Sponsor inlove

<seventeen>

I didn't quite uderstand myself. 

For months on end i'd been trying to rid myself of Ian and now that it had finally happened, it didn't bring me any joy.  It was like waiting for summertime throughout the winter season and then complaining about how hot it was,once it arrived.

Weeks passed and I kept checking my phone waiting for him to reach out but he didn't. I immersed myself in school work hoping it would make me feel better but it didn't. Nothing for that matter made me feel better. 

At some point I thought i'd go crazy waiting for some form of contact from him. There were many times I felt like reaching out first but then I remembered this is what I had  wanted. Then one day I got a delivery; a boquet of flowers to be exact along with a note

Thinking of you

Love always

-Ian

It made my heart flutter and it made me realize just how much I missed him however if I gave into these feelings what would it mean? Were they worth giving up my freedom over? I couldn't surrender to the feelings. I had no choice but to ignore them. Without a second thought I tossed the flowers into the trash can and went about my day.

Friday arrived and I woke up to a myriad of text messages reminding me that it was my birthday. I didn't usually celebrate my birthday but my mother insisted on throwing me a birthday party this year and I could never say no to her so I let it be. 

I knew I would be seeing Ian and I had to mentally prepare myself for it. 

As expected it wasn't a 'small gathering' like my mother said it would be. There were atleast twenty people in our backyard and ten inside. I was actually glad I had thought to put some effort into my appearance. I wore a tight fitting, black dress with a halter strap and paired it with high open heels and I had my hair up in a formal bun. It was safe to say that I didn't look half bad. 

I played with the hem of my dress as I looked around trying to keep an eye out for Ian. It was unlike him to be late. He was always on time unless he had an urgent matter to attend to.

He didn't pitch until after we had cut the cake and now everyone was conversing over some drinks in the back yard. 

I almost choked on my wine when I noticed he had brought a woman with him. A stunning one infact.

I had no right to question it though so I quickly recollected myself as they approached me. Ian had his hand on her lower back as he led her to me. 

"You look beautiful." He whispered in my ear before embracing me in a hug. He then went on to introduce the woman. "Adalia, this is Larisa."

"It's so nice to meet you." She extended her hand out. " I'm sorry we're late, Ian here can be a handful sometimes."

They then proceeded to giggle amongst themselves and I was green with envy. It didn't feel like it was my birthday anymore, it felt like it was the Ian and Larisa show. I cleared my throat before speaking.

"Well make yourselves at home. Everyone is in the backyard if you would like to say hello." I gave them the best fake smile I could manage.

As soon as they were out of sight, I opened a new bottle of wine and helped myself to a couple of glasses. When I was going for my third someone grabbed the glass and set it down.

"I think you've had enough for one night, don't you think?" 

 "You can't tell me what to do.." I slurred my words starting to feel wine drunk.

He covered the distance between us, looked down at me and brushed some hair from my face. 

"Let's get you to bed." He scooped me up in his arms and carried me up the stairs. 

IAN's POV

"I don't like seeing you with other women." She sleepily whispered to me

She looked ethereal, tucked in with her hair splayed everywhere. She tried her best to fight the sleep but it was catching up to her. 

"And I don't like being away from you." I whispered back.

"Well then don't."  She sighed before dozing off.

Her words gave me hope but I just wished it had been sober her that had uttered those words. Sober her made it anything but simple to love her. Sober her was convinced she had to hate me and that giving into her feelings was a heinous act. 

The whole thing was humorous. I was Ian Thompson. I never chased anything before. Not money, not fame, not posperprity and not even love yet this one woman changed all of that. I was damned for sure.