Chapter 19 – Carly
The dress Brad had gotten me was beautiful. It was a deep blue, off-the-shoulder dress that hugged my form to my knees before it flared out into a bell that swished around my feet when I walked. He had gotten me dark silver shoes and jewelry to match, and it all fit like it had been made for me. I was amazed that he had managed to pull it off in such a short time.
I had done my makeup carefully, doing it in a smoky style, and I pinned my hair up to expose my shoulders and back. The dress hadn’t been made to hide them.
When Brad knocked on my door, I was ready. When I opened, he stared at me like he’d never seen a woman before, and I had an idea how Cinderella must have felt.
“Ready,” I said.
Brad snapped out of his trance and smiled at me, offering me his arm. He looked dashing in a tuxedo, his green eyes brilliant and his short hair emphasizing his straight nose and his square jaw. Once upon a time, I had considered him a Brad Pitt lookalike, but he was hot in a different way now. Confident, powerful.
“The car is here,” Brad said.
When we arrived outside, a long, black limousine was waiting for us. Brad helped me in first before joining me.
“This is like a fairy tale,” I said.
Brad smiled at me, taking my hand, and we pulled off, the limousine purring softly beneath us. I looked out of the tinted windows as Miami slid by. I was living in a different world now. Everything was luxurious, expensive, refined.
I liked it, but I felt like I didn’t belong. I was nervous about going to the event with Brad and being introduced as his date. I wasn’t sure I had what it took to survive in this world. Brad looked so comfortable with the fame and the fortune, and I was like Cinderella who had been enchanted with a beautiful dress and a wonderful coach. I was worried that at the stroke of midnight, it would all disappear again.
We arrived at the Cruz Building, a place that looked old but well maintained, a gem that held history within its walls. Double doors led into the building, and once we were inside, I was transported to another world. The place was spectacular, with a staircase to the second level in front of us. Pillars were scattered at intervals across a checkered floor. To the left, couples and groups stood along a bar that stretched the length of the room.
There were men and women dressed to the nines everywhere. They made the building and its delicate décor look that much more beautiful. Brad and I fit right in.
Classical music floated between us, setting an atmosphere, and the sound of chatter and glasses clinking danced around us, setting the mood for the evening.
I watched Brad as we walked between the other attendants, and he looked comfortable and relaxed in this environment. He knew how to handle cameras and riches and images. I didn’t feel as comfortable. I didn’t have a photogenic smile that I knew would come out perfectly every time. I didn’t usually wear dresses that moved around my feet with every step, and my eyes burned a little from the mascara I had applied. I was overwhelmed here, completely out of my depth.
We ascended the flight of stairs. As we went through the building, Brad greeted people that he knew and that seemed to know him. He was well-known here. He introduced me as his date every time, but I didn’t feel like they acknowledged me, or that they cared who I was. It shouldn’t have bothered me—I was only here for the evening, after all—but it did.
“Carly, I want to introduce you to some of my teammates and close friends,” Brad said to me when we joined a group with six other people. He introduced them as Hanson and Lacey, Brian and Stacey, Jacob and Kina. They were three couples. Kina and Lacey were PR Managers, I learned. Stacey was a cheerleading coach. They all seemed very friendly and eager to meet me.
“How do you like Miami?” Lacey asked me when the women and the men had paired off into smaller groups. She had short black hair that she wore with confidence, and her red dress made her look fierce.
“Very much,” I said. “Although I doubt I’m experiencing it the way others would.” I glanced at Brad.
The three women chuckled.
“It’s different when you’re dating a football player,” Kina said. She had blonde hair and an easy manner. I liked her. She wasn’t as intimidating as Lacey was.
“Oh, we’re not, like, seriously dating,” I said. I wasn’t really sure what we were doing.
“Of course not,” Kina said, and she shared glances with Stacey. I didn’t care if they didn’t believe me. “But we’re happy to have you, all the same. These events are wonderfully organized, and you’ll love the food.”
“We took the liberty of putting you and Brad at our table,” Stacey said.
She was smiling at me. She seemed gentler than the others but strong in her own way. I was speculating. I didn’t consider myself a good judge of character.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Your dress is absolutely stunning,” Kina said, turning the conversation to something safer.
“It does wonders for your eyes. You look like a princess.” Stacey smiled at me.
