Love at Fifth Sight
Part 4-6
It turned out, much to Ami’s relief, that she didn’t have to say much to Zach over dinner. Mina and Serena characteristically dominated the conversation, with interjections from Keth when he chose. Although Lita and Nevan provided their fair share of the conversation, they spoke mostly to each other rather than the table at large.
When all the others seemed to be talking amongst themselves, Serena whispered to Ami, “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, Serena. Honestly. I don’t know why I fell to pieces like that.” But she had an inkling. She had been too dazed to cry with her fellow interns, who hadn’t been as familiar with Kevin as she had been, anyway. Then she had had to concentrate on driving to the hotel in one piece and seeming normal on the phone. Zach was the first person she’d come across, and the concern in his voice had made the hideousness of the whole week pour down on her.
She felt oddly calm now, as if the crying jag had served as an extremely effective catharsis. But she was still mortified that Zach had been the one she had cried on.
“Are you sure you still want to come to the bachelorette party? Rei would definitely understand if you didn’t come. You should go home and rest. I can drop you off after dinner.”
It was tempting, considering that all she wanted to do at this point was go home, crawl into bed, and take something to relieve her headache and send her into a sleep-drenched oblivion. She wasn’t even interested in dessert, a creamy chocolate confection Serena was salivating over as it was being served at the other tables. But…
“No, I want to go. There’s nothing I can do for – there’s nothing I can do right now. Rei will only get married once, and I feel like I really should be there. Besides, not all of the girls have a car, and I promised I’d drive anyone home who needed a ride.”
Serena had to smile at the practicality that tinted Ami’s response. “All right. But you tell me if you change your mind, okay?”
Ami nodded, then turned her attention to picking at dessert as Serena dug into hers with gusto.
“This is great,” she heard Lita remark to Nevan, who was listening to her with an engrossed expression on his face. “I don’t really get to handle desserts at work, but I bake a lot in my spare time.”
“Are you a chef, then?” he asked, more interested in her than the dessert.
“Oh, no. Just a caterer’s assistant right now, but it’s my dream to become a chef. I work by day and take cooking lessons by night.”
“It sounds like quite a lifestyle.”
As his navy blue eyes smiled into her emerald green ones, Ami felt a pang in her chest. It was strange to be thinking of such things now, but she was wondering if she could remember the last time Taiki had looked at her like that, or she at him.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
It seemed that there was no escape this time, with Lita and Nevan talking to each other, Serena single-mindedly devouring her dessert, and Mina and Keth arguing playfully over the raspberries she had stolen from his plate.
Ami couldn’t help but smile at the absurdity of her thoughts – she was imagining telling Zach, her high school crush, that she didn’t know where her longtime relationship with her fiancé was going. “Oh, nothing really. I wanted to say…I’m sorry for…earlier.” She decided that the best description was a vague one; it certainly won out over “breaking down” or “crying all over your shirt.”
“It must have been very uncomfortable for you, and I apologize.”
His tone was casual as he said, “It wasn’t a big deal.” However, it was anything but when he asked seriously, “Are you sure you’re feeling up to this? It’s not so important, this dinner thing, we’re already on the dessert course. I could drive you home, or wherever you want to go, if you want to leave.”
She was surprised at how he sounded almost like Serena with that protective note in his voice.
Zach continued, “I heard your fiancé couldn’t be here, so…” He knew he had stuck his foot in his mouth when her hesitant smile disappeared and she looked away. “Ah, I didn’t mean it that way. Really. Please don’t be offended.”
He put on his very best smile. “I just wanted to see if I could be any help.”
Ami tried to see past the embarrassment. “I appreciate the concern, but I’ll be fine.” For some reason unbeknownst to her, she prolonged the conversation by adding, “Besides, Rei’s bachelorette party is tonight.”
“I know. Jaden’s bachelor party is tonight, also. We’ll have to keep the drinking down to a respectable level to keep him from having a hangover tomorrow. You don’t look like you’re up to drinking, though.” He tried to keep himself from hitting his forehead at this second faux pas.
