Upon A Star

Chapter 14

Celeste was wearing a long, silky, red dress. It was tight fitting and covered her frame just like she'd hoped it would. It hugged her curves and showed her tiny waistline. And although she'd model outfits like this everyday, tonight was going to be extra special. So she wanted to look her best.

For tonight, she researched makeup tutorials and inspected exactly how the beauty gurus blended their eye shadows, and how they winged their perfect eyeliner, and how exactly they contoured and highlighted their cheekbones. Tonight had to be perfect, and even though she did not believe she could achieve it, she had to try and be as close to perfect as she could.

So there she was, sitting at the table for two, waiting for the love of her life to arrive. The table was covered with a white, elegant tablecloth and a single candle flickered light in the centre, giving off the scent of vanilla.

Nervously, she tugged at the soft fabric of her dress. The soft material slipped through her fingers but instead of caressing it, she wanted to rip it, she wanted to hear the rip of each and every single fibre.

He said he was going to be a few minutes late, but she had been sitting alone for more than twenty minutes. She even drank two mojitos in anticipation. When finally, his presence illuminated the room.

"Hey," he smirked and sat across Celeste. Instantly, as if second nature to her, she could feel her heart melting slowly, slowly. And if her heart could, it would grow a pair of wings and fly up high and into the marshmallow clouds.

"I ordered a mojito, or two," Celeste started giggling nervously, and her head felt elated and buzzed. The alcohol was getting to her, but not to the sense where she would be foolishly drunk. She felt happy, free and cheerful. But she was not going to let her mojitos ruin tonight.

"Sorry this was such short notice," he started to explain as he unfolded the formal napkin and slipped the fabric through his own fingers out of tension. She could see it through his deep brown eyes that something was troubling him.

"Talk to me," she stated with a formal voice, ignoring every sense of fuzziness and euphoria that overtook her before his arrival.

"I broke up with Jessica," he explained and she could see the almost invisible wrinkles on his forehead burrow in misery.

"How come?"

The waiter had interrupted their conversation with a notepad in his hand while the pen between his fingers pressed against the paper. Celeste knew the waiter was getting impatient. He had come up to her at least ten times, in which she kept responding the same phrase; he'll be here soon. And since the second party at the dinner table had visibly arrived, the waiter was not going to lose the chance.

"What would you like to eat or drink mademoiselle?" the waiter politely asked Celeste, obviously ignoring Nick who was peering at him curiously.

"Nick?" Celeste questioned by directing her glance at Nick who was inspecting the waiter with great detail.

"Margherita pizza to share and one more mojito for the lady," he winked at Celeste flirtatiously and then looked back at the waiter for his final order. "And one for me too please."

The waiter turned on his heel, his penguin suit disappearing along with him as he would place their order in the kitchen.

"So tell me, what made you break up with Jessica?"

"We hardly got along, and well, maybe she caught me with lipstick stains from another woman?" he squeaked guiltily in a high pitched, girly, voice.

"Oh dear," Celeste sighed and pressed the back of her hand on her forehead as if checking for an upcoming fever.

Sharing five minutes of silence seemed like an hour. Even their mojitos had arrived and soon later, so would their pizza. But in those five minutes that seemed like centuries to Celeste, she found herself in deep thought.

She scratched at her temples and squinted her eyes at Nick as if examining him. Wrapping her mojito with her fingers, she twirled around the black straw floating, causing the leaves to glide inside the clear liquid. And she sipped, one, or two sips, and she finally started to speak.

"You shouldn't have," was the only reasonable phrase she could utter after his confession. Besides, it caught her completely off guard considering the fact that he was not known to be that kind of guy that cheats on his girlfriend.

"Tell me something I don't know," he exhaled a loud sigh as if getting rid of a truckload of worries that weighed a ton, forcing his heart to sink deeper and deeper.

Sipping on his own mojito, Celeste felt his pain. Not that she knew how it felt to cheat on your significant other. But she felt the pain of the loss of a loved one. It could take its toll on someone, and it took its toll on Celeste.

Even though Celeste never lost her dad, or loved him. His absence affected her life. She had no one to turn to in times of needs. Of course she had a mother, but her mother was a drunk and a vicious serpent that pulled the strings according to what occurred in Celeste's life.

Such as in modelling, Cora forced Celeste into it. Celeste was never free. She was imprisoned under Cora's protection. The only good that came out of the modelling agency was meeting Nick.

"I'm so sorry for you both. You were such a cute couple, you and Jessica," Celeste reassured Nick and placed out her hands for him to take. And he did, he took her hands in his. His fingers intertwined with hers and their eyes stood on a still line, watching each other carefully.

"Celeste, I'm so glad you are my friend. I don't know what I'd do without you, honestly. Lately, I feel so down. I feel defeated."

"Imagine how I feel? I have no home. Not even a suitcase with me. Luke kindly invited me to his home but I feel like an intruder. I steal his clothes, his food and occasionally, he forces me to sleep in his bed while he sleeps on the couch," and just like that, Celeste wished she hadn't shared that much information.

"You can stay with me. I'd love the company. And we could go shopping, get you some clothes, what you need," he grinned from ear to ear. "Besides, I'd love the company now that Jessica's gone."

"Are you serious? Oh my-," she squeaked joyfully. And she was so ecstatic that she could barely finish her sentence.

"Please, it'd be my honour," he smirked and placed the palm of his hand over his heart, mimicking a soldier taking an oath to serve and protect.

"I would love to," she beamed innocently and with her fingers, she squeezed their interlaced fingers together in approval.