If It Comes Back

Chapter 20

The OVO party at the YOLO Estate was in full swing. With schedules getting jam-packed and everyone flying here and there, it would be hard to make all of the birthday dinners, parties, and trips of the month so the crew managed to pull together one big bash to celebrate before everyone went their separate ways for a while. For Gigi, her memories of YOLO parties were few and far between as Aubrey was still in the beginnings of spreading his celebrity far and wide in the US. It wasn't until after their traumatic breakup and the explosion of his career that the fame of the YOLO Estate and its parties grew to the notoriety they became known for. People were everywhere crowded along the pool, patio, and courts drinking, smoking, dancing, and scoping out the scene. As if the impressive pool with an eighty-foot water slide and sprawling backyard weren't enough, for the festivities, the guys managed to bring in a pool-sized foam pit, an inflatable water slide that party-goers too scared to jump from the tops of the waterfall could also use as a way to splash into the pool, water guns and other pool toys strewn about the place, and five large, barrel-grills that caused a smoky, mesquite smell to fill the air from the barbecued burgers, hot dogs, and wings that were served to guests.

The revelers also did their best to leave a lasting impression on their hosts. The men arrived in the freshest of sneakers and dripped themselves in name brand and chains to display their wealth and prestige or to give the illusion they could afford such a lifestyle while many of the women, despite it being early October, still managed to strut around in the highest of heels and smallest of bikinis hoping to grab the attention of a basketball player, rapper, or one of the OVO members in hopes of meeting the one and only Drake who usually kept himself secluded off to a corner surrounded by his closest of friends or taking over the DJ booth to keep the right vibes going when it came to his house parties. It was all familiar to anyone who had made a habit of partying with the OVO crew but there was something different this time around. The friends were still there, the alcohol was still flowing, the music thumped like always, yet it was noticeable to all, especially the women in attendance, that instead of Aubrey keeping ahold of a red solo cup, he held fast to Gigi instead. His arm was wrapped around her waist while she maintained a hand on him, both laughing and talking with those around them but never forgetting the presence of the other constantly keeping some sort of physical connection between them. It was innate even when they drifted apart or someone called one of them over they would still find a way back to each other a look, a hand, a whisper in the ear, a quick kiss... there was always a sign of reassurance; I'm still here, I see you, I love you.

To the party-goers, it was quite clear that the notorious Hidden Hills playboy was finally and happily off the market which only caused the women to seethe. Some pouted and wished it was them, others stared at Gigi with a critical eye tinkering away in their minds trying to figure out what it was about her that could keep Aubrey's attention, a few dismissed her as another fling, and then there were those who plotted and schemed confident they could steal Aubrey away. The situation would be difficult for any woman to be in; surrounded by past conquests that had been in your man's bed, knowing they had had a piece of him and were hoping for more, jealous ex-lovers praying that you would meet your demise just so they could try and take your place, it would make anyone insecure, hostile, and territorial, yet Gigi was far from that she actually reveled in the hate. She could sit twiddling her thumbs in insecurity, cuss out any female who looked Aubrey's way, or hang herself all over him to make a show that he was clearly taken but she didn't need to... not anymore. All of their talks, their therapy, the obstacles they faced together, and even the last conversation she had with him, truly cemented that she had nothing to worry about, that there was no one who could feel like a threat to her because she was above every woman at the party. She was above every woman in existence as far as Aubrey was concerned. He had even said it himself, she was the best he ever had. He wanted her, loved her. He dreamed for years of making her his wife and having children with her no matter how difficult of a road it may be for them to achieve that, for almost a decade she had still held Aubrey's heart without even having to be in his life, and though he may have been with women while they were apart and even attempted a sort of a relationship with some, when he closed his eyes at night when he laid next to them it was Gigi he saw, it was Gigi he imagined he had in bed with him. He had always been hers. There was no woman who could claim that. None but Gigi and knowing that was empowering. It made the snide remarks, rolling eyes, stank looks, whispers, and poor attempts to draw Aubrey's attention almost comical. Try as they might, those women would never have him again now that he had what he truly wanted and they knew it whether they wanted to admit it or not. Gigi was there, where they had all desired to be, she had done the unimaginable, and to many, it looked as if she was also going to snag the ultimate prize. Yet for Gigi it wasn't about a prize, clout, or any of the other materialistic things women ran after Aubrey for, it was simply about love, regaining a love she had lost long ago and rebuilding it anew into something stronger than ever before, something unbreakable.