‘There, all done.’ Hailey stepped away from my face, allowing me to see myself for the first time since she started.
She had styled my hair in a pinned up bun with a few loose strands on the front. She did my makeup flawlessly, adorning red lipstick on me. I could barely recognize myself. I looked beautiful and the dress fit me like a glove. Somehow Lucas knew my size better than myself. Hailey let me borrow a pair of her black heels for the night that clasped at my ankles. I could feel my stomach turning. The swirl of butterflies in me was making me nauseous. My hands felt clammy, making me want to wipe them on the dress. My heart was racing from the nerves eating me up inside.
‘You look beautiful.’ Hailey whispered as we both stared at me in the mirror.
‘Thank you, Hails.’
The ring of the bell had my heart hammering faster. Hailey raced to the door. As I grabbed the small black clutch purse she let me borrow for the night. I stepped out of the room to see Lucas in a 3 piece suit, looking fine as hell. That’s a mental image I’ll save for later. He gave me his signature smirk that melts me to my core. His eyes checked me out from head to toe.
‘Beautiful,’ he boldly stated as he held his hand out for me to take.
‘I won’t be out all night,’ I told Hailey as I stepped past her through the door.
‘Have fun, and don’t worry about me.’ She pushed me out with a gleam of excitement in her eyes. I silently followed Lucas out of the building to his car. He must have money, seeing as he showed up in a Lambo. He held the door open for me to get in like a gentleman. I felt my cheeks flush at the gesture as I entered the car.
‘You clean up nice.’ I finally said, as he drove us. ‘Where are we going to make me dress up so nicely?’
‘My dad’s house.’ He answered causally.
‘You dress up nice to go to your dad’s house?’ I arched a brow at him, thinking he was joking with me.
‘He has a dinner meeting tonight, which means a fancy meal, fancy clothes, and a boring business talk. It may be selfish of me, but I brought you to save me from a hellish night.’ He grabbed my knee as he spoke, sending a spark of energy through me.
‘Are you sure I should come? It sounds like you’re making me crash this dinner.’ He gave me a cheeky smile, letting me know how right I was. I smacked his arm scoldingly.
‘Lucas!’
‘It’s fine, I promise. Trust me, Rose. I would never embarrass you.’ Something inside of me inclined me to trust his words. I sighed, trying to gather even more courage, but failing as the nerves took over instead. I’m meeting his dad, while crashing his business meeting.
‘I could kill you,’ I muttered to him, making him laugh.
‘Thank you, Rose,’ was all he said as we pulled up to a large iron gate.
Lucas pushed in a code, having the gate creek open for us in protest. It led to a long driveway that circled in front of an enormous house. Better yet, let’s call it a mansion. I did not know Lucas came from money. I honestly didn’t care about it, but at the moment, I found it intimidating. What if they have a table set with all kinds of silverware I don’t know how to use? You know, like the mini fork, the one no knows what it’s used for. Lucas parked, coming to my side, opening the door for me again. He held his hand out, helping me out of the car. He led me up the 5 steps to the front door, passing by a familiar blue car. Where have I seen that car before?
‘Good evening, young Mr. Porter.’ An elderly man with a gray mustache and an air of sophistication about him greeted us.
‘Hello, James. Where are they?’ He handed James his keys and jacket as he spoke.
‘In the front room, sir.’ He motioned to the room in the back left corner. Lucas grabbed my hand, placing it in the nook of his arm, before walking behind James. He slid the French doors open for us, revealing a small group of people. All eyes landed on him, and then on me, but mine were stuck on an all too familiar face.
Clover sat in a lounge chair by herself. Beside her was an older woman and man I recognized as her parents. Lisa, Lucas’ sister, whom I met last night, sat on the couch beside a more serious man with the same blue eyes as Lisa. His jaw ticked in obvious anger, but he said nothing about me. Hell, he seemed to pretend I didn’t exist. Lisa tried to suppress her smile not too well. She found this amusing. I gripped onto Lucas’ arm tightly as Clover eyed me.
“Olive, sweetheart, is that you?’ Clover’s mom called out to me, breaking the long silence.
