Hi guys sorry for taking so long to update :(
Good news I got a Beta for this story!!!! Thank you burning (.) x (.) impossibly (.) x (.) bright!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry had to write it this way cause it didn't show up)
Enjoy!!!!!
The Choice
Chapter 3
Stranger
The next day I woke up with a terrible headache. I had drunk too much. I usually didn't drink, but the girls had insisted since yesterday was my birthday.
I was officially 28.
I was the last one of the girls to turn 28. Even though I was born in the same year as Isabelle, she still complained that I was the youngest. It was insane, since Isabelle and I had only a month's difference in age, and Aline was two years older than we were.
I tried to move my body and I felt my clothing stretching underneath me as I pulled myself up. I was wearing last night's clothes and by the marks on my pillow, I was sure I had still been wearing my make up too.
As I went to the bathroom and tried carefully to not wake up Alec, a hand pulled me down on the bed.
"Where do you think you're going?" Alec said still half asleep, his black hair a mess.
"I have to change my clothes," I said and tried to get up but his strong hands didn't let me.
"Don't change. Let's just relax together," he said and pulled me closer.
"Well can that wait?"
"Nope," he said popping the 'p' and added, "Besides we didn't have the chance to spend your birthday together and I want to make up for that."
"I know but Isabelle had...."
"Isabelle is...." he paused to think, "let me put it this way. I wouldn't like to be against her. Sometimes I wonder how Simon handles her."
"Well Simon isn't afraid of her. Haven't you heard that 'dogs who burg, doesn't bite'?" He laughed with my comment.
"Now can I have my shower?" I looked at him.
"Only if you give me a kiss," he said with a smirk on his face.
"I thought you would never ask," I said and placed a kiss on his lips.
The rest of the day found me unpacking. I had moved in with Alec a month ago and I still had stuff that needed to be placed in their right places.
The boxes of my stuff were taking up space in the hallway right now, making the trip from our bedroom to the kitchen impossible, but Alec never said anything.
His facial expression did though, so seeing as I had my day off I decided that this was the day to get everything unpacked. He would come home and hopefully I wouldn't need to see that face again.
I poured myself a cup of coffee and got to work.
After unpacking 15 boxes, my stomach started to complain. I went to the kitchen to find something to eat but I hadn't gone to the grocery shop, so there wasn't anything to eat.
I picked up my keys and went outside. I was on my way to the grocery shop when my cell phone rang. It was Isabelle.
"Hey," I said to her.
"Hey, girl. Where are you? Want to meet us at the usual spot? Aline and I are heading there for lunch."
"Sure. I was actually on my way to pick up some groceries, but I'm too hungry to cook. I'll meet you in a bit," I said to her and closed my phone.
It was a nice opportunity to tell them the date of the wedding.
Alec and I had very different opinions when it came to details about the wedding. He wanted something simple and comfortable and for it during the winter. Whereas I wanted my wedding to be during the summer, barefoot on the beach exchanging our vows as the sun sets.
The funny thing was that whenever I thought about that, I never pictured Alec in it. I couldn't. I could easily see myself walking on the beach but not Alec. I guess it wasn't him.
We had been discussing and arguing about it for two weeks, ever since the day he proposed. I wanted it to be soon. I didn't like the idea of having to wait a whole year to get married.
This morning we had finally managed to decide on a date that would satisfy both of us.
April 27th
I parked my car outside the cafe we usually go to and went inside to find them already waiting for me.
"No, I am telling you the dress was beautiful but on her... I don't even want to imagine it. It was terrible," Aline was saying to Isabelle as I sat next to her.
"Hi, guys. Did you order?"
"Yeah, we ordered for you too." Isabelle said and went back to her conversation with Aline about a dress that apparently was beautiful but on one of Aline's customers was terrible.
I needed their attention.
"April 27th," I said determined to get their attention.
"What?" Aline turned to me.
"The date," I said playing with them.
"For what?"
"My w....." I started to say and Isabelle interrupted me finishing my word.
"Wedding, your wedding!" she said and both her and Aline started screaming happily and hugged me. I joined them. I was too happy not to.
The whole place was looking at us wondering why we were shouting.
I didn't care.
"April 27th. Wow, that's in 3 months," Isabelle said and Aline joined her.
"Yeah, and there are so many things to do. I was preparing a year before and I just made it on time. How are you going to manage that?" Aline asked me. "Do you have any idea of how your wedding is going to be?"
"Well...." I had never thought about the details before. I had thought about my wedding before but the wedding that I was picturing in my head was simple with a few guests, just my future husband and me; nothing fancy or anything like that. Just us on the beach. You didn't need anything else.
"Well... no," I said to them and they looked at me as if I had committed a serious crime.
"But Clary! The time is ticking. You have to..."
"Don't get her more nervous than she is Aline," Isabelle said to her and turned to me. "We'll help you with anything you need Clary," Isabelle said and took hold of my hands. "Just name it."
"Good, because I need your help with something," they both looked eagerly at me, waiting to find out what it was.
"I need a maid of honour and both of you are very close to me, but I can't pick one of you over the other, so I'm giving you that pleasure," they just looked at me, "And when you decide please let me know," I said and attacked my taco salad that had just arrived.
They looked at each other for a silent moment and then started bickering about who it should be. If it was possible I would have made both of them my maid of honour.
I had three months until the wedding and I had never considered that I wouldn't get my beach wedding, that I so wanted. I was so preoccupied with the moving and my job that I hadn't thought that there was a possibility for me not to get my dream wedding.
