"Wow, I haven't seen you this dolled up since, well, ever," said June.
"Well, I've never had an occasion as important as this," I replied as I put in my earrings. She was right. Even on the times I went on dates (which equals about 4 in the past 6 years), I just made myself look nice. However, Sarah coming back to town merits a new outfit and a new look. I'd gotten my shoulder-length brown hair curled and nails done, which I never spend money on. New make-up, perfume, everything. And if I must say, I looked damn hot.
"I still don't understand any of this. I mean, you haven't seeen this girl for 6 years. Why all this effort for the person that left you behind?"
She does have a point, though I would never tell her so. However, the person that I've loved for more than half my life is coming back. I am above all things loyal to those that I love, and my love for Sarah never dwindled.
Don't get me wrong. There was a time right after she left that I tried to hate her. At first, when she left, I was just sad and depressed. Eventually, those feelings turned to anger. After everything that I had done for her, all of the support that I'd given her, and she leaves me during a time when I needed her the most. How could she be so selfish? I was going through the most difficult time in my life, and my best friend leaves me to deal with it by myself. How could she? What gives her the right to run away from her life and leave me to pick up her mess?
In order to deal with everything, I started drinking and going to some of the local clubs. That's actually when I met June. She started hitting on me, and in the condition I was in, I needed that. I needed to someone to want me. We started hanging out more often, and she eventually helped me recover. Despite her many attempts, though, our relationship never progressed beyond friendship. It'd feel like I was cheating on Sarah, the only person I ever wanted to be with. Anyway, June knows what Sarah leaving did to me, and therefore has not small amount of hatred toward her. That, and the fact that she's in love with me, and knows she can't have me. I feel bad that I can't return her feelings, but I strongly believe we can't help who we love. If we could, I would've moved on from Sarah.
I finally finished putting on my jewelry, fluffed my hair a bit, and spun away from the mirror to face June, who was sitting on my bed. "Well, how do I look?"
The look on her face was a mixture of desire and pain. I felt a stab of guilt for the pain I was causing her. If I was any sort of decent person, I'd tell her to leave me. However, she was an integral part of my life, and I couldn't let her go. I know it was selfish of me, but I did need her. I just hoped that it would be enough for her.
"You look awesome. She better well appreciate it, or I'll clock her one."
I laughed at that. She and I both know she wouldn't actually do it, but it made her feel better to say it.
"Well, I better be off. I'm supposed to meet Sarah at the restaraunt in 15 minutes. Who knew getting so fancied up would take so long."
June shook her head and smiled. "I could've told you that. In fact, I think I did tell you. But like usual, you didn't listen to me."
I laughed again. No matter the situation, June could always make me laugh. "I'll call you later, okay?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll be around. Have fun."
"Thanks June," I called as I walked out the door. June liked to portray herself as a bad girl and flirt, but underneath it all she was a softy. Especially to those she cared about.
I made good time to the restaurant. I was only a couple of minutes late. As I walked in, I spotted her immediately. Her long black hair was cut short to just past her ears. She was wearing a business suit which hugged her body like a second skin. Her make-up was lightly done, just enough to highlight her high cheekbones and green eyes. I think I fell in love with her again right then. So, it was with a big smile on my face that I went to greet her.
She looked up as I approached, and gave a polite smile as she stood. As I went to hug her, she stepped back a bit, and then offered her hand. Thrown off, and extremely confused, I shook her hand, and then took the chair opposite her own. Trying to make sense of it all, I decided that it was just jitters from meeting again after so long to make her act like that. I'd just have to give her time to become comfortable. With that thought firmly in mind, I forged ahead.
"It's so great to see you. Can you believe that it's been 6 years already? What have you been up to? Where'd you go? I want to know everything."
It was then that I noticed the expression on her face. Or rather, lack thereof. In fact, what little I could detect from her was annoyance. She calmly took a sip of her red wine and set it down before replying.
"What exactly did my assistant tell that this meeting was for?"
Confused, and not a little hurt, I answered "He just said that you were going to be in town and that you wanted to meet with me. That's it."
Her look of annoyance became more pronounced with my statement. She sighed, folded her hands in front of her as if in prayer, and leaned forward. "I'm sorry for the confusion. This is not a meeting to rehash old memories or reform our friendship. That is all in the past to me, and I've moved on. This meeting was to talk about my company's interest in this town, and since I was told that you were on the city council, I figured I'd ask you some questions before our meeting tomorrow."
I was in shock, and I'm sure she could see how much her words hurt me. However, her face never showed any emotion. She was every bit the business woman.
After a bit of recovery time, I finally said "You're with the Samson company?"
"Yes, I'm actually one of their lead negotiators. I wanted to get a feel for what the city is planning on offering my company for us to set up business here. Hence why I set up this meeting. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but, now that you understand, perhaps we could proceed."
It was a statement more than a question, but I still nodded my head dumbly in reply. With one sharp nod from Sarah, our meeting commenced. Needless to say, that was one of the worst nights of my life.