I smiled. Brad always called me that. The women were kind and welcoming. They made me feel like I was a part of their little party, like I wasn’t an intruder. I liked them. When I looked at Brad, watching him with his friends, I knew that I liked them, too. I didn’t know them, but Brad was comfortable around them, more at home than I had seen him in Laramie while we’d been there together. This was what I wished for him. A life that belonged to him, a life he loved.
Even if I didn’t necessarily fit into it.
“Tell us about yourself,” Lacey said. “We’ve heard a few things about you. You’re the mystery woman everyone is wondering about.”
“I can’t be much of a mystery after we’ve been in the news,” I said.
Lacey smiled. “They’re so often wrong. We don’t believe a thing we hear in celebrity gossip. We’re here to get to know who you are, not who they say you should be.”
It was nice to know that they were interested in finding out about the real me. I knew little about this world and what it took to survive in it, or work in it, as Lacey and Kina did, but I had a feeling that having them at my back would be a good idea. And they were genuinely interested in me, which I hadn’t expected. It made me feel warm and welcome, if not exactly a part of their little group.
When we sat down, I had Brad on my right and Kina on my left at the eight-seater table. The men were close. I could tell with how they laughed about jokes I didn’t understand and how happy Brad seemed. This was his life now. This was what he had been doing since he’d left me.
I tried not to be bitter about it, but it was a struggle.
“How are you holding up with the news?” Kina asked, leaning closer to me. “It’s not an easy thing to handle.”
She was referring to my naked pictures. It occurred to me that everyone at this table had seen me naked beside the blurred bits. Great.
“I don’t have much of a choice but to cope with it, do I?” I asked. “It’s not easy. My life is usually very private. But I guess it’s a learning curve.”
Kina nodded. “That’s true,” she said. “You’re very brave to have escorted Brad here tonight. You two look wonderful together.”
I was about to tell her that we weren’t together again, when she held up her hand.
“I know, you’re not ‘seriously’ dating,” she said. “But you do make a stunning picture. And he dotes on you. The whole world can see that.”
I wasn’t sure if she was right. Brad and I were in a very difficult spot. I had no idea where we were headed with our relationship, if that was what this was. I knew that I was his date tonight, that I was going to stay with him for a short while. I knew nothing more.
“This is all very new to me,” I said. “It’s difficult to take it in stride. I feel a little left out if I have to be honest.”
Kina nodded. “That’s normal. It’s not an easy life to get used to. There is excess everywhere, whether it’s money or fame or attention. You’ll get used to it after a while, but you need to hold on to who you are through it all. Friendly tip.”
“Thank you,” I said. I could do with all the advice I could get.
The food arrived, and the women had been right. It was fantastic. It started with an amuse bouche, figs wrapped in raw ham with goat’s cheese. The starter was a grilled mackerel with a charred quality, accompanied by pickled beetroot wedges. The entrée consisted of maple, balsamic pork tenderloin on a bed of rice with roast vegetables done in a way that tasted divine. By the time dessert arrived, I wasn’t sure I could eat anymore until I realized it was coffee pannacotta with coffee granita and an espresso ice cream. I adored coffee.
I looked around the table while we ate and watched the three couples interact. I could see that they had all been through tough times together and they had made it through. I didn’t know their stories, but it wasn’t hard to see that they had a bond that few friends were able to cultivate.
I felt uncomfortable again, left out. I was just a small-town girl with no one in my corner the way these people all had each other. I had friends at college, but we had been thrown together through circumstance. It wasn’t true friendship, not like what I saw here. And they all faced the fame and the rumors and the scandals together.
This world wasn’t my world. It wasn’t a place where I belonged, and I felt lost here. I wasn’t sure I could do this.
Halfway through dessert, Brad took my hand under the table and squeezed it. His green eyes sparkled, and he held onto me. We both ate with one free hand. He held onto me, and it should have made me feel anchored. I wasn’t sure what it did, but it didn’t make me feel as at home as I’d thought. But looking at him, smiling and laughing with his friends, holding my hand like he genuinely wanted me here, showed me how happy he was. I hadn’t seen him this happy in a long time, if ever, and I decided to watch him.
Even if that was all that came from me being here with him, then it was enough for me for now.
We could always sort the rest out later. Tonight, I would enjoy myself for his sake, because he enjoyed himself so much. He was handsome and funny and smiling. And his friends loved him, and he loved them. Everything was perfect in this world, and for tonight, I would let that be it.