She woke up with a headache. She turned and pressed her face into the pillow, she turned faced up again, clasped her hands over her breast and shut her eyes tightly.
She wondered why the headache was there. She sat up and placed a palm on her forehead, stroked the nape of her neck with the other hand. She looked at her clothes and remembered she didn't slip into her nightie, she was tired. She glanced at Lana, she was curled up and sleeping peacefully, she drew closer and kissed her cheek.
As she got into the bathroom, she peeled off all her clothes, looked round for a laundry basket, she found it and shoved all her clothes in. Left in her undies she stood in front of the mirror and saw Mark, she shut her eyes and opened them again and her own reflection appeared. She massaged her Temples slowly, it was getting better. At 35, she looked 25.
Her hands slowly dropped to her sides, her figure was perfect. Her skin flawless but with scars given to her by Mark. She turned to look at her back side; it was perfect and molded just for her. Her hands strayed to her back and unstrapped her bra, her boobs came in sight full and beautiful, she held them in both palms and stared looking for any change, she didn't! She sighed and pulled down her panties.
Left in her Eve's state, she stood and admired what she saw before sliding into the bathtub, turned on the tap and shut her eyes. When she got out of the bathroom, she still saw Lana sleeping. She glanced at the clock, it was 6am. She smeared her skin La Pairie cream, wore fresh undies, stepped into a blue jeans, wore with a little difficulty a tight green shirt, then packed her hair in a high donut style.
The headache had subsided, but still throbbed a little. Coming down stairs she heard voices, as she got closer the voices became clearer, she heard stark's voice but the other voice was new, she continued down the stairs. He was standing with another man; she narrowed her eyes when she noticed them holding hands.
"Is it what am thinking” she thought to herself, she shoved it aside and cleared her throat, they both turn simultaneously to meet her gaze.
"Good morning Michelle" Stark greeted,
"Morning Stark, when did you come in? “
"Few minutes ago", The look on the other man's face showed confusion, Stark noticed it,
"Luke meet Michelle my Half-sister, Michelle meet Luke my friend", They shook hands and smiled with courtesy. "Stark you never told me you had such a beautiful queen"
“Luke I’m telling you, she has a 10 year old daughter",
“Who cares"?
They all laughed and started talking. Michelle noticed Luke's gestures as he talked, her eyes seemed to scan him from head to toe, he noticed and returned the gaze for few seconds with a mischievous smile playing on his face, she smiled and took her eyes off. Michelle excused herself and was surprised to see Matilda in the kitchen.
"Mal, it's barely 7am"
"Morning Michelle. I know but Saturdays I get to leave by 12pm, so I come earlier ",
Michelle nodded,
“Alright I need to check on Lana"
"Breakfast is for 8"
"Yes ma'am"
They both laugh. Breakfast was eaten in a very happy mood, with Lana throwing questions at everyone, especially Luke. Mid-day met Michelle and Stark sitting at the balcony, discussing about Lana's academics. Picking schools and deciding which was best for her. They eventually decided on a school.
“This is going to be a whole new experience for her" Michelle said,
“of course, she needs it" Stark concluded.
Over dinner, Lana was told about her new school. They expected her to sulk, but were surprised when she jumped and hugged her mom, spinned loosely and hummed a song. Next day, Luke came around. Stark marveled at his friend's revisit.
What amused him more was the banquet of red roses he held, immediately he knew the visit was for Michelle.
"Come on! Luke, you just met my sister, and you are already head over heels"
“Oh well, Stark! What can I say? Your sister has a different aura from other women I have met"
Luke replied. Stark shook his head and called out to Michelle,
“down in a jiffy" she responded. Her voice gave Luke the chills, he stood fixed to the ground, and he looked like he rehearsed every moment. Stark hits him on the chest
“my sister doesn't bite, loosen up man",
” don't ruin this moment Stark"
Luke spoke through his teeth. Stark laughs, jiggles the keys in his hand and left the house. Each step he heard on the stairs spiked his pulse. Throughout the night he imagined her face, he fantasized this moment, there was no way he wanted this to be ruined. She came in sight, looking fresh and beautiful, her perfume clouded him.
His heartbeat doubled, he could swear she heard it, the way she walked with poise intrigued him. She came closer, he swallowed. She was a little surprised when she saw the flowers in his hand and was more surprised when she discovered it was her he came to see.
“you look radiant"
He managed to say. He handed her the flowers, she smiled as she took them from him.
"Thank you Luke".
He scratched the back of his head, everything he memorized left his head, and he became jittery.
“Are you alright" she asked concerned,
"No am not Michelle, everything I wanted to say to you has suddenly left my head, I’m blank"
she laughs out loud, he stood looking stupid, he hated the feeing. She finally stops laughing then says
“you don't have to memorize anything to talk to a woman, talk through your heart, say how you feel through your words and not another person's words",
He nodded like a child. "Can we sit down, my legs are about to betray me",
she leads them to a couch, they both sit. "Where is Lana?”
