Blind Side Of Love (3 page)

He smiled and the butterflies now turned into a flock of birds. I cleared my throat and snapped out of it when I realized I was entranced in his smile a little longer than I should have been. I knew it was crazy to be thinking, but part of me was hoping that he would lean over the seat and kiss me. I gave him another quick smile and hurriedly opened the door, hoping that he wasn’t able to read my thoughts.

“I guess I’ll see ya around.” 

He nodded. I closed the door and walked up the driveway on shaky legs. I was trembling as I tried to get my key in the keyhole.
Becca, calm down! He’s just a guy! He’s just like the rest of them….nothing special,
I told myself as I tried to steady my hand. I was finally able to calm myself enough to manage to get the door open. Drew’s car drove away as I closed the door behind me. I leaned my back up against the door and closed my eyes, unable to erase my smile as I imagined him in that snug fitting tee shirt, his beautiful one dimpled grin, and the way he came to my rescue and gave me a ride home tonight. No, he wasn’t like the rest of them…..something somewhere deep inside of me was telling me there was something about him that was pretty darn special.

I went up to my room after the shopping spree that my mother and I had just returned from and stood back, admiring the beautiful aquamarine, beaded halter gown that we had purchased for the benefit dinner. I had wanted something a little less extravagant and less costly but my mother insisted on this one after seeing me in it. Since she was paying for it, I had to do as she wished. But looking at it hanging on the back of my closet door, I was glad that she was so persistent. It was absolutely stunning.

“Aren’t you glad I talked you into that one now?” my mother said as she came walking through my bedroom door as if she was reading my thoughts.

“It is really beautiful.”

“Your father doesn’t like this whole idea of this auction thing. He’s afraid that some strange man is going to pick you and he’ll have to get into a bidding war to get you out of it.”

She and my father were so overprotective of me that sometimes it drove me crazy. They weren’t used to me bringing guys around and even if I had, I knew that no guy would ever be good enough in their eyes. What they failed to realize was that I was an adult who could make her own decisions. Wise decisions. I hadn’t let them down yet and I just wished they had a little more confidence in me.

“Mom, you and Daddy will be at this event; it’s not like I’m going off to some strange place with some strange man. I am not three years old anymore. I am a grown woman.”

“Becca, you are twenty one years old. Trust me; you’re not a grown woman. You have no idea how many bad people there are in this world.”

“Mom! Please, just have a little faith in me.”

“I do, Becca. I just worry about you.”

“Well, don’t. I will be fine. I promise. When have you ever known me to not be able to handle any situation life throws at me?”

She shook her head and smiled. “I haven’t. I know you’re a smart girl. But you will always be my
little girl
, no matter how old you are.” She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me.

I knew that I was lucky to have a mother and father that loved me and wanted to protect me as much as mine did. In turn, I wanted nothing more than to please them and make them proud of me. But every now and then I wondered just what it would be like to stop striving for perfection and live a little.

Sitting in the back of my father’s car on the way to the benefit brought me right back to when I was twelve years old and going to my first school dance—at least that’s how my parents made me feel. Lecturing me about what to do, what to say, how to act while stopping to take a few breaths and scolding my brother for his inappropriate comments that he was making. I would normally agree with my parents about his behavior, but for now he was creating a diversion which took the focus off me and I was grateful to him for that. I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough when we pulled up to the valet. Jordan was right behind me, both of us wanting to get away from the fifteen minute lecture that we had each been subjected to on the way here.

“Jordan, walk in with your sister, please!” my father shouted as he and my mother were stopped by another couple and deep in conversation.

“You have no clue how lucky you are to be away from them!” Jordan said as he looped his arm in mine.

“Oh, Jordan, they’re not that bad.”

“Yeah, maybe not for you because you’re the
perfect one
!”

I shook my head and laughed. “And you are their wild child that has thrown them for a loop.”

“Damn straight, girl, you should try it sometime. It’s pretty fun!” He smiled back.

We walked into the elaborate ballroom that was already filled with people. I scanned the area, wondering which one of these men would be my date for the night and immediately got a sick feeling in my stomach. I stretched my neck and whispered into Jordan’s ear. “Hey, by any chance are you going to be bidding tonight?” I asked, giving him a pleading smile.

“Well, I would but Dad cut off my funds because of my last report card. Plus, I wouldn’t want to interfere with fate.”

“What do you mean?” I asked in confusion.

“Well, my future brother in law may be in the making tonight.” He laughed.

I shook my head. “Nah, don’t think so, Jordan.”

As we made our way further inside, we were stopped every now and then by some of my father’s coworkers and acquaintances that he had met over the years. Some of them I didn’t know or didn’t remember ever meeting, but they remembered my brother and me.

“Here, you want to do a shot of this to calm you down?” my brother asked, exposing the small bottle of vodka that was in his pocket.

My eyes widened. “Jordan Michael! Where did you get that?”

