talia
i zipped up my dress, looking at myself one last time in the mirror. was i scared? a little. i've never been out like this in a long while, i also haven't had a job like this ever. i had arrived early straight from work, to help wherever needed. i know jack said not to, but i couldn't really help it.
there was a hotel nearby that i checked in to, so if i was drinking tonight i'd make it back all in one piece. i'm not ready to walk into a big event like this and have all eyes on me. i made sure i had my purse and keys before leaving my room, the venue for the banquet was not too far down a couple blocks.
jack
some employees were staring to arrive but no sign of tals, my company hadn't really hosted events like this years prior so this is a newer process for all of us.
"hey man." derek came by next to me.
"you clean up nice, did you bring your girl?"
"yea, she's coming later. i told her i was going in early because of work." i nodded, watching all the people slowly enter the building.
my eyes landed on a woman in a long, sparkly, navy blue dress. she thanked the man at the front door, making her way inside.
"there she is." i could hear derek's smirk but i couldn't take my eyes off of her. derek called out her name, she looked up and smiled at us.
derek helped her up the stairs, i approached tals and embraced her with a hug. she hugged me back, i kissed the top of her head.
"i love this dress." i said in awe.
"thank you jack."
"you guys wanna get some shots in?" derek asked.
we nodded, leading us over to a room down the hall. i'm assuming derek brought some in and found a room to hide it all. he took out a bag of alcohol and coke, perfect chaser.
"i even have cups." he said, handing tals and i our own.
derek poured us full shots, we took three each.
"it's going to ease those nerves tals." derek cheered, rubbing her shoulders. she laughed, pushing him off of her.
the actual start of the event is in thirty minutes, so we had time before making our grand entrance.
"hold on, i just got a text from my girl." derek paused, checked his phone and left the room.
"one more?" talia smiled at me, pouring another for good luck for the both of us.
we dinked our tiny cups and downed them, sharing a coke to chase.
"are you still nervous?" i asked her.
her face scrunched, "maybe a little."
i loved this, starting over. she no longer was rude or had an attitude towards me. we were ourselves again, tals and gilinsky. before the drama, back to two teenagers who cared about each other so deeply but were only seen as friends.
talia
"you have something in your eye." jack said, grabbing ahold of my chin with one hand and trying to get the fluff out with the other.
our faces were too close, i could feel my heart racing and my cheeks getting warm.
"hold still." he said, touching my eyeball causing my eyes to water. he swiped the tears away with his finger, finally catching whatever was in my eye.
i didn't move, i was frozen standing there. gazing into his eyes, that were locked in mine. our faces inched closer, my eyes fluttering shut. my lips parting and i could feel his breath hitting them.
"we start in five!" we jumped and pulled away at the knock on the door. jack cleared his throat and fixed his tie.
"ready?" he stuck out his arm, which i tightly grasped.
"i'm not gonna say that many words right?"
"trust me. i won't make you." he looked down at me, then we headed out of the room.
we made our way down the stairs, i could feel all the eyes on us. jack looked at me, he could tell i was nervous. i let out a big exhale, continuing to follow him down. we stopped at the last five and jack was handed a microphone. we both smiled, i looked at all the different faces around the room. they definitely wanted to speak to jack more than me.
"thank you everyone for coming, i really appreciate you all for being here. this is the first of many that my company will be holding." he handed me the mic, gave me a small nod.
"hello all, i'm talia. many of you may not know me, i'm mr. gilinsky's newest assistant. i just wanted to say, i'm so proud of everyone who was part of making this happen. let's give them a round of applause." i smiled, handing the mic back to jack. he ended it off short and sweet, they all applauded us and i could already see the pack of people who were so eager to speak to jack. i tried to find derek in the crowd, but there were too many faces.
"don't get eaten alive by the wolves." i whispered.
"i won't tals." he smiled, we parted ways and i was lost in the crowd.
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