Heather Duclerc wasn't a fan of family gatherings. Although she loved spending time with her cousins, exchanging stories of loves found and lost while sipping mimosas at Audrey’s ocean view balcony, she despised the uptightness of the family’s adults. They always seemed to ask the same stupid questions: What do you plan to do after college? Are you still single? Why are you still single? Is there any special someone lingering around? And on and on and [i]on[/i]... Yuck!

It always made her so angry! Why was it that her family members insisted that she had her life figured out already?! It had been the same way all throughout the trip to Beverly Hills. Her parents were adamant in her having her life together. It wasn't enough that Heather had graduated in the top ten of her Business class, that she’d landed a job with one of the most prestigious finance companies in Beverly Hills, or that she was a semester and a half away from earning her Master’s degree in Finance. Noooooo, they wanted to see her settled down, furthering her education or even getting married soon.

Why couldn't they understand she was only twenty-three, and only wanted to live her life [i]her[/i] way?!

And so there she was, sitting in a bench well hidden from view by rose bushes in her cousin’s garden, smoking a cigarette. Nicotine always helped her simmer down when things became too overwhelming. Her picture-perfect parents would oppose, of course, but this was a thing Heather didn't give two rats as about. The dark haired woman puffed out smoke in neat circles, playing around with it. Heather savored the loneliness, staring out into the ocean and feeling the cool November breeze in her smooth skin.Then, out of nowhere, her moment of solitude was interrupted. 

[color=steelblue][i]“Got an extra?”[/i][/color]

A male voice. She took a moment to acknowledge the person standing a few steps away from her, and when she did, she was surprised to see that it was the young man who had been sitting with her cousin when she'd arrived. Heather’s hazel-green eyes examined him briefly: from his icy blue eyes, his sharp features yet boyish face, his expensive yet shabby ensemble, and his disheveled blond hair. He seemed to be… Not as uptight as the rest of them, so she decided that a little company wouldn't hurt.

Heather curiously cocked her head to the side. [color=BC8F8F]“Aren't you a little too young to be smoking?”[/color] she asked him. However, she quickly smirked at him teasingly and produced another cigarette from her small but expensive clutch. [color=BC8F8F]“Here.”[/color] she said, handing him the item he had asked for. After a few seconds if rummaging through the clutch, the young woman pulled out a dainty lighter. [color=BC8F8F]“Need a light?”[/color]

[hr][hr]
Audrey Huntsberg wasn't an anxious person by nature, but the silence that hung in the air after she'd popped the question made her feel like that. There were times in which it seemed he would speak up, but all Audrey got in return was a coy smile. All the while, the young woman's head was racing. Had she been too straightforward? Had she asked too soon? Did he feel the same way she did?

Finally, Alexandros spoke the words that sealed their pact: she was impatient, they couldn't go back to way things were and... They were official.

He’d said it so calmly, so sure of it, that it took Audrey a few seconds for the words to sink in. [i]Official…[/i] That meant that Alexandros  Mossos was now Audrey Huntsberg’s boyfriend. He was no longer the man she fought tooth and nail to have, no longer the man she loved and hated at the same time, the man that made her feel happy and angry and crazy… He was her [i]boyfriend[/i]

[color=deeppink][i]’Well, shit.’[/i][/color]

[color=purple]“Aaaaaauuuuuudreeeeeeyyyyyyy, we're starting dinner soooooooonnnnnn!”[/color]

A familiar, high-pitched voice called out from outside the door, interrupting the moment.The Latina’s eyes widened at the sound of the voice, and she immediately shot up from her position in the bed next to Alexandros. The doorknob began to rattle, signaling Delilah’s failed attempts to open the bedroom door. Meanwhile, her older cousin was scrambling to put her clothes back on, urgently gesturing to her too-calm [i]boyfriend[/i] -ugh, it felt so weird to use that word!- to do the same. 

[color=purple]“Um, why is your door locked? You [i]never[/i] lock your door when we’re here. What the heck are you [i]doing[/i] up here?”[/color]

[color=deeppink]“I, uh, was dealing with some, uh, [i]private[/i] matters.”[/color] Audrey replied, a tell-tale edge in the voice she had tried to keep cool and collected.

She heard Delilah gasp loudly. [color=purple]“Oh my God, are you in there with [i]Alexandros[/i]?!”[/color] The young woman shrieked excitedly. Audrey could picture her silently clapping and giving little hops of joy outside the bedroom door. Her cousin was such a sucker for happy endings in love stories.

[color=deeppink]“Oh, I don’t know… Maybe I am, maybe I’m not…”[/color] the brunette replied with a smirk, shooting Alex a wink.

[color=purple]“Ooooooh, okay! I'll just let you two finish up, then! But we’re about to be starting dinner, so chomp chomp!”[/color] And with that, the clinking of her heels on the hardwood floor signaled Lila’s retreat back to the party.

Fully dressed now, Audrey sat down on the bed next to Alex. She carefully put on her heels again, and once finished she stood up to check her reflection in the mirror. The brunette smiled at her slightly  smudged mascara and missing lipstick: all signs of a moment of passion well spent. She quickly freshened her makeup and turned to look at her [i]boyfriend[/i] with the smile still in place. Her brown eyes were still shining brightly.

[color=deeppink]“So… I guess we better get going before anyone else puts two and two together or notice we’re missing from the party.”[/color] she told him, walking up to him and planting a kiss on [i]her boyfriend’s[/i] lips.