I want to being by saying I am truly apologize for the numerous misspellings last chapter. I know that it must have been harder to read than ususal, so I'm sorry. I was in a rush, but this time I tried to be more careful. Anyways please READ AND REVIEW
Confessions of a Potter Princess XVIII
"Hi, yeah, sweetie this whole angst-y, woe-is-me, my life is a big black whole thing isn't working for you" said Lana Taylor as she tried her best to pull the lavender Pratesi sheets off me. I groaned in response and curled up into the fetal position in my bed.
"Eww and apparently not for you complexion, either" she continued taking in my pallid skin after finally managing to remove the sheets, the Romanian handmade lace coverlet, and pull away the fluffy white pillows, with surprising force I might add, away from my body, leaving me lying on the bed in only an old oversized T-shirt of Colton's. It was then I noticed that not only Lana had shown up, but so had Lulu Flowers and Theodora Marriott to come rescues me from my self-pity and despair.
"Come on, Charlotte, we all decided we're going out. Champagne breakfast at the Ritz. What more could a girl ask for? Especially when you wear this hot new Dior dress we bought you this morning. I still can't believe you missed the sample sale. I mean you haven't missed a single sample sale since we were thirteen and finally tall enough to wear designer without looking too ridiculous." exclaimed Theodora, holding a giant Dior bag, one of many, I noticed, scattered around the room.
"We even sent a letter to Delilah. She's joining us after brunch, because the five of us are having a girl's night out!" Lulu said excitedly
"More like a girl's weekend. Theodora, the schedule please" said Lana mock businesslike
"Right, well after brunch we begin with a massage followed by full manicures and pedicures and facials, as well as full makeup at Nerfertiti's" began Theodora
"Have you tried their Mint Julep facial? I absolutely adore it. Five minutes into it, and you'll forget all about that icky ex Rainier and his little blonde twit of a fiancé" chimed in Lulu
"Oh and their Swedish deep tissue massage is absolutely divine" sighed Theodora with a dreamy look on her face.
"What she really means is that the Swedish masseuse is a fantastic shag-" giggled Lana
"-Anyway, afterwards, because no girls' day is complete without it. We have a completely compulsive shopping spree. Shop to your little heart's content. Don't ever underestimate the power of retail therapy. There are excellent endorphins to be found in the perfect Louboutin pumps" interrupted a blushing Theodora as if her life wasn't already a never-ending shopping spree.
"Finally, we stop off for dinner at Devereau's which is trés chic right now. Not to mention their Tiramisu is absolutely beyond" gushed Lulu, who was so whippet thin she didn't look as if she had ever seen anything as highly caloric as tiramisu, never mind actually eaten it.
" Then we'll takeover the presidential suite at the Ritz crash there and spend the next day showing off our fabulous selves poolside, where we'll bask in the attention of fabulously wealthy, gorgeous men who can't help falling in love at first sight" finished Lana dramatically placing one hand on her forehead and falling onto the bed next to me.
I smiled at their antics. If anybody could cheer you up it was the three of them, the true princesses of parties and fun. I was reluctant to even get out of bed, but I suddenly started giggling, then a few seconds later I was all out laughing my head off. Soon the three of them joined in, and we were all laughing uncontrollably in the way only girls can laugh with each other.
After spending the day being thoroughly cleansed, plucked, beautified, and laden with numerous shopping bags, Delilah, Lana, Lulu, Theodora and I had finally arrived dazed and tired, but most glamorously so, at Devereau's a super trendy Parisian restaurant. We sat around the table sipping martinis and chatting about all our purchases.
"Hey wait, isn't that your roomie?" interrupted Lana halfway through Dee's description of her new Zac Posen pants. (Zac does, after all understand a woman's figure like no other)
"Oh, that is Colton isn't it?" exclaimed Theodora, looking pointedly at the left side of the restaurant where sure enough, Colton's unmistakable amber eyes were locked on the leggy blonde sitting next to him. I watched the two of them for a moment. They sit peculiarly, not talking, but merely staring at each other. I wondered if it was because they were so in love all they could do is gaze at each other and I immediately felt my Manhattan slowly start to rise up in my throat.
