Prelude to kisses

Chapter 43

She hadn't planned this. She hadn't planned to find herself standing on the entrance of a ballroom with a wine glass in hand, she hadn't even imagined she'd go out tonight, but here she was, standing a good distance from the crowd with her eyes glued on him. Even in a dimly lit room, he seemed to be all she could look at, he drew people to him. He had an energy that said, look at me. Turn your eyes to me and never look anywhere else. And that's all she had been doing for the past fifteen minutes.

Mahita hadn't arrived yet, so there she stood all alone, momentarily conversing with the shareholders before finding herself alone again. Her shares in Delta Beverages had grown tremendously in the last few years so here she was. She had gotten the invitation to the annually held event two weeks ago, had forgotten to write into her planner until Mahita called her to remind her of it. Luckily, she had a little black dress she always kept clean and ironed for emergencies and last-minute events. That had saved her tonight.

The man she'd had her eyes on excused himself from the group he was in a conversation with. Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to see Mahita standing there looking as beautiful as ever. Her hair was tied in a low bun, with a few strands out of the bun to give her face a softer look. She wore a bright red lipstick with minimal makeup. Her blue gown had a train behind her, with red strappy heels. She was stunning, "You look beautiful", Jackie complemented her friend.

"Thank you, so do you. I'm sorry I'm late, my brother was late to come pick Marvin up".

"Don't worry, you haven't missed anything".

Jackie turned to the spot where the man from earlier had been when she last saw him, but he had already disappeared. She felt disappointment seeping in before Mahita dragged her to a few of the people she knew. Mahita had been a shareholder of Delta Beverages since she started her company. Her husband had encouraged her and even had shares of his own in the company before his passing. She'd introduced Jackie into the world of investing and buying shares.

The music played above and soon everyone was seated in their chairs over dinner before the meeting began. The company spokesperson went through the companies detained plan for the next year, their visions and thanked all the shareholders and investors.

When the night ended, and they found themselves being led to the exit, Jackie kept looking sideways in hopes of seeing him again. When they were finally outside, she saw him. She breathed a sigh of relief at seeing his face again. He was on the phone, his hand in the pocket of his slacks before he turned his head. Their eyes met. Her heart skipped a beat. It seemed they both knew in that moment that they'd meet somewhere, that their fates were intertwined.

He waved to her; she gave him a small smile. There's no rush, she thought as she got into the passenger seat of the car, Mahita getting into the other side. It wasn't about a month later that they saw each other again. He was dressed smartly as he walked past the cafe across the hospital Laura worked at. She was working, Chloe was playing outside so she'd look up from her computer every now and then to check on her when she spotted him. He held her gaze in place, she didn't look away, couldn't look away. Jackie didn't know how many seconds had gone by while their gaze remained locked. He made the first move and with a few strides he was at the door. She watched him walk towards her, her heart beating out of her chest.

"May I join you?" He had a smooth velvety voice.

She nodded, he took a seat and half an hour later from the moment he had sat down they found themselves deeply involved with each other. They spoke about this and that, if it hadn't been for Chloe that came running to put on her jacket that she'd left on the chair along with her school bag, they would have stayed there forever. It was growing cold, the sun falling to sleep beautifully.

He left them waiting for Laura to get off from work, it was hard to wipe the smile from her face and stop herself from looking at her phone every once in a while, to check if he had sent a text or called. The call came as she drove home after dropping Chloe and Laura home, "Hey is this a bad time?" He asked.

"I'm driving right now; can I call you back when I get home?".

He didn't waste time, setting up a date after three days of first meeting. It was slow and steady; it was comfortable and comforting. They seemed to be a match from the word go. It seemed when he had that, she had that. When she said she'd take care of that, he took care of that. It felt like a partnership, and at that time of her life she couldn't have asked for anything more. As someone who had everything, had worked for everything she had, she wanted someone who had done the same and was growing each day into a better version of themselves. Someone she could lean on after a long day, and that's exactly what he had been for the duration of their relationship. Someone she could count on and someone who wanted a shoulder to lean on when it was hard on him.