Ok, so I was meaning to update this earlier in the day, but wouldn't let me log in. I finally got in a few minutes ago. Yay for me cause I'm done with school and should have a ton of more time to write. Thanks for all the well wishes and great reviews! You guys are the best. :) Enjoy the chapter. I couldn't keep those two apart for too long. So I just skipped sometime and now they're back together. Hope you like it! Please review when you get a chance.
PART II- Chapter 10.
Syd's POV"Remind me why we're here again?" Vaughn whispered quietly into my ear as I clutched tightly to his hand.
"Because your mom wants us to be here and it makes her happy." I responded.
The bright lights of the colorful ballroom filled our eyes while we entered the already crowded party. Vaughn's mom had convinced us to go to his Aunt Trish's company Christmas party that happened to be formal and filled with endless middle-aged people. No one around Vaughn and mine's age seemed to be in sight.
"But Syd… first of all, I hate tuxes. You know how much I hate putting on dress clothes. Secondly, all that's going to happen tonight is a bunch of my Aunt's co-workers coming up to me telling me how much I've grown up and them wanting to meet their daughters. Third, you made me wear a pink tie!" He hissed, putting on a fake smile as the people glued their eyes to the both of us.
"C'mon. You look like a stud in that pink tie. And if your Aunt's co-workers want to set you up with their daughters then kindly pull me forward and introduce me. Vaughn, being here isn't that bad, trust me."
I had arrived a week earlier having finished up my Winter semester and looking forward to my whole month and a half of no school. Vaughn and I were, to no one's surprised, practically attached at the hip since I came home.
I was so excited to see him at the airport that I jumped on him and knocked him over, causing a huge scene near the baggage claim in LAX. We couldn't have been more oblivious to the world. Somehow, every time I managed to go away, I would come back and Vaughn would just get better looking. I never thought it was possible.
A few days earlier Amélie had invited us to this Christmas party because Vaughn's Aunt requested his presence and Amélie didn't want to go alone. With much reluctance, Vaughn agreed, ironed his tux, and helped me pick out my dress.
I went with the all black strapless dress, the same one I wore the night of our one-month anniversary. I figured this time around I'd have better luck in it and my ex-boyfriend wouldn't come out of nowhere.
"Oh, my Michael!" A high-pitched female voice shouted behind us. "You just get more handsome by the year, you know that?"
"Hi Auntie." Vaughn greeted quietly as she kissed his cheek. "It's good to see you too. Thanks for inviting Mom and I. She needed to get out and have some fun before the big surgery."
"It's my pleasure dear. Who is this lovely girl you brought with you? Does my nephew finally have a girlfriend?"
Vaughn's cheeks turned a good shade of red as his Aunt Trish took both of my hands and kissed me hello.
"This is Sydney Bristow. And yes, she is my girlfriend. I'm surprised mom didn't tell you." Vaughn responded, slipping an arm around my waist.
"The Sydney? Oh my god. Amélie goes on about you for days sweetheart. It's finally good to put a face to a name. I heard so much about you."
"Thank you. Vaughn talks about you all the time." I told her genuinely.
"Oh what is this, Michael? Your girlfriend addresses you by your last name?"
"Yes, it's our thing. She's been calling me Vaughn since we were kids. I like it."
If Vaughn didn't like the whole idea of being at the Christmas party, at least he liked the food. We spent half the time hanging out near the food table that was filled with all sorts of finger foods. Vaughn made the excuse of hiding there so he wouldn't have to mingle with his Aunt's co-workers. But, I could tell he was really into the quiche.
Finally making our way away from the food, we took a seat at one of the empty round tables and watched several couples dance slowly on the wooden dance floor. I could feel Vaughn put his hand on my knee as he kissed my bare shoulder.
"You're not bored, are you?" He asked, placing his chin on my shoulder.
"No, this is fun. It's nice. It sucks we have no one to talk to, but at least we have each other."
"Trust me Syd, you don't want to talk to these people. They're all rich, snobby, and think you're a disgrace if you attend a public school."
"You're kidding me." I responded as I brought my hand on top of his under the table and laced our fingers together.
"I wish I was." He sighed. "Oh no… here comes one of them. Don't make eye contact Syd, maybe she won't talk to us."
Before I even got the chance to ask what he was talking about, a tall, middle-aged lady that had great resemblance to Angelica Houston approached our table. Trailing behind her was a pretty, brown haired girl that seemed to be around our age. She smiled slightly at Vaughn, not even bothering to give me a look.