Now I had only three months to figure out what I wanted; things other women probably knew years before they got married.
"I think it's my turn," Aline said crossing her hands in front of her chest. Isabelle glared at her, "You were my maid of honour so I think it's my time to be."
"What? I was only your maid of honour because Clary didn't want to!"
"So?"
"I've known Clary since we were little kids. I think I deserve the right to be her maid of honour more that you do. You've only known her since college."
I rolled my eyes at them and went back to my food. I got a glimpse of something familiar as I turned my head. There was a blonde guy sitting two tables away from us. I was sure I didn't know him but he was strangely familiar as if did.
I took a closer look at him. He was wearing jeans and a white polo making his dirty blonde hair gleam.
I kept staring when it was like he sensed me watching. He raised his head and looked straight into my eyes. I blushed and I tried to tear my eyes away but he held onto my gaze.
I could see his golden eyes radiating as the sun covered him. I felt a building force, burning my insides; something I had a lot time to experience.
Those eyes were so familiar; if only I could remember where I had seen them before.
"Clary? Earth to Clary!"
"What?" I said to Aline, unwillingly breaking my gaze with the mysterious stranger.
"I said we're going to leave. Are you coming or staying?"
"What already? We just got here," I said to them and looked at the time. We'd already been there for 40 minutes.
"No, that was like an hour ago," Isabelle said and Aline started to correct her.
"Anyway," Isabelle said while rolling her eyes at Aline, "we have to go back to work, so are you coming or staying?"
I looked to see if the blonde guy was still there. He wasn't, and I felt a little disappointed.
"Yeah, I think I'll stay," I said to them. We hugged and arranged to meet tomorrow at Isabelle's apartment to discuss wedding details.
I was so lucky to have Isabelle and Aline. They would be a great help for the wedding.
I turned to finish my salad but it didn't look tasty anymore, so I left it and ordered a coffee. I would need it if I was going to finish unpacking. I had three more boxes to go and it was more kitchen stuff.
I closed my eyes and felt the chair next to me move. I opened them to find the blonde guy sitting in Isabelle's chair.
"Hi Clary," he said to me.
Wow, this guy knew my name. I hadn't met him before and I was sure I hadn't given him my name.
"Sorry, do I know you?" I said trying to be polite. He laughed.
"You forgot me already? I thought I made a good impression."
I just kept looking him with a wary expression. He must have realised that I probably didn't remember meeting him; if that happened, and he rushed to explain.
"Don't you remember the club? Yesterday? We had a drink and talked a little before you busted out of there and left me alone. Doesn't any of that ring a bell?"
"Em... no, I don't think so," I said and tried to remember what I was doing yesterday at the club.
I remember being with the girls. I remember the lights, the voices, and the loud music. We were sitting at one of the white booths when I decided to bring more drinks.
I went to the bar and then my memory was blurry. I remember laughing and talking to someone.
I tried to remember harder and then it hit me. It was the blonde guy in front of me.
"Yeah, I remember you. I was drunk and I can't remember much though."
"I knew you wouldn't have forgotten me," He smiled at me flashing his teeth.
"So... having lunch with friends?" he asked me trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, this is our usual spot."
"Really? I just discovered this one. It's so small that you can miss it if you don't pay attention."
"I know that's why I like it. It's small and friendly," I looked admiringly around the shop, taking my time.
I could feel his gaze on me making me blush.
"Do you have to get back to work?" he said sensing my awkwardness.
"No, I have the day off," I didn't know why I said that. I could easily say yes and get out of there, but something kept me there, "What about you? Don't you have a job to get back to?" I said hoping he would be the one to go, not that I even minded him staying.
"No. The good thing about photography. There are no planed hours."
"You're a photographer?" I said surprised. He didn't look like one. If he had told me that he worked in that area, I would say he was a model rather than the photographer.
"What kind of photos do you take? Famous people I'm guessing," I said and saw a small smile on his face.
"Well yeah but mostly fashion stuff," I raised my eyebrows at him.
"I just do it for the money. They pay well."
"And I'm sensing that's not what you want to be doing," he looked at me with curiosity once again in his eyes.
"Well yeah. I like taking landscape pictures and pictures of everyday people. Nothing set up, nothing fancy; just the natural order of things."
"I wish you luck. I'm sure you'll achieve that one day," I smiled at him.
"What do you do for a living?" he said returning the topic to me.
His job sounded so interesting that I felt bad about mine.
"I work as an insurance counsellor."
"Mmm... it sounds... interesting."
"No, it's not. It's boring like hell," at that we both burst into laughs.
"Yeah, you're probably right," he said taking a break from all that laughing. I kept smiling at him.
I looked at my watch. I had to go if I wanted to go to the market and make dinner for Alec.
"I have to go. I have shopping to do before I head home," I said and gathered my things to leave.
"Yeah, I have some things too. I definitely want to meet again. I want to learn so much about being an insurance counsellor. I may change my career," he said mocking me. I smiled at him and gave him my number.
I shouldn't have but I really felt like doing it. He was good company. It wouldn't hurt to hang out with him between the craziness that will follow with wedding preparations. Would it?
I took his number and entered it into my cell phone but when the name input came up I didn't know what to put.
"Sorry for asking but what's your name?" I said to him. He looked at me and extended his hand to me. I took it.
"Jace. Nice to meet you Clary."
