Chapter 30: Chapter 30

After the stylist is done with my makeup and hair, I get up from the chair and observe myself in the mirror. The beautiful, French twist hairdo is curled and styled to perfection, with my bangs brushed and curled to a voluminous wave.

I thank the stylist and she nods pleasantly before getting the plush, red ball gown that Nathan bought.

The gown swept out in waves and waves of silky, softness of the full, bouncy flare.

It looked like it weighed a lot, but the fear of its weight completely vanished after I slipped into the gown and caught sight of my reflection in the mirror.

I look like a princess.

The thought almost feels witty, that I would compare myself to a princess but I can't help it. The gown completed the look and gave me a dreamy appearance and I can't help but twirl in it, watching the fullness of the gown sweep in a volumnous motion.

I giggle at myself just as Nathan walks in.

"Lu, our ride is here. Are you ready?" He asks and stops instantly when he catches sight of me.

I use the time to take in his appearance. Nathan looks handsome in anything he wears, but this time he looks almost twice as handsome as he usually would, especially with the amazing tux he has on.

He filled it up nicely, with his broad shoulders and huge physique and of course his height.

Every compliment I want to say to him gets stuck on the tip of my tongue when I catch sight of the way he is looking at me and I suddenly feel shy under his gaze.

"What do you think? Too much? I mean it's red, so it will probably be super obvious and it's your mum's dinner---"

"You look gorgeous." He says and walks closer to me, his eyes scanning my appearance in the most admiring way.

"Quick, come with me before my girlfriend gets here." He teases and I nudge him, giggling.

"Cut it out. I'm serious. I'll probably be the only one wearing red."

"I know. That's why I got it for you. You always stand out, Lu. Embrace it." He says and softly kisses me but I can barely focus because the anxiousness of meeting his parents tonight on a cruise ship was still prominently on the back of my mind.

Nathan senses it and he pulls away a little to observe me.

"What's wrong?" He asks, his forehead on mine and I give a nervous chuckle.

"I'm nervous." I admit and he smiles.

"Its okay. I'm going to be right next to you, and Fred is going to be there too. They're all gonna love you, you know why?" He asks and I shake my head.

"Because I love you." Nathan says and I sigh with a bit of relief.

"I love you too." I tell him and he holds my hand in his.

"Let's go."

*****

I try to find my way out the maze of fancy, top-notch, always-irritated, never smiling, discriminatory-eyeing guests and I don't stop moving until I get to the edge of the cruise ship.

God.

The party hasn't even officially started and I already feel sick to my stomach.

And where the hell is Nathan?

I sigh as I turn away from the sight of the endless guests.

It's no use.

People started borrowing Nathan the minute we got on the ship.

We haven't been here for more than half an hour and I haven't spent more than a minute with him.

They were endless.

'Why, you must be Janet's little boy.'

'Nathan, it's been ages!'

'I hear you're now climbing up the entrepreneurial ladder very quickly. And quite successfully too.'

'I ate at your restaurant and I've been dying to talk to you about it. I'm so impressed!'

And what made it worse was the way they barely acknowledged my presence, even though I was attached to him like a hairclip.

The nice ones were the ones that threw a very cold 'one minute' at me with a clipped tone before yanking him off.

The rude ones just yanked him away after glancing me a judgmental look.

Was I at the wrong party?

Or I didn't get the memo that we're supposed to be rude to each other?

"I'm glad to see I'm not the only one sulking at this party." A lady's voice says beside me and I turn to see a girl with strawberry blonde hair packed in a high, messy bun.

She wore a white ball gown embroidered with gold designs that sparkled and diamond earrings.

She was about my age.

"Hi." I say trying to smile politely despite my mood and she giggles.

"You don't have to pretend like you're having a good time. We're on the same side." She says and I smile more sincerely.

"I'm Hannah. And I love your gown." She says and I remember that I'm actually wearing a ball gown that Nathan bought.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that came to this dinner party without a date, that is excluding my father of course." She says casually like we've been friends for years and I stop myself from telling her I'm actually here with a date.

Because frankly it didn't seem like I was, plus I didn't want to burst her bubble.

"Your father?" I ask and she nods at an older man ahead.

"Over there. He is the host's manager. I know it's sad coming here with my dad at my age but I couldn't resist when he mentioned Nathan would be here." She says and my throat suddenly goes dry.

Nathan?

"Nathaniel Jackson?" I ask to be sure and she giggles, smiling her charming smile.

"Of course, hunnie. It may be his mother's birthday but he is the star of the night. I mean when you add that handsome face and body to him being a successful business owner..." she trails off with a dreamy sigh and I follow her gaze to see Nathan talking to a young man on the far end of the boat.

"Uhh, I'm guessing you two know each other?" I ask, trying to stop my tone from sounding uneven with shock.

"That's a mild way to put it." She says with a naughty laugh as she bites her lower lip and keeps staring at him.

"I mean, we've shared memories of events like this, and a whole lot more if you know what I mean." She says and winks at me.

"Oh,....I see." I mutter and she turns to me.

"What can I say sweetie? He's sexy, he's tall and that voice. Put all that together with an addition of me and alcohol in bed and let's say I couldn't get enough. He's so much sexier in bed and the stamina of a breeding horse." She jokes and laughs at her words.

I'm staring speechless, hoping that it's not so obvious that I'm jealous.

Terribly jealous.

"I came here to see if we can rekindle the light but sadly, I hear he's here with a girlfriend. Must be serious, he's never brought a date to his parents's events. And that's why I'm here with the sulking party, AKA, you." She says cheerfully and I'm sure I've gone red.

