▫️Thirty-eight

Ginelle's pov

"These would go well with my dress right?" Leila picked out some blue colored earrings and adjusted them close to her right ear.

I almost nodded encouragingly in a smile though Clarissa seemed to disagree. "The amber ones are way better."

Leila appeared conflicted at our choice differences but in the end chose the latter ones. I honestly didn't know these things well.

We were doing all this through a facetime call in preparation for her engagement party that would be held later tonight.

The past week had been a busy one for me especially since I had just gotten back to work. Lora and Jordan had covered me for the one month I'd been away but I didn't want to burden them longer.

Furthermore, Grey was already doing well. He was back to his energetic self, managing to do most things by himself.

The tightness in our schedules made a physical meeting almost impossible but we had met once during one evening to help Leila pick her dress.

She had tried over ten dresses that night, complaining that they were too short, another too tight, another too revealing.

Clarissa however helped in choosing the dress she had eventually settled for, a white off-shouldered dress with a soft layered lining.

"I wish you girls were here to help me do my hair and make-up," Leila began to whine as she now chose what hair pin to wear.

"And we all know that Louis has already prepared professionals to help with that," I retorted back playfully.

"Yes, but it's still different." She leaned closer to her screen and gave us an intimidating look. "You better be there to help me prepare for my wedding,"

"Wedding?" Clarissa and I exclaimed at the same time, making Leila pull back to her seat as she shushed us over the screen.

"We were going to announce it tonight," she looked around the room as if to check whether anyone had overheard our conversation.

Because she had already spilled the tea, we coaxed her into sharing more details with us. I'm sure Louis wouldn't even mind if he knew.

He might have perhaps shared the news with the boys but Grey hadn't told me anything. I knew he would have if he knew.

The door to my room opened again for the sixth time and Grey walked in with a glass bowl that had some grapes.

He smiled innocently like it was the first time he was coming in.

Throughout our call, Grey had been checking on me so often that I guess the girls must have noticed.

He at first came to bring me a glass of water then again brought me some crisps. The next time he just sat beside me and started to play with my hair.

The girls didn't see him through the screen but I knew they had an hunch that he was nearby from their smirks.

After grumbling that we were talking for so long, I tasked him with folding some of my clothes that I had recently washed.

He obediently finished the task less than three minutes later and he was back next to me again.

I appeased him with three kisses and shooed him out of the room but because this was Grey, he kept coming back for more.

"Elle, you can now take care of your guest." Leila held back a smile when she heard the sound of a door closing.

"Yeah, see you tonight." Clarissa too waved her hand and they both ended the call with amused faces.

"Babe," I turned to glare at Grey when he leaned to seat beside me at the table where my phone rested.

"Yes, tulip?" Glad that I was giving him the attention, he placed the grapes on the table and cupped my face.

"Did something happen?" He moved to straighten my eyebrows when I didn't drop my forced glare.

His pecked my forehead thrice and did the same for my cheeks and when I looked into his eyes again, there was a proud look there.

"You could have waited!" I pretended to look offended but deep down I was giggling at how affectionate he was.

"But they were taking so much of my time," he replied so naturally as he lifted me up and sat me beside him.

"Your time?" I watched him nod as he took out the grapes and slowly began to remove them out of their bunch.

"My time with you," he nudged my mouth open so as to start feeding me and I just chewed the fruits as I continued to stare at him.

Who could have thought that this man was once quiet and never smiling? It was really hard to believe but I honestly loved all versions of him.

"What is it?" I shook my head and fed him some of the grapes too and he seemed more satisfied at the gesture.

"You didn't have to be jealous," I mumbled quietly but ended up almost laughing at the face he made.

"But I wasn't," he protested immediately mumbling that he had the right to be with me unlike my friends.

"How come, you were glaring each time I ignored you." I was holding back my laughter now when he furrowed his eyebrows at my statement.

"So you really were ignoring me, baby?" My amused look dropped for a second and I jumped off the table then I gave him a cheeky look.

Before he could catch me, I ran out of the room laughing, his voice just as nagging as he called after me.

My apartment not being quite as big as his, there was no where to run to so he caught just two steps into the kitchen and he hugged me from behind.

"I got you," he began to pepper kisses at the side of my face down the skin of my shoulder where my oversized shirt had fallen down.

"Promise that you'll not ignore me again," He mumbled into my skin and playfully nicked my ear when I didn't respond.

"Okay," I smiled evenly at him and turned to wrap my hands around his waist. He easily hoisted me up and twirled us round the room.

Still smiling, I cheekily slipped my hand into his shirt and started to tickle the skin of his lower back.

Grey burst in deep chuckles soon after and his grip around me loosened for a moment as we laughed together.

He led me to the couch in the living room and leaned over me to brush his lips against mine and then unexpectedly began to tickle me back.

I rolled over the cushions with him in laughter and it felt like we were kids once again, playing freely with no worries about life.

We got distracted in the process, losing track of time and were it not for mama's call as she asked about the party's location, we would have never realized.

Since mama would be picking up Lora on the way, we agreed to meet at the venue and I started to get ready first as Grey picked up his suit from his car outside.

I let him use the bathroom after I was done and since the clothes to put on were defined, I didn't waste much time choosing what to wear.

My dress was almost identical to Leila's though the material was different. After insisting we all match, I had settled for a pale pink dress while Clarissa's was of a faded purple color.

We had also chosen similar necklaces to match our outfits and right now I was struggling to put on mine.

I huffed in frustration and relieved my hands off the pain that I was building in my arms and tried again.