He laughed at my reaction, but I wasn’t finding any humor in the situation at all. He was underage and could get in serious trouble if he got caught with that. “Did anyone ever tell you that you sound just like Mom? Calm down, Becca, believe it or not but this is the
normal
thing that kids our age do.”

“You are not my age, Jordan. I am legal to drink, you are not!”

“Becca, Sweetheart!” Jordan looked relieved when he saw Lynn Barrett approaching us, seemingly knowing that he had just escaped one of my big sister lectures that he would painstakingly listen to every now and then. “You look absolutely stunning, as expected,” she said, placing her hand on my shoulder and thoroughly inspecting me like a piece of meat. “Oh hello, Jordan, I’m so glad you were able to make it,” she said, finally acknowledging my brother.

“Well, more like I was forced into it.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Jordan, really?”

Mrs. Barrett waved her hand in the air, dismissing his comment. “Oh don’t be embarrassed, Becca. Boys will be boys and my Ashton acts the same way when it comes to these functions.”

Oh shit, Ashton!
I had forgotten that she had told him about this function tonight and was praying that he wasn’t here. I swallowed hard before asking the dreaded question. “Oh, is Ashton coming tonight?” I finally blurted out.

“Who knows? He never gives me a straight answer. I’m just waiting for everyone to get here and take a seat and we should be starting in about fifteen minutes,” she said as she was whisked away.

I took a deep breath, noticing that Jordan was no longer standing beside me.
Great!
I always felt a little out of place in social situations. I was much more comfortable being by myself and not on display.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” A familiar voice finally broke me from my trance.

I could feel the smile forming on my face when I noticed Drew standing beside me, looking as handsome as ever in a gray, perfectly tailored suit. His short brown hair was perfectly tousled and his deep blue eyes were looking a little grayer tonight as they reflected off the colors in his tie.

“Um, no, I’ll just have a club soda with lime.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” he said before walking over to the bar. Panic began to set in when it finally dawned on me that if Drew was here, that meant Ashton was, too.  My stomach began to churn as I scoured the area, once again looking for him.

“Here you go,” Drew said, handing me the glass.

“Thank you,” I said as I took a sip.

“Can I just say, you look beautiful?”

I could feel myself blushing. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“Don’t be ashamed to take a compliment, Becca.”

“I’m…not.” I felt my face become heated once again. “So is Ashton here?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, somewhere,” he said, looking around at the crowd. I sighed heavily. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

“It’s just….well, I will die if I get stuck spending the rest of the night with him.”

He let out a light hearted chuckle. “Boy, you really do hate him, don’t you?”

“Well, hate is such a strong word—more like….I strongly dislike him or I despise him.” I giggled as I looked into his eyes and was instantly overcome with a strange sense of calmness. Even though he was friends with Ashton, there was just something about him that put me at ease.

“Becca, there you are,” my father said as he approached me, thoroughly eyeing up Drew in the process.

“Oh Drew, this is my father,” I said.

Drew extended his hand to my father, who gave him an uneasy look as they shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Keeton.”

“You too. How do you and Becca know each other?” My father wasted no time jumping into his interrogation
.

“I go to school with Ashton.”

My father nodded, still giving a wary look. “Well, come sit at our table until they are ready to get this underway, Becca,” my father said, taking my hand. I felt myself becoming a little annoyed by his actions. I was having a really nice time talking to Drew and then he had to come in and swoop me away. But I knew better than to argue; at least not here, anyway. Perhaps, I would say something once we got home.

I gave Drew an apologetic smile. “Thanks for the drink.”

“Anytime.” He smiled back as my dad led me away and through the crowd.

“Who was that boy?” my father asked.

“I don’t know, Dad. Just a friend of Ashton’s.”

“Well, Lynn and Edward may be good friends of mine but I happen to know that Ashton gets into his fair share of trouble. You don’t need to be associating yourself with anyone that is friends with him.”

“Dad! Please! I’m not a little baby. I think I can form my own opinion of others quite well!”

“Becca, we’re ready to start!” Mrs. Barrett interrupted.

Even though my stomach was in knots over the entire thing, I was still feeling relieved because I knew that my father and I were about to get into a major battle. She took my hand and led me up to the podium. I stood alongside of the other two girls, keeping my head down, totally tuning everyone and everything else out. God, I just wanted to get this over with, and I wanted to get it over with
without
spending the rest of the night with Ashton.

My ears finally perked up and my stomach dropped when I heard Mrs. Barrett say, "Our next bachelorette is studying pre-law at Columbia University. Besides being very smart, she is also very beautiful. Meet Becca Keeton.” I walked over to the podium, feeling like my legs were about to give out. I hated being the center of attention, especially for something like this. My head was spinning through the loud applause of the crowd and the shrill whistle coming from Ashton, who was now front and center. "Okay, I will start the bidding at one hundred dollars," Mrs. Barrett said. As expected, Ashton was the first one to bid. Mrs. Barrett smiled at her son. "Okay, we have a bid for one hundred. Do I have one hundred and fifty?"
Oh God please somebody, anybody.....but Ashton.