BRIELLE
The grand lobby of the Prestige Hotel glittered with radiance from the many chandeliers littering the ceiling. Surprisingly, there weren’t that many a people around and so I was able to breathe out and relax into the warm ambience and the soft music.
“This way ma’am, sir.” One of the valets steered Dylan and I towards the massive, popular restaurant Artemis, where my amazing boyfriend had decided to take me out to, to climax a very weird week.
It’s been four days since the whole Madeline fiasco, and I had come to a pretty obvious conclusion about the woman… she seemed to have some kind of mental illness.
I remember the day like it was yesterday,
Well, it was technically just four days ago, but still…
I had left Dylan to deal with his mess, the Madeline woman still stuck in her high to notice. No one at work, except for Savannah knew of our budding romance, and I intended to keep it that way. That day, we didn’t see each other till evening, when he came over to spend the night at my apartment.
I must admit, it had hurt my feelings to find out about one of Dylan’s previous flings in that manner, but after he had explained everything to me, I realised one thing;
That it was in the past.
A past that very much threatened our future together, but a past nonetheless.
I understood that it was pretty irrelevant to let blasts from the past have a negative impact on our relationship, and I had told him so.
And just like that, we had worked it out.
But, in the consequent days that followed, Madeline Decker always found some reason to visit the company… specifically to see Dylan, despite the harsh treatment he always gave her. I even felt bad for her in some instances, but she surprisingly kept visiting, until a day ago when Dylan told her he was already in a relationship. He had been telling her this from the very start of the whole fiasco, but it seemed to finally register only in that moment.
It was almost noon then, and I had come out of my office to cross-check some files with Chloe, when I saw Madeline exit Dylan’s office, completely pissed. That was the first time I had seen her expressing any other emotion apart from extreme happiness, and to be honest, she looked beautifully scary.
“I don’t know how else to explain it so you’d get it into your thick skull that I’m already in a very happy relationship. Hell, even if I wasn’t, you’d be the last person on earth I’d go out with. I respect you very much, and I’m grateful you gave RetroCorp a chance, but what happened between us was a mistake that I deeply regret, and for the last time, I’m very sorry I seem to have strung you along. Please move on, and don’t come to my office if it’s not work related. Am I making myself clear?” Chloe and I heard Dylan assert, his countenance that of a man who had finally had enough. Chloe and I shared a look of concern.
“Nice speech, but let me tell you something about me, Dylan Thomas.” Madeline declared haughtily. “When I set my eyes on something, I never give up until I have said thing in my claws. Not even your so-called stupid girlfriend is going to stop me from having you, got that? You. Are. Mine.” With that, she waltzed out towards the elevator, barely sparing Chloe and me a glance. Dylan shot me a worried glance, and then without a word entered his office.
That was yesterday.
We hadn’t really had time to talk about the issue again due to shipment issues at RetroCorp, but I hoped we would tonight.
“Say something, Bree. Anything.” Dylan implored, snapping me out of my reverie. “Please don’t go silent on me… please.”
My heart ached for the handsome man sitting before me in that very moment, clad in a black tuxedo, his hair the usual mess of curls I loved.
“This is a very nice place, Dylan. Thanks for bringing me here.” I tried casually in a bid to lighten the atmosphere, my gaze subtly scanning the restaurant.
It really was an amazing place, with an eclectic décor, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the wonderful view of New Orleans. The inside area was so warm and inviting… with a completely romantic ambience, and don’t even get me started on the staff,
Very impressive customer service, I’m not gonna lie.
It really was mesmerizing, but with the unspoken looming between us, I found that I couldn’t give the whole surprise gesture the level of appreciation it deserved, and I honestly felt bad…
Really, I did.
But I wasn’t the one that got us into this mess in the first place.
It was all him.
“Bree-”
I cut him off with a shake of my head, not really ready to hear what he had to say in that moment.
What if he wanted to end things?
Come on Lucia, why would you even think that?
Well, you can’t deny that it was a logical fear to have. “Dy, let’s finish our meals first alright? We have the whole night to talk about it, let’s just enjoy the moment okay?”
