Blue Lights

Chapter One

    My eyes are focused on the road; too focused. I take one hand off the steering wheel of my blue Ford Escape to tug at my hair in frustration as I allow myself to be eaten alive by my annoying (and frustrating) thoughts. Why do you do this to yourself, Alex? I think to myself, mentally punching myself. I'd hit myself in reality but I'm driving and that'd be unsafe. I'm not usually this hard on myself, but I totally deserve it today, let me tell you.

   My biggest problem is my boyfriend, Wilson. Yes, his first name is actually Wilson. And no, he doesn't like to be called anything other than that, trust me, I tried calling him cute nicknames like 'Will' and 'Willie' and 'Wils' but he hates being called anything other than Wilson, so that's what I have to call him. It makes him sound like some really rich guy who probably has a British accent. And he kind of acts like that stereotype. Why am I dating him, you may ask? That's a really good question, and I wish I had the answer. But I don't. I really, really don't. And now you can probably begin to understand why I deserve the mental punching.   

  I check the time quickly to find that I have about twenty minutes until I'm supposed to be at the house I share with Marilyn, and it takes about ten more minutes from where I am to get there, so I should be good. Marilyn has been my best friend since we were in preschool. Today she's going to help me get ready for a special dinner that my sister is having in honor of her upcoming wedding, which is a month away. My sister Amelia decided that this fancy dinner- which is basically a second rehearsal dinner, only with less people- so that the members of the bridal party can meet beforehand and we can go over last minute details of the wedding. We're supposed to be dressed up, and as the maid of honor I need to look my best, so I recruited Marilyn's help. Today I'll be dining with Amelia's two best friends from college, her childhood best friend, and her fiance's sister, who are the other bridesmaids, along with the five groomsmen, who are all friends of my soon to be brother-in-law- well, one is his life-long best friend who is practically his brother, the best man, and there's his two actual brothers, and two friends from college. I've met the brothers and all of the bridesmaids before, but I have yet to meet the best man or the other two groomsmen. Amelia only gave me what could be classified as a warning about the best man. She said he's kind of cute and "I think you'll like him, he's just your type". I reminded her that I have a boyfriend and she just rolled her eyes. I don't blame her.

   Anyway, back to Wilson. I am currently in full on stress out mode over the wedding, and over something Wilson said today before I left to go to Marilyn's.

 "Wil, do you want to see the dress I got for tonight?" I ask him excitedly. I'm in love with the gorgeous red number, and the way it falls against my body, showing off everything while at the same time showing off nothing at all, and then there's the perfect little v-neckline that dips just low enough to show a little bit of skin on my chest while at the same time extenuating it and making it look damn good. I'm so excited to see what everyone at dinner thinks of it.

  "Alexandria, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" He replies with a quiet sigh, walking into the room. I cringe at the use of my full name, and then look at him expectantly. His reaction is going to be telling of tonight's. He looks me up and down, but his face remains mostly expressionless. He doesn't really looked phased at all, and kind of looks displeased to be honest with you.

  "Well? What do you think?" I prompt him impatiently.

  "Well, it looks very nice on you, don't get me wrong, but it's just not what I would've chosen for you. It's so revealing and tight, and I know my mother would have a heart attack if she saw you in that," He says giving me one last look up and down, like a critical assessment.

   I wanted to say that I don't give a single shit about what his mother would think, but I just keep my mouth shut instead. "Thanks?" I say instead.