The next day, I wake up early. I have to go to my parents' house to get my notebooks. I don't like the idea, but it's just and necessary.
My friend Riley says she has things to do, like buying her supplies for classes. The good thing is that she's studying the same thing as me, so even though we won't see each other in class due to different schedules, the nice thing is that we can study together for the exams.
I take a taxi from the university and head to the house where I lived throughout my childhood. As I enter, I realize my parents aren't home. My father must be working, and my mother is probably out shopping or something. I take advantage of the empty house and organize some more clothes, my notes from previous years, and the notebooks I had bought earlier for classes. Yes, I've always been very organized with my things.
I grab the keys to my car. I know, having a car and taking a taxi, it's strange. The reason is that I stayed in this house when I left with Mason, and my father probably assumed he would be in charge of being my driver or something. I load everything into the trunk of the car, and as I leave, I notice my mother arriving with the chauffeur. I pretend not to see them. I have no patience to endure her criticisms about my appearance, especially when she believes I'm living with my fiancé. The mere fact of seeing me without makeup will lead to a certain argument with her, so I prefer to be rude and leave here before she finds a way to stop me.
I accelerate and go, knowing that this will generate a fight later when I see her again. I prefer that over wasting my time today. As I drive, my phone rings, and I'm sure it's my mother. To my misfortune, it automatically connects to my car, and the countdown from 10 to 1 begins, where if I don't answer, the system does it automatically. I curse and remind myself to cancel that bad idea I had to avoid handling the phone while driving.
"Hello," I reluctantly answer.
"Paige, how are you?" Mason says.
"I'm fine. How about you?"
"Sure, I have some time now, and that's why I'm calling. Do you want to have lunch?" he asks, catching me off guard with his sudden question.
"Uh, sure. Where do you want to meet?" I respond with a question.
"I can pick you up. That way, you can show me where you live. I've always wanted to see a student residence," he says, laughing.
"Well, I'm actually on my way there now. It can be in about an hour or so. You know, to tidy up a bit and not have everything messy when you arrive," I say nervously.
"No problem. I'll be there in an hour," he replies cheerfully.
"Can I ask you a favor?" I speak.
"If I can do it, I will," he eagerly says.
"The thing is, I haven't told my roommate that I'm engaged. Could you just say you're my boyfriend? It's not that I'm ashamed or anything, I just want to be a typical college girl with a boyfriend and not on the verge of getting married," I justify nervously.
"I understand. Don't worry, she'll probably envy you for having such a handsome boyfriend," he responds in a teasing tone.
"Well, we'll see if she's not interested in you. Maybe you'll only have eyes for me. It's impossible for someone to not like me and like you instead," I reply, laughing.
"Well, let's wait and see," I say.
After that, we say goodbye as I'm arriving, and I need to park the car. I grab my things and head to the room. As I enter, I see Riley on her bed, watching something on her computer. When she sees me, she pauses and smiles.
"Hey, roommate," she greets cheerfully.
"Hey, here with more of my stuff," I say, pointing to what I brought.
"So, I see. Well, what are your plans for the afternoon?" she asks excitedly.
"Well, my boyfriend is supposed to pick me up for lunch," I say, blushing.
"You have a boyfriend?" she asks, surprised.
"Well, you see, I'm not that ugly to not have a boyfriend," I reply, shrugging off her comment.
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. You're really beautiful and all, but I just thought you were single. I didn't have any bad intentions with my comment," she says, distressed.
"Ha-ha, don't worry, I was just pulling your leg," I say, laughing.
"I was starting to get scared," she says nervously.
"I'll start tidying up, so he doesn't find everything a mess. If you don't mind, I'll get to it," I say, starting to organize my things.
I see her stand up and help me tidy up. I smile at her, and together we leave the room spotless in no time.
She looks at me and shakes her head, and I don't understand what she means.
"You can't receive your boyfriend like this. Go take a shower, and I'll find you some clothes and do your makeup," she says, clapping excitedly.
"It's not necessary. He already knows me like this," I say, trying to refuse.
"I won't accept 'no' as an answer. Go before I throw you in the shower myself," she says, serious.
I have no choice but to take a shower. When I come out, I see the clothes she left for me, and I'm already regretting this. She sees my expression and says,
"No backing out now. You're going to put on this outfit and leave your boyfriend speechless. That's for sure. You might even not get any sleep tonight," she says, raising and lowering her eyebrows.
"I'm not used to wearing this kind of clothes," I start to say, but she doesn't let me finish.
"That's exactly why today you're going to surprise him by dressing sexy, especially when I do your makeup. Just leave everything to me," she says.
She doesn't let me respond as she enters the bathroom, and I hear her rummaging through things. I have no choice but to put on the clothes she left on the bed. When I see the lingerie, I feel like bursting into laughter. If she only knew that Mason will never see it, she would be disappointed.
She comes out of the bathroom with a hairdryer and a small makeup bag, I sit and stand still, I let her do it, I don't have to impress anyone, Mason is and will be just a friend/husband.