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I ran my hand through my jet black hair, slicking it back to a more manageable position. I stood looking at my bathroom mirror and a hazel-eyed stranger stared back at me. Wearing only pants, I saw my bare chest, muscular and toned, completely changed from what it was but a few months ago, flat. I looked at my angular face with slight stubble growing in. I don’t know what changed in these past few months but suddenly I had to shave every other day and on special occasions. This happened to be one of those occasions, and I didn’t like it. I splashed on a bit of Aqua Di Gio, and whipped on my blood red dress shirt. I slipped into my pinstripe vest buttoning it quickly and tied a tie masterfully around my neck. I hated wearing ties but this occasion demanded it. Looking in the mirror once again, I pulled the gel out of the cabinet. It was almost full due to the fact that I almost never took the time to style my hair. I never thought it was worth the effort I put in. I was rich! What else did I need? “Why am I doing this” I asked myself aloud. I began to put the gel away but stopped. This was a very special occasion, I reminded myself. So, after working with it for a few minutes I got the look I wanted, a sophisticated sleeked back look. I walked out to my bedroom and pulled my suit jacket off its hanger. It was newly pressed and dry-cleaned, another thing I rarely did. Slipping into it, I buttoned the top two buttons leaving the final one undone. My sister had better be happy. I thought to myself. I pulled my black pinstriped fedora off the hat rack and carefully placed it on my head. I threw open the door and took one final look back into the room. It was a well lit bedroom; the bed had a burgundy spread on it, the curtains a silky white. I liked stark contrasts, and the red on white was just that. I loved it, everyone else hated it, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
As I closed the door to my bedroom, one of my two roommates, Jay, walked up to me.
“Are you ready?” He asked looking me up and down sizing me up. Though we might be roommates we were also rivals, he with his blond hair styled like a surfer, and his rich cologne put on in just the right way. He also had a red shirt on, though a darker color, untucked and no tie on, the top button unbuttoned. He wore a black vest that was also unbuttoned and he wore a simple pair of blue jeans.
“Well I am. It doesn’t look like YOU are though Jay. What the hell this is a wedding we are going to! Not only that but it is MY sister’s wedding!” I said.
“Relax Adrian. Seriously, you are taking this way too… seriously.” He chuckled to himself. “I am trying to go for a more casual look. You know not tied down. So I can actually get a girl. You look like you are obligated to go to this thing.” He raised an eyebrow. Chuckling to himself again he said, “oh wait you are!” he laughed and walked off.
Sighing to myself I walked into the kitchen. I ran my hand over the granite counter tops and opened the fridge. I took out a milk carton and pulled a glass out of the cabinet. Pouring myself a glass, I sat at the bar and took a sip. My other roommate, Mason, came up holding a small glass of scotch.
“I see you are ready… Jay is an imbecile as usual, and your sister is going to be getting married in an hour. Why are you drinking milk? Have a glass of scotch, or a bit or brandy, at least a little wine. It’s a special occasion!”
“And getting drunk on this special occasion is a good idea why?”
“You don’t have to get drunk per say… just… a little tipsy! Your sister won’t mind. She never does! Ariel was totally cool when you came to her last party totally wasted cause that girl rejected you… what was her name again?”
“I don’t know but she wasn’t worth my time anyway.” I lied looking down at the ground. Her name was Iris, and she was one of the most beautiful girls I had ever met in my life. She called me a man whore and walked away. It was a humiliating time. One that Mason had never let me live down.
“Oh I didn’t think you would. Well how about it? Have a little scotch?” He asked holding out a clean cup.
“No. We don’t have time.” I said looking at my watch. “Jay we need to go! Come on! Let’s go Mason. Put your scotch down, there will be drinks there.”
He frowned at me slightly, “But… this is my favorite scotch. They won’t have anything like it there.”
“Down… Now… Come on.” I said walking toward the front door.
Mason let out a heavy sigh and downed his drink leaving the cup on the bar counter. The maids would be by later that day and they would pick it up. He then followed me out the front door. Jay ran out after the two of us and dashed to catch up. I shot a dirty look at him “Okay… so you need to learn to hurry.”
“Oh shut up sour puss, your sister loves me! She would forgive me if I was late.”
I glared at him again. I didn’t really like him… He… got on my nerves a lot. Mason and I were seriously considering telling him to find a new apartment. We never could though, for two reasons. He wasn’t as rich as we were so we took pity on him, and the fact that he was much more muscular than either me or Mason. So we had to tolerate the idiot.
So now I was on my way to my sister’s wedding. She was a beautiful young seventeen year old lady, marrying a forty year old billionaire. The man did something with computers or oil or something. No one in my family cared. We were all rich. We all had our own business empires. At sixteen I was nearly as rich as ol’ Bill Gates. This new addition to our family would add very little to our family’s total wealth. I soon arrived at the wedding place, an old church my sister went to once in her life when she was a little girl. There she stated that she would be married in that church. Jay, Mason, and I walked inside.