"Michael! How wonderful it is to see you." She greeted him. "My, your Aunt hasn't lied when she said you are devilishly handsome."
"Thank you Mrs. Lennon." Vaughn answered politely.
"Well, I have someone here you would like to meet. This is my daughter Kristy." Grabbing her daughter's wrist, she pulled her forward to shake Vaughn's hand. "She's pre-med at UCLA, first year. Ever since I saw the picture of you on your Aunt's desk, I just knew you two had to meet."
I could feel my face getting hotter. Mrs. Lennon and her pre-med daughter Kristy didn't even bother to acknowledge my existence.
"It's nice to meet you Michael. My mom told me you were good looking, but I didn't believe her until I saw you across the room." Kristy said, throwing her hair away from her shoulder.
"Thanks…" He answered surprised. "This is Sydney, my girlfriend. We go to San Francisco State together."
Smiling brightly, I threw my arm around Vaughn's waist hoping that Kristy would get the point to keep her grimy paws off.
"Oh hello Sandy, it's nice to meet you. If you don't mind, I was hoping we would be able to steal Michael away for a minute or two. Kristy loves to dance. Would you mind dancing with her, Michael?" Mrs. Lennon asked, looking from Kristy to Vaughn.
Vaughn tightened the grip on our entwined fingers under the table, silently telling me it was going to be ok.
"First of all, it's Sydney. And yes, that would be fine. I'll be right back Syd." Before Vaughn could walk away, I grabbed onto his hand and pulled him down, placing a hard kiss on his mouth.
Mrs. Lennon's mouth fell open so wide I was sure I could throw a football into it. No one was expecting that, including Vaughn. Even though I caught him by surprise, he recovered quickly and flashed me a big smile before stepping onto the dance floor with Kristy.
They stood towards the edge of the dance floor, with Kristy's arms around Vaughn's neck and standing a little too closely than I was comfortable with. Throughout the whole dance, her mouth never seemed to stop moving as she was yapping about something that wasn't important. All Vaughn was doing was looking at me apologetically and mouthing the words, 'I'm sorry.'
Shrugging my shoulders, I sipped on my champagne, hoping it would ease the jealousy out of me. It wasn't like I felt threatened by this girl, but she made me feel uncomfortable by how forceful she was.
The second champagne glass was empty as I managed to down both Vaughn and mine's glasses in a matter of eight minutes. My cheeks were flushed and my head was beginning to feel a little light while I wished the dancing would end already.
Suddenly, Amélie appeared at the edge of the dance floor and approached Vaughn and Kristy. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but after Amélie's few words, Kristy was off stomping away and Vaughn and his mother were sharing a precious dance.
Tears sprung to my eyes as I watched them dance together, smiling and laughing. The love between the two were like no other and it made me wish my mother was still alive. At that moment, Vaughn looked like such a man, so grown up.
After a few more minutes of dancing, Vaughn returned and grabbed both of my hands.
"C'mon. Let's go get some fresh air." He told me, pulling me up from the table.
We walked hand in hand all the way across the ballroom to an empty balcony, looking over the Pacific Ocean. The sight was breath taking while I relished in the cool air. My body had become heated from the champagne and I was in desperate need for some fresh air.
Leaning over the concrete railing of the balcony, I looked out into the dark water and stared into the endless night. Vaughn followed seconds after, wrapping his arms around my waist and pressing a kiss to the side of my head.
"Thank god for my mom. I thought I would be dancing with that girl forever. She's the daughter of my Aunt's boss so I couldn't say no. Every time I said I had to get back to you, she asked me for one more dance with her whiny-ass voice." He joked.
"I know. I was about to over there and cut in. She was looking at you like you were a piece of meat."
We stood there silently for a few moments, just observing our surroundings and enjoying the intimacy we were sharing.
Unexpectedly, Vaughn pulled his arms away from me and stepped back. Immediately my body felt cold without his touch as I turned around to see what he was doing.
"Dance with me." He stated, holding out his hand again.
Stepping towards him, I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and kissed him lightly on the mouth. The music could faintly be heard from inside the ballroom while we swayed together slowly.
