MY STEPFATHER

CHAPTER 3

A waiter arrives and takes us to a table, away from the eyes of others. I look over my shoulder, noticing how men of all ages were looking at me, even the boys were looking. I laugh quietly to myself and sit in front of my mother and Frank.

We order our drinks and food. I'm very basic, so I ordered cheese ravioli and soda water with lemon.

"So," Frank says. "How's college going, Lola?" He asks with a charming smile on his perfect pink lips.

"Very well," I shrug.

"What's your major?"

"Creative writing, I want to be an author."

"I see, well, I certainly think you have talent for it. Maybe I can take a look at some of your work someday, if that's okay with you."

"Sure, definitely."

"Excellent," he smiles, my mother looking at him. It's good to see her happy with him, but I also envy her. She's so lucky.

Our food arrives and we eat. I ended up drinking four bottles of water before the bill comes. "Thanks for dinner, Frank," I smile as he pays the bill.

"It's a pleasure. I have to treat my new family well," he laughs and holds my mother's hand in his. The engagement ring on her finger, valued at $50,000, shines in the lighting.

Very lucky.

...

"How do I look?" My mother asks me, a bright smile spreading across her face. Her ivory wedding dress with gold lace and diamond embellishments shines in the light shining through the windows of our hotel rooms.

"Oh, mother... I can't find the words to describe how beautiful she looks," I hug her carefully, not wanting to ruin our makeup that took about half an hour each.

"Thank you, dear, you look stunning in that dress," she stands up and holds me in her arms to get a full view of my shining body.

"Thank you, Mom," I smile back. She is helped by her best friend, Sarah, and we all leave the room and head to where the wedding reception will be.

"Hey," I am nudged on my arm and find Mark, Frank's best friend's son, standing next to me.

"Hello," I speak timidly, not expecting him to be as beautiful as he is, with his dark brown hair shaved on the sides and curled on top. His tan skin looks smooth, his face sculpted while his smoothed eyebrows peacefully rest on his green irises.

"Ready to do this?"

"Yes, and you?"

"Totally. It must be nice to see your mom getting married."

"It really is. It's her first time, and I've never seen her so happy."

"Mr. Evans is a good man, he'll treat her like the queen she is."

"I know he will, he has to or I'll kill him." We both laugh at that. The music starts. After Sarah and Mr. Brown, Mark's father, walk down, it's our turn. We descend slowly, my arm wrapped around Mark's as I try to block out the crowd of over a hundred people looking at me.

I stand next to Sarah and notice Frank gives me a reassuring smile, instantly calming me.

How did he do that?

I return my attention to the aisle as I watch my mother walk alone down the aisle. She holds the bouquet with both hands, her eyes fixed on Frank the whole time. It was actually kind of sad to see that my grandfather refused to walk her down the aisle. In fact, our whole family rejected the idea of coming to the wedding.

Upon reaching Frank and the officiant, he starts reading from his Bible. Of course, I completely tune out, because who has time for that?

I slowly scan my eyes around the room, admiring the grand ballroom we were in. Everything was gold and ivory, exactly the way my mother wanted.

They say yes and passionately kiss, which I'm not looking at while they do. I reconnect with Mark and we all leave the room and head up to our rooms. All the bridesmaids changed into our second dresses so we could dance and move during the reception. My mother also changed into a different wedding dress that was easier to walk in.

"Mind if I join you?" Mark asks as I sit alone, sipping champagne, watching everyone dance.

"Sure." I pull out my chair and he sits next to me. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired. It's been a long day."

"I understand. Don't you dance?"

"Not really."

"Neither do I. My girlfriend always drags me to clubs and I hate it." He laughs and I sigh to myself.

Of course he has a girlfriend, he's like a god of bronze.

"Hey, Mark," at that moment, a snobbish voice sounds, and I look up to find a girl wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Come on, I want to dance." She pulls him away from me without letting him speak. He briefly says goodbye to me before being engulfed in the crowd of dancing bodies.I meet Frank and my mother talking to people at a table. Probably his friends, since no one came from my mother's side, except for the few friends she has. I can't help but contemplate his figure.

He was so fit and looked like he was 25 instead of 40. My eyes are glued to his movements as I admire the way his lips move while he rests his chin on his fist while listening to others speak.

I wish I could feel his lips. I bite my lip without thinking before realizing what I was thinking. I snap out of my thoughts and drink more until my glass is empty. I grab my phone and start playing games when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

" What are you doing sitting here alone?” Frank's charming voice sounds like magic in my ear.

" Oh, I don't dance.” I shrug.

" Well, now you dance, let's go.” He pulls me out of my chair and takes me to the dance floor where we find my mother. " We're making her dance.” He told her and she nodded.

" Thank you, mom.”

I reconsider rolling my eyes when he and my mother take my hands and start waving them in the air. Even though I want to be a piece of shiit, I start moving on my own, mainly to loosen up my arms.