Autumn Leaves & Pumpkins Please

seventeen | bob's your uncle

october 30th
london, england

XAVIER SIGHED DEEPLY WHEN WE STOOD in front of a mansion I had never seen before. He looked at me, then back at the house, then back at me again.

"Are you ready?"

"Born ready," I answered as I shrugged my shoulders. It couldn't be worse than the other times I had visited a mansion in London, besides, my girlfriends weren't here so the chance of fucking up again was little.

"My family can be a pain in the- Suzie and Geoff, what a pleasure to see you again!" as Xavier talked an old couple passed us and waved, then he got back at me, "arse."

"I'm not surprised it runs in the family," I said where after I lightheartedly punched his muscular arm. He fake laughed and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to the side of his body.

On the way into the building, Xavier greeted a lot of people and I wondered if he actually knew all those people. When we entered the stunning dining room, I felt as if I was in a fairytale – everyone was dressed in beautiful dresses or suits, all kinds of sizes and colors and the decoration overall was breathtaking. Candles lit on top of the large table to enhance the posh walls and of course the paintings on them. Compared to the Montgomery's house, this was very old-fashioned, but that's what made it so remarkable and gave it ambiance.

Mr. Montgomery and his wife walked up to us, both smiling widely.

"I'm glad you could make it," Mr. Montgomery said as he shook my hand. Mrs. Montgomery gave me two kisses on the cheek and told me I looked gorgeous. Xavier just nodded, but for the rest ignored his parents.

I felt everyone looking at us when Xavier and I sat down around the table. Some jaws even dropped and it made me think about how many times Xavier had showed up with a girl on his side – either many times and they were surprised that I wasn't British, or never and they were surprised that he finally had a girlfriend. Oh, how I wanted to stand up and tell everyone that we weren't actually a couple, that we did this for the sake of money and fame. Young women threw shade at us by whispering into each other's ears and giving me nasty looks. I wanted to surprise them with my middle finger, but I decided to act as if I didn't care.

"I like Heather more," I heard one of them say.

"Xavier, who is the lovely lady you brought with you?" Mr. Montgomery said loudly so that everyone could hear Xavier introducing me. The room got quiet immediately and it made me nervous.

Xavier grabbed my hand and helped me getting out of my chair. He gently stroke a lost pluck of hair out of my face and smiled warmly at me, then he wrapped his arm around my waist again. My cheeks must've looked lobster red, because my insides were melting at that moment. Fuck, how that man could act.

"This is my gorgeous girlfriend, Autumn Morris. We met during a formal business party and she was so incredibly drunk that she fell on top of the pyramid of drinks, so I took care of her in the kitchen were we kissed. Then her fucking friends caught us, so we went to my home where we had brilliant sex. You know what's funny too? I actually don't like her at all, but she really likes me and it's obvious, she can't keep her eyes off me! Our relationship isn't real by the way, I only use her for my company."

My jaw dropped and I tried to comprehend what I just heard. The whole room was laughing except for the girls who had been throwing shade at me and all I could do was laugh too, only a bit nervously.

"Isn't that right, love?" Xavier laughed and looked at me. I just nodded.

"You should show us some of those moves soon, Autumn. Xavier's party is coming up soon," a middle-aged man said to me.