Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Dimitri

I stared stunned at the image of Blair in her wedding dress.

What's going on?

" Oh this… you won't believe it," she seemed amused by the situation.

Two girls sat down on either side of her, watching me expectantly. One was the same one who had accompanied Blair the day we met.

" Hey Commander, this is Claire and Alison. The friends I told you about," Blair smiled, "We came with Abby to pick out her wedding dress.”

" I'm no expert, but wasn't she supposed to wear the dress? " I decided to tease her.

Surely this was some kind of joke between them, but I would never miss the opportunity to tease her.

" Ahh, Abby is getting dressed now. Blair chose this dress for you," Claire confided.

" Wha...  No," Blair widened, pushing her friend away, "that's not what happened!”

I knew I should leave her alone and not tease her about it.

" Blair, haven't we already talked about this? " I sighed, causing her to roll her eyes on the other side of the screen.

" Quiet.”

" What did you talk about? " Alison asked.

" Blair has been trying every which way to convince me to marry her," I explained, receiving a shocked look in return, "I've tried gently telling her it's not going to happen, but she won't be convinced.”

" How's that? " Alison held back her laughter as Blair stared at me dumbfounded.

Her face was slightly flushed and I was enjoying this very much.

" It's not true," she hastened to say, "it's definitely not true. He's the one who thought it up. And I'm only dressed like this because these crazy girls kidnapped my cell phone and only gave it back when I put on the dress.”

The two girls moved out of my line of vision, leaving me in the company of Blair, who whispered.

" I can't believe you said that, they won't leave me alone anymore! " her sharp tone caused me to hide a half smile.

She had no idea how beautiful she looked at that moment, even though she was angry.

" You show up dressed as a bride and want me to do what? " I returned.

" Act normal…”

" I don't normally talk to women wearing wedding dresses."

" Are you afraid of commitment, Commander? Is that what's going on? " She smiled again.

I could not contain my own smile at this question. It was ironic, to say the least, that she would say this when until yesterday I had been willing to try something with her, until the whole friendship thing came up. But in a way she was right, I haven't had a relationship with anyone since my breakup with Olga.

" That's not the case.”

" I think it's exactly the case," she returned, looking away from the cell phone screen for a moment.

The other girls' voices came in the background, totally excited. Probably Abby had appeared in a dress.

" Dimitri, are you ready to see the most beautiful bride in this place? " Blair asked.

" I don't like the design of your dress, but I agree," I said without thinking.

That comment caught Blair off guard, and she didn't seem to be the only one. She blinked a few times before regaining her voice as the girls whispered among themselves.

" This is stupid, I'm going to take this dress off," she murmured, ending the call and causing me to stare at the sunset from an airplane cabin, which was my cell phone's wallpaper.

Great, what did I do? Was she really offended by that comment? Did she think I was making fun of her or something?

I dropped the device on the table beside the armchair I was sitting in, not sure what I had done wrong. I shouldn't feel this way about her, this was all I should have avoided from the start. She was right yesterday, we didn't even live on the same continent. To imagine that something like this would work out was ridiculous.

I picked up my cell phone again, wondering if I should call her back, but just as I was about to do so, I received a message from my copilot, inviting me to have dinner with the crew before heading to the airport. I accepted, I should take a shower and let Blair enjoy the day with her friends, but she returned the video call shortly after, interrupting my plans.

" Hey commander, I got rid of that horrible dress," she appeared smiling on the screen as soon as I accepted the call, receiving an unfriendly look from a woman standing practically beside her. “your dresses are beautiful, ma'am.”

She tried to fix it as she noticed the slip, making me laugh. She walked away from the woman in a hurry, looking at me with complicity.

" She is the owner of the atelier, I didn't realize she was so close.”

" Watch your mouth, Blair," I warned, "I…”

" Come on, you have to see Abby, she's in doubt about a model and wants an opinion.”

" You mean my opinion? " I frowned.

" Yes. I told her you'd be part of this because she needed a male opinion," she clucked her tongue between her teeth in a mischievous grin.

" Blair.”

" Dimitri, this was the dress we liked best. Just agree with us," she whispered.

" It's fine.”

Blair stepped through a doorway into a room full of mirrors, where a young woman in a dress stared at herself in utter surprise.

" Abby, turn around so Dimitri can see you," Blair ordered.

The young woman turned toward me, appraising me discreetly before smiling.

" Hi Dimitri, nice to meet you.”

" Abigail, likewise, Blair has told me so much about you.”

That statement made her smile widen.

" Ahh Blair, really? She talks about you all the time!”

" What? That's not true," Blair turned the camera in her direction, "I don't talk about you all the time.”

" In fact... “

" Let's get on with it, isn't the dress perfect, Commander? " she showed her friend again.

The dress wasn't exactly what I expected, it was big, full of sparkle and... Pink....

It wasn't a dark shade, in fact it was quite light, but it was still pink.

" It's pretty, but shouldn't it be white?”

" I knew it! " Abigail exclaimed, stepping down from the platform she was on as the girls groaned.

" Dimitri, she's going to want to try them all one more time! " Blair complained.

" You're the one who asked my opinion, every wedding dress I've ever seen is white," I defended myself.

" We'll be stuck here for hours and we still have to put together the gift list," she turned away from her group of friends, "and no one gets married in white these days. I'm not getting married in white!”

" Well, sorry for expecting a bride dressed in white," I took a deep breath, "I have to get ready to meet the crew, talk to you tomorrow?”

" Sure, leave me here alone with this well of indecision," she muttered before ending the call.

Maybe I should stay away while she's involved in this marriage.