“I knew I saw you.” I walked past her, raising her car’s hood to a toasted engine,. “It’s bad. You need to call a towing company.”
“It’s late,” Amelia pointed out the obvious. “I need to get home tonight.”
It dawned on me that Camile was not with her any longer. I asked her about her best friend.
“She had an emergency from her mother,” Amelia replied. “She took a cab home.”
She ran her fingers through her hair, sighing with frustration.
“You will get home tonight,” I assured her. “I will drop you off at your house.”
I quickly called the towing company. “They'll be here any minute.” I leaned on my car's hood, and Amelia maintained a healthy distance.
“Thank you,” Amelia said, her hands wrapped around her as she tried to rub some heat onto her skin.
She was cold, I thought to myself. I took off my jacket and offered it to her.
She took it instantly and muttered, “Thank you.”
The towing car pulled up after a long, silent period. Amelia entered my car as I drove her to her house. Bobby Bare’s album starts to play on the car stereo while Raining Day in Richmond escaped the speaker. Amelia started to hum the song. She had a soft, smooth pitch, which made me wonder if she had ever considered a music career. A minute later, she was lost in the music, singing out loud as she stretched her hand out the window. She was having a good time with the music. I saw the light in her eyes shut down when I parked in front of her house.
“Thank you,” she said as she stared at me.
“You are welcome,” I replied. Amelia leaned in for a kiss on my cheek but kissed my mouth instead.
That second deep kiss awakened a feeling deep in my throat. Amelia's soft, gentle lips moved passionately against mine. My left hand found its way to her cheek. I felt her melt in my hands and smelled the rose scent of her shampoo. Amelia finally pulled away and left my car without a word.
Last night, I thought a second kiss with Amelia would cure my thirst for her lips. Instead, it made me thirst for more. I knew what was happening to me – I found Amelia amusing. I never found a woman amusing.
Chapter three
The Deep Mystery I wanted to Unwrap
Amelia
Richmond State's masked party was one of the events I looked forward to the most every year. The party was a fundraising event among the community elite to give back to the society they profit from. My sisters were as pumped up as I was, and Camille's presence this year made everything better. She was excited about attending this event, and I looked forward to spending the evening with her.
Camille told me she had a date, but she wouldn’t tell me who it was. I couldn’t imagine Camille’s date would be so bad as to hide him away from me. I didn't care. I was only hyped about seeing her tonight. I walked into the party hall with my family; it took only a few seconds for every family member to disappear into the crowd.
I walked aimlessly among the crowd, hoping to see Camille before the fundraising started. I looked over my shoulders a few times, trying not to collide with anyone while trying to find Camille simultaneously. I looked over the crowd again, seeing Camille in a green dress at the left corner of the hall.
Although Camille wore a matching mask, I could always recognize her. Excitement rushed through my veins; and as I tried to get Camille's attention from afar, my shoulder hit someone in a painful collision.
He was holding a champagne glass spilling all over his white tux.
“I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!” I began before the fellow turned around. A huge surprise formed on our faces as Henry Robinson turned to me.
I couldn't mistake those soothing emerald eyes for someone else's. Henry raised his mask above his brown hair to reveal his face. The whole room became a blur as I stood across from Henry. I swallowed hard as my eyes fell on his lips. He'd kissed me with those lips the last time. Twice, in fact. I wonder if he ever thought about the passionate kiss he had planted on my lips and if he ever wanted to do it again.
“Hi,” I smiled. “I didn’t know it was you!” My voice rose to an embarrassing high pitch.
“Small world, huh?” Henry didn't look offended by my spilling a drink on his shirt. He was weird for not taking offense. Henry raised his head, revealing how bad his once-white tux now looked. I took a handkerchief from my purse and rubbed it over the spilled surface.
Henry grabbed my hand as he told me to stop cleaning his shirt. “You just gave me an excuse to leave.”
“You didn’t want to come? Why are you here, then?” I never thought anyone would detest coming to the famous masked party. I thought everyone loved it.
Everyone except for Henry Robinson, the man I would marry in a few months.