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A few hours later I was sitting behind a table staring at the faces in the crowd. There was so many people, so many unknown faces. Why were they here? To gain favor with my family… to get press time… to try to get into our businesses to get rich quick. Why did we care if they were here though? My dad thought of himself as a godfather. He thinks he needs to grant any wish on the day of his daughter’s wedding. Another reason why people came. Probably less than ten percent of the people knew Ariel on a personal basis. As I searched through the crowd I found Jay sitting in the midst of three women… all of which would probably be with him all night long. Mason had even found himself a nice looking girl and was in the midst of a vigorous “conversation” with her. I looked further around seeing people hooking up with one another dancing and having a gay old time, some of them literally due to the fine selection of alcohol. I looked down at my own cup; a half drank glass of champagne. I looked up again and stared around the room. The party was held in my sister’s new mansion provided by my father. My brother, Eric, had shown me around earlier. I remembered that there was a very nice study through the doors to the left so I stood taking my champagne glass with me. I dodged my way through the dance floor and arrived at the large double doors. Pushing them open I peered inside.
A large couch of my favorite color, Burgundy, sat on the left wall, and a window was on the back wall. Heavy curtains were closed over it. They, too, were a deep burgundy color. The floor was a dark hardwood and in the middle of the room sat a cream color carpet. I didn’t like that carpet too much for some reason. It was just not a good looking rug. The contrast was nice but there was something about it that I hated. Two end tables sat on either side of the couch and velvet pillows were strewn about it. It was as if someone had just gotten up from sleeping on it. A bookcase stood at the opposite end of the room from the couch. I then noticed something odd about the room. The curtains weren’t flowing like they were supposed to. I walked across the floor and reached for them. Upon touching them I felt resistance and heard a yelp. I jumped.
“HANDS OFF BUDDY!” a very feminine voice said.
“So sorry ma’am I didn’t know that there was anyone in the room. I was just checking the curtains. They were flowing in an odd manner. No offence meant.” I solemnly apologized.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah all you rich idiots are the same… oh look a poor girl! Let’s fondle her.” She said as she stepped out of the curtain. She was stunning. Her blonde hair flowed like a cascading waterfall down her back, her pale skin shimmering in the moonlight, her eyes, it couldn’t be possible, she had Gray eyes, flecked with golden sparks. This girl was the goddess Aphrodites. Or at least she rivaled her in beauty. Her simple blue dress flowed elegantly down to the ground, hugging her curves but not giving anything away. She was modest, elegant, beautiful, and looked almost like royalty. I was just glad that neither Mason nor Jay was here to see my face turn bright scarlet as I stared at her and she glared back.
“Ma’am I am very sorry. I did not mean to touch you. I was honestly just feeling the curtains. Milady if I may ask your name? I am…” he started but was cut off.
“I really couldn’t care who you are. And you have no right to know who I am just because you are rich. All you need to know is that I am not your type. I was just in here reading and getting some fresh air from that window and you touch me. Why? I demand to know!”
“Like I have said… I was checking the curtain. It hung in an odd way and so I was seeing why. I thought the room was empty and I….” he trailed off as he saw the kind of book she was holding. “You like Star Wars?”
“What are you going to make fun of me now?” she asked putting her hands on her hips.
“NO! I love Star Wars! Have you read The Force Unleashed?” I asked her
“Yes. So?”
“Can we start over?”
“What?”
“Start over”
“Um… god you seem like an innocent enough guy. Fine. My name is Vanessa. And yours?”
“I am Adrian. It is a pleasure to meet you. How do you know the bride?”
“Oh… I am just a friend. She was like one of my best friends in high school. She went to a public school you know. She forced her parents to let her go. I was so happy when she first showed up. So pretty and popular. She was one of the nicest people there also. Her brothers are all douche bags though. At least from what she said. I wouldn’t ever like to meet one of them. How do you know her?” She asked innocently.
“Um… well…” I thought about lying, the consequences were always way to great if she found out though. I would just have to prove to her I wasn’t like the rest of my brothers, which I wasn’t. “I am one of her brothers. Adrian Dunhall.”
An awkward silence ensued after that. She gave me an incredulous look, so confused that someone like me was supposedly a douche bag, I assumed. “Um…” she stopped. “Seriously how do you know her?”
It was my turn to be confused. “What do you mean?”
“How do you know her? She told me all of her brother’s names. She doesn’t have a brother named Adrian. There is Michael, Gabriel, Alexander, Malacki, Benjamin, and Jared. I know for a fact that you are not one of her brothers.”
“She never mentioned me? Well I guess that is a good thing seeing as the others are all womanizing bastards, but it still kind of hurts you know. Here let’s go to her and I will prove it.”
“Sounds good. I never got the chance to congratulate her on her marriage. And if she says that you aren’t, you will have to explain to me why you lied okay?”
“Okay. Sounds like a good plan to me.”
