by Marie Jem
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. I’m not going to drink either. Let’s eat something. I’m starved,” he replied.
Stefano ordered the same appetizers we had eaten on Sunday. We were both very hungry and devoured every bite. He wanted to hang out the next day after the fashion show and also on Sunday.
“Stefano, that’s not a good idea. We really need to find you a girlfriend. How are you going to find someone if you’re constantly hanging out with me?” I asked.
“I will find someone at the Halloween party, don’t worry,” he said. “Or I should say you will help me find someone at the party,” he corrected himself.
I wasn’t sure if Stefano kept asking me to hang out with him because he thought my feelings for him would grow or if he really wanted to spend time with me as a friend, simply platonic. I didn’t want to lead him on, so I was adamant about the constant reminder that we were just friends. There was no way I was going to use Stefano as my rebound guy. He was just too nice and sweet to be used like that. After a few hours of eating great food and laughing until our abdominal muscles were sore, we had to call it a night.
Stefano walked me to my car and gave me a “buddy” hug as he called it.
“Claire, call me tomorrow or Sunday. Maybe we can go see a movie or something. I don’t have any plans all weekend and would love to see a movie with you if you’re interested,” he said.
“I will let you know if nothing else comes up. Good night, my friend,” I said as I got into my car and drove home.
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Saturday morning, I automatically awakened early when I really wanted to sleep in. I took advantage of the early rising and did an hour of yoga and showered. I enjoyed a toasted bagel with herbal tea on the verandah and admired the beautiful clear skies. The weather had really cleared up from the storm and the birds were even enjoying it, chirping nonstop.
I had to meet Laura at noon at the Beverly Hills Hotel, so I had plenty of time to do my hair and makeup and dress up. I took time putting a few loose curls in my hair. When it was almost time to leave, I slipped into my dress, which actually fit much better than the first day I had tried it on. Looking at myself in that dress brought back memories of the weekend Alex and I had shared at the W hotel for his birthday. I shook my head, shaking away the memories, so that I didn’t begin to cry and ruin the beautiful makeup I had spent so much time applying. I slipped on my shoes, grabbed my Louis Vuitton clutch and was out the door.
It was nice driving in a traffic free morning for a change. I was always stuck in traffic during the week, so I really enjoyed the normal drive that Saturday. I used the navigation system in my car to get to the hotel, since it wasn’t every day that I had an event to attend at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I pulled up to the valet parking section and dropped off my car. The fashion show was in the Crystal Ballroom and Laura met me right inside the front entrance.
“Claire, you look fabulous. I’m so glad you made it,” she said.
“Hi, Laura. You look gorgeous,” I replied. Laura wore a dark mustard colored dress with black lace around the edges. I had never seen her in a dress. She looked very beautiful. We took the steps all the way down to the Crystal Ballroom. There were crowds of people just outside the ballroom waiting for the doors to open. There were waiters serving champagne and appetizers. I helped myself to a glass of champagne and some gourmet cheese and crackers. Just as the doors opened to proceed into the ballroom, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see who had tapped me and was surprised to see Melissa.
“Claire? Oh my goodness, what a nice surprise,” she said, eyes wide.
“M-Melissa, hi, it’s nice to see you,” I replied. Laura was looking at the two of us obviously wondering who Melissa was. I turned to Laura and explained, “Laura, this is Melissa. She is Alex’s sister. Melissa, this is Laura, my friend and coworker from the hospital,” I introduced them.
“Nice to meet you, Laura. It’s so good to see you,” she said as she turned to me. “Do you come to this show every year?” she asked.
“I don’t. This is my first time. Laura comes every year and invited me,” I replied.
“That’s nice. I’m really glad I ran into you. The last time we saw one another, well, you know,” she frowned. “I’m always at these things. It’s a part of my job, you know. Anyway, I have to go, since my boss is here. It’s kind of a workday for me. It was so good to see you, Claire, and very nice to meet you, Laura. I hope you ladies have a great time,” she said and headed toward a group of ladies she was with.