Just then he turned his head and we made eye contact. I looked away quickly. I hadn't really spoken to him since we slept together two days ago. I hadn't even gotten out of bed except to use the restroom. He was of course too polite not to come over and say hi.
"Colton, hi!" I exclaimed brightly, my most charming smile on my face as he and his pale blonde stick of perfection strode over to us.
"Hi "he said hugging me tightly, "How are you?" he asked sincerely his breath warm and soothing on my cheek.
"I'm great! We just had the most fabulous day" I said twirling my scarlet strands absentmindedly.
He greets everyone else and I see him whisper something conspiratorially to Delilah. She smiles broadly, but when I give her a look she just waves it off.
"So who is this?" asked Lulu gesturing to the gorgeous girl on Colton's arm. She's smiling tightly and looking at all of us with a slightly confused look on her face.
"This is uh…Bjorna Na-, Na-, Na-something" he said. "I don't really know, she's Swedish, her father is a client of mine, and I asked her out. She doesn't speak a lick of English or French though. And I can't exactly speak the language of the Swedes"
So that explains the baffled expressions and staring.
"Well, come on you two, join us. Sure it's a girls' night out, but hey Colton, you're practically one of us anyway" enthusiastically said Dee.
"If you girls don't mind, our night didn't seem to be going anywhere so…" Colton trailed off
"Absolutely, come, sit" I said "I'll be right back, excuse me, I'm going to use the washroom"
"I am totally passionate about your deep tissue massages" I heard Theodora say as I got up and walked away quickly, flipping my long red hair over my shoulder. I grabbed onto the counter and looked at my reflection in the mirror. After spending nearly four hours beautifying, I looked absolutely gorgeous, but inside I was a mess.
What was going on? First, I practically break up a marriage by hooking up with Hart. I was completely enthralled by him; everything about him sent my blood pumping and my heart racing.
But then I cheat on him with Colton.
Colton, who doesn't question it, but just goes with the flow, wonderfully nice, and sweet and always there for me no matter what. Always there to relieve the pain, to make sure I was happy, before ever thinking about himself. Plus, I had known him forever and he always knew how to make laugh even in my darkest moments. I placed one hand on my temple and rubbed gently, trying to alleviate the headache I acquired upon seeing that Swedish girl with Colton.
That was another thing. Why would I care if he hung out with other girls? It never bothered me before when he brought home some beautiful girl, but now just seeing him with this Bjork or Borna or whatever her name was, made me feel all kinds of things.
I've never felt like this before, and I didn't like it one bit. Hadn't we agreed that this was strictly about sex and that was it? We just wanted to avoid the lonely nights not get involved any deeper than that. I had made enough one night mistakes in my life to know what just sex felt like. These extra emotions were definitely not part of that. Hadn't a couple of nights ago been strictly about forgetting Rainier? I gather myself together and decide the only way to deal is to just pretend I don't feel anything. And to get drunk. Really drunk.
I push my shoulders back and raise my chin, trying to make myself feel appear super confident. I slam open the bathroom door.
"Ow! For fuck's sake Charlotte!" I hear a voice cry. I turn around and sure enough it's Colton hunched against the wall holding his now bleeding nose.
"Oh my God! Oh no! Sorry! Oh goodness. I'm so sorry" I yell, jumping with surprise, immediately going over to see if he's alright.
"Holy fuck, you scared me" I said "Come on, let's get you cleaned up" I drag him into the restroom.
"Sit up on the counter, I don't have my wand with me, it's in my purse." I said helping him up onto the finely polished marble countertop. "I'll be right back, and then I can heal you right up"
"No, don't leave me here, in the women's' restroom, alone. Besides you practically killed me." He cried out grabbing my hand, his other hand holding onto his nose.
