Strength |✔️

twenty-two

Alisha

The sun seeps into Neil's room, immediately waking me up, but Neil continues to sleep soundly. His arm is wrapped around my waist, and he breathes into my neck. I really want to stay with him, but I shouldn't stay any longer. I don't want his parents to find us together.

Regretting what I am about to do, I slowly pry out of him and place a small kiss on his forehead. Realizing that he isn't going to wake up, I sigh and walk out the door. It is 7:00am, and his parents shouldn't be awake right now, so I'm all good.

I go downstairs and see Sheila downstairs, making breakfast. When she sees me, she smiles widely and says, "Good morning, Alisha! You ready for the pre-party tonight?"

I nod my head and stand near Sheila as she makes omelets. "I am very excited."

"That's good," She says. "Has Neil woken up yet?"

I shrug. "I don't know, actually. What time are we supposed to leave from here?"

"I think around 9 o' clock. Are you already packed up and ready for the events?"

I nod my head. "Yes, auntie."

She gleams. "That's good."

Then, we sit down at the table and thirty minutes later, Neil and his dad comes down. Neil's hair is messy, and he looks very tired, but as always he's looking adorable.

Neil grins when he sees me and sits next to me at the dining table. As we eat breakfast, Neil chats about how excited he is for his sister getting married and how great he feels and that he's giving a speech there at the reception. I tell him that he's going to do amazing, and he grins at me.

Meanwhile, his parents ramble about how they are excited to decorate the place differently, since we are going to have all the events at the same hotel, it is a HUGE hotel, and they're excited to get Monika ready as well. I gleam as I watch Neil and his family get their nervousness and excitement out, but at the same time, I see that Neil's dad is very happy, too.

Finally, we all then go into the SUV, with Mahi sitting in the middle and me and Neil sitting on the opposite sides. When no one is looking, Neil frowns at me and mouths, "I wish I was sitting next to you."

I nod my head and frown as well. "Me too," I mouth.

He smiles and Mahi looks up from her book, judging us. "You guys are weird," and then she dives into her book again. I don't know how someone can be so engrossed in their book. I look at Neil and he starts cracking up, and I join in as well. Later on, his parents climb in the front row and start driving to Virginia Beach.

We plan to meet Monika and her soon-to-be husband at the hotel we're staying. I am actually very excited to see Monika, though. I glance at Neil and see that he quickly fell asleep against the car window, his mouth gaped wide open. Mahi jabs my arm and laughs. I laugh as well.

About two to three hours later, we reach at the grand Marriott hotel. It's reminiscent body glows against the morning sun, as the fountains in front of the grand hotel dance elegantly. Mahi wakes up Neil and he looks out the window in awe. This is where all the wedding events are going to take place?!

We park and grab our bags, lugging ourselves into the huge lobby. The golden walls shimmer, and there are people with business clothes on, typing furiously into their phones, or chatting alongside on this earpiece. Neil lazily sits at one of the couches and tells me to sit next to me. Sitting next to him, he places his arm around my neck, pulling me into him. He smiles at me. "You look dead."

I chuckle. "You know, I should be the one asking you that." He side smirks, as his dimple shows up. As I look closely at his face, I can see a beard forming, which shows his masculinity. I run my hand alongside the trimmings and laugh. "Aw, you almost have a beard!"