Authors: Charlotte Eve
Girl After Dark (28 page)
Six Months Later …
It’s a crisp, bright morning, the leaves falling from the trees, scattering the sidewalks in a beautiful patchwork of Autumnal colours.
I’m dashing up the steps to NYU — after all, I don’t want to be late for my very first class. But you know me by now; there’s no chance of that. I’m fifteen minutes early, but I’m just keen. My brand new oxblood red Cambridge satchel is packed full of books and brand new stationary. I know most students these days work from laptops, but I’m taking a break from mine. I’m going to do this the old fashioned way for once.
I’m holding a takeaway coffee, too. And each time I lift it to my mouth to take a sip, I can’t help but notice the sparkle of light from the ring on my finger.
It makes me so happy — I
still
can’t quite believe it.
But even so, I try to refocus my mind on today. Today is about my brand new start.
I follow the directions I’ve been given up to the second floor, where the Creative Writing seminar group is meeting. It’s 9:45 and our class starts at ten. The room is empty and the door is locked, so I guess I’ll just wait outside in the corridor. But it seems like I’m not the only person who wanted to get here early.
Also standing outside the room is a pretty girl with beautiful dark skin and an abundance of luscious, shiny black curls.
“Are you here for Creative Writing?” I say.
“Sure am,” she nods, shooting me a friendly smile. “What’s your name? I’m Asia.”
“Hey,” I smile back. “I’m Melissa. And I’m really nervous.”
She laughs. “Me too. You wanna sit together, when we go in?”
“Sure,” I laugh back, feeling so much better already.
As we stand in the corridor and chat, more and more people arrive — all strangers for now, but as I scan their faces I know that soon they’ll be my friends and colleagues.
We all agree how nervous we are, and compare our new bags, pens and clothes, and laugh about just how similar it is to the first day of Kindergarten.
Just then, the professor arrives — a beautiful older woman with amazing long white hair. She comes strolling past us to unlock the room, holding the door open so we can all file inside.
And while I still do feel a little nervous, at the same time I feel excited, too. I sit down in a chair next to Asia and we both exchange excited, nervous smiles and I think I might have just made my first friend here.
As soon as we’re all seated, the professor begins to speak.
“My name is Amy,” she begins, “and we’re all writers here …”
I’m going to enjoy this, I think.
§
“You wanna grab a coffee?” Asia asks, as we’re heading down the steps afterwards.
And I’m about to say yes when I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. I pull it out and the display shows me the message is from my Dad: NEED YOUR HELP URGENTLY! CALL ME!
“Damnit, I’d love to,” I say. “I have so many questions about that first lecture. But it looks like I’ve got a family emergency on my hands,” I explain, showing her the screen of my phone.
Asia laughs and nods. “If
I
got a message like that from my dad and didn’t call him back immediately?” she says, shaking her head. “I’d get my ass kicked!”
“Listen,” I say. “Why don’t we meet for coffee before tomorrow’s lecture instead?”
“Great idea,” Asia says. “I’m gonna go and check out the best places round here now. I’ll text you!”
And as she heads off around the corner, I call Dad back and he picks up almost immediately. “Melissa! Glad you called!”
He sounds kind of flustered, but
excited
rather than worried.
“Everything okay?” I ask, confused.
“Sure, sure,” he says, only half listening. “Meet me in Bloomingdales. And get yourself down here as soon as you can. Okay?”
And before I can even answer, he’s hung up the phone.
Bloomingdales?
I think.
What the …
So I make my way uptown, baffled, wondering just what could be so urgent, and why on earth he wants to meet in
Bloomingdales
. To my knowledge, he’s never willingly walked into a department store on his own, so I wonder what could be up.
And when I finally get there, I find Dad pacing up and down outside the front entrance, a strange excited glint in his eye.
“Honey bee!” he says loudly, hugging me tightly. “How was your first class?”
“Great,” I say. “Listen. Is everything okay? You sounded kind of … different on the phone.”
And at this point, he looks kind of sheepish. I watch a soft blush rise to his cheeks.
“Come on, Dad,” I say, exasperated. “What is it? Spit it out!”
“Okay,” he groans. “Well, if you
must
know, I need your help picking a shirt. A shirt to wear on my, um, date
tonight.”
“Oh, Daddy!” I exclaim, rushing forward to give him another hug. “That’s great! You’ve chosen the right place. We’ll definitely find something in here!”