He nodded in understanding. “If that’s what you want.”
The waiters arrived with our meals in that moment, cutting short what would have been an awkward silence. We had both decided to go with the Italian cuisine, with myself choosing white pasta in sautéed mushroom sauce and Dylan opting for the Bolognese meat sauce.
I couldn’t help the small moan that escaped my lips after my first taste. God, the blend of flavors on my tongue was nothing short of perfect and almost heavenly! Dylan chuckled slightly. “Damn. How is it that I am this jealous of a bowl of pasta?” I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped at his antics as I winked. “Maybe it’s because you realise that it is almost just as capable of winning my heart.”
The atmosphere lightened drastically after that. Definitely the fault of the red wine we were having with our meals, but hey, I was grateful.
We decided to head out to the restaurant’s balcony after our meals, and as we sat there, feeling the wind on our faces, taking in the breeze, appreciating the view… I felt content enough to talk about it.
“What are we going to do now, Dylan?” I softly whispered.
He sighed deeply. “I honestly don’t know.”
“Are you going to leave me?” My voice broke at the end of my question, and I hated myself for feeling so vulnerable in that moment, but it was something I really needed to know the answer to. Dylan seemed shocked to silence at my question, he just sat there, staring at me, mouth open like he was somehow frozen in time. “What? You think I’m going to leave you?” He asked incredulously when he recovered from his stupor.
I didn’t answer.
“Fuck, Princess. I’m sorry it has gotten to the point where you have to question my feelings for you because of a very stupid mistake I made in the past that is probably going to haunt me till the day I die. I am never leaving your side, not if I can help it, not even if you try to keep me away.” He reached out to lovingly cup my cheek. “I lo-like you. A lot. And you’d best believe me when I tell you that I’m not going to let some asinine woman tear us apart. I’m going to do whatever it takes to fix this, Bree. I promise.”
I didn’t say anything, but I honestly felt so much lighter, I’m not gonna lie, and I think Dylan noticed it too. We didn’t need to say words… it is said that the eyes hold the lanterns to our very soul, no?
Even as he leaned in to press his mouth against mine for a long sweet kiss, even as we snuggled against each other and watched the starry nights compete with the city lights… even as the soft music playing in the background lulled me into a love-struck daze,
I just knew within my heart, that we were going to be alright.
****
BRIELLE
I usually hated Mondays with a passion, but today seemed to be going quite well, even though I had a little hangover from drinking too much wine yesterday, but it surely wasn’t something I couldn’t handle, seeing as I’ve had much more before.
The night had been nothing short of special.
After wining and dining and serenading me with music, Dylan took me back to his apartment where we made sweet sweet love. Hell, the thought of it was just enough to have me clenching my thighs in pleasure at the memory. God, I missed him so much already.
Speaking of Dylan, he said he had some family business to attend to in New York, so Savannah and I, and Mr Maloney of course, were in charge.
Scratch that, I was mostly in charge, but you get my drift.
Heading back to my office after a two-hour-long technical meeting with regards to the RetroCorp website being temporarily down, I saw a text from Silvie saying she was waiting for me downstairs at the main lobby.
God, this beautiful best friend of mine.
Despite knowing she was coming, I was still surprised that she dropped by like she had promised.
You know, she had gone back to Alexandria for her mum’s second wedding, and she had been gone for almost a month,
And yet, as soon as she touched down in New Orleans, I was the first person she wanted to see, despite obviously being tired from her trip.
Now, if that didn’t scream I-would-literally-die-for-my-best-friend, I didn’t know what else would.
I rushed downstairs to go meet her, our squeals of delight as we jumped into each other’s arms filling the otherwise very quiet lobby. The receptionist and the few people littering the lobby stared at us like we had lost our minds or something, but I didn’t mind. It really felt good to have my best friend back.
“Damn Lucia, you’re glowing.” She broke our hug to assess me critically, her eyes squinting like it did every time she was being very observant. I chuckled good-humoredly. “Come on Syl, it’s probably good sunlight and nothing else. I could say the same for you anyway, Alexandria really did you some good.”