Grey came out in the midst of my struggle and I watched him through the mirror as he adjusted the collar of his shirt.

The black suit framed his body so perfectly, his shoulders appearing even broader and I almost couldn't believe that this handsome man was mine.

Just like us, the boys too had settled for a black tailored suit as their dress-code and I stared at how Grey's arms flexed through the white shirt.

As if feeling my eyes on him, he eventually looked up and for a second his eyes fleeted down my body before they were back to my face.

Still through the mirror, I watched him slowly approach till he was just behind me and his hands immediately went to my waist.

We stared at each other through our images, his eyes occasionally dropping to the exposed skin of my shoulder and his mouth twitched.

He appeared to be having an internal conflict with himself, his mind wanting one thing but his body another.

His hands touched to my bare shoulder and he leaned onto the left side of my neck, staring at my skin unblinkingly like it was some sort of treasure.

"Need help sweetheart?" I nodded immediately and lifted the necklace into his hands.

He shook his head twice and mumbled something along the lines, I'm clearly the one that needs help.

He clasped the necklace around my neck, his eyes so concentrated that you'd think he was doing a very important task.

"How do I look?" I turned around just after he was done and made some two poses so that he would rate my outfit.

"Breathtaking," he looked at me all over again and said, "so stunning," I blushed at his compliment and instead adjusted his tie.

"You look so good in this suit," we were almost at eye level due to my heels and I saw a smile instantly form on his face.

"Should I start wearing them daily?" It sounded like a joke but his face was half serious so I slapped his arms playfully.

"Suits are mostly for special occasions like weddings or for business-men," he nodded passively as if something else was in mind.

"Then I'll stick to the special occasions," I didn't want to think much about the double meaning of his statement and lucky for me, his phone rang cutting my thoughts short.

Louis was the one calling and he wanted to know when we'd arrive. Grey assured him that we were on our way and they ended the call.

We got to the boat just in time as the other invited guests were starting to arrive. I noticed Leila almost immediately, her white dress making her the center of attention.

She waved us over excitedly, Louis spotting us in the process and I held onto Grey's arm as we walked towards them.

"I thought you'd be late," Leila hugged me as Grey and Louis jumped into a small talk just beside us.

"You know I can't let you down," I admired the way her hair was styled and how brilliant she looked.

"You are so beautiful Leila," I embraced her again feeling so happy that she was going to get married soon.

"So are you, did you see how everyone turned to look at you and Grey come in? You looked so wonderful together."

"You're exaggerating," my cheeks heat up and I looked down to hide my face as she continued to say that Grey and I were a great match.

"She's only saying the truth, my tulip." I didn't realize Grey slip back next to me until he spoke just beside me, his hand going to my lower back.

Leila having heard him smiled and passed me the I told you look before Louis looped her arm on his own.

"Thank you so much for coming to celebrate the evening with us," Louis appreciated before they moved to speak to another of their guests.

How surreal it was to see my best friends now engaged and ready to move to the next phase of their life.

I looked around everyone gathered, noticing a few of our college friends. Some were already married and with families, others with their to be partners next to them.

How seasons really change, I thought to myself. It felt just like yesterday when I met Leila and she became an important friend in my life.

"Let's see whether Clarissa and Reece have arrived," I nudged Grey's arm to get his attention even though he was already looking at me.

"Grey?" He blinked severally and then finally acknowledged me. "What were you thinking about so zoned out?"

"You," he replied instantly, never looking away and I looked at him strangely.

"But I'm standing beside you," he nodded his eyes and took my hands in his.

"I know, this dress is making it hard for me to concentrate." He shook his head and asked, "What did you say before?"

"I was asking about Clarissa," we weren't even done speaking about them before they showed up right beside us.

"We almost didn't recognize you," Reece smiled at both of us, bumping his shoulder with Grey's perhaps as a greeting.

"Especially you man, when did you ever dress up this well?" Reece started to pick on Grey who seemed unbothered.

"Grey looks good in everything," I stood in front of Grey and defended him even though I knew Reece was just bluffing.

"Yeah, everything." I felt Grey proudly repeat after me as he passed Reece a smug face while hugging me to himself.

I wonder how these two became friends in the first place. There was never a day when I didn't hear Reece fail to ridicule Grey over something.

"Ellie, is that you?" I heard the unmistakably sweet voice of my mama just behind us and I turned to greet her and papa.

Despite having just seen them a week before, I still missed them. I hugged them both and then moved aside for Grey to greet them too.

They happily embraced him like he was their own son and for a moment I felt my eyes get teary but I quickly brushed the dampness away.

I then introduced Reece and Clarissa to my parents as Grey's friends and they seemed elated to know. Lora and Jordan joined us seconds later.

Louis father, Mr Harrison, passed by to greet my parents having known each other for a few years since Louis and I became friends.

Leila's parents too came to greet us as we all listened to the brief speech the couple to be gave.

"Congratulations on your engagement," we all spoke  simultaneously as we congratulated them getting off the stage.

"Thank you," Leila smiled and came to hug us all, her eyes almost teary but Louis was there to comfort her.

"They suddenly grew up," Leila's mother whisper-cried next to my mom as she looked at her daughter with glassy eyes.

"They will always keep growing," mama added, "we can only support them in the levels that they get to."

Everyone feeling so emotional at the moment, Louis found a way to carry us out of that sombre mood.

"There are so many couples in our midst, I wonder which one will be next." He and Leila looked at each other knowingly and smiled.

Then they looked at me.

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I'm grateful to all that are reading this story and still find it interesting. Thank you so much!

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