Escaping to Ireland

Liam

Everyone would be jealous of me tonight.

Vinessa looked beyond words, I had never seen her so dressed up, and I do not think my eyes would ever see anything as gorgeous as she was.

Her hair was pinned up, showing her shoulders. I had to make her know that she and I could work, that I would be enough, even with my crazy family running around. But it would be so hard to make sure this went smoothly with how distracting she was. I would show her that she belonged to me more than anyone else had ever before and that I belonged to her. She had me since the first day we had met; I just needed her to see that without escaping.

"Liam," my father was patting my back as I came up. "Who is this elegant creature?"

"This is Vinessa" She smiled and gave him her hand; he lightly kissed the top of it. "Vinessa, this is Gerard, my father."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," She said, taking her hand back and letting it land by her side.

"Your mother is running around here somewhere," he said to me as his eyes swooped around the room; he had never enjoyed these types of events. It was worse for him when they were held at his own house. It meant he would not be able to escape as early as he would like. Chloe had appeared next to his side.

"Gerard, there you are," She said as if she had been searching for him all night. "I had a question to ask you. Would you excuse us?" She turned to Vinessa and me and ushered my father into the side room. If it bothered Vinessa to have Chloe there, she didn't let it be known.

"Where are we?" Vinessa asked me, her mouth as close to my ear as she could make it.

"My parent's home"

She looked around, and a frown appeared on her face, but it was washed away. "There are no pictures of you."

I had never noticed it before, and then, thinking back on Wanda's living room, there were at least a handful of pictures of Vinessa, Jeremy, Wanda, and a woman I assumed was Vinessa's mother.

"Vinessa, you made it," my brother said, stepping up behind a couple. He had a dark-haired woman that was wrapped around his arm. "This is Vinessa," he said, pointing to his date.

"Rachel, my brother Liam and his girlfriend, Vinessa."

"I made it," Vinessa said, blowing over his girlfriend comment. "It's nice to meet you, Rachel." His date nodded at her looking bored that she was at the event.

"I noticed you went with your hair up tonight... And what type of flowers are those?"

I didn't know what was transpiring between my brother and Vinessa, but I kept quiet. She smiled and let a small laugh escape her. "I have no clue. Some hybrid flower my aunt had in her backyard...." She turned, showing off her side leg. "And I thought I would add a few inches to my outfit tonight."

"You look fabulous," my brother said "she won't know what hit her" he grabbed her open hand to inspect her fingers. "Nicely done," he said, dropping her hand and clapping softly. Vinessa curtsey in front of him.

"Well, thank you... thank you," Vinessa said, eating up his fake clapping.

"Will either one of you explain what is going on?" I jumped into the mix.

Vinessa glanced at Ian and then at me, a blush spreading across her face. Ian stepped forward and whispered, "I may have given your girl here some tips on how to maintain the beast." He winked at me, grabbed his date, and whisked her off as he got a giggle to come out of her.

"I'm offended... You could have come to me."

"I didn't go to him. He volunteered some useful information. And I used it."

"If you think you are so right, then why are you trying to help me out?" I asked her.

She stepped up again, her lips close to my ear for the second time that night "just because I know I am right doesn't mean I will sabotage you to fail." She stepped away and walked off toward a couple a few feet down.