“Mm. Well, I imagine our festivities will be slightly tamer than yours,” she replied tartly, “and I’m perfectly capable of gauging my own tolerance level, thank you.”
Zach grinned. “I remember that frosty tone. Just like the first time you drove me somewhere and scared me half to death, but all you kept telling me was that you were perfectly aware of the speed limit, or that pedestrian, or that the light was turning yellow.”
They immediately grew silent at the memories of the past, and they missed Zach’s grandmother sneaking up on them. “SO Zachary, is this your girlfriend?” she boomed.
He winced as Lita’s shoulders shaking with silent laughter. “Grandma, we’re not…” He couldn’t come up with a good way to tell her that the majority of them were not hearing-impaired, so he desisted. “No, Grandma, I already told you, I’m not seeing anyone,” he said patiently. “This is Rei’s cousin, Ami. Ami, this is my grandmother, Rosalind Harris.”
Over Ami’s quiet response, Rosalind demanded, “Well, why don’t you have a date for the wedding? I didn’t raise my grandson to be socially inept, you know.”
Lita leaned over and whispered in Nevan’s ear, “My mother’s named after her. She’s fantastic when she’s not going on about my personal life.”
Nevan raised an eyebrow and asked offhandedly, “So you’re single?”
Her cheeks went pink. “Yes. How about you?”
“That’s lucky. So am I.” He smiled back at her.
Meanwhile, before Zach could defend himself, Rosalind was already turning to Ami. “You seem like a smart girl. Do you think my grandson can’t find a girl to court?”
She flushed pink. “Ah, Ms. Harris, I couldn’t say. I’m engaged.”
“Young lady, your eyes don’t fall out once you’re engaged. I should know. Really, I don’t know what these modern young women are thinking. Goodness knows he’s always been too smart for his own good, so it can’t be that his brains are deficient. Is my grandson so hard on the eyes?”
“Um… no, not really,” Ami mumbled, her eyes looking anywhere but at Zach.
Rosalind shot a triumphant look at her grandson, who was looking rather floored. “Well, then. You should have no trouble finding a nice girl like this one here. Make sure you bring her to Rose and Grant’s house in July, then.” With that, she swooped off to torment the next table of guests.
Zach groaned, trying to make light of the situation and take the spotlight off Ami. “Lita, why do your parents have to have a family party next month?”
Lita laughed at him. “You know my dad; he likes the whole family getting together.”
“Any chance he’ll push it back a few months? Maybe a year? A couple of years?”
________________________________________
After dinner, Mina set a glittery tiara on Rei’s head and made an exaggerated flourish at the limousine. “Your carriage awaits.”
Ami, Serena, Lita, and two of Rei’s other close female friends crowded in after them. With a sigh, Rei kicked off her heels and said, “I’m glad that’s over.”
“Don’t tell me you’re tired already!” Mina exclaimed. “The fun’s just beginning!”
“Oh, no! But I’m glad I don’t have to talk to dozens of people I barely know anymore. Did you meet Zach’s grandmother?” Rei cast a guilty look at Lita, who grinned and shrugged good-naturedly. “She grilled me for what felt like half an hour.”
“You should have heard her going on about Zach and Ami,” the brunette replied mischievously.
Rei’s eyes widened. “What? Zach and Ami?”
“It seems like she thought they’d make a good couple,” Serena giggled. “But Ami told her she’s engaged, so Zach has to find a girl by their next family event or face the wrath of his grandmother.”
Taking pity on Ami, Mina said outrageously, “If you ask me, she should have had her eye on Lita and Nevan!”
Taken aback, Lita stammered, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We barely know each other.”
Serena chimed in, “I’ve known Nevan since college, and he seemed really taken with you. And he’s single right now.”
“I know,” she said before she could help herself.
Turning laughingly to Ami, Mina remarked, “You see? She’s scoping out the competition already.”
The rest of the ride was filled with teasing remarks, and Ami took the opportunity to sit back and let herself relax – at least as much as she could in her current attire. Mina had picked out her outfit, and she was already regretting the powder blue heels that went with the skirt and scoop-necked, sleeveless top.