“That was Alex’s sister?” asked Laura.
“Yep,” I replied.
“She seems very nice,” she said.
“She is. What you see is what you get with Melissa,” I replied.
I did like Melissa because she was genuine and very blunt. She was easy to read and very real. It was a shame that I wouldn’t see her as often as I would have liked, since Alex and I weren’t together.
We headed inside and took a seat at our table, which we shared with a group of ladies we did not know. Laura was right about the food, as it was really good. There was a long well lit runway in the center of the ballroom. The models walked up and down the runway, strutting their figures and beautiful dresses. There were so many beautiful dresses to look at I wished I had all of them.
After a few fun hours of admiring beautiful dresses and models, the fashion show was about the come to an end. There was a raffle and Laura and I had purchased a few raffle tickets. I ended up winning a full day at a glamorous Beverly Hills spa. Laura was so excited for me. I normally didn’t win prizes, so I was very surprised to have won. After the show was over, we walked out of the hotel to pick up our cars.
“Laura, I want you to have this,” I said, handing her the spa day I had just won.
“What? Why? You won it, it’s yours,” she replied.
“Because you need it more than I do. You are planning a wedding and I know you’re so stressed. Besides, you didn’t take the money for the fashion show ticket and that was equivalent to a spa day anyway. Please take it,” I pleaded.
“But, it’s yours. I want you to have it, Claire. You’ve been going through so much with Alex that you could really use a spa getaway,” she explained.
“Laura, the dancing is what I need right now. Please take it or I will not use it and it will go to waste,” I replied.
After a long battle, Laura finally allowed me to give her the spa certificate. She needed it more than I did.
“Thank you, Claire. You’re the sweetest person I have ever met,” she said, giving me a warm hug.
“Likewise, Laura. Thank you so much for inviting me today. I had a wonderful time. Who knows, maybe next year I will accompany you again to this show,” I said.
“I hope so. There’s my car. I’ll see you at work on Monday. Have a great weekend and thank you so much,” she said and walked to her car. I waited a few minutes longer for my car before the valet attendant finally brought it.
I had a text message from Stefano on my phone. I dialed his number when I got into my car.
“Hi, buddy. You texted?” I asked.
“Yeah, I wanted to know if you wanted to see a movie,” he said.
“I’m on my way home from Beverly Hills. Can I let you know after I go home and change? My feet are killing me in these heels,” I replied.
“Sure, maybe we can do something in your area, so you don’t have to drive out this way. Call me later, okay?” he said.
“I will. Talk to you later,” I replied and hung up.
As much as I loved spending friendly time with Stefano, I knew I had to hurry and find him the girl of his dreams. The more time we spent together, the more attached he was going to become and my heart was still not going to skip a beat for him.
Chapter 16
I changed quickly out of my dress and painful shoes as soon as I got home. I put on a pair of jeans, a warm top and boots. I was debating whether or not I should call Stefano, but I had no other pla
ns and did not want to be stuck at home alone all day. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors and I thought I should take advantage of that. I picked up my phone and dialed Stefano’s number.
“Hey, I was waiting for your call,” he answered.
“Okay, where should we go? Movies?” I asked.
“Sure, there’s a few comedies out right now that I know you would love,” he said.
“Okay. Pick me up. Not with your motorcycle, please. Pick me up with your car,” I laughed.
I gave Stefano my address, so he could come over and we would decide which movie theatre to go to. It didn’t take Stefano too long to get to my place, although it was pretty far from his condo. I called the gate to let them know that I was expecting a guest. Stefano came in his car as I had asked him to. I was not in the mood to ride on that fast Ducati again. I had had my share of an adrenaline rush the past weekend. I waited for Stefano to park his car and walk to the door. He had a pastry box in his hand and I wondered what he had picked up.
