Marrying My Best Friend

CHAPTER 3

Chapter 3: Kitty Paris

I must be dreaming. My father calls this a ‘business marriage’ but I don’t care. I love the idea. I will finally have a chance to be with Mason… forever! And he might fall in love with me and we would have children and we would live happily ever after. But since I need to pretend I’m shocked, or, horrified and agree reluctantly. Seems like a good plan. It does.

They just stare at me, waiting for my reaction but I just stand there, staring back at them with wide eyes and mouth open. This ‘business marriage’ is taking my energy because on the inside, my inner parts are partying due to the happiness I am feeling. I take a deep breath and glare at them. It’s time to put the act.

“Why?” I whisper but loud enough to hear. I hear Lily scoffs, but I don’t give a damn. What matters here is the fact that I am getting married to my best friend, Mason. “Why me? Why not Lily?” I glare at Lily and she glares back. This is just an act so it wouldn’t be too obvious that I like this idea very much.

My mom shots me an evil glare at me and I seal my lips. She’s pretty pissed right now, so I won’t add more to her ‘problems’ though I know I belong on it. Dad releases a frustrated sigh and Mr. Ashmore pretends to cough to decrease the tension in this room. Suddenly, Mrs. Ashmore stands up and walks towards me and grabs my two hands and stares me straight in the eye. “Please.” She pleads. “At least my son won’t be together with some random slut there. I trust you.” Her message makes me smile, although, I try to fight it. She leans closer and whispers in my ear. “I totally, definitely vote on you, Kitty.” Then she looks at me in the eye again and I see Mason’s eyes. Her light blue eyes like Mason’s are twinkling with anticipation and happiness.

I look back at the faces who are staring at me and I sigh. “Fine.” I mutter. My father, being a d**k, grins ear to ear. Though I’d like to thank him and Mr. Ashmore for this ‘business marriage’. Especially Mrs. Ashmore. Lily rolls her eyes. But I have to ask something. “Why?”

“The company is falling down,” Mr. Ashmore says calmly. “Since we’re passing the business on you and Mason. You two need to get married so that some would invest money to prevent the falling of our company. Hopefully, the investors would be billionaires.”

“So you two need to get married as soon as possible. Next month. All set.” My father says and my jaw hangs open. Like, really? He could have let me choose my own wedding dress and the cupcakes, the reception. “Everything’s fixed, Kitty. Some of the owners of big companies will be there. So, you must act like you’re in love with each other. Okay?” I nod. Although, it’s a one sided love, I don’t care. I’ll make Mason fall in love with me. It would be hard, but I’ll keep trying. But this means only one thing: I have to love Mason like I used to before. I’m so damn excited about this marriage I could just sleep for one month and then wake up when the day of our wedding comes.

Mrs. Ashmore gives me a motherly smile and I return it with my genuine smile. To be honest, I treat Mrs. Ashmore better than my mom. Because my mom is an ass. Though, she never hits me. It’s pretty clear that she loves Lily more than me. Mom hates me so much I don’t know why. Although, I’m like her. I mean, not the attitudes, but the face. The long dark hair, the brows, lips. Everything. Except my purple eyes who she doesn’t have. My dad doesn’t have purple eyes. That’s what I’m thinking about. Because why do I have purple eyes when my parents don’t? I mean, it’s supposed to be passed by genes, right? You can’t say I’m adopted because I really look like my mom. I shrug it off, just to ease my mind for a little bit.

One month before the wedding, and here I am, squealing like an i***t. Too excited. Finally, I will have a chance to kiss those lips of him. Every inch of it, I just want to devour him. I slump myself on the couch, feeling tired all of a sudden. This is too surreal. I’m going to get married to my best friend, whom I’ve been loving since I was 9 years old. I sigh as I think of what would happen after we get married. Should I tell him?

No. You don’t want him to freak out, now, do you?