________________________________________
Their destination was Atlantic City, and they poured out to hit the boardwalk, the casinos, and the bars. For awhile, it was fun, especially when she could smell the ocean under the scent of cigarette smoke and fried foods. But she had no real interest in gambling or flirting, and despite her irritation over Zach’s comment, she hadn’t been planning on drinking anything besides water with a slice of lemon.
Ami chose a discreet seat to observe her friends from, wondering at how Rei and Mina seemed to know the exact moment to extract themselves from the men they were dancing with. She had little experience with bars and parties, but she figured that even if she had, she would never have known how to handle herself so expertly.
She smiled to see Mina’s enthusiasm and how beautiful Rei looked on the night before her wedding – on the morning of, Ami corrected herself as she glanced at her watch. It was half past one, and she could feel a stunning headache coming on.
‘Too little sleep,’ she decided, wondering if it had been a bad idea to come along after all. But it had seemed inconceivable for her not to be a part of the event, and she enjoyed the girls’ company. Even though she generally preferred to listen rather than talk, she had missed spending time with her female friends and their unique blend of discussion, which covered everything from make-up tips and relationships to work woes and politics.
Suddenly, she spotted Rei making her way through the crowd towards her and waved.
“I’m having so much fun!” Rei exclaimed as she finally reached Ami, her tiara knocked slightly askew from being jarred by the dancers.
“Well, I’m very glad to hear that!” she replied laughingly as she reached up to right the tiara.
Rei positively beamed, the glow on her face due to happiness and the body heat rather than alcohol. Ami couldn’t resist telling her, “You look so beautiful, Rei.”
“I’m so happy, Ami!” She wrapped her cousin in an impulsive hug, then pulled away and said, “I’m marrying Jaden tomorrow. I can hardly believe it, but I’m so happy. Even if it did take him two years to propose.”
Ami laughed again at this characteristic statement. “It’s so good to see you happy, Rei. No one deserves it more.”
As she observed the gloss of Rei’s long, ebony black hair, the candy pink of her cheeks, and the incomparable shine in her luminous purple eyes, Ami wondered if she would even come close to looking as beautiful and content on the eve of her own wedding.
She tried to imagine herself saying the same thing about Taiki, although Taiki would be the one more likely to jokingly criticize her about putting off the wedding. Even as she tried out the words, “I’m marrying Taiki tomorrow,” she felt only a gray mist of uncertainty and a sense of “Oh well, the time will come when it will,” and marriage seemed like the natural culmination of a relationship as long as theirs.
It worried her slightly, and she tried to brood unnoticeably on the way home. The others were all in high spirits, except for Serena, who was already asleep in the corner with her head on Ami’s shoulder and drooling slightly. With a sigh, Ami leaned her head on top of Serena’s and closed her eyes.
‘It’s only natural,’ she told herself. ‘Everyone has doubts, and they’ll pass. Just because I’m not ready to get married now doesn’t mean that he’s not the right one or that I’ll never get married.’
________________________________________
As the limo pulled into the hotel parking lot and they emerged with stiff legs, Ami was surprised to hear Zach’s voice greeting them. She finished waking the sleepy blonde and peered at him with eyes heavy with exhaustion and mascara. “Zach? What are you doing here?”
He grinned at her, seemingly none the worse for his own night of debauchery. “What, you think Jaden would have let you guys go off without keeping tabs on his woman?”
“You’re lucky she didn’t hear that,” Serena said, suddenly so wide awake that Ami was envious of her energy.
“Well…we actually just got in. I drew the short straw and had to be designated driver, since we manly men don’t take limos. Jaden would only sleep after I promised to make sure Rei got back safely, and Keth and I still had to pour him into bed.”
Ami said idly, “I hope he’ll be lucid tomorrow.”
Zach watched with some amusement as Rei and Mina marched into the hotel to find Kenneth. “Yeah, don’t worry about. He wouldn’t screw up his wedding day. So how are we getting you ladies home?”
Still a little miffed at the implication that Jaden didn’t trust them to get Rei home in one piece, Ami replied, “Serena and I are driving.”