"School",
"Matilda",
"Around, I guess",
He noticed the way she sat, it wasn't slumped, her back was straight, her shoulders squared and straight, her chest pushed forward a bit. He said to himself, “surely she is a natural queen".
“I thought Stark didn't have any friends ",
she jerked him from his thoughts,
” oh! He has and that's me, I’ve been away for a while",
"Oh" They kept talking, until he popped the question
"where is the father of Lana?”
Her countenance changed; first it was angry then shifted to sad.
"We're divorced"
"Am sorry about that ",
“no, no, no its okay, am over it"
They kept on talking; he consciously avoided the topic of his ex.
"So would you love to go on a date with me",
the words rushed out, Shit! He cursed under his breath. She smiled,
" I would love to"
"This evening, 7pm",
"It's fine by me. Formal or casual?”
"Formal! Thank you so much, you just made my day" He said beaming.
He stood to leave; she got up too and saw him off to the door. She opened it. He stretched his hand, she reached for it and they shook, he held on, looking deep into her eyes, for the first time she noticed his deep brown eyes, his lips were perfect, his scent hovered around her, she in a way loved the way he towered her.
Bells were ringing in her head
"what is happening" she thought, he leaned forward, she felt warmth in her stomach, he got closer, she felt his breath, damn! He was so close, her heart rate increased, her eyes closed her breath became a little labored, under her feet suddenly became cold, his lips rested on her cheek. Damn! She was disappointed. She opened her eyes trying not to show embarrassment.
“Have a beautiful day Michelle”
“you too" she throated. He turned to go, she closed the door, leaned, lifted her hand to where his lips had been and smiled. All through the day her eyes strayed to the clock consistently, and each time her butterflies moved in her stomach. The day seemed to drag.
She looked at the clock again, 6pm, "oh yes" she thought with glee. She freshened up, opened her closet and scanned for the perfect gown, right from the moment she agreed to the date she knew the gown,
"aha, here you are"
she loved the dress, a Jovani red dress with crystal beads in front. She let down her towel, left in her birthday suit, she walked to where her lotion was and smeared it lavishly on her skin, opened the drawer and pulled out an underwear, she wore it and took the dress and pulled it over her head, it got stucked, she wondered why, she pulled it and discovered there was zip at the back.
She unzipped it and pulled it over her head again, then zipped up. Next she brought out her jewelry box, and searched for her Givenchy Brass and Resin Skull drop earrings, she admired the earrings in the mirror. She packed her hair into a bun. Just then Lana came in
“mommy, you're going out?",
"Yea honey, won't stay out too long, Mal will stay with you, I asked her to. Make sure you eat dinner okay! ",
"okay" Lana left in search of Matilda; she was already fond of her. Michelle slipped her feet into her gold Giuseppe Zanotti Metallic three strap evening sandals, her gold Lowe Large Logo embossed clutch bag was lying on the bed, she took it and admired herself in the mirror.
She looked closely to her face and gasped "oh my god, no makeup" she quickly picked up her towel and covered the front of her dress, brought out her make up kit and applied a light make up. She looked at her reflection in the mirror “now you look pretty girl" and hummed the song 'mirror' by Justin Timberlake.
A knock! Jerked her from her spinning and pouting in front of the mirror. She knew who was at the door, her heartbeat thumped! She took quick deep breaths before going down gracefully. She got to the door, opened it and saw a different side of Luke, he looked strikingly handsome.
“Good evening Luke, come in".
When he saw her, he died and resurrected, he loved her appearance especially how her dress hovered above her knees. He had a single white rose between his lips, he pointed to it
“take it with your mouth" he tried talking without letting it drop. She shook her head and pulled it playfully from his mouth with her hand.
“Michelle you're so beautiful, I've seen other beautiful women, but you are unique", she smiled displaying her perfectly arranged teeth,
"Thank you"
"So shall we"
"Of course" As soon as she was out, he closed the door behind them. The sound of her shoes added rhythm to the music in his head. He loved this night. As they approached his car, she gasped.
"What is it?"
"Your car"
"Ermmmmmm, okayyyy, what about it?"
"It's beautiful"
“oh, thank you my lady"
he said with the British accent. She always fantasized about having a black Porsche; here she was in one, but not hers. He opened the door for her and waited till she was comfortable before shutting the door.
He got behind the wheel, pressed a button and John Legend's 'All of Me' oozed out. She hummed along. There was no conversation; she just hummed along with the songs that played out. The car stopped, "here we are", and she looked out the window, and saw a house, soft music was playing out I thought we were headed for a restaurant or something” she looked confused "Am sorry for not letting you know, but it's a friend's birthday party, he is celebrating his 30th birthday and I needed a date", "Okay", she moved her hands to open the door, he pulled her back, “No! Let me open the door for you", she smiled “okay".