I just look at the ceiling, as if it would help me to answer my question running inside my head. Although, I’m in a place called heaven, I just can’t force him to love me. The thought of confessing my love for him still scares me. Really. I’ll just let my father and Mr. Ashmore tell this ‘business marriage’ to Mason. Maybe, somehow, Mrs. Ashmore will make Mason calm about this. I mean, this is big. Plus, like I said before, he doesn’t want to be dictated of what to do. Another plus, his father is taking his chance at love. I know I am, too. Now, the thought of me hurting Mason by marrying him makes me sick and want to vomit.

I slump myself deeper on the couch. Mason is messing with my head. As always. He’s been running in my head ever since we were 9 years old. Now, we’re both 18, I understand what love is. Not the consequences of it. I just can’t understand why love, sometimes, bring bad consequences. I mean, God is love, right? So, why bring bad consequences of it just because you’re loving? Whilst thinking, there’s a knock on my apartment’s door. I mentally groan, and head to the door to open it. And when I do, Liam is standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. I feel the blush creeping up on my face. Flush is rising up in my chest. I take the flowers out of his hand and our hands brush, and it sends an electricity all over my body.

He clears his throat and flashes me with his smile, and I quickly move away, letting him inside my apartment. His eyes wander around my apartment and lets out a wolf whistle. Even his wolf whistle is quite sexy. I gesture toward the sit, telling him to sit there without even speaking. He sits on the couch and his eyes steady on me. Just the thought of us… alone in this apartment… makes me blush. He notices it because he chuckles. I quickly turn around and go to the kitchen.

“What do you want to eat?” I yell through the kitchen whilst rummaging for food inside the fridge. Thinking of it, he already ate, I guess. I raise my hands, reaching for the cupboard to grab some junk foods so we can eat. I jump as I feel his hands on my waist.

His breath fanning my neck and I immediately blush. Plus, his hands are on my waist, making my breathing difficult. “You.” He says nonchalantly. I blush even more. Why does he make me feel this way? Feeling confused and crazy and… I don’t know. This boy standing behind me makes my heart race like Mason does to me every time.

I quickly turn around and my face is facing his chest. I look up at him and his grinning ear to ear. His chocolate eyes are piercing into mine with so much passion and likeness. I guess he likes me. But just the thought of him makes me really nervous like hell. “I… wh… what?” I stutter. Oh, my heart is really beating fast right now at any moment, it would leap out and hug this guy’s heart. I’m not sure if I heard him right. But I’m pretty sure I heard it right. Ugh, this guy is messing with my head, too. Mason is enough. Or him. Ugh. Whatever.

He chuckles, finding my stuttering amusing. I guess. Then his smile turns into a thin line. Even though he’s not smiling, he still is sexy. He walks slowly towards me. Then he traps me by putting his arms either side of me. The kitchen counter is pressing on my back. I gulp, getting nervous. He leans down and our noses are almost brushing. My pulse is throbbing, the blood is running abnormally in my veins. I look at him again and his cheeks are in a tint of pink. He pecks my cheek and runs towards the living room.

What just happened?

I stare at his disappearing figure whilst thinking of what just happened 30 seconds ago. He pecked my cheek. He blushed. And he ran towards the living room. Yep, he likes me. I’m pretty sure. I shake my head and grab some snacks we’re going to eat. After that, I go to the living room where Liam is. He’s watching a TV and seems to be in deep thoughts. I place the junk food beside him and snap a finger in front of his face. He snaps his eyes then looks at me and gives me a smile. I smile back.

“So… what are we watching?” I say.

“I’m going to watch… you.” He says whilst putting a straight face. Though, it makes me blush. I’m fighting the urge to kiss him… Um, what? No!

I feel my cheeks getting pink and he chuckles. “Well, that’s kind of creepy, don’t you think?”

“I guess it is.”

Liam and I are having a tutor session. He teaches me to speak Tagalog like ‘Kamusta ka?’ which means ‘How are you?’ and he teaches me some polite words like ‘Salamat’ which means ‘Thanks’, ‘Walang anuman’ means ‘You’re welcome’. When he speaks Tagalog, it gives a cute rhyme in my ears. It’s so sexy and good when he speaks his mother language. We’re not watching TV nor are we telling funny jokes. Just enjoying each other’s company. Just now do I realize that I haven’t been thinking of Mason ever since Liam came inside my apartment. That’s a good thing, right?

