Saturday late evening

As Jay has predicted, we find his best friend at the dessert buffet.

Beautiful ornate chandeliers provide bright illumination to the foyer, and I finally get to take a proper look at Cole's girlfriend. Seliel is quite tall – a lot taller than me for sure – slim, and very pretty. Confidently wearing her elegant smoke grey floor-length velvet dress, she definitely looks like she belongs in this kind of setting, despite her unusual pink hair with blue highlights.

We introduce ourselves to each other again, while the guys start discussing some of the special effects. "It is really great to meet you, Nya." She gives me a genuine smile. "Your first red carpet event?"

I nod. "Is it this obvious?" Oh, great. Am I making a complete fool of myself?

"No, Cole has just told me that you preferred to take the back entrance. Don't worry, you're doing absolutely fine." Seliel reassures me. "And I saw you talking to CG earlier, it seemed to go fairly well."

"I-I guess so." I reply. Did it?

"Oh, definitely. The first time Cole took me to one of his dad's concerts, I was so nervous during the aftershow party that I tripped and spilled a full glass of red wine over my dress. And over his suit."

"Cole's or his dad's?" I ask carefully.

Seliel laughs. "Both, actually." She then gently grabs my arm. "C'mon, let's get some drinks, we'll be back in a few minutes." She calls to our boyfriends, leading me away from them and over to the bar.

"I figured it would be nice to have a chat from girl to girl. And drinks are free." She explains.
At the bar, Seliel orders a glass of red wine. After hearing her story earlier, I decide to avoid the red drink and take a glass of champagne instead. We sit down at a table in a quiet corner.

"Honestly, I couldn't believe my ears - and eyes - when Cole told me the story of how he ran into the two of you on campus last Friday. Jay had been talking quite a bit about you, but he wouldn't give us any proof that you actually exist. We had started worrying he had only made up his girlfriend so we would stop trying to set him up on dates."

"At that time, I wasn't his girlfriend." I correct her. Just not yet.
"Ah, doesn't matter." She waves it off with her hand. "I was sure it would only be a matter of time then. And it looks like I was right..."

I blush.

"I've known Jay for a while now, and I can see that he really likes you a lot. He has never brought a date to one of his dad's official events." Seliel continues.

"I really like him, too." I admit. "But I am not sure if I like this."

"Unfortunately, this is part of who he is. But you'll get used to it. Believe me, I was in exactly the same situation when I met Cole about two years ago." This comes as a bit of a surprise. The pink-haired girl appears to be so confident and comfortable here, so hopefully she is right. "So I have to tell you that it is not easy, especially at the beginning."
Ugh, great, I was just starting to feel better about the whole thing.

"And do you have any kind of advice on how to get used to it?" I ask. I know we've just started dating, and I am well aware that not every love story has a happy ending even without this extra bit of pressure, but I also know that I want to make it work.

"Just relax and try not to worry too much about it. If you ever feel uncomfortable about anything or anyone, you should just tell him, like you would in any other relationship as well. And you can always talk to me and Cole, we will all be happy to help you, okay?"

"Thanks." I give her a little smile.

"No problem." She smiles back. "I just want my boyfriend's best friend to be happy. He's a great guy, even if he may appear to be a cocky asshole at first."

"Tell me..." I mumble.

"Well, he's been living in the spotlight since he was born. You know, his dad was still an up and coming actor at that time, but his mother was a famous model. And then she died when he was just two years old..."

Jay has told me all these things when we were talking – and with me drinking one of the results of his failed attempts to guess my favourite coffee – at the comic book store. But he has never mentioned...

"Do you know what happened to her?" I blurt out.

"You don't?" She seems surprised. "You can easily find it online."

"I only know what Jay has told me himself. At first, I didn't like him very much...

"I've heard about that..." She smirks.

"So, I obviously didn't care about who he was. And then once we started chatting and got to know each other better, I thought it would be unfair if I knew everything about him, while he would not be able to find out anything about me. That would feel kinda like cheating, you know?"

"I understand, you have a good point." Seliel agreed. "But I guess it's okay if I tell you. Finding out stuff about you from your friends is something Jay could do as well."

Oh no, I should probably find out what he has talked about with Skylor earlier tonight, while Kai and I were looking for the dress...

"She was killed in a car crash, caused by a drunk driver."

Now I understand. "So that's why..."

"Yes." Seliel nods. "That is why you will never ever find your boyfriend drink and drive, not even the smallest amount of alcohol."

"Okay, thanks for telling me."

"As I've said before, you can always come to me. But we should probably go back now, such handsome guys shouldn't be left alone for too too long."

As we walk back, she suddenly stops and grins at me.

"But I have one more piece of advice for you now. If you ever feel like looking up stuff about your boyfriend online, you should search for those commercials he did as a child. They are very cute and very embarrassing."

And this suggestion sounds very tempting. Therefore, I decide that just a little bit of cheating (in this matter only, of course) is still perfectly acceptable.

Merry belated Christmas (again)! Having finished my Christmas book, I am now trying to update all my ongoing books before the end of my break. Please let me know which one you would like me to do next 🙂!