Sufferable Acceptance

Twenty-Eight

Amelia

I spent the whole day thinking of ways I could get out of this birthday party, but I knew I couldn't bail on Sophia. I ate as slow as I possibly could at dinner, and I watched the clock tick. I had to stop stalling and go get ready. I had showered, and my makeup was done, but now I was sitting in my closet trying to find something to wear. Giving up on picking out an outfit I ran to Sophia's room. Sophia and her friend Sam were sitting near her vanity getting ready.

Sophia saw me still in a towel and yelled at me.

"Amelia, we are supposed to meet everyone by eight, what are you doing?!" She asked.

"I know I'm sorry, but I need help. I don't know what to wear tonight." I said.

Sophia laughed and stood up.

"Come on." She said, grabbing my hand. "There has to be something in your closet you can wear tonight." Sophia flipped through the clothes in my closet trying to find something for the birthday party.

"So, are you nervous?" She asked.

"Nervous about what?" I asked.

"Oh please, I saw your face when Theo agreed to go out tonight. You're dreading having to hang out with him aren't you?" She asked me. "Why else would you be nervous to pick out an outfit for tonight!?"

"I'm not nervous!" I lied.

"Sureee" She laughed. Sophia continued to laugh at me, and then pulled a dress out of the closet.

"What about this one? How come I've never seen you wear this? It's really cute!" She said.

Sophia held up the dress and I got butterflies in my stomach. The reason she hadn't ever seen me wearing that dress was because it was the one I was wearing the night I met Theo. I couldn't put the dress back on without thinking about Theo ripping it off of me.

"No.. not that one. Put it back." I told her.

I couldn't wear that dress. I knew it drove Theo wild. I didn't want to draw attention to myself, and this dress wouldn't help me stick to that plan.

"Please, just try it on for me?" Sophia asked.

I sighed and grabbed the dress from her and slid it on.

It had a corset bust that was a little bit sheer. It clung tight to my waist. The dress ended on my thigh above my fingertips. Being back in the dress felt weird. It brought back memories of Theo. I walked out and showed Sophia. I adjusted and gripped the fabric of the dress as she looked me up and down.

"Oh. My. God." She gasped. "You look hot.."

"There's no way you aren't wearing this tonight." She told me.

She threw a pair of black heels at me, and dragged me back to her room before I could complain. I finished getting ready in Sophia's room. Close to eight I left Sophia's room and ran to my room to grab a few things. My job tonight was to keep Sophia safe, so I grabbed a few things I thought I might need. It was better to be prepared in case something happened.

Everyone was downstairs waiting for me, so I ran down to meet them. Marcus and Gio were flirting with Sam, and Sophia was on the phone with someone.Theo leaned against the back of the couch in the living room, and was scrolling through his phone.

He was in a black suit, but his white shirt was unbuttoned. It showed his chest, and his tattoos. His hair was combed back, and he looked fresh out of the shower. Feeling a little flustered I looked away from him. When I stepped into the living room I caught Theo glaring at me. His eyes followed me as I walked across the room. All of us walked to the cars that were waiting for us in the driveway.

I went to open my door to the car, but someone beat me to it. I looked at the owner of the hand on the door and saw Theo. He avoided contact with me, but helped me step into the car.

It was a short drive to the club. Sophia was telling me all about her friends that I was going to see at the party, and how everyone was excited to finally meet me. I wasn't paying attention to her stories. I stared at Theo who was sitting up front next to the driver. I looked at him wondering what he was thinking about.

*****

As soon as we got into the club Theo left the group and went up some stairs to a more secluded part of the club that I assumed was the VIP section. Sophia grabbed my arm and dragged me to a group of people near the bar. I was attacked with hugs from people I didn't know. Wanting to be polite, and knowing it meant a lot to Sophia that I liked her friends, I gave a big greeting back. I said hi to Araceli, and a few girls I met at the house. I also met a few people she knew from school, and a few friends she knew through the family business.

I spent most of the night following Sophia around. I was sitting off to the side of her table when one of her friends came up to me.

"Here!" She said, handing me a drink. "You look like you could use this."

I took the drink from her and gave her a thank you.

"Come on!" She said, "Sophia needs a break from dancing. We're going upstairs."

I followed Sophia and her friends up to the VIP section where I knew Theo was. I walked up the stairs helping Sophia's drunk friends not trip on the stairs. As we walked to the VIP entrance I saw Theo sitting on a couch, and he wasn't alone. Sitting next to him was a drunk girl desperately clinging onto this arm and begging for his attention.

I rolled my eyes and looked for Sophia. She saw Theo on the couch, and read my mind. She grabbed me from one of her friends and called over to the bar for another drink.

"Here, drink this and forget about him. He's an asshole. Don't let him ruin the night." Sophia said.

I rolled my eyes again and walked over to hang out with Sam. A few minutes later my drinks started to kick in, and I was feeling better. I had almost completely blocked out Theo and his stares. While chatting and laughing with Sam a guy came up to us.

"Wanna dance?" he asked with a playboy smirk. He held out his hand for me. Without thinking I took his hand and let him lead me back downstairs. Before taking the stairs I looked back at Theo. His attention had left the girl on his lap and he was gripping his class tight. He looked mad. Good, I thought.

I gave a wink to Sophia as I passed her on the dance floor. She gave me a smile as she danced with her friends.

I tried to keep it casual with the guy I was dancing with, but soon things started to pick up. Suddenly, in the middle of a song, he spun me around. He pulled me into his waist and kept his hands on my hips. I leaned into him and let him take control on the dance floor. I swayed back and forth to the music, grinding on this stranger. It was kind of freeing, letting go a little bit. A few dances in and I spun back to face him. I leaned into his neck and let him sway me back and forth. His hands were wandering all over my ass as we danced.

I had fun dancing with this guy, but I still thought of Theo. I tried to get him out of my mind when I remembered he was probably busy with the girls upstairs. He wasn't concerned about me, so why should I be concerned about him?

Things continued to heat up with this guy, and I could tell he was leaning in for a kiss. He cupped my face, but was pulled off of me before he got any closer. The man I was dancing with had been ripped off of me, and was now sitting on the floor of the club with a bloody nose. I looked to my left to see Theo holding his knuckles, and looking angrier than I'd ever seen him.

"What the fuck!" I shouted at him.

"Let's go." He said as he grabbed my arm, "We're leaving."