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“Well probably not any more than I already do,” he replies, with a smirk. His teasing eases me so I gesture for him to take one of the chairs we have for customers while I lean my ass on the edge of the desk.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I settle in and tell him the whole story about the girl who stole my heart back in school. I tell him about the night eight years ago and then I wince when I tell him about the pact we made and again when I admit I’ve been holding on to it for all these years, patiently waiting for my chance with my dream girl. Of course, there have been women but I’ve never let myself get serious about any of them because I’ve been waiting for this day to come. Now it’s here, I’m freaking the fuck out because I may have waited all this time for nothing.
As I finish telling him everything, I stare at him waiting for him to reply. He takes a minute before he throws his head back in laughter.
When he settles himself down, he looks me in the eye and says, “I always knew you were a crazy son of a bitch but this, this is next level.”
“Hey, if you were this crazy about a girl, you’d do questionable things as well,” I defend.
“Why on earth did you not just ask this girl out? You know, like a normal person?”
I wince because I don’t want to admit I’ve never felt good enough for her. Instead, I try to divert.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me,” he pushes, not budging.
I push off the desk and turn my back on him as I walk back to the car I was working on. I can hear his footsteps following me. Knowing Niko, he won’t stop until I explain, so I turn, which halts his steps.
“Her name is Philips,” I tell him, staring him down, waiting. His eyes crinkle before widening.
“As in Holden Philips?”
I give him a single nod which makes him laugh hard.
“You really are crazy.”
“I didn’t claim not to be,” I defend.
“The mayor’s daughter though?” he asks.
“She wasn’t the mayor’s daughter when we were at school. He hadn’t been elected yet.”
“Are you guys talking about the big party this weekend?” Howie, one of my other mechanics butts in.
“What party?” I ask, raising a brow.
“The mayor’s daughter. The mayor is throwing her a big thirtieth birthday party,” he casually says, before turning back to the hood of the car he was working on.
“How do you know that?” I ask, as my palms start to sweat.
“Did you not read the paper today?” Howie asks, which causes me to shake my head. He walks over to his tool station and grabs the newspaper lying on top, before smacking it against my chest. “Front page and everything,” he says, before going back to his work.
I unfold the paper as Niko comes to look over my shoulder. There on the front page is the girl who I’ve dreamed about for years. Her parents each stand on one side of her smiling, while Sophia stands front and centre with a small sad smile on her face.
“She is gorgeous, so I’ll give you that.”
“She’s more than a pretty face,” I say, while staring at the picture of her. She looks more like a woman now instead of the young girl I used to know. Her hair is still perfectly slicked back from her face. I wonder if she hates it like that. I bring the memory of her from years ago to the forefront of my mind. Her wild hair I wanted to run my fingers through.
“Look, it says her dad is throwing her a masquerade party. You could go and assess the situation without her knowing you are there,” Niko says, as he points to a section of the article.
I start reading from the beginning and it’s obvious this party is for all Holden’s political friends and connections. I haven’t kept tabs on Sophia these last few years, wanting her to live her life without any outside pressure from me. If she chose a life without me then so be it. All I wanted was for her to be happy. Something that would make her truly happy. But seeing her in this picture, I see I was wrong. Others may not see it, but I’ve secretly studied the face of this girl for so long I can tell a fake smile when I see one a mile away. The one she shows to the camera is the fakest of them all.
I should have said to hell with the pact and gone and got my girl earlier. I won’t admit fear has held me back. I may seemlike a man who takes risks and has a don't care attitude but that’s all different when it comes to Sophia. She’s the only one in this world who makes me doubt myself. I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. But I do know after all this time, I still can’t get her out of my mind.
Gramps would have loved her too. He always said a beautiful soul trumps a pretty face any day. Looks will always fade but a beautiful soul will always be there as it’s the very essence of the person. If you can find someone with that essence, who loves you above all else then you have won the lottery.
“So, what are you gonna do?” Niko’s question draws me out of my thoughts.
