The Game Changer The Final Score - By L.M. Trio Page 0,83
for our wedding guests.
***
(Jesse)
De and I slip out of our gowns and change into our party dresses, which we bought in New York along with my wedding dress and De’s bridesmaid dress. I chose a Vera Wang, champagne colored, sleeveless chiffon, short dress with beaded straps. Deanna chose a Vera Wang, short, crinkle chiffon, halter neck, amethyst colored dress with a black Mikado sash. We then head to the upstairs club to join the rest of our friends and family
Everyone is having a great time, dancing the night away and counting down the minutes until midnight. The evening is magical and I can’t imagine anything more perfect than today. I’m happy that our friends seem to be having fun and it looks as though everyone that did not bring a guest managed to find someone else to ring in the New Year with.
I catch Deanna watching Mikey, who appears to have caught the attention of an attractive, leggy blonde to the left of the DJ booth. It looks as though he’s not interested, but is finding it hard to escape due to the fact that she has him practically pinned to the wall while she talks in his ear. I know he’s not thrilled that De brought Jeffrey along, and to be honest, I’m not sure why she did, either. He thinks she acts uneasy and uptight when she’s in Jeffrey’s company and I can’t help agreeing with that, too. “I don’t think the guy laughs much and I don’t want him rubbing off on her,” he told me.
The bartender pours the champagne while Luke and I pass along the glasses to our friends. He holds me tightly as everyone counts down the seconds to the New Year. We kiss just as passionately, if not more so, as we did this same night four years ago.
“Happy New Year, Mrs. DiAngelo,” he whispers in my ear. After all that we have been through, we now have each other and everything else is just icing on the cake.
***
(Mikey)
I ditch the blonde a few minutes before midnight. I’m not in the mood for company. While I talk with the guys, I see De slip away alone, and head downstairs. I look over and spot Jeffrey tied up, talking with some other douche bag like him near the bar. I discreetly grab two flutes of champagne and follow behind De. I stay back and watch as she walks through the, now cleared out, private dining area where dinner was held earlier. She steps out onto the dark, vacated veranda and sits on the edge of the cement wall, looking up at the darkened sky. A faint sound of music can be heard from the upstairs club.
“Hey,” I say, startling her.
“Oh God, you scared me.” She smiles.
“Sorry.” I sit down beside her and place the glasses on the ledge beside me. “What’s up? You okay?”
“Yeah, it was a really beautiful night, wasn’t it?”
“Awesome… What are you doin’ out here by yourself?”
“I just wanted some fresh air. Can you believe it’s January and we can sit outside and enjoy this night without freezing?”
“That’s Florida.”
“It’s nice.”
“So, where’s Doc Jeffrey?”
“Where’s your blonde bimbo?”
I laugh. “Why do you do that? I’m just askin’. I’m not with anyone tonight. I came here alone.”
“Where’s Lora Rae? I thought you would have brought her.”
“You thought wrong… again. She’s in LA. This is a family thing, something special. I didn’t want to bring her.”
“You’re mean.”
“No, I’m not. I just like what I like, and I want to keep the two things separate.”
“So what are you doing out here? How did you find me?”
“I saw you walk down the steps and I realized we didn’t wish each other a Happy New Year yet, so… ” I hand her a flute of champagne, kiss her on the cheek and clink my glass to hers. “Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year.” She looks up and gives me a gorgeous smile.
“How’s the long distance thing goin’?” I ask hesitantly.
“I’ve only been here a little over a week and now he’s here, so—”
“So, how’s it goin’?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think he’s going to be able to handle it. I mean, not too many people can.” She shrugs as if it’s not a big deal.
“Maybe that’s because they don’t love the person they are with enough. I believe that if you love someone, you love them always, whether they are close or far away. Look at your brother and JJ.”