My eyes suddenly land on Liam’s chocolate eyes and he’s staring straight into mine. His eyes are blazing with happiness and… satisfaction? For the rest of 18 years of my life, I’ve been looking up on Mason. Hoping that he’d love me back the way I do to him. I ignored many chances, even many guys that were courting me. Because I chose to drool on Mason. But this time, I’m doubting if I should continue loving Mason. It’s not like I’m going to tell my heart ‘Stop loving Mason, you little son of a retard’, but I’m going to try to remove him inside it. It’s worth a try, isn’t it? But what I’m mostly thinking is: Could Mason love me after we get married?

I mean, I’m not ready to put my hopes down. I keep saying to myself that there’s no way he’d love me back but here I am, thinking it’s possible. Well, it is. It’s just that he’s treating me like his own sister. It might change. Should I do the slut things so he could feel attraction towards me? No. Seduce him? Nope. Mason loves women who don’t pretend. So I should be me. I should be Kitty Paris. Yes, that’s right.

Next thing I know, Liam is leaning towards me. He’s slightly quivering as if he’s nervous. Hell, I am nervous. This guy is wanting to kiss me. But I’m not moving. I should be moving! I should stop him but the urge to kiss him is nagging my brain. What would it feel like? I think I should practice, right? After all, practice makes perfect. Then he presses his lips against mine. My eyes widen. His lips are… soft. I didn’t expect this kiss to be this great. I mean, I’m enjoying this kiss. His lips and mine are moving as if it has a brain of its own, sending cool sensation to my whole body that makes my heart pump faster and faster. I should be stopping this guy and yet, I’m kissing him back. I lace an arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. His hand is on the back of my neck, supporting the kiss, and the other is on my back. He’s practically laying on top of me. But this feels wrong yet it feels so right. I barely know this guy. I’ve met him just yesterday and here we are, kissing like a real couple.

Once my mind is set, I quickly pull away, realizing what we’re doing. When my eyes reach his, his eyes are burning with lust. But I don’t shiver nor feel any weirdness on this thing. In fact, I’m quite enjoying this.

“What were we doing ten seconds ago?” I ask, still breathless from the kiss we’ve shared.

“Kissing,” he mumbles.

“Oh yes. Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’?” His lips are still swollen and sexy. What? Stop looking at his lips, Kitty. Stop looking. My mind listens to me and I look anywhere but him. There’s no awkwardness in this room but I don’t have the guts to look at him after what just happened.

“Why were you kissing me?”

“Why were you kissing me back?” He counters. Then the thin line on his lips forms into a smirk. “You liked it, didn’t you?”

I keep my mouth shut.

“I knew it! I knew it! I knew you liked the kiss we’ve shared. Well, I liked it, too, Kitty.” He babbles. His face lights up like a kid that gets an award because he’s a good kid. His eyes are twinkling with happiness. I purse my lips, suppressing a smile because it feels wrong to smile. I don’t know why but it just feels like it. “Kitty, I have a confession to tell. Actually, when I first met you yesterday, I knew that I’m interested in you. God. I like you, Kitty. And when you kissed me back, I had this stupid conclusion that you like me back. Isn’t it stupid? Whatever. Anyway, I like you, Kitty! You know, I really like you, Kitty. God, I’m sounding like a girl.” I laugh at his babbling. He’s still nervous and his body is slightly shaking. I find myself staring at his lips. His soft lips. I want to touch it again by kissing him. Maybe, I could be with him. Maybe, I could love him like I did with Mason. Wait, ‘did’? Is it possible that I love him already? No. But perhaps, when he keeps doing this, I could love him. “Kitty?” He breathes.

“Hmmm?”

“Can I kiss you again?”

Then someone barges into the living room.

Mason Ewan Ashmore.