There's Something About Him (Complete)

Chapter Forty Nine - Premonition

My hands fidgeted at the material of my dress as I watched River straighten the jacket of his fitted black suit.

"Are you sure that you want to do this? And alone? Maybe I can skip the Ball and come with you," I worried at my bottom lip, trying to convince myself that nothing bad would happen and Heath would never have to really find out until much later that I had helped River to set up a meeting with Camilla.

As far as he and all of our parents knew, River was my escort to the Ball but we had organised that he would in fact just drop me at the entrance before he took my car to some extraordinarily public café to have the needed 'come to Jesus' conversation with the girl who had torn apart his world.

I knew it was bad, in fact, a horribly terrible idea which would get us both racked over the coals by Heath and I feared that I would lose him over the deception but what else could I do? River had pleaded for me to help.

It was the perfect example of being caught between a rock and a hard place. There could be no winners.

"It'll be fine, RiRi," River replied, looking himself over critically in my large bedroom mirror. "I'm not going to put up with any of her shit and I'll make sure that I'm back in time to drive you home from the Ball." He moved closer, pulling me into a hug, "Heath and my parents never have to know."

I shook my head, "I just have this feeling..."

"Nothing bad is going to happen," He cut me off, pulling back so that I was staring into his eyes, "To either of us. I swear that I'll only be there long enough to hear her out and then I'll be meeting up with you." He picked up the car keys from my bed, "Now let's head back downstairs before Heath and your father come up here to kill me."

I had to laugh. We had given him one of the other bedrooms to get ready in but he'd come stomping in just as I was slipping into my shoes to grumble about the fact that his tie was 'all kinds of fucked up'.

Thankful that my dress was long enough to cover the fact that I was wearing flats, we quietly made our way down to the foyer where I knew that my parents were waiting with Heath. My boyfriend. Even now I had to giggle about our escape from the UFC arena – it had taken longer than expected to reach the ground and drive home, a fact which had been painfully obvious when Dad had come out to stand on the front porch as soon as the gates had opened.

For a moment, we had expected him to be loading the rifle but he had simply stared at Heath through the window until I had gently pecked his cheek and slipped out, hopeful to stave off a panic attack. Hyperventilating really wasn't the best look for a seasoned fighter.

Since then, Heath had spent every possible moment that he could with me and when we had to be separated, there was always a text message waiting each time I checked my phone. It had been so sweet and disarming that I even found myself agreeing to those titles of commitment – boyfriend and girlfriend. The words themselves sounded stupid to me but the weight that they had for Heath was shocking. Here we were, only having known one another for a few weeks and he was quickly carving out a piece of my heart for himself and place within my family.

It was why I was slowly dying inside as we walked into the kitchen where he was laughing with my mother and father. I had promised that I would tell him when River decided to face his ex but River had convinced me that telling anyone would only do more harm than good.

"Oh honey," My mother cried, spotting us in the doorway as I clutched at River's elbow, the panic welling up even more severely as Heath spun around. "You both look amazing."

Not matter how much we had planned, I could tell that something was going to go wrong and I could only pray that it wasn't bad enough that I lost them both.

River released me as we wandered further into the room, my hand automatically reaching out to accept Heath's before I even had a chance to really think about it.

The conversation between River and my mother, as well as the arrival of my father, all became background noise as I carefully pressed my cheek against his chest. I didn't want to lose this feeling of acceptance or happiness but I didn't know which way to turn – each road led to me losing and I could only count the minutes until everything blew up in my face.

"Hey," Heath murmured from above me, his tone making it obvious that he had picked up on my state of mind. "What's wrong, baby?"

My fingers clenched in the material covering his back, "Nothing. I just don't want to go tonight."

His chest rumbled as he chuckled and tightened the arms around my waist and shoulders, "You can't miss your own party. You worked hard to get everything ready for tonight. I want you to have fun."

Oh yes, it would be terribly fun to go to a dance where no one acknowledged you while you worried over your only friend. Lots of fun right there.

"What are you going to do?" I asked, trying to avoid any topic that may make me blurt it all out.

"Well, a pretty little kitten has been taking up all of my time lately and I think I'm starting to look a bit like Fat Cat."

I giggled just like he expected me to and ran my fingers down his shirt-covered abdomen where the definition of muscle was clearly obvious. "It's all your fault. I bet that Grey isn't happy."

"He's actually very happy about the fact that I found you but I do need to start a more regular routine if I'm going to defend my title."

And him losing focus of his goals because of me would never be a good thing.

"We should go," River interrupted, his voice startling me. "Can't be late when you're supposed to be in charge, RiRi."

I cleared my throat and stepped away before kissing Heath gently on the cheek, "I'll see you later."

His lips pressed against my forehead for a second and I savoured it. "Take care of her, River."

"You know I will, Heath," He answered seriously.

We all walked towards the front door, watching as Heath jumped in his truck and slowly disappeared through the gate and down the road.

"Have fun, Jellybean," Daddy ordered, his eyes twinkling as both he and my mother stepped back inside with a wave.

It all seemed like another normal night but it felt like anything but.

"Alright, let's get this all over with," River grabbed my elbow and dragged me along to where my car sat gleaming in front of the garage. "A few hours and I'll be finished with Camilla and you will have pulled off the Ball of the century."

"I don't care about the Ball," I muttered, unhappily realising that I was cranky with River for asking me to do this when we both knew that the repercussions could be heartbreaking.

"I know," He reached over to pat my hand once we were both clipped in. "Everything will be fine, Alira."