“What? You’re dead on your feet. Let me give you guys a ride.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Ami told him stiffly.
Serena jumped in, “He does have a point, Ami. I had such a long nap, and I’m so awake now! I can take Susan and Luna home, and Zach can drive you back.” She indicated Rei’s two friends from work.
“What? No. You’re just as tired as I am,” Ami protested, her blood going cold at the thought of being alone with Zach. “Why can’t Zach give you a ride home and I’ll drop off Susan and Luna?”
Her friend gave her a knowing look as she yawned twice in the middle of her question. “Uh huh. Besides, I live closer to them. Well, thanks so much, Zach! We’ll all feel much better knowing Ami won’t be falling asleep behind the wheel. Good night, Ames!”
As she walked off, apparently ending the argument, Ami called after her desperately, “No, wait! Serena!”
The blonde only turned and waved enthusiastically. “See you tomorrow!”
‘I’m going to kill her,’ Ami thought. She glanced around at the parking lot, which was now deserted as Serena, Susan, and Luna drove off and seemed quite eerie. She rubbed her arms, which were chilled by the night air.
“Come on, let’s go. Where’s your jacket? Is it in your car?”
Ami glared at him. “I lent it to Mina because she forgot hers. Zach, I appreciate the offer, but really, I can drive home perfectly well.”
“Don’t be such a pain,” he told her. “You just don’t like my driving.” He began walking, and she followed him to continue arguing.
As he grinned at her, Ami felt strangely breathless. To compensate, she said snippily, “I didn’t say anything about your driving. I merely said that I’m perfectly capable of getting myself home.”
“Ouch. Well, it might make you happier if I said you’d put me in my place, but… you haven’t. Okay. Here we go.” The car chirped at him as he unlocked the doors, and he held open the passenger door for her.
“What are you doing?”
Zach explained patiently, “This is my car, Ami. I’m driving you home.”
“What? No. I have car, and I’m driving it home.”
He leaned against the door, his casual stance a contrast to his steely tone. “We can argue about it all night, or you can get in the car and let me drive you home.”
Ami pouted. “I don’t see how this is any of your business.”
“I’m just trying to make sure you get home safely. Keth said it’s a pretty long drive from the hotel to your apartment, and he said Mina told him you’ve had a brutal schedule this past week. Those shadows under your eyes look dark enough to drown in.”
She frowned, adverse to the idea that he had been hearing so much about her. “Still, I can drive. I’m used to late hours.”
He said patiently, “All the more reason to rest while you can. Serena and Rei have been worried about you all week. Meanwhile, I’m pretty fresh, and I haven’t been doing anything this week except eating and chatting. I’ve probably put on five pounds.”
She almost began to smile but caught herself just in time.
Zach continued, “You don’t want them to worry, do you? You can leave your car here. It’ll be fine, I promise.”
“I won’t have a car to get here tomorrow,” Ami pointed logically, although he sensed that she was caving.
“I can pick you up, or if you’re more comfortable, I’m sure Serena or Mina and Kenneth wouldn’t mind giving you a ride.”
She said desperately, “I don’t want to make you go out of your way. You’re not familiar with the city.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ve driven past your apartment. You live what, fifteen minutes from Mina? She pointed it out when we drove past. Besides, you can give directions, can’t you?”
Even though her expression was turning sulky, he couldn’t help but think she looked cute. And gorgeous. Her heels did excellent things for her legs, although he wondered how she could drive in them, unaware of the sneakers she kept in the backseat of her car. ‘And she has a fiancé, and you have that weird and uncomfortable past,’ he reminded himself when he realized where his thoughts were going.
“You’ve had a rough day, and a long one. Just let me do you a favor,” he said.
Even now, when she would have appreciated the ride home, she felt miserable about accepting it, since it would have signified just one more thing she couldn’t do right. Ami looked at him levelly, hating how she had felt so displaced and insufficient throughout the entire day.
“I don’t want favors from you. I don’t want you to talk to me as if we’re still best friends. I’m not seventeen and silly anymore, Zach.”
Love at Fifth Sight
Infinite Ice