He got out, got to the door, opened it and stretched his hand, she placed her palm on his as she got out, he held her hand and led her to the door, pressed the door bell, immediately the door was opened by a man he looked tensed and tired but tried to smile " welcome" next to him stood a waiter with a tray of wine glasses filled halfway with wine. Luke took two glasses and handed one to Michelle, she took it and involuntarily sniffed, he looked at her amused,
“Oh, I’m sorry, am not a big fan of alcohol"
"I see" She looked round and discovered the house was really spacious, filled with men and women, some talking, laughing, some looking as though they were forced to come to the party. She started paying attention to the ladies; all of them paid close attention to their look, from their hair down to their shoes.
“are you alright"
He noticed her distraction "Yea I am"
“Hope you are having fun”
“Yea I am, lovely house I must say" A waiter came, with a tray of squared shaped cakes, again he picked two and handed her one, his eyes scanned the house for the celebrant. A tap on his back, he turned sharply to see the beaming face of his friend, the celebrant looked really happy, " hey, Kelvin, happy birthday bro" Luke was elated to see his friend
Kelvin eyes shifted to Michelle "Luke! Is she your girlfriend?”
"Well, she's just a friend"
"Arrrghhh! Luke! You let this diamond to be just a friend to you, come on man, she's a description of beauty",
she smiles
"happy birthday Kelvin",
"Thank you beautiful one, hope you like the party?”
“Yea I do, it's a classic one. Pleased to meet you"
she stretched her hand for a handshake, instead of shaking; he took her hand close to his mouth and kissed it. She's a bit embarrassed but tries to hide it.
"So where is stark?"
He turned to Luke,
“you know Stark, one minute he's here, the other minute he's gone. He's a shady guy",
" alright I have to go now, need to meet more friends, you guys should have fun, anything you need let me know" they both nod their heads. Kelvin disappears.
"So do you like his party"
He looked concerned
"Yea" They kept on talking, he had a sense of humor, and she laughed at all his jokes. For the first time in a long time she was actually having fun.
“Do you want to eat something?"
“No appetite”
"Are you sure"
“Yes, the music is mild, it's not noisy, it's classic, plus the people here have a high taste in fashion. Everyone here look like they are from the top part of life", he nods
“you can say that again, so do you want to dance?"
"Nope, my feet are killing; we've been standing since we came"
“oh, I’m so sorry" He leads her to a free couch, she sank in feeling relieved.
“Do you want anything?"
"No, thanks" Kelvin appears again. "I see you guys are having fun"
“Yea, we are" Luke replied "Okay, so can I go now, need to attend to more guests"
"Oh no! You can't go"
“Why?" “Because you need to answer a question”
“Okay, I’m all ears"
“Do you now have a girlfriend or fiancée?"
“I’ve girlfriends" He said laughing "Come on Kel! I mean a commitment”
“No, not ready for that, well you don't have any yourself"
“I’m sitting next to one woman"
He turns to look at Michelle. Kelvin scoffs
“well am happy having a quiver full of women"
He spreads his hands for emphases. Michelle gives him the weird look, he noticed it
" oh no my beautiful one, am not as bad as he puts it, am a perfect gentleman, believe me",
“Yea right" she says. He laughed and walked away.
“My friend is crazy”
“Obviously” They spent the rest of the evening talking and eating what they could.
"What's the time ", he looks at his watch "its 9:30".
”We need to start going, I’ve to go back home to Lana"
“oh that's true, let's go", they both stood up, Kelvin appears again" where do you think you're going to" "Home" she responded “Obviously” "Isn't my party classic anymore?" She smiles; "it is, but I have to go home to my daughter", "oh, I see" he looked a bit surprised. He saw them off to the door and bid them goodnight.
Getting back, he walked her to the front door.
“Thanks for being my date today",
“you’re welcome. I had a swell time this evening".
His eyes seemed to glow in the dark, she resisted the temptation to place her lips on his. He came closer and kissed her cheek,
“goodnight Michelle, see you again", She pressed the door bell, almost immediately the door was opened by Matilda, “goodnight Luke", he turned and walked away.
“Thank goodness! Was beginning to get worried"
“Thanks Mal. Where is Lana?"
"She's tucked in bed sleeping"
“Thank you so much"
“It’s okay. I've to go now"
“No, just stay over, tomorrow is Saturday; you can sleep in any room". Matilda saw a point there and decided to stay back. She stretched and yawned and headed straight for a room. Michelle got into the room and saw her daughter sleeping soundly.
She pulled her dress over her head, removed her shoes, and off came her earrings. She was left with just her underwear; she got into the bathroom and washed off her makeup before lying next to her pearl. Her thoughts were on Luke when she shut her eyes and slipped into dreamland.
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