Page 210 of Now and Forever

Chapter 73

I

t had been exactly a week since that emotionally charged encounter, and lucky for me, Cruz had been in and out of the office, travelling and attending business meetings in different parts of Europe. It would be conceited to consider, but part of me believed Cruz was relieved he didn’t have to see me. I wasn’t sure why my thoughts led me to that conclusion, but I had the wild hunch.

With Cruz gone, Archer suddenly come out of nowhere, surprising me at work. He thought to pop in and see how things were working out for me and to also tell me he would be going to the south of France with some of friends for a whole week. He even extended an invitation, and for a second, I was willing to go, but then I was reminded of school and work commitments. I couldn’t check out of those responsibilities for a whole week. It would be insane. Archer, however, was a law unto himself.

He didn’t follow any rules and did things on his own terms—coming home whenever he felt like, dating whomever he wanted, whether to opt in to work in their family company or not, or to follow the proper social obligations or not. Some might see it as impulsive, lazy even, but I found myself admiring that trait—not giving a fuck if he was offending anyone. It must be freeing to act and think that way. One could only wish to have such freedom, but I cared too much.

During this time, I met two girls from school, one named Nessa and her roommate/best friend, the eccentrically cute Bobbie. They were the epitome of opposites attract. Sometimes, I wondered how one could tolerate the other, but for some reason, they worked and, in a sense, complimented each other. I guessed, since they grew up together as neighbors, they’d had time to accept each other’s traits.

Before I left school to go to my internship, Bobbie invited me to a party tonight. Given that it was my first official invitation from anyone at school, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. The need to fit in with my peers made it all the more important to me. Promising them I would text them the address to Margery’s house in Chelsea, I then went to work, but this time, I made sure I had the right clothes to change into.

With Denise gone to shadow Cruz wherever he needed to get to, I had to go under Steph. Steph was more laidback, and I resonated more with her than Denise. Maybe it was because she was less intense and much hipper due to her love of rock and roll, one tidbit that I didn’t expect upon judging her by appearance since she looked like your typical Miss Prim. She proved me wrong, though.

Once work ended, I came home to dine with Margery. She and I had been in our getting-to-know-each-other stage. I found her enchanting, most especially when she told me stories about her youth, how she met my mother, or how she fell in love. There was no doubt in my mind how much love she had for her late husband. The more she reminisced, the more I recalled Cruz’s words about how true love could sometimes kill someone. When she got those spells, she usually got teary-eyed, not the hysterical, but more of a poised, gracious cry. Before we parted for the night so she could rest and read a novel, I gave her a warm hug then whispered that she was a brave woman. The despair in her eyes became evident before she whispered her thank you with a weakened smile.

I had already informed her that I planned to go out tonight, so when she wished me a lovely evening, I took it as my cue to go upstairs and change.

The minute I was secured in the room, I began to change into a skin-tight, stretchy, white, micro mini dress. No denim mishap for me tonight, I thought as I inwardly recoiled at the memory of the horrified look as they ridiculed my outfit that night. Though I didn’t want to be bullied into changing who I was and what I liked, I also didn’t want to provoke uninvited attention. With some careful use of cosmetics, I decided to let my hair down before slipping into some stilettos.

When Bobbie called, telling me they would be there in less than five minutes, I hurriedly went downstairs and waited right outside for them to show up. Surprisingly, Bobbie had her boyfriend Jude, a guy who matched her dulled-out, silvery-pink hair, drive us to the party. And since I had no idea where the party was located, I was beginning to worry after thirty minutes or so when we didn’t slow down one bit on the freeway.

“Um … How far away is this place?”

Nessa threw me a warm smile. “Not far. We’re almost in Brighton, love.”

Brighton?I wondered, thinking that I hadn’t been there. Well, there were a lot of places I hadn’t been yet, but one by one, hopefully before I left the country, I would have a chance to see them all. Who knew when I would be able to visit again? Surely not on a student budget; that was for damn sure.

The party was held in the three-story home of some artist, so the people filtering in and out of the place were a contrast of colors and hues. Most opted for black apparel with interesting hair colors from all over the color wheel. It certainly would be a night to remember.

British people expressed themselves in the most passionate of ways. I didn’t know how they had become known for being standoffish and reserved. One thing stood out, though, and that was their love of music. People here seemed to appreciate the retro jams, rock and roll, and everything in between. It was different than what I was used to, but I found it refreshing.

I wasn’t sure if that made much sense, but heck, I was young and buzzing with alcohol, so I did what everyone else was doing: dance, drink, converse, and dance some more.

Since Bobbie was basically engrossed with Jude, Nessa and I partied together. There were several men wanting to break us apart, but I wasn’t interested. When one guy took Nessa’s interest and left me all to my lonesome, I was relieved to see Bobbie sitting all by herself while watching her boyfriend do some Irish bomb contest. Seeking her company, I sat next to her, enjoying the craziness around me.

“Your boyfriend looks a breath away from passing out.” Jude did seem as though he couldn’t go for another round. His eyes were barely cracked open as he sported a shit-eating grin.

Bobbie smirked. “Oh, that’s nothing new, my love. The party wouldn’t be smashing if he didn’t fall flat on his hairy arse.”

Jude had a hairy ass? Uh … GROSS! The image that flashed through my mind was too hard to shake off. Fuck.

Bobbie spat out the alcohol from her mouth, snorting as she laughed her heart out. “Your face! Bloody hell, that was priceless!”

Hairy and ass didn’t go together. I would have enjoyed laughing along with her, but I was too sober to do so.

“What time do you think we’ll be heading back? I’m in no rush, just want a time frame.” I still had classes and work tomorrow, none of which I intended to miss.

“I don’t think any of us are in condition to drive. We’ll probably crash here or sleep in the car more like. You know what I mean?”

“Yes, I do.” But I wasn’t prepared for that. I didn’t expect that coming out to party tonight meant that I wasn’t going home until whenever they felt like driving back. It wasn’t their fault. It was mine since I hadn’t asked for essential details when they invited me. Heck, I hadn’t even asked where it was located.

While Bobbie was preoccupied rehashing stories about Jude and getting inebriated in the past, I was trying to find a solution. Given the hour, flagging a cab or taking the train was out of the question. I had heard it didn’t resume until six a.m., so I basically had the choice of waiting it out for another five hours or tagging along with my school friends, none of which appealed to me, to say the least.

He did say I could call him if I needed something, and this was a moment of desperate need. It would have been different if there was a safe place to crash around here. However, it seemed that everyone was too busy meeting someone to hook up with and getting obliterated as quickly as possible instead of worrying about something as lame as having a decent place to sleep.

One of my biggest rules when partying was always to make sure I got home safely. I could get drunk as much as my heart desired, but I always had to sleep in my own bed.

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