The room spun just a little as I watched her walk in. She smiled just right at all the right people, but everyone in the room seemed to blur into the background as she walked. I wasn't the only one who took notice of her either. Her long loose dark curls swayed on cue as she laughed at some faceless person she blessed with a chuckle. A ringing filled my ears and I forgot to breathe, for just a moment. I tried not to stare but her presence commanded attention, and I could tell she knew it too. She held herself with a confidence that only someone with her looks could. Her face was just exotic looking enough to make her look mysterious, and dangerous, which I suspected she was. Dangerous. It was written all over her from her tight short red dress to her strappy black heels on her slender, perfectly manicured feet. Her head spun around and she caught my eye. Her smiled faltered, momentarily before she motioned for the person she was talking to excuse her.
Her face was a blank canvas as she walked towards me. Half of the people in the room watched her walk. I tried to control my upset at their appreciative glances.
"I didn't know you were going to be here." Raine said nonchalantly as she leaned over to lightly kiss my cheek, moving away slightly too quickly for normal.
"I wasn't planning on coming." I said as I tugged at my shirt collar, which seemed uncommonly tight around my neck. Her smile froze on her full lips. She seemed to contemplate saying more, as if she wanted to say something so important it would just burst from her lips. I stopped her before she could. "Have you seen your brother anywhere?" I asked and ran a hand through my short brown hair. I downed my drink in a swift movement that nearly made me choke as it burned its way down my throat and settled like acid in my stomach.
Raine glanced around the room and I tried hard to keep myself from staring at her profile. Her face held so little emotion that it was obvious she hid something beneath the surface. She turned back to me.
"I haven't. But I can tell him that you are looking for him if I do." She smiled half heartedly. "I, uhm, I have to use the ladies room." She said and walked away swiftly. I cringed. I shouldn't follow her. Not after what happened. But I found myself tracing her steps into the bathroom. It was empty besides Raine, who stood at the sink slightly hunched over with water that she had just splashed on her face silently falling from her perfectly tanned face. She glanced up and caught my eye in the mirror. I could see the conflict in her deep brown eyes almost as clearly as she could I could see them in my own deep blue ones.
"It doesn't have to be like this." I said sternly as I gripped her hand so she could look me in the eye. Her gaze fell and I gently lifted her face so she would see me. Not just the girl who grew up with her. Not just her brothers best friend. But the girl who had spent her whole life loving her. Raine's face seemed to crumble just a bit and I bit my lip against the pain. I took her face in my hand and led her lips to mine. They were still damp from the water and tasted sweet, like strawberries.
I sighed against her lips as her hands went to my waist and settled there. I boldened my kiss. Braced myself against the waterfall of emotions wracking my body. Prayed for relief of some kind. Not just from the bittersweet agony of loving someone, but from knowing that the person you love could never truly love you back. She pushed me gently, just enough to get my attention and I pulled away.
"You KNOW it has to be like this. For everyone's sake." She grabbed a paper towel from the sink and dried her face, harshly rubbing at her lips as if she wanted no trace of me there. I cringed.
The door seemed miles away as I moved towards it, without another word. The room looked the same as I re-entered it. No one had changed. And yet, my world had fallen apart in the short time that I had been in the bathroom. I tightened my jaw against the pain as I heard her exit the bathroom behind me. I shut my eyes for a moment to brace myself and took a deep breath. When my eyes opened the world seemed a little more sturdy and the pain seemed a little less harsh. I walked briskly to the exit and never looked back.