I turned to walk out of the study and she came up beside me. I looked down at her and smiled. She returned my smile with one that warmed my soul. I looked away and began walking toward the door. She followed after a moment and I opened the great oak door and the sound of the party came into the room. Gesturing with my hand she walked out of the room glancing back at me quickly. I quietly closed the door and walked after her small figure. She suddenly stopped and looked back at me.
“Hey… um… I am not good in crowds. Being so short I get lost easily… And well… It sorta scares me.” She said rather quietly.
My heart jumped. She was confiding a secret in me! This had to be a good sign. Maybe she was hinting at something too? It might be okay for me to take her hand, I thought to myself. Maybe I better start with an arm.
“Would you like an escort?” I asked her.
She smiled warmly at me again. “That would be wonderful.”
She took my arm and smiled at me again. God every time she smiled it sent chills up my spine! This girl was amazing! I thought maybe I was falling for her. I wonder how poor she actually is…, I thought to myself. My family didn’t like us boys even bedding poor women. If one of us was to fall in love with one… That would be disastrous. I quickly pushed those thoughts out of my mind.
We slowly made our way toward my sisters table. Occasionally I felt Vanessa shiver. She really was scared of crowds! I gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. Upon almost reaching the family table a man grabbed Vanessa by the shoulder. He was very drunk.
“Hey… dooo… do youuu like want to dancshe? Maybeee like goo iinto the back room for a bit?”
“No thank you.” She said trying to pull away. The man’s grip tightened.
“You have great… Urp… breashts you know that? They are like Amashing…” he said his eyes locked on her chest.
That was when I decided to step in. “Sir, this young lady is my date. Unless you would like to end up in the obituaries tomorrow I advise you let go.”
“Oh… urp… Yeah…. And who do you think you are mishter high and mighty?”
“I happen to be Adrian Dunhall, Brother to the bride.”
The drunken man’s eyes lit up. He quickly stood up straighter and let go of Vanessa’s shoulder. “Urp… Mishter Dunhall… I apologize. I… I will be going now… sorry…” and the man left in a hurry stumbling over himself as he left.
“Well I guess I know that you have some power in Ariel’s family. That guy sure knew you. Thank you Adrian.”
I laughed, “Don’t worry about it. I think I may have ruined your evening though. Looks like the drunk just spread the rumor that you are my date.” I said gesturing over to a couple whispering to each other and the man who had just assaulted Vanessa with his eyes stumbling to the next group.
“And might I ask how that would ruin my evening?”
“Well… Now you aren’t free to mingle with other men. Now you have to hang out with a rich guy like me. I would say that would do it.”
“Well… Let’s go talk to your ‘sister’. Then we will decide if my evening is ruined or not.”
“A sound plan. Shall we?” I asked offering my arm once again.
“Why thank you kind sir!” she exclaimed, playfully taking my arm.
We made our way to my sisters table with all haste. I looked at the old man that had married my little sister and he smiled at me. I politely smiled back and strode forward. The man stood at my and Vanessa’s approach. Ariel looked at him quizzically, but saw us and eeped in surprise.
“Vanessa!!! Oh my gawd! When I didn’t see you at the wedding I was worried that you decided not to come! I am soooo happy you are here! And I see that Adrian has made your acquaintance. What lies did he tell you to get you so close? You hate rich men.” She raised an eyebrow at me and gave me a stern look.
“Hey hey now Ariel… I didn’t do anything wrong. I have told her the complete truth. She just wants to make sure of it.”
“Is he really your brother? You never mentioned him.” Vanessa asked.
“Well yes he is… but we aren’t very close. He left home when I was twelve. My other brothers all stayed with my parents but Adrian left to live with his two closest friends. I have only talked to him on holidays and the such. From what I have heard he is the best behaved of my brothers, however. I would say a good pick if you really want a rich guy.” Ariel smiled. “However… there is one problem. Have you introduced her to Jack and Emily?”
Jack and Emily were our parents and they despised the poor and unfortunate. And by poor and unfortunate they meant anyone who didn’t have a cushion on at least thirty million dollars in their bank account. I was a bit worried about what they would say, but I had moved out and become an adult at sixteen according to them. What could they do to stop me?
“No. But I am an adult. What can they do?”
“Well I am not sure. But be careful. However, you have my blessing for what it is worth.” She smiled at me.
“Um… do I have any say in this union?” Vanessa laughed.
“Well of course not! I am rich I will just buy you!” I joked.
She scowled at me.
“That was a joke. Of course you do. Would you like to go on a date some time so we can get to know each other better? I mean all I know about you is that you like Star Wars and you are poor. Both of which I don’t mind.” I smiled warmly at her.
“We will see. I am going to go. Congratulations Ariel. Good night Adrian, it was a pleasure meeting you.” With that she hugged Ariel, gave me a warm smile and hugged me as well. Surprised I hugged her back and we stood there for a long while. She let go and she walked quickly out the door to the left.
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