‘Yes, hello, Mrs. Camilo,’ I greeted her with a sweet smile.
‘You look so beautiful! I didn’t know you’d be here.’ She came up to me, embracing me in an awkward hug. I’d met her many times when she would come to the apartment to visit Clover. We would all talk, eat, and shop together. It was usually Clover and her mom did the shopping.
‘I was sad to hear you had moved.’ Clover obviously didn’t tell her why, and I would not be the one to reveal what a bitch her daughter was.
‘Yeah, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you myself.’
‘Ronda, Malcolm, this is my son, Lucas, and it seems you are acquainted with his guest,’ Lucas’ father finally spoke.
‘So lovely to meet you, Lucas. This is my daughter, Clover. She and Olive were roommates until last week,’ Mrs. Camilo explained.
‘Nice to meet you,’ Lucas said with a curt nod. He was also being polite, but I didn’t miss the quick second of anger that crossed his face as he looked at Clover.
‘Shall we start dinner now that everyone is here?’ Lisa suggested, trying to save us all from any more of this.
‘Yes, please, follow me,’ her father responded.
We all headed to the next room. The table sat 12 despite there only being 7 of us. I did not know where to sit and, to my horror, the tiny fork stared at me from the table. The urge to take a step back and run away and hide was very strong as I approached the table. I won’t give Clover the satisfaction. Lucas thankfully led me to my seat, pulling it out for me, and pushing it in as I sat. He was a proper gentleman. He took the seat beside me, but then they directed Clover to sit beside him. Her parents sat across from her and Lisa sat across from Lucas and I. Of course, Lucas’ dad sat at the head of the table looking out at the rest of us.
His gaze lingered on me, but I made sure not to show any intimidation. I kept my gaze fixed on the odd painting above the fireplace. I couldn’t make out what it was, but it was slightly off-putting. Lucas squeezed my thigh under the table, trying to give me some encouragement. I turned to look at him, seeing him wink at me with a little smirk. I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help the small smile tugging at my lips.
Lucas’ dad talked business with Mr. Camilo shortly after we all finished eating. He invited Mr. and Mrs. Camilo to the cigar room to talk more, leaving Clover out here with Lisa, Lucas and I. I bit my tongue not wanting to say anything to Clover.
‘So Lucas, tell me about yourself.’ Clover rested her chin on her palm as she stared up at him.
‘Why?’ He asked coldly. I was loving the attitude.
‘Aren’t you supposed to keep me entertained?’ She asked with a raised brow. ‘I can always let my parents know I’m ready to leave.’
‘I hate snobby girls. These dinners are insufferable. I hate girls who cheat with other girl’s boyfriends. Oh, and I love redheads.’ My mouth dropped open as he listed these things quickly, numbering them off with his fingers. I couldn’t believe he was so bold, but I absolutely loved the words he spoke. He made my heart swoon further for him, even though I told it not to. Did he say he loves redheads? Was that aimed towards me? Clover gasped, just as shocked as me.
‘Just so you know, Ollie.’ She used the nickname I hated. The one she came up with because she said it sounded like a guy’s name. ‘It wasn’t the first time.’ She was referring to when I caught her with Julius. My hands fisted, but I didn’t react to her words. She was trying to hurt me, and she succeeded, but I won’t show her.
‘Just so you know, Clover.’ I turned my gaze to her. ‘He was sleeping with me, too. Does that make you sloppy seconds? Or maybe just desperate?’ I pursed my lips, pretending to contemplate it. ‘No, that’s not right. It makes you pathetic.’
‘Ugh! I am not pathetic. What’s pathetic is the way you keep dating guys for their money. You met Julius at one of my parties. You knew he came from money and stole him from under me. Now here you are throwing yourself at Lucas because you think you caught a bigger fish.’ She shook her head like she was disappointed in me.
‘Ha! That’s a laugh. Stole him from under you? He threw himself at me. He begged me to go out with him. After his insistent badgering, I finally agreed. Sorry, he wasn’t interested in you in that way. Guess he wanted something easy to do while he waited for me.’ I gave her a fake smile, batting my lashes at her the way she did when she flirted with guys. She always looked so stupid when she did that.