It's not her fault.

She doesn't know.

But I can't help the need to let her know.

"So who did you come with to the party if you don't have a date?" She asks and I raise my chin.

"Actually, I'm here with a date." I says and she blinks at me.

"Really? Well, point out your hulk of handsomness." She says staring at the crowd just as Nathan makes his way to us.

"Ladies." He says sweetly and I'm suddenly angry at him.

For being so nice.

And not even feeling the least bit awkward or sorry that I had to have an entire conversation with one of his sex buddies.

How dare he be so comfortable?

"Nathan. Looking better than ever." Hannah says and he smiles at her.

"Always a pleasure to see you Hannah." He says and I suddenly want to throw my drink at him.

Like hellloooo!!

Earth to Nathan!

I'm right here!

Your date whom you abandoned!

"I can't say the same for you. I hear you came with a date. Your girlfriend apparently." She says and Nathan turns to me with that sweet smile planted on his face.

"I assumed you've already met her. This is Lunar, my girlfriend." He says and pulls me close to him.

"Lu, this is---"

"We've met." I say in a clipped tone and I watch Hannah blink in horror.

"Oh, my God. I'm so sorry,  I had no idea." She says to me and I remain silent, not trusting myself to speak.

"Is something wrong?" Nathan asks and I can't even tell who I'm angry at anymore.

Hannah quickly grabs her drink and leaves and Nathan turns to me, observing my face.

It's then realisation dawns on him on how upset I am.

"Lu, what's wrong?" He asks and I glare at him.

"Where you going to give me a warning that I'll be colliding with your ex-fuck buddies?" I ask and his expression goes plain for a second, and then amused.

"She told you?"

"Yeah, no shit." I say and walk away from him, heading for the empty side of the ship but I can hear Nathan hot in my heels.

He catches up with me quickly and gently turns me to face him.

"Lu--"

"What? Are there any of your exes you want me to meet? For some reason Nathan I can't help thinking it would have been so much better it you actually dated her. I mean do you know how annoying it is to hear about your sexual encounter from a stranger that happens to be one of them?" I ask and he has the grace to blush.

"Lu, I'm sorry. Hannah and I, we were just a fling. We had a thing eons ago." He says and I give him a look.

"That's not the way she put it. She made it sound like you guys were destined lovers. The only reason she came here was to have another chance with you."

"Well, I'm here with you, remember? Come on baby, she's just someone from my past. Plus, it's not like you thought I was virgin when we started dating." he says with a chuckle and I glare at him, suddenly angry.

He's not even taking me seriously.

"Are you seriously going to say that to me?! You think that's the point? The point is that we came to this event together, so I could see your parents with you. But we've been here for almost an hour and this is the longest time we've spent all night. You keep leaving me to have a 'word' with the people that keep yanking you away. You know that I don't know any of these people and they give me these looks like I'm an outcast and I feel so judged and I felt so alone. You've been so busy all night and this was supposed to be a vacation but I'm just the trophy girlfriend here to make you look good. And it was so bad that I had to have an entire conversation with your ex-fuckbuddy who gave me an unnecessarily detailed story of your sex encounters together. The party already sucks and I haven't even met your parents yet!" I say and Nathan's amused look wipes off.

His face is filled with remorse and he sighs.

"Baby--"

"Don't baby me." I fuss but he pulls me close anyway and looks right at me.

"I am so, so sorry. I didn't know it was this bad. I shouldn't have assumed you'd just have a good time with a bunch of strangers you don't know. I should have been here with you. I'm sorry, Lu." He says and tears brim my eyes at his honest apology.

"Now, you're going to make me cry and this makeup took almost an hour!" I say with a stressed chuckle and Nathan laughs.

"Come here." He says and pulls me into a kiss that wipes away my worries and tears.

"You know I love you more than anything, right?" He says when the kiss is over and I give him a look.

"I thought I knew but now I'm not so sure." I fuss and he chuckles.

"Yeah? What can I do to remind you?"

"Kiss me a little longer and we'll see." I say and he snatches my waist and draws me ever so close, then kisses me deeply....taking away my every breath.

I feel weak to my toes from the kiss and I hang on to Nathan for dear life.

Then someone audibly clears their throat.

Regrettably, we pull away from the kiss and I turn to face an older woman whom I can only assume is Nathan's mother.

The green eyes don't lie.

"Nathaniel, I haven't seen you kiss anyone like that since I caught you in the garage with Dana Smith." She teases as she walks over to us and I blink at the sophisticated dinner gown she has on with her hair packed in the classiest, messy bun I've ever seen.

"Mum. You look absolutely breathtaking." Nathan says as he walks over to hug her and plants a kiss on her cheek.

"Well, I'm glad I can still look breathtaking in your eyes considering your present situation." She says as her eyes dart to me with clear scrutiny.

"Mum, I'd like you to meet Lunar. My girlfriend." Nathan says and I walk forward and shake her hand.

"Its a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Jackson." I say.

"The pleasure is all mine." She says with a contented smile and I feel a little sense of relief at her ease.

This might not be so bad after all.

"Well, why don't we head for the dinning hall? The buffet is all set up." She says and just as we start heading inside, she pulls me back out of earshot.

"Your surname wouldn't happen to be Kensington......would it?" She asks and I blink at her.

"Actually it is. My name is Lunar Kensington. Does it sound familiar?" I ask and her contented smile vanishes.

"Unfortunately." She says and heads inside, leaving me staring speechless.