Nicole Vargas
"Is there something bothering you, darling?"
Rose stared at me intently as I draped the fabric over the mannequin, showing the tailor and sewer how I want the dress to be. "See, this should go over the shoulder. This tiny detail makes it unique."
They nodded their heads at me and made notes in their notebook. "What about the bottom half. I still don't get that one. It's a little bit complex." the redhead in the skin tight dress said to me.
"It is, but don't worry I will show you it once more. You all can have a break now. I'll see you guys back in twenty." I said as I walked towards Rose who was sitting behind her desk. I let out a deep and exhausted sigh as I sat down across her. "No, it's nothing. I'm just so tired and stressed." I lied to her. I don't want to ask her about Veronika and Ethan, because I feel like this is something I should handle on my own.
Plus Rose is like Ethan's mother. She would always be on Ethan's side, no matter if it's good or bad. Maybe she would help me-- to break up with him--but she will always be with Ethan. She would probably be mad at him for awhile but she would forgive him eventually.
The message was from Veronika Morozov. It was a chat message on facebook. First of all, I didn't even know Ethan had facebook. Personally, I don't use facebook only Instagram and snapchat.
I didn't went through his chat, because I'm not the type of girlfriend who's going to invade his privacy. If he wants to tell me something, he will do it on his own. I don't need to go through his messages and phone calls.
But... I know that he is not telling me something and it's killing me. Why would Veronika still hit him up? I trust the guy, but now I have my doubts. When the morning came, I saw breakfast on my nightstand with a note saying he had to go out early and that he couldn't wait for our dinner date tonight.
I didn't had a chance to question him. And now I'm overthinking everything. Crazy thoughts are floating in my head. It's so hard to concentrate when something like this is constantly on my mind.
"Coffee?" Rose asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You look so distressed, darling. I should take you to one of my yoga classes."
Rose's assistant handed me a hot steaming cup of coffee. "You do yoga?" I asked, incredibly surprised. I never saw Rose as a yoga person.
"Yes of course. Why do you think I'm so fit? It's the power of yoga."
I chuckled and took a sip of my coffee. It felt so good to have some liquid sliding down my throat after talking and explaining so much.
There was a soft knock on the door. I looked at the time and saw that there was still fifteen minutes left of lunch break.
Ethan stepped in with a panera bag in his hand. "Good morning ladies." He greeted, walking over towards me to place a soft kiss on my lips. He then went around the desk to give Rose a hug.
"My big baby. You brought lunch for us again?" Rose asked as she opened the panera bag. "Is this Bacon Mac and Cheese?" Her eyes lit up as she stared at Ethan.
"Yep, that one is for you. The BBQ one is for Nicole. I hope you like BBQ Chicken Mac and Cheese." He said, looking at me. The way he looks at me, one would believe he was so in love. His eyes were sparkling everytime he looks at me.
I'm not the one who noticed it. Rose did.
"Thank you." I said softly. "You did not have to do this."
"Why not? I cannot let my princess starve."
I smiled at him and grabbed the bowl with food. "It smells delicious."
"Wait until you taste it."
We ate our lunch in silence. Occasionally Rose made a joke or questioned Ethan about his work. Ethan on the other hand seemed a little wary.
He was not very talkative and he avoided eye contact with me. Or maybe I was just imagining that. Before he left, he quickly placed a kiss on my cheek and told me to not take long to dress up for our dinner date--as if--.
The rest of the day went by very smooth. The whole thing about the chat message didn't really bother me anymore.
When I finally came home it was six in the evening. There was no sight of Ethan. I decided to take a long bath to unwind a little. Today had been a hectic day and my muscles were sore. I hope that a warm bath would help me feel a little better.
After what felt like hours I finally decided it was enough. I stepped out of bath and entered the bedroom to find myself something to wear. Ethan was still not home yet. I wondered what took him so long. It was almost eight.
I decided to settle on a black off the shoulder dress. The dress hugged my figure perfectly and the long slit on the side showed off my naturally long tan legs.
I sat in front of my vanity mirror to do my makeup, which this time surprisingly did not take long. Maybe because I was not feeling to do a full face, but rather go for a more natural look tonight. I looked at the time again and frowned, thinking why Ethan was not home yet.
This was the first time in history that I'm actually ready to go on time. And of course, no one is here to witness it.
After waiting for a while, I decided to give him a call. Right before I was about to dial his number, I heard the door downstairs open and closed.
He's home. I smiled, feeling relieved that nothing happened to him.
When he entered the room and saw me sitting in front of my vanity mirror, his eyes widened. "Oh shit."
"Don't tell me you forgot." I groaned out annoyed.
"I'm sorry princess. I was so caught up in something and... well I forgot to call for reservation and---," Ethan tried to explain, but I cut him off.
"Save it. Don't even apologize about it." I was mad. Oh my god, I was furious.
"Are you mad? I'm so sorry, princess."
"I'm not mad." I hissed, trying to contain my anger. "Just don't talk."
"You're angry." Ethan remarked quietly. "Princess It was not my intention to not take you out. It just slipped my mind."
"Yeah, I believe you."
"You do?"
I took a deep breath to calm my inner storm down. Calm down, baby. Calm down. "Just leave me okay."
"But why? Can't I get a kiss?" He asked, pouting.
Be calm. Be calm.
"No, I'm trying to contain my anger. You have no idea how long it takes to get ready only to hear it's cancelled. You could have called me!"
"Princess, I forgot."
"Then I'll forget you're my boyfriend then."
"Oh my." Ethan massaged his head. "Don't be so dramatic. I'll take you out another day."
I raised my hand at him to stop talking. "Did you just call me dramatic? You know what, just go to sleep." I walked to the bedroom door, but Ethan grabbed my hand.
"Where are you going?"
"I'll make myself something to eat and have a date with myself, because in the end it's just me, myself, and I."
"I'll cook something for you."
I yanked my hand out of his grip. "No," I said sternly. "Go to sleep. There's leftovers in the fridge that I can eat. Don't even bother to show your face downstairs. I'll throw whatever that is in my hand at you."
I angrily stomped out of the room. My anger was not because of the date night being cancelled. It was because of so many things I bottled up inside me. The chat message of Veronika being the main reason I got so riled up.
And then the wary look he had when he visited me for lunch. It was all inside me. The anger, the frustration.
And it all came out when he cancelled the dinner date. Yes, I was hungry and I had a reason to be mad. But all the anger and frustration I carried with me all day, it all came out too. I know that he was keeping something from me. I just want to hear it coming out of his own goddamn mouth. I don't want to investigate like some teenager, we are adults for god sake.
I placed the leftovers in the microwave to warm up. That's when I heard music fill the room. It was the sound of the piano. Before the microwave made the annoying beeping sound I took the leftovers out and walked to the living room.
Ethan was sitting behind the piano. His eyes closed, his fingers moved with grace, playing the piano like the pro he is. A beautiful sound, one I have never heard him play before, flooded the room. I felt the sadness and pain of the music seep into my body slowly and spread throughout my veins.
He was pouring his soul into the song.
He looked up at me as he kept playing. His eyes begging me to come closer. I slowly walked over towards him. He scooted over so I could sit down next to him.
He placed a soft kiss on my forehead. "I'm sorry." He whispered.
"Keep playing." I mumbled as I placed my head on his shoulders and closed my eyes.
The piano makes everything feels alright. Even though we both know it isn't.