‘She didn’t throw herself at me. I begged her to come tonight. She’s here because I asked her to be,’ Lucas interjected, grabbing my hand from under the table and kissing the back of my palm. I wasn’t expecting the action, so I blushed. Lisa suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, making us all look at her puzzled. She shook her head, reigning in her laughter. It took her a minute, but eventually she stopped, clearing her throat before explaining.
‘Christ, this is some daytime drama shit. So what I’m understanding from this is you slept with her boyfriend multiple times while they dated, because what? You wanted to prove you were better? All he did was make you the side piece. Honey, the side piece is worse than being rejected. It means he gets from you what he wants, but still makes his girlfriend the priority.’ Lisa shook her head disapprovingly as she explained. ‘Now here you are, thinking that saying you slept with her boyfriend more than once is something to brag about. Oh, Honey.’
Lisa had me cracking a smile at the way she was putting Clover in her place. I wasn’t sure she liked me much when we met yesterday. She asked me a million questions, walking off suddenly without another word.
‘I…But she…’ Clover couldn’t seem to form a sentence anymore. She was stunned and flustered, and I was so happy I could see this moment right now.
‘Could you let Julius know I don’t plan on getting back together with him the next time you guys are having sex? Cool, thanks.’ I knew Julius was probably still sleeping with her. I also knew she probably didn’t know he was trying to get back together with me.
‘You’re such a liar. He doesn’t want you anymore,’ Clover hissed.
‘You think so? Let’s see.’ I pulled my phone out, ringing Julius’ number, placing it on speaker for everyone to hear. He picked up on the second ring. Julius answered the phone almost immediately.
‘Liv, baby. Thank God you came to your senses.’ Julius’ voice actually sounded relieved.
‘I certainly came to my senses tonight.’ About what a fucking liar you are.
‘Come to my place and let’s talk about it, Liv. I love you. It meant nothing, I swear. I only want you.’ Julius was making this so easy.
‘Julius, I want to make something very clear. You are not the man I thought you were. You are a disgusting pig who had no respect for me or our relationship. I will never, never, Julius, get back together with you. We are done. There is no us. I am not your girl, nor will I ever be again. I called to tell you I will be blocking your number. Don’t find me, and if you see me on campus, avoid me.’ I hung up before he could say anything, blocking the number.
‘Damn, Rose. That was hot.’ Lucas smirked at me, moving my hair back over my shoulder. His fingers tickled my exposed skin, making me flush again. Clover was stunned silent. There was nothing she could say after that. She was a stupid, spoiled girl. I can’t believe I ever thought she was my friend. Her lips were pushed together into a thin line. She was mad with her eyes narrowed at me. She wanted to fight. I’ve seen that look before in people who were about to attack.
‘Go ahead, Clover, hit me, and see how fast you land on your ass,’ I dared her, because I wanted an excuse to hit her without getting myself in trouble. Self defense would be the only way to do that. To my disappointment, she didn’t move.
‘Clover, sweetheart, we are leaving now. Olive, it’s always so nice to see you,’ Mrs. Camilo called from the entryway of the dining room.
‘You as well, Mrs. Camilo.’ I gave her a small wave with a smile. Clover got up with a humph, storming out. I could hear her mom calling after her, asking what was wrong. I dare her to say something about this. She’ll only make herself look bad. No, she’ll stay silent, festering in her frustrations.
‘Lucas, a word,’ his dad called from his office.
‘I’ll be right back, beautiful. Don’t go anywhere.’ I wonder what they’re going to talk about?
‘You did well tonight, considering,’ Lisa said with a nod of approval.
‘Thank you. I think?’
‘You’re the first girl he’s ever brought home. I know it may have been nothing fun or romantic, but it was huge for Lucas to bring you here. Just keep that in mind, okay?’ She clearly wanted me to see Lucas in a better light. She didn’t have to say anything. I was already seeing him differently. The sweet gestures throughout the night were enough to make me like him even more. I need to be careful, because I am not sure he likes me as anything more than someone to sleep with. I bit my cheek, trying not to ask her anything about Lucas’ love life. It’s not for her to answer.