“Hey there. I thought we could share some cupcakes together,” he said, revealing the box with half a dozen cupcakes decorated very beautifully.
“Thank you, Stefano. You really do have a sweet tooth, don’t you?” I asked, leading him inside the condo.
“Nice place you got here, Claire. I like the furniture a lot. It’s really modern. Did you remodel or was it like this when you moved in?” he asked.
I gave Stefano a tour of the first floor, showing him where the restroom and kitchen were. His condo was very hip and modern and in the center of town, but it was much smaller than mine. He seemed to have really taken a liking to it. We sat on the bar stools by the kitchen and had a few cupcakes.
“These are delicious, Stefano. Please don’t bring these again because they are definitely going to add to my waistline,” I said.
“Your waistline could use some dessert,” he smiled. I looked up the showings of the movie we wanted to see and realized the next showing was going to begin in less than thirty minutes. The movie theatre was not too far from my place, so we knew we would make it on time. Stefano drove, since his car was parked right outside. We arrived at the movie theatre ten minutes before the movie and found the perfect seats.
“I’m going to get some popcorn. What would you like to drink?” he asked.
“Nothing for me, please. I can just share with you, so get whatever you want for yourself,” I replied. Stefano returned with a large bucket of popcorn, lots of candy, a large soda and a large bottle of water.
“Oh my, you really have an appetite, don’t you?” I laughed.
“I didn’t know what kind of candy you liked, so I got one of each kind,” he said, his smile bright and big just like a kid in a candy store.
The movie was hilarious. Stefano and I laughed so much that I had tears in my eyes.
We headed back to my condo and I made green tea for both of us, so we could digest all the junk. We sat out on the verandah, which Stefano loved so much. He enjoyed the view and the atmosphere.
“Are you excited about the party next Saturday?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m getting there. I’m a little nervous because I won’t know anybody there aside from you,” I replied.
“That’s okay. You can make friends,” he said.
“My mission is to find you a girl to go home with that night,” I said, winking at him.
“You even have a mission I see. It’s going to be very difficult, though. I’m a very picky guy,” he said.
“I’ll accept the challenge,” I replied, smiling.
I noticed Stefano touching his knee quite often. He seemed to have discomfort or pain. I asked him if it hurt, but he said it didn’t. I recalled him telling me the story of how he hurt his knee and could not dance as a back up dancer for as long as it took for his knee to heal. I felt bad for Stefano because it seemed as though dancing on stage was his life. He was happy working at the studio, helping out his mother, but I knew deep down inside that he would be happier if he were on tour with one of the artists in his photos.
“I know your knee hurts. I have ice packs you can put on it. I’ll be right back,” I said and headed inside to get the ice from the freezer. Stefano applied the ice pack and it seemed to help a little bit. “I have an electric heating pad that you can alternate with when we go back inside. We have to plug that in, so I will give you that when we go inside,” I said.
“And you want me to find another girl? How on earth am I going to find a girl as caring and beautiful as you? Tell me that,” he said. There were very nice and caring girls out there for Stefano and I promised him that I would find her and introduce her to him. I felt as though I were on a mission and if I didn’t find someone for Stefano then I would be letting him down. It began to get very cold outside on the verandah and I had a feeling Stefano was freezing cold with the ice pack on his knee. We headed inside and I found the heating pad and plugged it in for him to apply on his knee.
“Oh yeah, this heat feels really good on my knee. Thank you,” he said, smiling at me.
Stefano tried many times to guess my costume for Halloween, but was unsuccessful. He begged me to tell him what I was going to be, but I did not give in and reveal my costume. He was worried that I was going to be something horrid and I loved teasing him about it.
Time really flew by when Stefano and I were together. We could talk about the strangest things that other people would find absurd. We had a similar sense of humor and didn’t take things personally. Stefano tried to sit closer and closer to me on the sofa, but I moved away as he got too close. I knew our friendship would never be the same if I gave in to a kiss or anything more.