My best friend had the decency to blush, making me very suspicious all of a sudden.
Hmm, what had happened back home?
“Come on. Let’s head back to my office.” I said instead.
*****
BRIELLE
“You slept with him?!” My eyes went wide as saucers and my mouth dropped open to stare at my best friend in what was obviously disbelief. She had the audacity to groan. “Come on Lu, I came to see you. We’re supposed to talk about you and your glowing skin, not me? Can we do this later?”
I wagged my finger in her face disapprovingly. “No, no, no. We’re doing this now, even if I have to tie you to this damned chair.”
How can she just casually admit that she slept with my brother, and then not want to talk about it?
She sighed deeply, apparently admitting defeat. “Alright. What do you want to know?”
A whole lot, that’s what. But let’s start with the basics. “So… are you guys an item now?”
“Uh... no? Yes? Ugh, I don’t know Lucia… I kind of bolted after it happened, and I’ve avoided him ever since.”
I groaned. “Silvie! Why would you let this happen? It’s Nick, for crying out loud, have you already forgotten what happened the last time?”
“You think I have? You honestly think I have?! Why else would I leave even before he woke up? I’m not that stupid to put my heart on the line like that again, Lucia.” She declared adamantly.
I believed her.
Honestly, I did… but feelings were complicated, and I’d know that because I’d been pinning for Dylan’s affection for so long, and I really didn’t want to see my best friend go down the same path.
She reached for my hand. “I know you care, Lu. But I can handle myself, yunno? Besides, even though I’m a little bummed that he doesn’t want to commit, you can’t deny that I did get an amazing sexual experience that I’m forever going to keep in my heart.” She paused to laugh at the disgusted look on my face. “I’m finally not a virgin anymore, Lucia.”
I joined her in laughter. “Way to ruin an otherwise excellent news, Syl. I honestly don’t know what you see in Nicholas Cage Renaud,” I cringed dramatically for effect. “But you do you, girl. One thing I do know about my brother is, he likes to call the shots, to be in charge. You have just ruined that for him, so trust me when I tell you that he’ll be back.”
She rolled her eyes and flopped back against her chair. “Well, when he does… I’ll be ready for him. Anywhoo, back to you!”
I groaned, causing her to burst into a fit of giggles. “Oh, so you can grill me and put me on the spot, but I can’t do the same to you?”
I sank even further into my seat. “Uh… no?”
“Not a chance, sunshine.” She cackled, standing up to move to the couch instead. I moved over to join her.
“So… the night before I left for Alexandria, you had someone over -don’t open your mouth in shock, girl- because I came back for a change of clothes for Lisa, and I saw the telltale signs. Plus, you guys were annoyingly very loud, so tell me, who was it?”
You know, it was really funny, and surprising how for the first time, I’d been able to keep something as big as this from my inquisitive best friend. It felt so amazing, that I decided to toy with her for a while longer. “Why don’t you take a wild guess?”
“Hmm, was it Mark?”
I gave her a pointed look, throwing one of the couch pillows at her. She ducked, chuckling at my antics. “What? You were the one who said to guess.”
Well, I did say that.
“Nope, it wasn’t Mark. Try again.”
She groaned. “Please, just tell me already. I feel like I’m going to die from all the suspense.” I laughed. “Alrighty then. It was Dylan.” Try as I could, I couldn’t keep the pleased, dreamy look of my face, and apparently, Silvie noticed it too.
“Noo!” She had this dreamy look on her face, like she couldn’t believe it, hell, even I didn’t believe it sometimes. “Yeah.” I affirmed. “We’re actually going out now.”
It was her turn to freeze in disbelief.
I braced myself for the impact of her powerful hug, even as she continued to squeal in delight. “Oh, my God, oh my God… Lucia! I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you, thank you.”
“Oh, my God!” Another hug. “Start from the very beginning, I want to hear everything.” She ordered.
And so, I did.