‘Okay. I’ll bear it in mind,’ I answered her.
I could hear some faint yelling coming from the direction of Lucas’ father’s office. My body stiffened, holding myself back from going and opening the door. I hate hearing people yell. My dad and mom would fight a lot growing up, and usually in my presence. The fights would always involve them yelling at one another. Most of the time it ended with dad throwing something across the room, sometimes throwing a punch at my mom. Dad always had a bad temper, exasperated by his fighting career.
Dad was abusive with mom, and after she couldn’t take it anymore, she left us. She had me swear not to get with a man who couldn’t handle his anger right before she disappeared from my life. I was 10 at the time, and dad was gone at one of his fights. I stayed home alone for a while before dad arrived. He was furious, hitting walls and calling her name like it would make her appear before him. He became a real drunk after that.
‘Don’t worry, he’s fine. Dad always huffs and puffs, but does nothing, at least not when there’s company. Lucas knows how to get under his skin,’ Lisa assured me, but it didn’t calm the nerves in my stomach.
‘Lucas, I’m not done!’ I heard his dad yell, making me instinctively flinch.
‘But I am!’ he yelled back, slamming the door behind him.
He stormed towards me with his hand extended out to me. I flinched as we went to grab me, despite knowing he would not hurt me. He furrowed his brow for a moment, obviously hurt by the way I had reacted.
‘I won’t hurt you, Rose. I was going to grab your hand. Can I have it, please?’ His deep brown eyes stared into my blue ones with concern as he held his hand out. I cleared my throat, feeling a bit embarrassed and still on edge. I extended my hand towards him, letting him take it and lead me out of the house.
‘Nice seeing you again, Liv,’ Lisa called from behind me, throwing me a wink. Liv was always Julius’ nickname for me. I hate that he’s left a negative connotation to one of my favorite nicknames. I gave her a wave in return, unable to call back to her, knowing my voice would sound weak.
‘Lucas!’ His father yelled after us, but Lucas didn’t turn. He walked us out so fast I was practically sprinting to keep up with him. He grabbed his coat before James could, ushering me out of the door. It was almost like he had set off a bomb inside, and was trying to get us out before it exploded.
The chilly night air hit me hard, snapping me out of the trauma induced anxiety I’d been feeling. Lucas opened my door for me again, but his movements were fast and harsh. I got in, having the door slammed behind me. He slammed his own door after he sat. He punched his steering wheel in anger, making me flinch again.
‘Lucas?’ I cautiously called his name. When he turned to look at me, meeting my eyes, he quickly composed himself again. He slid his hand over his hair, pulling back the loose strands. ‘What happened?’
‘It’s nothing, just my father being my father. I am sorry I scared you, Olive. I didn’t mean to.’
‘Back to Olive, huh?’ I smirked at him, trying to calm him with my flirting. He smirked back, licking his lips.
‘Which would you rather I call you? Rose or Olive? Your name is beautiful. I don’t want you to think I don’t like it.’ He took my hand from my lap as he drove us away.
He kept it in his own, squeezing it and occasionally bringing it up to his mouth to kiss. I thought about it for a moment; I had grown fond of him calling me Rose. He’s the only one that ever has. Around him I don’t feel like shy, traumatized Olive. I feel like a beautiful Rose with sharp thorns that could hurt.
‘Call me Rose,’ I finally answered him, making him smile so big as he stared at the road ahead.
‘Well, Rose, where to now? I promised you we’d go where you wanted afterwards.’
‘Take me home,’ I said, seeing his shoulders slump and a frown form on his face for a second. ‘We need to change before we go where I want to take us.’
He immediately smirked again, his mood lifting. He wanted to spend more time with me, or maybe he’s hoping it ends in sex again, and was only disappointed when he thought it wasn’t going to. I wish I knew what he was thinking.
‘Where are we going?’ He raised a brow curiously.
‘It’s a secret. You’ll see.’ I winked at him with a giggle.
‘Can’t wait. I think I have some spare clothes in my trunk for me, if you don’t mind me getting changed in your apartment.’
‘That’s perfect.’ I nodded.