"Oh Merlin, and people say I'm a drama queen. Fine, do you have your wand? "I asked.
"Yeah it's inside my left pants pocket"
I tentatively slide one hand into his pocket, towards an area of which I was quite familiar with now. But, somehow, it felt different now, in the bright artificial lighting of the bathroom verse the comforting darkness of our bedroom. I am extremely conscious of my movements, completely aware of where exactly I touch Colton. I feel a deep blush creep up my porcelain skin, as I feel his intense gaze upon me. I try to avoid all eye contact, because I feel so inferior all of a sudden. Like this is merely a tantalizing violation of his privacy.
Reaching into his pockets wasn't a big deal, but for some reason my movements were agonizingly slow now. The pockets on his black slacks are deep and I have to search a little to find his wand, my now, oddly sweating, hand creeping along the satin lining. Finally I find the wand and pull it out quickly, trying not to prolong what had become an incredibly uncomfortable, though not altogether unpleasant situation.
"Aah, excuse me but what are you doing?" he asked bewildered as I point the wand directly at his face.
"Do you want me to heal your nose or not? I can make the bleeding stop." I said "Besides in case you forgot, Molly Weasley is my grandmother, and maybe I haven't inherited the Weasley women's cooking skills, but I can heal little accidents like this just as well. Now do you trust me?"
"With my life apparently" he said.
I roll my eyes and brush his golden brown hair from his face, take the wand and with a flick of the wrist say Physiominus and his nose immediately stops bleeding.
"What were you doing standing outside the door to the women's restroom anyway? I asked giving back his wand.
"I wanted to talk to you. You seemed a little weird earlier."
"Huh did I? Well, I'm fine I promise." I said shrugging turning away from him, running one hand through my hair, my breathing going ragged.
"Can you look at me and say that? You know I'll be able to tell if you're lying. Your eyes will tell truth even if your mouth won't speak it"
I knew better, I didn't dare look at him now. I'm afraid he might figure "it" out if I do. What that "it" is I don't know. It doesn't make any sense, but he knows me better than I know myself half the time and if I look at him, I'm sure he'll be able to see the truth about something I'm not quite sure I'm ready to face.
"Everyone is waiting for us. We should get back" I said walking out, shutting the door behind me. I lean up against the door for a brief second, trying to calm myself back to normal. I listen to Colton through the door. He curses loudly and I walk briskly back to our table.
"Hey, who needs a smoke?" I ask as I get back to the table.
"I could go for a cig" said Lulu. The two of us grabbed our purses and walked outside into the sweet April air. There truly was nothing like Paris in the springtime. We stood smoking in silence for a long while.
"He's crazy about you, you know" she said out of the blue, tapping ash onto the sidewalk.
"What are you talking about?" I asked laughing slightly
"O God, Charlotte, Colton of course. Maybe he's hooking up with Sweden tonight but he definitely wants her to be you"
"Don't be stupid, he's my best friend"
"I didn't say he wasn't I'm just saying…It's like this: Last summer, when you were hospitalized I kind of got to know Colton a little bit. All of us did. Theodora went to that wizarding school with you and Dee. But, see I have a completely unbiased view of you here, and the way he looked after you. The way he took care of you. I've never seen somebody love someone so much and maybe you can't see it, because that's the way he always looks at you. But I would die for someone to look at me the same way. I know I'm not the expert on love here, but you two, I've never seen anything so natural." She said in response.
It was strange for her to talk about love; she was the female version of Caliber. And rarely ever was she so candid and vulnerable about her feelings.
"Lulu, everybody has somebody, everybody has a true love, but what if that isn't enough. I loved Rainier, so why isn't love enough?"
