I straighten the buttons on the sleeves of my suit again as I paced on the steps in front of Abby's apartment complex, she had agreed to let me pick her up for the gala, after I had reacted like an idiot, of course she wasn't suggesting a date.
I probably made her so uncomfortable by suggesting that was what she was offering, I cringed as I recalled the way she tried so hard to reassure me that she would never, or maybe could never think of me in that way.
The door behind me opened and I turned as she walked out, her dress was a deep Navy blue, her collarbone and shoulders left bare as her sleeves hung on her upper arms, the skirt flowed all the way to the floor and when she lifted it to walk I could see the elegant heels on her feet, her black curls were practically piled on top of her head as several carefully placed strands fell to frame her neck and face gracefully, a simple single diamond laid against her otherwise bare chest and her matching earrings shimmered in the light above her, her waist cinched in by a corset bodice on her dress, the fabric like a sheer night sky, a perfect contrast to her snowy and flawless complexion and all thrown together by her matte red lips.
I felt as though a gust of wind could blow me over and my throat lost it's ability to speak as she put her phone in her clutch and smiled at me as she stepped down the last step and towards me and the car that had been sent for us.
"Ready, Charles?" She asked and I remembered how to breathe again as I opened the door for her to slide into, after making sure her dress was tucked in fine I shut the door and closed my eyes as I said a second long prayer to God that I wouldn't be an idiot and spill my unrequited love to her.
I made my way around the car and slid into the back with her, a fancy black town car that had the divider up between us and the driver.
"You look stunning, Abigail." I murmured to her as the gentle sounds of the drive filled the car, but even through the dark I could see the blush that stained her cheeks, God how I wished that meant she sought my compliments, that she wanted them as much as I wanted to shower her with them. "I'm sure they'll all be quite stunned to see that the Doctor who won this History grant is a beautiful young woman."
She suddenly wrinkled her nose as she laughed a full belly laugh as if I had just said the worlds funniest joke and I felt like my heart was skipping beats it ached so much.
"I'm sorry," She sighed as she carefully patted the tears from her eyes "I'm so sorry, thank you so much, it's just, my dad calls me a "beautiful young woman" and it sounded so odd coming from you" she laughed again as her red lips pulled into a smile that had one side going higher than the other "as if you weren't only three years older than me, Charles." She leaned closer to me as she teased and I felt on top of the world.
"Alright, alright" I laughed "I am the Dean of a very large University and already Thirty years old, I'm not quite as old as your dad but we aren't kids anymore."
Her smiled turned almost wistful as she turned to look out the window "No, if we were kids this would be us on the way to prom or something"
I barked a laugh and leaned back into the seat as I stared at her "Did you enjoy your prom? I didn't get to stick around to see it. I remember when James' brought you to ours." I smiled as the memory of a nervous freshmen in a room full of seniors had managed to be so cute, I had left right after that, feeling guilty for my feelings for my best friends sister. It was such an innocent crush back then, it wasn't until I had seen her again at a family Christmas dinner that I knew I was in love with her, I had already graduated early from my University and was accepting my position as a teacher, she was only twenty-one, she was laughing at the dining room table with her brother when I walked into the family's kitchen, her hair was in a messy braid thrown over her shoulder and she had on a green sweater that she had her knees tucked into, her reading glasses were pushed up unto her forehead and her painted toes wiggled on the edge of her seat. She had instantly righted herself, blushed, and left the room once she realized I was there, she had mumbled her hellos and shuffled past me.
"I didn't go to Prom" Her soft and rich voice pulled me from my memories as I focused back in on the current her "No one asked me to go" She whispered as she turned to look at me again, her face didn't seem sad, she said it like she was just stating a boring fact "I had no friends besides James' and no one asked me, so I didn't go" She shrugged at me.
"Yeah," I smirked at her "James' threatened all the boys in your class that he would have a world of pain for them if they even thought of asking you" I chuckled as I recalled him frantically calling me, asking me if I thought she would hate him "I remember when he called me to tell me while I was at University. I would've warned him that you deserved to be asked to Prom" I said as I looked her in the eyes "if I had thought anyone there was worthy of asking you."
She laughed lightly as she looked away again "I remember when I found out James had done that, I had been so mad." She shook her head on another laugh "Not because he had stopped anyone from asking me, but because no one knew who I was, they were confused when James threatened them with my name. They didn't know who I was."
"Abby, if you thought that every boy there wasn't painfully aware of your stunning existence," I said as she turned to me a light gasp at my words "then you are very sorely mistaken, the only reason James had threatened is because he had already heard how many boys wanted to ask you."
"You lie, Charles Morrison, I'm going to tell your mother you speak lies" she said to lighten the air in the car after we had held each others stares for a moment. I opened my mouth to tell her just how stunning I thought she was when the car pulled to a stop.
She smiled at me as she gathered her skirt, readying herself to step out "Shall we?"