AUTHOR'S NOTES: Wow, I thought something was wrong with my e-mail when I checked my e-mail; you guys all rock! I'm a full-blooded Sagittarius, a born leader and very optimistic! This chapter is super long, so I hope you all enjoy!
The hours slowly passed but I hardly took notice. Rainey had already taken a shower and was sitting in his black pants and his white-collared, buttoned-up shirt, typing furiously. Noticing that I only had an hour and a half left to get changed, I polietely excused myself and slipped into my room. My dress was layed carefully on my bed, the matching stiletto heels sitting off to the side, and the make up resting on my desk, the book I was currently reading, pushed to the side.
I picked up the delicate dress, feeling the soft cloth between my fingers, tears forming in my eyes. I still could not believe he had done this. He was so kind and compassionate, once you got to know him. It hurt me that people wouldn't give him a chance. What right did they have to judge him?
Deciding to let the matter rest for the moment, I quickly disposed of my current clothing, noticing the dress had a built-in bra. After removing the one I was wearing, I carefully put it on. I did not have to zip nor tie it to keep it up, which pleased me extremely. I turned and glanced in my full-length mirror, and my breath left me.
The dress hugged every curve perfectly although I was insecure about the amount of cleavage showing. I turned slightly, so that I was able to inspect the back of my dress in the mirror. My back was bare up until my hip bone, where the dress fell down beautifully, reaching my ankles. I grabbed my brush and began to comb through my hair. Deciding to put my hair up, I grabbed my old clip and pulled the top half of my hair up, clipping it in place. I made sure that two strands of hair littered my face; I looked horrible without hair in my face. After I was done with that, I sat on the bed and opened the make up box. I grabbed a tan blush container and a cute, little brush, and opened the container, gathering some blush in the brush. Wary of my dress, I carefully applied it on my cheeks. I raised my eyebrows in wonder, noticing how well it defined my cheekbones. Next I applied black eyeliner, mascara, and then finally a bold, red eye shadow that went with my dress. Finally, I applied some rose-colored lip gloss.
Placing everything back in its place, I took one last look in the mirror and my breath caught in my throat. I didn't look half-bad. I smiled at myself and turned, grabbing the heels, deciding I wanted to stay out of these as much as I could.
I quickly walked out of my room, noticing Rainey wasn't typing anymore, nor sitting in his 'office'. I shrugged and quickly walked down the stairs and grabbed a black jacket from the closet, putting it on. I walked over to the door and carefully put on the heels.
"Maddy?"
I glanced up at the quiet voice and once again, my breath caught in my throat. Mort was in his black and white suit, his bow tie slightly crooked, and his hair still slightly damp. It was a dark brown now, because it was still wet and I smiled at him. His hands were casually stuffed into his pockets as he smiled back.
"You look beautiful," he whispered huskily, taking his hands out of his pocket and wrapping them around my waist. "I hope no one tries to steal you away from me."
I placed my hands on his shoulders, smiling slightly. "No one ever will."
He pulled away, and we walked hand in hand to the Jeep, him opening the door for me. I smiled at his gesture and carefully got in, buckling my seat belt. And then, we were off.
Traffic was hell but we arrived on time. The building was huge, tree stories high and the width was about one fourth the size of Central Park. Various colors of various cars were lined up everywhere. Beautiful women and handsome men socialized outside as well as inside.
Rainey pulled in front of the building, to the valet, and I suddenly felt very intimidated. With a smile, he unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. I followed his pursuit, but he beat me to my door, opening it for me. I smiled and he shut my door, offering me an extended arm. I took it and we proceeded to the building.
Damn. If I thought the outside was beautiful, the inside was drop-dead gorgeous. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and round tables with unlit candles upon them were set perfectly on one side of the room. The other side was made of hard tile, meant for dancing. Live music played in the corner, playing an upbeat song. In front of the room, up by the tables, there stood a podium with a large banner that read in blue letters Welcome to the Writers' of the Century Ball. It was... mesmerizing.
