Decided By Fate (Preview)

Act 1, Chapter 16

The week leading up to the graduation ceremony couldn't have gone by faster. Simon and I tried to spend as much time together at school as possible. It had gotten to the point that it was grossly intoxicating to be around us. We had given ourselves into that over-the-top, cutesy exchange of love that made people consistently pretend to vomit. Simon and I didn't care; we kept up old habits and sang in the choir together. It was nice to feel whole again, but when we weren't at school together, I couldn't help but think of the upcoming night when I could finally be intimate with someone.

Each night, I'd fantasize about the scenario before going to bed. Each night was even more pleasurable than the last as my face was buried into my pillow as fantasies became more intense. I wanted to be as ready for him as possible since he would be my first. I was crazy for him and didn't know how I got to this point without fully realizing my feelings for him. I'd be lying if I said that in some of those moments, I hadn't still been thinking about Max, but it was very rare that he ever came up.

Today had been another long one, and the graduation ceremony seemed as if it had lasted forever as the teachers no one cared about gave their closing remarks. This was followed by a congratulations, welcome to real-life speech meant to be funny but only left me more anxious. The room was filled with groans and collective groups of friends taking pictures together. In my case, the only one I had to celebrate with was Cole, but he was already off with his new boyfriend doing god knows what. I was alone, and all I wanted to do was see Simon.

Standing there in the lobby, looking for my parents, it became obvious that the situation I was in was a tough one. It was the one advantage Max had over Simon. He was my age, and it would have made the day even more special if we had been together. Our parents would meet for the first time, and all the little gestures I had with him were everything I wanted with Simon. Instead, here I was, alone again, occasionally getting the odd glance of Max hanging off other girls. At one point, he was with Shay, and then some of her friends and so forth. It was making me jealous to see him as happy as he was. All I wanted was to hold Simon so I could be equally as happy, and I was relieved when I saw my parents finally exiting the stage area and joined up with them.

"Good job, sweetheart. I'm proud of you," Hank said prior to hugging me.

"Thanks, Dad. Can we go now?" I asked, just wanting to be done with the day.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm done here," I told him as my mind was focused on anything else.

"Alright, Fate. If you say so. Let's go." He said, putting his arm around me.

I looked at my father with a weak smile, then down at my feet. Staying close to him, I took one last look over my shoulder and felt like I had never even made a connection with anyone my age. It was all over now. All that was left was the after-party, where I could bring my plus one. My heart dropped, knowing I wouldn't see any of these individuals around me again a week from now.

***

The three hours that separated the graduation ceremony and the reception seemed to drag on. Cherry and I spent most of the afternoon in my room trying to dress me up for the night. After all was said and done, my eyes were a smoky bronze that went along with some black eyeliner. My hair was in a wavy design with a tiara band, keeping it from falling into my eyes and accentuating my elegance. My glasses matched perfectly with the outfit, while Cherry put a ring of cherry red lipstick on my lips, leaving only one thing left for me to put on. The dress. Cherry smiled, taking one last look at her creation, then left the room, allowing me the privacy to change into it.

I watched Cherry in the mirror as the door closed, and I stood up, letting the bathrobe I had on fall to the ground. I had nothing on underneath as I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled at what I saw. In my mind, I could only hope that Simon would feel the same way when he saw me in all my glory later tonight. Although I didn't have time to waste, I grabbed a special set of black lace lingerie. I got it after making an emergency trip to see Scarlett, and once I saw how the corset hugged my sides and was strapless to boot, I knew I had to wear it underneath. The lower half of the lingerie was the same design and practically showed off everything in the front and the back, hardly leaving anything to the imagination. That was it; all I had left to put on was the dress.