A TIME TO HEAL

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

MY PHONE vibrated by my side and I rolled over to get it from the stool beside my sofa. I had fallen asleep while watching TV and I rubbed my eyes and checked the caller, it was Kelvin.

I cleared my throat and said, "Hey."

"Are you ready?"

"Ready?"

"For tonight, of course. I thought you decided to go."

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that. I'm picking you up by 7 p.m.... It's a good thing I'm calling now, go get dressed, wear some heels and a nice gown. We're celebrating, dude!"

"I didn't ask for this," I grumbled out.

"Do you honestly want to be in the house every day of your life?"

"Nope."

"Then get dressed, I'm picking you up soon."

"Okay, just know we'll go home whenever I say so."

"Absolutely, it's your party."

"See you later then." I disconnected and went to the bathroom.

I layered a generous amount of lotion on my skin and just stood in the middle of my bedroom still wrapped in my towel. I then went to the closet and opened it, the smell of new clothes hit me. After wasting some precious minutes deciding what to wear amongst the clothes I had just acquired, I finally settled for a nude lacy gown.

It was so fitted I was tempted to pull it right off, but I was running out of time so I decided to go with it. I wasn't all that comfortable with the neck also. It was cut so low I was scared my breasts would spill out of the dress if I moved too fast. The length was the only thing I loved about the dress, it was way past the knees and stopped few inches above my ankles.

I wore an anklet around my ankle to accentuate my legs and took out one of the new heels I just recently acquired. I decided to go with smokey eye and vibrant red for my lips as I walked to my vanity mirror. I had luck pulling off the smokey eye, I could tell my night was going to be interesting based off the fact that I got my makeup right on the first try. My hair was pulled back in a slick, tight bun.

I looked at myself in the full length mirror at my closet door and couldn't believe my eyes. I looked stunning, sexy, confident and female. I couldn't recall the last time I felt that way, and the heels added four inches to my height when I wore them. My neck had become so thin and long from all the exercise, and I looked like those billboard models, if I did say so to myself.

I twirled around and laughed at myself. It was all worth it, the rabbit food and rigorous exercises. I finally felt whole and healthy...I felt new. This was great, and I could definitely get used to my new lifestyle. I could get used to shopping for hours and not getting knee pain from standing too long, I could get used to taking the steps and not breathing like I'd just completed a marathon.

I heard a knock at the door when I went to the living room to grab my ringing phone. I knew it had to be Kelvin so I ran back to the bedroom and sprayed my pulses with perfume. I took my beaded Burberry clutch and went to answer the door. As I opened the door, Kelvin started to speak but stopped mid-sentence. His jaw was hanging open as he looked at me from head to toe.

"Christ! Look at you." I twirled and laughed coyly at his reaction. "You look beautiful. You've always been beautiful but this is a much better version."

"Thanks, you look good too."

Kelvin was wearing a black pair of jeans and a dark grey, V-neck top that flaunted his chest. I could see the dark curls of hair on his chest, and the sleeves were so short you could see his biceps rippling from every movement he made. He wore a gold chain around his wrist, and he had on some camouflage Nike Huaraches. Kelvin looked superb, even edible, but he wasn't mine to eat so I refocused my attention elsewhere.

I locked the door and followed him to the cab he said was waiting outside. I saw Alex immediately I got close to the car, and I turned around to Kelvin.

"You brought your fiancé," I said.

"Yea, she wanted to celebrate with you. The more the merrier, right?"

"Right. I'm glad she's here," I said and smiled through my teeth. I opened the car door and joined Alex at the back seat.

"You look fabulous, how are you?" I asked. Alex was wearing a very short black dress that had a crisscross in the front. Was there anything she couldn't pull off?

"I'm fine. You look stunning, I hope it's okay that I'm joining you guys?"

"Of course it is."

"I didn't want to obtrude but Kelvin said it was no problem."

"I'm glad you're here, really." I lied and Kelvin turned and smiled at us from the front seat.

"Ready? Hope you're not forgetting anything?" he asked looking at me.

"What about Seye?"

"She'll be coming on her own."

"Let's go then."

The driver took off and Alex started telling me of some place she went with Kelvin. I pretended to listen by occasionally adding one or two things and Kelvin sometimes filled in more on what she was saying. When we finally got to the club of Kelvin's chosen, I sighed in relief. I couldn't bear to listen to Alex for another minute. The night was definitely not going to be as exciting as I presumed, what with Alex coming along and boring me with her relationship talk. I hoped we picked on a different conversation once we got a table.

All three of us entered the club and immediately joined the chaos. The dance floor was already packed and Kelvin took us to the bar to get started. He was obviously a regular because he was fist bumping and chatting with everyone around. Kelvin ordered shots of tequila but I settled for a glass of cocktail. Alex pulled him closer to her side and I was left alone nursing my drink. Why was I left alone at my own party?

When I got bored drinking by myself, I took my phone out and texted Seye to know what was holding her up. Her explanation was so typical, she texted back that she was on the ground floor of the same club we were in but wasn't going to join us because she was drinking with some girl she hoped to make out with later. I replied back with a text, spelling "hoe" in capital letters and adding several exclamation marks. She sent a smiley and I dropped my phone back into my purse. No luck there.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Kelvin asked. Alex was by his side whilst he leaned towards me to speak directly into my ear because of the loud music playing.

"Yes, this is fun," I shouted in reply.

I took another sip of my drink. He nodded in approval and went with Alex, he whispered something in her ear and she giggled. I watched them as they left to the dance floor. I kept my eyes trained on them and saw Alex trailing her hands down Kelvin's chest.

Screw it. I ordered two shots of tequila to drown my envy in. Their relationship got on my nerves no matter how much I tried to hide it. I always went back to our first stupid fight, maybe if I hadn't quarreled with him he wouldn't have ended up with Alex. Perhaps things would have been different, he could have finally noticed me as a woman not just a 'best friend'. How I hated that word.

My life sucked. I had the body I wanted and still couldn't get the man of my dreams. He was with someone else, someone close to perfection. Alex had no flaw, apart from that little stunt she pulled the first time I met her and that was even excusable. You couldn't hate her if you wanted to and that was even more annoying.

Where was the fun in all of this anyway? I was in a crowded bar drinking alcohol when I could be having more fun in my bed watching TV. My elbow was on the counter of the bar and I watched as the bartender expertly mixed drink. I took one of the shots of tequila placed in front of me and gulped without the lime. It burned my mouth so I swallowed in a hurry, then it burnt my throat and I coughed. My tummy felt so hot, good hot though. I took the second shot and smiled. I could definitely have fun drinking by myself.