A man at the door offered to take my coat, but I hesitated, only because I just remembered how my dress looked. However, I took it off and handed it to him, deciding to use Rainey's advice and not care what anyone thought of me. I glanced at Rainey and almost laughed. His eyebrows were raised and he wasn't exactly meeting my eyes.
"I think I bought the wrong dress," he murmured. "Now everyone's gonna be staring at your chest."
He smiled, however, and wrapped a possessive arm around my waist, guiding me to the multiple tables, looking for our assigned seats.
"Is that Mort Rainey?" a masculine voice asked from behind us.
We turned and saw a tall, handsome man. His bright, blue eyes sparkled with excitement and his short, brown hair hung loosely in his face. He looked younger than Rainey by, maybe, a couple of years.
"Hey Chris," Rainey said, forcing a smile. "How's it been?"
"Good," he replied, his eyes making contact with mine. I felt Rainey tighten his grip on me as his friend continued to speak. "And who is this beautiful woman?"
"This is Madison," Mort said before I could respond, pulling me closer to him and quickly added, "My date."
I smiled slightly and watched as Chris took my hand and brushed his lips across my hand.
"Well," Chris replied. "He's never mentioned how beautiful you were... or you, for that matter."
"Well, we only met last month," I explained.
"Chris!" a playful female voice asked from behind him. She stepped beside him, running her perfect manicured fingers through her Barbie-blonde hair. She had brown eyes and, in my opinion, way too much make up on. She stared flirtatiously at Mort, and I felt myself grip his arm tighter.
"You didn't introduce me," she said and glanced quizzically at me.
"Well, I'm Madison," I replied before anyone could say anything. "And this is my date, Mort Rainey."
"Mort Rainey!" she exclaimed, sticking out her hand. I guess she was deaf because she didn't seem to hear me say the word 'date'.
Mort shook her hand politely and the woman continued, much to my dismay. "I'm Melany. I've read all of your books and do not believe one word of what the media is saying. I don't think you would do something like that."
He raised his eyebrows, as if to challenge her. "You'd be surprised," he said and I smiled.
"Ooh," she said playfully. "Naughty, are we?"
I almost choked on my own spit when she said that. No one has any right to call Mort naughty except me and only in a sexual way. I felt my blood boil as I gritted my teeth.
"Nope," Rainey replied with a smile. "I've got Maddy here to keep me in check."
Melany looked at me for the first time and I smirked at her, my eyes staring hard in hers. Her smile fell and was replaced with a glare.
"Come now, Mel," Chris said, gently pulling her arm. "Let's go see if Steven showed up. Nice meeting you."
"You too," I called and mumbled, "but next time remember to keep your dog on a leash."
"What was that Maddy?" Rainey asked playfully. "Is somebody jealous?"
I rolled my eyes. "You should talk, Mr. Rainey. I felt you tighten your grip on me. You should know I wouldn't leave you."
"Hey," he said. "And was it not you who called me your date?" I smiled at him and he added, "And I wouldn't go for her, or anyone for that matter. You know I love you."
"And I, you," I replied, leaning my head on his shoulder. "I just hated the way she was looking at you. Like you were her food... her prey..."
He chuckled softly, tenderly caressing my hair. "Chris was looking at you the same way."
I quirked an eyebrow. "Really? I didn't notice."
He chuckled again, and we made our way through the tables, continuing to look for our seats.
Just my fucking luck, I thought, sitting down. Guess who we have to by but Barbie and Ken. But despite my malicious thoughts, I plastered a smile on my face, sitting next to Rainey on his right. Melany was on his left and Chris was on her left. An elderly couple were also placed at our table but didn't pay much attention to us.
I sipped the red wine in my glass, taking an immediate liking to it. I took another, larger sip and I heard Rainey chuckle. I glanced up at him and he smiled. "Getting high-matenience, are we?"
I shrugged and mumbled, "If she keeps staring at you, I'm gonna need the whole damn bottle."
"I'm glad to see you breaking out of your shell," he whispered into my ear. "I have never heard you swear yet... at least I don't remember you swearing..."
I laughed as a plate with hot prime rib was put under me. "Damn's a swear word? I didn't know that."
