"Sheila, I'm freaking out!" Faith cried."Just breathe, Faith. It's not a big deal.""Not a big deal?" She squealed into the phone, causing her friend to wince. "It's the biggest deal ever. I don't understand why he thinks I should be at something like that.""You would have had to do it eventually.""Eventually is better than right now." Faith fanned herself. She was suddenly sweating heavily despite the air conditioned room."You're just overreacting."Faith stumbled over to a mirror and peered at her reflection. "I think I'm not breathing. My face is turning bright red. What do you think that means?"Sheila rolled her eyes. "Girl, get a grip! I don't want to have to call 922 on you!""I think I'm gonna lay down." Faith proceeded to lay down on the bare floor, the cold tiles immediately cooling her temperature."If you really don't want to do it, you could just tell him you're not going," she suggested."I can't do that! He's counting on me.""Then get yourself together and let's wo
Faith had Devlin's hand in a death grip. She was viscerally aware of it but she couldn't bring herself to let go. Thankfully he wasn't complaining."Dev? You know it's not too late to change your mind, right?"Devlin chuckled. "For the umpteenth time, Faith, I'm not changing my mind. I want you here with me. Just relax. You're going to do great."Faith sighed. "What if I mess everything up for you?""Now how would you do that? Already, you're the most beautiful woman who would be in that room." Faith scoffed at that but also laughed, lightening the mood. "I mean it. Nobody holds a candle to you. Have you seen yourself?"She'd seen herself. She heard the awe in his voice and it was the same feeling she got when she looked in the mirror earlier.In the past two days, she'd been pampered, pruned and plucked to perfection. Her skin was glowing, her makeup was flawless and her dress was gorgeous all because Devlin had spared no expense on getting her ready.She knew she looked amazing but
"I have just one question for you, Mr Banks. Who is your date tonight?" Samantha asked in that bright TV voice that grated on Faith's nerves."Correct me if I'm wrong," she charged on, "But this is your tutor, isn't she? I don't knowww but, not many people bring their tutors along as their dates to the event of the year. So tell us, is she really your tutor or something else?"Faith held her breath. Since they actually got together, this was the first time that they were questioned about the nature of their relationship.In the past, they'd simply told the truth...that she was his tutor. But now, she was more than that. She was his lover. They lived together.But the truth was, their relationship was still as undefined as when they'd set out. He hadn't asked her out yet so she wasn't officially his girlfriend although she could tell he already saw her that way.She'd been suspecting for weeks that he was planning something too. Planning to ask her out, most likely and Sheila and Adele
Devlin couldn't tell if he walked, ran or flew after Sheila. All he knew was that he found himself exiting the hall through a door he'd never even known was there in all his years coming here.The door led outside where the refreshing night breeze hit him in the face. He didn't dawdle to appreciate it. "What were you guys doing outside the hall?" Sheila only shook her head, apparently unable to speak which upped Devlin's anxiety. There were no thoughts in his head, only the word, "Faith! Faith!" repeated on a loop in his head.She led him through a clearing and then into a garden. Why the h*ll had they come this far? Why did they go so far away from the hall?This was his fault. He shouldn't have left her in the hall but there was no way of knowing that the discussion would take that long.Plus, he'd figured she would be fine with Sheila and Adele. Where was Adele anyway? She'd probably stayed with Faith while Sheila went for help.Without even thinking about it, his phone was alread
"Okay..." He drawled. "What is it?" She could see the trepidation in his eyes. She couldn't imagine why he would be so afraid of this conversation."It's about what happened earlier today," Faith clarified. Knowing what the conversation was to be about should help to calm his nerves, shouldn't it?"Oh...yeah? What about that?" He asked hesitantly. Nope, it didn't help at all. If anything, he looked more stressed.Geez, what exactly did he think she was going to do, bite his head off? She supposed there was some credence to his fear. Hadn't she done exactly that earlier? Almost bit his head off for trying to be nice? She sighed. Better just get it out and over with. "I wanted to apologize actually..."His eyes widened slightly. "You...wanted...to apologize?" "Yes, I did." What was with his reaction? Why was it surprising that she was apologizing. Wasn't that the right thing to do?"For real?"She blinked in confusion. "Uhm...yeah? I was wrong to react like that. I realize that so now
"Cheers!""Cheers!"They all clicked their glasses together at the centre of the table. Faith used one hand to manouver her dress into a manageable position before sitting."Is that good?" Devlin asked, leaning over to check the bunched up skirt. "Should I move it for you?""No, it's good. Thanks, babe," she answered."Awwnn," the older woman at the table, Mrs Willow B. gushed. "You two are so cute! Isn't that right, darling?""Yes, darling," Mr Willow B. said obediently. "I bet you're so happy," she continued to gush."If he's not making you happy, come right over to me. I can make you very happy," Mr Willow B. said jokingly.Faith laughed. "Thank you for the offer, sir, but I'm sufficiently happy.""Just ignore him, honey," Mrs Willow B. said. "The old fart is no longer thinking straight.""Just think about it," he countered his wife, "You'd have one more woman in the house to take care of things. All the work wouldn't be on you.""What work? We have ten maids," Mrs Willow B. rolle
Faith stood staring out the window at Greenfield. She hadn't thought she'd be back here anytime soon but here she was. Why? She wasn't entirely sure.All she knew was that Devlin had asked her to return to Greenfield for the time being. He'd sounded so insistent so much so that she'd agreed to his request without much ado.For someone who'd practically pleaded and prodded her into moving in with him, he seemed pretty intent to have her go.She'd spent the past three days coming up with reasons that could explain the strange action. The most realistic one was that he was finally going to ask her to be his girlfriend officially.He probably needed her out of the house so he could carry out preparations and such. She'd been trying to prod Adele and Sheila to see if they knew anything but they were so tight lipped that they either really knew nothing or needed to be employed by the CIA for their tightlippedness asap.Well, she hoped that was the reason because the alternative would be mo
Faith sat at the little sitting area outside Greenfield enjoying, or at least trying to enjoy, a cup of coffee.Suddenly, a girl bounced up to her and sat next to her on the concrete chair without invitation."Hey, Faith! How are you? Long time!" She chirped familiarly.Faith squinted at the girl, trying to draw up a name or anything useful in identifying the girl. She drew a blank."Uhm...hi," she greeted hesitantly.The girl didn't notice her confusion and continued to chirp on. "...and then I saw the interview and I was like whoa! Like how in the world did you luck out like that? It was crazy."Faith knew instantly what interview she was referring to but the question was who she was and whether she was supposed to know her.The face was somewhat... faintly... familiar but she doubted they were close enough to be having a conversation like this.Still, the girl prattled on. "...I mean, like, you're not even his type! I know his type because I've followed every dating news about him