When I looked at my watch, he got the hint and we decided to call it a night. I thanked him for taking me to the movies and he thanked me for playing nurse for his knee. I walked him out to his car and he gave me the usual friend hug, which was followed by a kiss on the cheek.
“Uh, what are you doing?” I asked as I pulled away.
“Friends are allowed to kiss their friends on the cheek, aren’t they?” he asked, his face in an innocent pout.
“You’re pushing your luck, buddy,” I replied, giving him a quick spank on his bottom.
“Whoa, friends don’t go around spanking each other, Claire,” he reprimanded, his eyes wide.
“Then get in the car before I bring out the paddle,” I replied, laughing.
Stefano laughed as he got into his car, rolled down his window and asked what we would be doing the following day. He wanted to dance at the empty studio the following day, since it was Sunday and nobody would be there like the previous Sunday.
“I will have to get back to you on that,” I replied as I watched him drive off.
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That night I slept until morning without having a nightmare or an anxiety attack. I wished all nights were the same, but I knew I just wasn’t that lucky. I turned on the television while I was still in bed and happened to come across the same plastic surgery show that Alex was on. It was a repeat of the one I had already seen where Alex answered surgical questions about how plastic surgery could go wrong. I wished I hadn’t turned on the television, but for some reason I couldn’t turn it off. I figured I could just look at Alex without him knowing that I was watching him. His hair was much shorter and he had a clean shave in the documentary. I began to feel down, so I decided it would be best to turn off the television and jump in the shower.
Stefano texted me asking if we would be hanging out at the studio again that day, but I was so unsure of what I wanted to do. I told him I would let him know once I was completely awake and ready to face the day. I dried my hair and headed downstairs to make myself breakfast. Since I wasn’t even half the chef that Alex was, I toasted a bagel, smeared some cream cheese on top of it and called it breakfast. I enjoyed my cup of coffee on the verandah and decided to meet Stefano at the studio for some dance fun. I called him to let him know I would meet him at the studio at one o’clock. I ran a few
errands around the house, put on my tennis shoes and drove to the studio.
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The studio was empty, just as it was every Sunday. I knocked for Stefano to open the door for me. He was listening to heavy metal music, which surprised me, since he always had the dance class hip hop music on at the studio.
“Stefano, I didn’t know you had such good taste in music,” I said, enjoying the Metallica album he had on.
“Did you think that all I listened to was the music I danced to?” he asked, smiling. We sat upstairs in the lounge area and snacked on the sweet snacks Stefano had up there. I knew that being around Stefano and his sweet tooth was going to make me obese very soon.
“You must have a lot of cavities,” I stated.
“Actually, you would be surprised that I hardly ever get cavities,” he smiled revealing his perfectly straight, white teeth and dimples.
“Ugh, it’s just so unfair,” I replied, frowning.
Stefano grabbed my hand and pulled me off the comfortable couch and down the steps to the dance floor. We were horsing around, dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller choreography. Dancing came so natural to Stefano. It was obvious he was born to dance. His knee was feeling much better from the hot and cold packs from the day before.
“Glad to see you dance without having to pause and grab your knee,” I smiled.
“Thanks to you,” he replied.
After a few hours of fun dances, I decided to call it a day and head back home. Stefano wanted to go to the pub or somewhere to eat, but I wanted to go home, so I could shower and rest for work the following day.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night in class, Stefano. Thanks for another fun day,” I said, giving him a hug. Stefano hugged me very tightly and didn’t let go for a while. I had to pull myself out of his hold.
“Bye, Claire. See you tomorrow night. Drive safely,” he said, walking me to my car and opening the door for me.
On the drive home, I realized that I was really beginning to heal. I was able to find happiness in little things again. I was enjoying dancing, hanging out with friends, going to the movies, and was able to sleep comfortably in my bed again. There were moments that I felt very down, but I knew it was all going to be fine. I was going to get through every bit of it and in time, I would find peace within myself.