"Well, it's lucky I told you," he said, smiling, as he, too, received dinner. "Or else you'd have been making a fool out of yourself."
I took my knife and fork, carefully and properly cutting my food. "It would appear so."
Dinner was probably the best cooked meal I had ever eaten. The meat was perfectly cooked, the vegetables, perfectly steamed, and the potato, perfectly baked. I was on my second glass of wine now, trying not to drink too much, although it was hard. Melany hadn't taken her eyes off of Rainey, which I knew he knew, but he acted like he didn't notice.
I tried not to let it get to me, I really did, but it was hard. She was gorgeous and young, probably younger than me. It's just that I had never loved anyone like I love Mort, and I didn't want him taken away from me. I wouldn't know what to do. But I did trust him... it was her I didn't trust.
The music began to play again and Rainey leaned next to me. "Would you like to show me your dancing skills, Maddy?"
I smiled and nodded. "Although, I must warn you," I replied with a wink as I got up. "I'm not one who is good on her feet."
After making my way to the dance floor, Rainey and I began to dance. After a few moments, however, I decided to wrap my arms around his neck and lean my head on his shoulder, not caring if just swaying was proper or not. I felt Rainey drape his arms around me, pulling me close, resting his head on top of mine.
I sighed. How did Rainey come to love a poor girl like me? A girl whose family is so fucked up that they'd probably end up being on Jerry Springer more than once. I guess it didn't matter, though. As long as you loved someone, and they loved you, I guess it didn't matter. Right now, I felt as though nothing could bring me down. Hell, if he did murder those people, I honestly could say that I didn't care, that I loved him despite it.
I smiled. Being in love felt wonderful. And being loved back was two times as great. I knew that I would love him continuously, until the day I died, no matter what. He was my true love, my first love. And I've heard you'll never fall out of your first love. Now, I know why. You'll never forget the first time you kissed, the first time you give yourself to someone... and the first time you fall in love. You'll know it when it happens... I know it.
The award ceremony went by quickly although the category that Rainey was nominated in seemed to drag on. It was the last, most important category; The Writer of the Century. He told me he didn't deserve such an honor, but I told him otherwise, making sure he knew I meant it.
"And the Writer of the Century is..."
God, don't you hate it when they make your wait? I could literally hear my heart echo in my head as I gripped Rainey, my eyes never leaving the announcer.
"...Morton Rainey, for his suspenseful novels, which have been on the New York's Best Seller list for over a year, breaking all records."
I felt tears prick my eyes as I stood up, and pulled Rainey into a deep but short kiss. I mouthed 'I told you' and he smiled, making his way up to the podium.
The room went silent as he received his award, and proceeded to make a speech. I smiled at him and sat down, my eyes never leaving him.
"I honestly didn't think I'd ever receive such an honor, so I really didn't prepare a speech," he started and a few people chuckled at his opening line. "I want to thank my editor, my manager, and of course, my publishers, who have been with me since the beginning. I'd also like to thank Madison, who has been with me after the little incident the media doesn't mine sharing with the world. It's hard to believe that people still have faith in you when gossip goes around, but she has, and it means everything to me. Thanks, Maddy. I love you."
With that, I stood, even though my feet began to cramp because of my god-forsaken shoes, and I burst with applause. I felt so proud of him and slightly surprised he mentioned me. I watched him shake hands with almost everyone in the room, but when he finally made it to me, I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a heated kiss, not caring about the pictures taken, the gossip starting, or anything. All I cared about was Rainey and that's all I would care about.
He broke apart from me softly and leaned down next to my ear. "What do you say we get out of here?"
I looked into his eyes, our noses slightly touching, and replied, "Exactly what I was thinking."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay you guys, how was that? Just a heads up, the next chapter will be rated R due to adult scenes, savvy? I'm going to make it as classy as I can and I hope you all are okay with this. I really liked writing this chapter but I personally enjoyed Rainey's bow tie. Honestly, I think it'd be a very Rainey thing to do. Another random poll, out of all of Johnny Depp characters which two are your favorite and why?