Melody

The rest of the week went by quickly and before I knew it, Sunday rolled around the corner. I had told Carson to meet me at my house around four-thirty as we were planning to leave for the banquet hall when the limo came fifteen minutes later.

I went downstairs in the morning, after spending sometime drawing, hoping to get a workout in before I had to get ready. However, as I headed towards the basement, I saw my dad waking up from his position on the couch in his office. I stopped and placed a smile on my face, hoping to build up the courage to walk in there and sit down and talk to him. Talk to him about anything, as long as it was something.

My father glanced at his watch and swore under his breath before rushing over to his desk, diminishing any resolve I had to go in. He stared at his computer, drumming his left hand, as the right started on the mouse. I noticed the five o'clock shadow on his cheeks and chin and the bags under his eyes. He was overworking himself without any restraint.

Like father, like daughter, I guessed as I went downstairs to start on the treadmill.

***

After a long, hot shower that seemed to melt my Sunday morning away, I started my make up. Gold and brown eye shadow blended together to bring out the darker undertones in my green eyes. I put on eyeliner and mascara before I contoured my cheekbones and nose, hoping the makeup tutorials I watched online sometimes weren't going to waste. After adding a little highlight to make my cheeks shimmer, I added a matte nude lipstick that had a hint of pink. I curled my hair and raked my fingers through it to give it big waves before stepping back to look at myself.

Decent... I thought before slipping into my dress. We had walked around the mall and found shoes that matched my dress in Chanel. I pulled them on and headed downstairs.

As I walked down to the foyer, surveyed the room and saw my dad in a suit, blonde hair slicked back. Margot was in a dark green, long-sleeved dress and Mia was in her blue, off-the-shoulder dress. Her hair was in an up-do and her makeup was flawless. As much as I didn't want to admit it, she looked gorgeous.

The doorbell rang and I took a deep breath and stepped over to the door. I turned the knob and opened the door, feeling the icy air hit my bare skin. However, I laid eyes on Carson and felt warm.

"Hi," I breathed – barely.

Carson White in a suit. A sight I didn't know I needed until it was in front of me and I had never been more grateful in my life. Okay, an exaggeration... but my goodness was he like staring at a Michelangelo sculpture. His suit was fitted and black with a white shirt underneath it. He matched his tie to my dress, the champagne making his eyes sparkle. He had run some gel through his hair giving it this perfectly messy look that made my heart stutter in my chest.

I watched as his eyes widened and his mouth parted slightly. I could feel Carson's gaze on my face, on my dress and it made it hard to think. I gave him a small smile, forgetting about Margot, Mia and even my father in the room.

"You are breathtaking," Carson said, a smile resting on his lips.

"I-I – thank you," I settled on, breaking eye contact. "You look handsome," I added quietly.

"Are you going to invite him in? Or let us all freeze with the door open?" Mia called. My eyes narrowed, making Carson smirk, but I quickly stepped aside to let Carson in.

"Um... Mia, Margot you remember Carson..." I said closing the door behind him. "Carson, this is my dad, Robert... I turned to face my father. "Um, Dad, this is Carson... my, um, boyfriend."

My father's eyebrows shot up, despite the rest of him remaining still. He then mustered up a smile and looked to Carson, who was already moving towards him.

"Nice to finally meet you sir," Carson said with an outstretched hand.

"Likewise," my dad replied gripping his hand.

"Thank you all for including me in your evening," Carson added, making me bite the inside of my cheek to refrain from smiling at his polite tone.

"Of course," Margot said sweetly. There was a honk outside, and Margot began ushering everyone out. "The limousine is here. Let's go."

I grabbed a short, faux fur coat from the closet and headed outside into the black, stretch limo.

The chauffer opened the car door for us all and Mia slid in first, and then her mother and my father. Carson helped me into the vehicle and got in next to me. The ride was quiet at first before my father spoke up.

"So... how did you two meet?" he asked.

"Ha! Melody smacked him with a door!" Mia laughed.

"What?" Margot chimed in, looking mortified on my behalf.

"Actually, Carson was helping me find my way to our English class," I said

"Yes, but Melody stopped to help a girl who was being bullied in front of a large crowd, so I didn't see her again until English class. But I already knew what an incredible person she was," Carson added, surprising me. My dad wore a small smile on his face upon hearing that and even Mia seemed a little humbled, herself. Margot's expression was unreadable as always, but that was okay. I didn't know that Carson had watched me stand up for Alani or what he thought about it, but it made me warm inside to know that he thought I was incredible from the moment we met.

***

The colour scheme Margot had decided on for the banquet was silver, and white with a touch of red. I didn't love it, but the place looked nice.

The first to arrive were her book club friends, Grace Evans and Amelia King. Their rich husbands attached to their arms and their snooty kids followed behind them.

"Hello!" Margot greeted with a smile. She hugged her friends first and then shook hands with their husbands. My dad shook hands with Theodore Evans and Oliver King and then with their wives.

"Nice to see you again," my dad said.

"Wow, look how you kids have grown!" Margot said. "Mia look, Charles is taller than you now!"

"It's true! I love your make up Natalie," Mia smiled at the Evans' daughter. She was a year younger than me and Charles, her brother, was two years younger than her.

"Little Viola has grown too!" Grace smiled, pinching the cheeks of Amelia's daughter.

Margot turned to her friends. "You haven't met Carson yet. This is Melody's boyfriend." I would have been surprised with the conversation change, but their conversations seemed to consist of 'look at me now'.

"Pleasure to meet you," Carson said sticking his hand out to shake their hands. The men shook his hand and the women gave him a once over.

"Well aren't you handsome," Amelia smiled. "Way to go Melody."

"By the way you do look darling in that dress," Grace said.

"Yes, that dress is stunning!" Amelia agreed.

"Thank you," I replied with a small smile.

"Would you gentlemen like to go get a drink?" my dad offered. Oliver and Theodore sauntered away with my father.

"Mia's dress was made with French lace," Margot said. I suppressed a sigh at how Margot couldn't even be subtle about her topic change. She was still pissed that I didn't pick one of the dresses she chose and couldn't let someone compliment my fashion choice for one moment.

People began to arrive shortly after they launched into a conversation on Mia's dress, so they all began greeting guests that entered the massive ballroom.

I squeezed Carson's hand. "Thank you for being here," I said, looking at the large amount of people filing into the room. I was already stressed about the dinner portion of the evening but tried not to let it show.

He smiled at me. "Of course," he replied, helping me calm down a little.

I introduced Carson to the few people that came over to greet me, but we mostly kept to ourselves. I had to preserve my energy if I was going to make it through this incredibly long night. 

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Author's Note: Yay! Another chapter ! Hopefully you all enjoyed reading this one! Let me know what you think! Special shout out to: Fallen_Angel_027 for voting and to Optimusly for helping me pick out the dresses and just being an all around awesome person! Thank you all for voting, commenting, and reading! Your support means the world!

Happy New Year to you all! I hope 2018 is a prosperous year for each and every one of you!