," I said as we took the elevator down and I approached his car.
I looked at the shiny black car with a familiar branding and I said, "A Mustang, I pegged you for more of a Chevy guy."
He laughed and said, "Well, I thought the car looked nice so I bought it."
"The sentiments of the rich," I teased and he gave me a small smile and said, "Well, I've come a long way."
I smiled back and said, "I know."
He opened the car door for me and let me in then he closed the door and went on the other side to get in the driver's seat.
We drove into the night with no words but I could tell by the way he sneaked glances that things were better left unsaid before we did things we might regret.
Finally, he pulled over on a parking space near North Haven and we got out of the car. He took my hand and we were about to go in together when I saw that some of the board members waiting for him.
He looked hesitant but I squeezed his hand reassuringly and said, "You should go and talk to them, the night is still young, you can still steal a dance from me later."
He smiled and said, "One of the good qualities about you Alexandria, you're level headed."
He then gives my hand one last squeeze then leaves me to approach the board members.
Not long after I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was Kellan. He had a smirk plastered on his face as he said, "Sooooo.....you and Dr. Wright."
"Oh shut up Kellan, he's my boss," I said and he raised a brow then whispered in my ear, "Who said that would be stopping the two of you?"
I rolled my eyes and said, "I don't know, maybe work ethics, my dignity, I could tell you a whole list."
"How about your date Dr. West, I'm sure you snagged one of the interns here tonight," I teased and he shook his head and said, "Nope, I had someone in mind-."
Before Kellan could say anything more, his jaw drops and I look to my back and see Savannah approaching.
She wore her vibrant orange dress that complimented her sun kissed skin and her curls were unkempt but was perfect.
She wore a smoky eye and a red orange lip to match her dress.
She approached us and said, "Oh my gosh, Alex, thank heavens you're here, I really don't know what to do with my hair-."
Before I could answer, Kellan already answered for me saying, "Your hair looks perfect, you.....look perfect Savannah."
Savannah gets flustered as she says, "Thanks Kellan."
"Where's Rosa and Lucas?," I asked and Savannah chuckled and said, "She texted that they'll both be kind of late, if you know what I mean."
I laughed and said, "Alright you two, I'm going to stop stalling, since both of you have no dates how about you two go together instead?"
Savannah shyly smiles as Kellan offers her a hand and says, "Well, would you be my partner?"
His thick western accent made his question to Savannah seem somewhat charming.
Savannah smiles as she takes his hand then says, "I see no reason not to be."
I smiled as I watched them enter North Haven. Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder and there I saw Nathaniel looking dashing in a dark blue suit that complimented his ocean blue eyes.
I smiled and said in a terrible English accent, "Fancy seeing you here."
Nathaniel shakes his head in embarrassment and says, "Never say that again...ever."
"Also, where is your date? How terribly rude of him to leave a gorgeous girl like you all alone," he teased as we walked inside of North Haven to enter the ball that was held in the atrium.
I gestured Nathaniel over to look at Dr. Wright who was having a conversation with the board members.
"Ahhh I see, well then I don't mind having you all to myself even if it is for a short amount of time," he said making a blush creep into my face.
Eventually, Kaelyn went up on the stage to open the charity ball for cancer research. The whole thing went by like a blur and the next thing I knew, snotty rich people and politicians were transferring their funds to donate for cancer research.
The screen hanging from the ceiling would flash numbers to show how much was donated.
Food was served and eventually, couples started slowly filling the dance floor. Nathaniel then said as he was finishing up his dessert, "How about we show these people how to really rock up the dance floor."
I laughed and said, "Hmmm, I'll take you up on that."
I took his hand as we went towards the dance floor. When we arrived there, he wrapped his arms around my waist while I wrapped my arms around his neck.
We swayed to the rhythm of the music and Nathaniel commented, "I cannot be the only one who thinks the song right now is an instrumental of Halo."
I smiled and said, "So you were that kind of kid growing up, no emo phase?"
He smiled and said, "Nope, Black was never really my colour."
I smiled and suddenly someone tapped Nathaniel's shoulder and said, "I believe I owe a dance to my date."
I looked behind Nathaniel and saw Dr. Wright with an unreadable facial expression.
Nathaniel grits his teeth knowing who it was then puts on his best smile and says, "Of course Dr. Wright."
Nathaniel lets go of me then gives my hand one last squeeze and retreats back to the tables.
I turn to Dr. Wright who already relaxed his face into a smile.
He wraps his arms around my waist and I wrap mine around his neck.
"Ahhh, is this how Damien Wright gets jealous?," I teased and he chuckles then says, "I'm afraid you haven't seen the worst of it."
"I actually wanted to tell you something and honestly the dance was the only time I could get a moment with you without pharma execs kissing my ass," he said making me laugh.
"Now, don't keep me waiting and spit it out," I said and he gives a small smile then takes a deep breath.
"You know, I wasn't being truthful to you why I was so hard on you on the first few days," he said and my breath hitched at his words.
Oh god, this could literally be anything.
I nodded and he said, "It was because I see a lot of myself in you and I don't want you to experience all the hardships I went through because trust me, they were excruciating."
I shook my head and said, "I really appreciate that you're looking out for me but hardships is what a person needs to go through to become stronger."
I looked into his icy blue eyes and said, "Experience makes quite an amazing teacher."
He smiled, nodded then said, "You're absolutely right."
Before we could sway more into the rhythm, the glass wall that separated the atrium from the outside breaks and in come a flurry of masked men holding guns.
One of the men shouted, "DROP TO THE GROUND NOW OR WE WILL SHOOT!"
I panicked and froze but Damien pulled me down to the ground saying, "Alex!"
The others who tried to make a run for the door were shot down. I watched as Rosa and Lucas hid under a table while Kellan and Savannah hid in a corner but no sign of Nathaniel.
"Oh god, oh god, this can't be happening," I said but then I spotted Kaelyn refusing to back down as she approached the people in charge of the charity money.
I immediately got off the floor and Damien silently shouted for me to get back down but I blocked him out. I rushed to Kaelyn and tackled her to the floor.
"Hey! What the hell!," she said as she tried to stand up again but I pulled her down and said, "Can you stop being insufferable for once? There are more than 20 armed men surrounding us, you're going to die."
She sighed and said, "I can't let them take the money, it's for a good cause."
I nodded and gestured to her a space behind the stage and said, "I'll cover for you, call 911 as soon as you get there."
She nodded as we crawled on the floor while the men held their guns at the tech guys handling the funds.
When she finally got there, I told her, "As soon as you're done calling, get the other to help the injured and treat them."
She nodded and I was about to help treat the injured when I saw Damien trying to walk over to the men trying to steal the funds.
One of the men immediately felt his presence and turned around then said, "You really shouldn't be doing that."
The man aimed at Damien but I ran as fast as my limbs could make me go and tackled Damien to the ground but along the way I felt a sharp pain hit the side of my stomach.
"Hkkk....," an unusual sound was forced out of my mouth as I tackled Damien to the ground.
Finally I heard sirens and the before the men could run away, I saw a blur of police men surround them.
Damien got off the ground and turned me around so that our eyes could meet.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god, Alex stay with me," he said but his face only gradually became blurry.
"S-shut up... I-idiot.... if you h-hadn't tried to s-sneak a-attack on them thinking y-you were D-double O 7, t-this wouldn't have happened," I said and at this point, Damien was nothing but a moving blur.