Marry Me

Chapter Eleven

What happened when Graham and I first met was he ended up spilling his tray of food onto Tommy.

It was right after my father's speech. We were told to mingle with "important people" at the party. Tommy and I were talking to an older couple that owned... something, I don't remember what it was. Anyways, I was just standing there, pretending to listen as Tommy was bragging about something that happened, again, I don't quite remember what it was. I didn't really care. In the back of my head, I always knew that Tommy was too arrogant, but I figured that all guys were like that, because they were the only kind of guys I was exposed to, until now.

I was watching a waiter. Something about him sparked my curiosity. He was definitely cute. It wasn't until when we were older my friends described him to me as hot.

This boy was probably my age, I thought. At least, his face looked fifteen, but as he got closer, his eyes appeared to belong to someone much older. He smiled as he approached my group of people. He had two gorgeous dimples when he smiled and the skin around his eyes crinkled adorably. Even though I was staring at him, he failed to notice me. When he approached Tommy and the older couple, he asked them if they wanted any appetizers. Tommy went ballistic because he was interrupting his conversation. He said some nasty things to the waiter. It was the first time I was embarrassed by Tommy.

I remember that I spoke up, but he gave me a glare that shut me up. Tommy took an hors d'oeuvre and then continued telling his story, motioning with his hands.

The waiter went to serve someone else and suddenly turned around back to our group right as Tommy flipped his hand up. The tray went flying and somehow landed on Tommy's head, knocking him over. Tommy knocked into the older man, who then knocked into me, sending me off balance because of the high heels. As I almost hit the ground, I felt strong arms encase me, keeping me up right. I looked up to who the arms belonged to and I was met by a pair of kind blue eyes. I stared in shock of the beauty of the waiter up close. He had golden brown hair and a light freckle underneath his eye. Our faces were so close that if I leaned forward, I would be kissing him.

I didn't though. We were in a trance. I remember that I felt a connection to him right away, a need to get to know this guy.

"Lexie," I whispered.

"Graham," he replied softly.

Now, I watch my father present his speech on how thankful he is for all of these people coming. He does it at the pavilion that stands in the back of our backyard near the pond. My mother and brother stand on either side of me. I look at my mother. Her face is blank as she stares at my father. There's pain in her eyes.

When my father finishes his speech, we go our separate ways. I'm asked by my father to go talk to the old couple. I take Tommy with and the conversation about how awesome he is starts. My eyes scan the crowd for Graham. Finally, they land on him speaking to someone. He meets my eyes for a second and I nod at him, sure this is going to work tonight.

Last night, after we spoke I didn't see him for the rest of the party. I have no idea where he went, but when I found him, he was distracted when he spoke to me. I wonder what happened.

Graham makes his way over here. I notice the way he finds joy in speaking to the people around him. It's almost like this wasn't a job for him, it was a social event. I chuckle when I see the old ladies flirt with him and his face goes bright red in embarrassment.

When he walks up to my group, he asks, "Would anyone like some hors d'oeuvres?"

Again, Tommy looks at him in disgust and says, "Who the hell do you think you are, peasant? Do you not know any manners in not to disturb me when I'm speaking?"

This time, I can't help myself, I shout at Tommy, "Hey, this guy is a living person. Who the hell told you that you could talk that way to other people? Oh wait, your son of a bitch dad did."

Instead of glaring at me, Tommy takes me by the dress to a more private area. "Listen here, you little cunt. If we are going to marry some day, I'm not going to deal with that attitude and-"

Graham suddenly appears and interrupts him, "Is there a problem here, sir?" He sneers.

There's fire beneath her eyes. I really hope that he didn't here what Tommy said seconds ago because they'd be to the ground. Even as a fifteen year old, Graham is stronger than Tommy who is eighteen currently. Tommy doesn't stand a chance against Graham.

To my relief, Graham doesn't do anything. He just looks between Tommy and I. He notices my upset expression. I'm on edge after I saw how cold Tommy could get. He never spoke to me that way before, but that's probably because I never spoke to him like that before.

"No," Tommy sighs, running a hand through his longer blonde hair. He pulls me to the side, "I'm sorry, babe. I'm going back to the party." He leans in and kisses me. It was all I could do to not cringe.

When his lips leave mine, he walks away, shoving past Graham like he was thin air.

I look at Graham's face that turned hard after witnessing Tommy and I kissing. His eyes turned dark as he swallowed, his adam's apple going up an down.

After making sure no one was around, I walked closer to Graham and I wrapped my arms around him. I rested my head on his chest and listened to his fast heartbeat. Tonight didn't go as planned again, but I still didn't want Graham to freak out at Tommy.

After about a minute, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I was always amazed at how well we fit with each other. It was like two of the right puzzle pieces connecting together.

He sighs, kissing my forehead. "You know, I can't help but act jealous when I see that guy around you. I almost lose my temper like I'm really a teenager all over again."

I nod against his chest. I understand how he feels. I always know what he's thinking before he says it out loud.

"Thanks for bringing me back." Graham says suddenly.

I pull my head away from his chest and look up at him, "What do you mean?" I ask.

"If you didn't grab me right there, I would've beaten that kid up in an instant. I hate doing that to people, even a douchebag like him."

I nod and bring my lips to his. I start kissing him slowly. Then, it turns to passionate, making him a want, a need for me. I need to feel his presence to know that throughout all of this madness, I still have Graham by my side.