I would give up everythingBefore I'd separate myself from you
After so much suffering
I've finally found a man that's true
I was all by myself for the longest time
So cold inside
And the hurt from the heart it would not subside
I felt like dying
Until you saved my life
Thank God I found you
I was lost without you
My every wish and every dream
Somehow became reality
When you brought the sunlight
Completed my whole life
I'm overwhelmed with gratitude
Cause baby I'm so thankful I found you
I pulled back slightly to look into his beautiful green eyes. Everything at that moment seemed to fit. The dancing, the balcony, the moonlight casting just enough light for us to see each other's faces, but dim enough to give us our privacy.
I would give you everythingThere's nothing in this world I wouldn't do
To ensure your happiness
I'll cherish every part of you
Because without you beside me I can't survive
I don't want to try
If you're keeping me warm each and every night
I'll be all right
Cause I need you in my life
Thank god I found you
I was lost without you
My every wish and every dream
Somehow became reality
When you brought the sunlight
Completed my whole life
I'm overwhelmed with gratitude
Cause baby I'm so thankful I found out
Vaughn's POVJust as the song ended, Syd nearly attacked my mouth, taking me by surprise once again. I was shocked when she pulled me in for a kiss the first time inside the ballroom, right before I was forced into dancing with Ms. I'm-too-good-for-anyone.
Bringing one hand up behind her head, my fingers threaded through her smooth brown hair as we continued to kiss passionately. As soon as we knew it, our kissing turned into more of a make out session with Syd loosening my tie and slipping her hands inside of my jacket.
I gained back my senses just in time before we got too carried away.
"I think we should stop." I said out of breath, leaning my forehead against hers.
"Yeah, you're probably right."
"You want to ditch this joint? C'mon lets get out of here."
I grabbed Syd's hand and looked around for my mother. The ballroom was still filled with hundreds of people as the song switched to a fast pace swing song. Finally spotting my mother across the room, we saw that she was sitting at a table in the back, chatting away with my Aunt.
Both of them smiled when they saw us, most likely thinking how well Syd and I matched.
"We're going to get out of here Mom." I shouted over the music. "You want to come home with us? Or are you going to get a ride."
"I'll get a ride, Michael. Don't worry about me. Why are you guys leaving? It's only 10:30?" My mom questioned, giving me that smirk that made me feel uncomfortable.
"Syd's not feeling well." I lied.
Taking a glance at Syd, I could see she was trying to suppress a laugh as I'm sure my mother and Aunt thought my lie was as equally lame.
"Ok sweetheart. Drive safely and don't wait up for me." My mother told us while I kissed her and my Aunt goodbye.
"Michael it is good seeing you. Don't be a stranger now and stop by once in awhile." My Aunt said before turning to Syd.
"It was lovely meeting you Sydney. I can see you make my nephew very happy."
"Thank you. I hope that I do." She responded, linking her arm through mine.
One hour later, the both of us emerged from the shower, wrapped in warm towels and smiling like fools. Slipping on my boxers, I flopped onto my bed exhausted. The combination of the party, the champagne, and our shower activity had wore me out.
I was so exhausted that my eyelids felt like they were going to collapse on me as I desperately tried to fight sleep.
This night had been too perfect for Syd and I and I didn't want it to end, at least not yet. Syd joined me several moments later wearing one of my old Mets t-shirts and running shorts. Laying her head down on my stomach, we lay perpendicular with the wet strands of her hair lightly tickled my bare chest.
"We have to make sure we go to that party again next year. That food was the best." I laughed, slipping my hands behind my head.
"And you were the one that wanted to leave. I told you it would be ok."
"Well, aside from the dancing with that other chick, I have to say it turned out to be fun. You know, despite the pink tie."
Syd slapped at me playfully, purposely avoiding doing any sort of damage. She knew her punches were pretty lethal.
"So, we have nearly a month and a half together at home. What do you want to do?" Syd asked me, turning her head so she could see my eyes.
"More of what we did in there?" I teased while I pointed to the bathroom.
"Well, other than that."
"I don't know. All I want to do is spend time with you. We don't need to be doing anything special."
"Except for going to Kings games?"
"Yeah, except for that." I responded.
The faint jingling of Donovan's bell on his collar could be heard from outside my door. Since my mother wasn't home yet, Donny was desperately looking for attention and I selfishly locked him out of my room. I loved my dog dearly, but didn't want him to interrupt anything that Syd and I were doing.
Because of the circumstances, moments like these came rare for the both of us and I didn't want to take them for granted.
"Hey Vaughn…" Syd whispered, pulling herself away from my body so she could lie next to me.
"What?"
"Thanks for the dance."
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