"Oh Charlotte, I'm the only child from my father's first marriage. It may seem like the naïve child of divorce dream, but I believe my father is still in love with my mother. They were so young and they each had their faults, but every model and actress, every pop star and underage groupie, none of them have given my father that same glow. He's had nine multi-platinum albums all filled with love songs. After my mum and dad divorced when I was ten, I noticed something. Since then, not a single song has been about being happy in love, their all about longing and loss and for my dad songs are the only way he knows how to communicate. I can't tell you why my dad cheats on his wives and girlfriends, but that picture of my mum at seventeen in her wedding gown nearly kills him every time he looks at it. That's why I don't think he's made eye contact with her since she left him; it would literally kill him to look at the real her"
I thought about what she said for in silence. But still it confused me. Maybe Damien Flowers hadn't married for love after Lulu's mother Kate, but he married for something. Was that loneliness, or just rash behavior and the need for rockstar extravagance? And if he loved any of those women, how ever briefly, did he ever think I would rather die right now with the love of my life than live here with the love of the moment? Maybe Rainier and I were really just a year long 'moment'. How was I to know?
After a while I said "Do you think it's possible to have more than one true love in your life?"
"Sure, lots of things are true but I think there's only one love you're meant to be with, one true love you're meant to live with"
"Lulu, the whole world is in love with you" I said taking one last long drag on my cigarette and watching the smoke simmer away in the public ashtray on the sidewalk
"I don't want the whole world, I just want one person to share with me my whole world" she said flicking her cigarette on the floor and putting it out with one beautifully stiletto clad foot
"Hey Lu, thanks" I said hugging her
She rolled her eyes "Come on, let's go find me a loveboy for tonight"
It's high fashion frenzy at Louis Vuitton a couple of days later. My hair is being curled loosely and my eyes are severe and dark. It is after all the fall/winter show for one of the most glam fashion houses in the world. Lana and I were talking and giggling backstage. I was always nervous before a big show; my own show was set to be later that day. All the models were now sitting in makeup chairs lined up with rapid fire manicurists and makeup artists primping away.
"Argh, my fiancé is driving me crazy. He's in Luxembourg right now. This is the problem with trying to plan a wedding in only two weeks. It's just not possible. I mean we had to settle for pink tulips instead of orchids and now the design of my dress has to be changed if I want it ready in time" whined bleached blonde Alexandra Crossing to the model sitting next to her.
I mean sure these were major problems to have right before your wedding but it was really her tone that was annoying. She seemed nice, except for the bitchy, whiny, annoying part. Not to mention that her fiancé is the one and only Rainier Malfoy.
"Lana, can you please dispose of the skinny, platinum, airhead sitting four chairs down?" I sighed
"Well, well, well it looks like not everything is not well in wedding paradise" she said with a little grin on her face.
"We're not even going to go on a honeymoon for three months, because he can't get time off work and we barely even have next weekend in between Milan and Melbourne fashion weeks to marry. And if we don't marry now, we can't get married for another five months. I wish we could wait, but he's insisting we get married right away. I, at least want an upgrade on my ring" Alexandra continued to moan.
In the mirror I saw Lana's eyes get wide at this and her perfect pout-y lips curl into an evil smirk.
"Oh no, I know that look. What are you scheming? "I said secretly excited
"So you know how your not sure if you still love Rainier, but you know you don't want him to marry Aussie Barbie over there…well this is perfect. I'm sure we can get Alexandra so riled up about the wedding that she complains so incessantly to Rainier, he'll have to postpone the wedding just so she shuts up."
"Are you kidding me? The wedding is in twelve days; I can't do that. Plus, everything will work out perfectly. I mean she's the hottest model around right now. People will bend over backwards to help her out."
"Hey, you listen to me. Who has four fall/winter and resort ad campaigns, while she got stuck doing Sport's Illustrated swimsuit edition? Yeah I'm the hottest model around, thank you very much. And trust me between your connections and mine; we can pretty much rule the world."
"You're crazy, you know that. This is impossible."
But Lana just smiled shrewdly.
So that's it for this chapter. Please read and Review. And a special thanks goes out to all those who have continued to read my story and have reviewed from the very begin. For a first time author who's first language is French it's really good to hear all the feedback. So again my sincere gratitude to all the reviewers.