When Lightning Strikes

When Lightning Strikes: Chapter 9

Upon hearing the doorbell ringing, I pushed myself off the thin blankets on my bed and quickly descended down the staircase. “I’ll get it!” I called to my mother, who was watching Oprah in the lounge room.

“Is it Vince?” she asked. “Ask him to stay for dinner, darling!”

I laughed as I opened the door. “No mom, it’s Ruby!”

My best friend looked at me quizzically as she stepped into the small hallway.

Ahh, mom. It was as if she herself was entranced by Vince. She had asked him endless questions about living in Paris and all about his family and his likes and dislikes, and had now planned the dinner menu if he were to come over again.

Once Ruby greeted mom, we both went up to my bedroom. For the five minutes before she had arrived here, I had been nervously fidgeting, thinking about how to tell her that I had a boyfriend. Well, not a boyfriend … a … what was Vince exactly? He had never asked me to be his girlfriend – we had only gone on dates.

“So, have you told Lorelei about Prince Charming?” Before plopping myself on my bed, I reached for the small tin of chocolates on my vanity. Vince had brought them for me and I loved the thoughtful gift. They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but to me it was chocolate. After twisting the lid open, I offered one to Ruby and took one for myself.

As Ruby hesitantly took one, she blushed, embarrassed that she was caught. That meant she was still thinking about him and was excited enough to share the news with someone else other than me. It wasn’t that Lorelei wasn’t a good friend. Ruby was just slightly a reserved person and didn’t like babbling about her private life to just anyone. She usually told Lorelei the important stuff, but not things like weird habits or her opinion on Brad Pitt.

“Mhmm. You know … she reacted exactly like you,” she mused.

A small smile grew on my face. My mind was formulating a plan. I had no idea if we would be able to go through with it, but hopefully it would work out. I was sure Lorelei would be willing to help search for Ruby’s man. If we could keep an eye out for dashing guys with dark curly hair, a strong figure and dark eyes, we’d find him.

But then when you thought about it, there were hundreds of men who looked like that. Gosh! Why?!

“Both of you are way too interested in my love life,” Ruby said with a hint of laughter in her voice. “Do you remember when I started talking to Don on Facebook? And the both of you became so excited that you urged him to ask me on a date?”

I slushed. That hadn’t been my finest moments. ‘Don’ turned out to be Ruby’s cousin, instead of a random, cute stranger from Ireland. I had been absolutely mortified when I found out, but that’s what I get for sticking my nose into my best friend’s business.

“Oh shush, he was pretty good-looking.”

Ruby looked scandalised. “Gracie! He’s my cousin!” she squealed.

I giggled and sat down next to her on the bed. “I know.” Then, I remember all about the news with Vince. Oops. We had gotten carried away and I had forgotten about it. “By the way, you’ll never guess what happened.”

She lifted an eyebrow at the change of the subject. “An elephant came knocking at your door?”

“Not quite.” Vince was no elephant – more like a graceful panther. I laughed shakily and took a deep breath before saying, “I’m dating someone.”

She didn’t even bat an eyelash, but a supportive smile did spread across her glossy lips. I wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t shrieking – she was used by these announcements for now. Then, she said the three words she always said whenever I managed to snag a boy.