And with that, I grab his arm and march him into the store, in the direction of the menswear department.
§
I go a little overboard with Dad. I know it’s only one date, and so really, he only needs
one
shirt. But I’m sure he’ll be such a hit, that there’s bound to be a second and a third date too. And when we leave the store, he’s laden with shopping bags, full of new clothes.
Anyway, he needs to buy clothes for Autumn. So, it’s totally practical, right?
At the corner of Lexington and 59
th
, I kiss Daddy goodbye and start walking to Carson’s office.
It’s a beautiful afternoon and I’m particularly enjoying the walk today.
And as I make my way down the street his office is located on, just as I’m approaching his building, I realise he’s already waiting outside for me.
I feel my mouth pull itself into a big grin and Carson flashes me a huge smile back too. I can’t help it: I run the last few meters, and both of us meet in a kiss.
“So, how was class?” he asks me.
“It was great,” I gush. “The professor was amazing, and we got straight into analyzing the texts. And on top of all that? I think I made a friend too!”
“That’s awesome,” he replies. “I just know you’re gonna love it.”
I take his hand and we begin to walk, back uptown. And as we do, we both talk through our days. I tell him more about the class, and of course about Dad’s date, and Carson shares with me all the strange office politics and small triumphs of his day.
It feels so comfortable, talking like this, like we’re already an old married couple.
But relax, we’re not married. Not just yet.
I know what you’re thinking: But what about the ring?
Well, we’re engaged. And we’ve both decided, what we want is kind of a
long
engagement. I mean, we’re still young, right?
I want to finish school, and Carson wants to focus on his career. And we both want to make sure we have a little fun while we’re still young. But the main thing is that we’re dedicated to each other. Nothing can come between us now. And every time I look at the ring, I’m reminded of that.
But best of all?
You should have seen how mad it made Esme. When she first heard the news, she went whiter than her signature YSL trouser suit. I think she’d been hoping that despite everything, I would just disappear. That Carson and I would be a flash in the pan and break up soon enough. She used to hint all the time about the
different worlds
we came from. But she never went too far, of course. Because one carefully placed look from me would be all it took to remind her of our little deal. And then she’d be right back to fawning over my hair, my makeup, whatever.
And these days, she pretends that she just adores me. In fact, she’s got so good at pretending, I’ve gotta hand it to her, I almost believe it myself. And if there’s one thing Esme can’t resist, it’s organising a party. She hosted the most lavish, decadent engagement party for us. It was such a hit that photos of me were back in NYGoss.com, and for once I didn’t mind.
But of course, getting one over on Esme isn’t really the best thing about this engagement.
Best of all was how much it pleased my dad. And my mum. And Katy. And Jonathan. All the important people in my life, whether they’re in London or New York.
When I started this journey, I didn’t think I could trust anyone. And now when I wake up everyday, I thank my lucky stars to have all these amazing people in my life.
Katy’s even coming over in a few weeks — and not just for a holiday either. For an editorial meeting. We’re going to be working closely together. I’m so happy with the way the book is coming together now, I can’t wait to share it with the world. I’ve put everything into it. All of the things I loved about Vintage Honey: her style, her thriftiness, her positivity. And all of the things I loved about Girl After Dark: her adventurousness, her honesty, her fearlessness. Writing this book has made me realise that
me
, Melissa, can be all of those things.
And this evening, as I sit down at the desk in the office of the apartment that Carson and I now share together, to write the final lines of my book, I know exactly what I want to say …
You can wear loads of makeup. Or you can wear none.
You can get a tattoo. Or not.
You might make your own clothes. You might spend your entire wage on your wardrobe. Or you might not care what you throw on in the morning.
That guy who’s looking at you in the bar? You could wait for him to come over and say hi. Or you could just go right over there now and make your move.
You might wake up in his bed the next morning. Or maybe, you wait for date three for that.
In my time, I’ve tried pretty much all of the above. And what I can tell you, dear readers, is this: You can do whatever it is you want to do, as long as you feel true to yourself. If other people think your new red coat looks stupid, but it makes you dance? Don’t care what they think. You’re the one that’s dancing. Whether they call you a ‘slut’ or a ‘square’ — hold your head up high.
Like I said, all you have to do is remain true to yourself.
Don’t ever forget your friends. The real ones. (You’ll know who they are if you really think about it.)
And when love finds you, grab it with both arms. Hold it tight. And never let it go.
Xoxo,
Melissa Lane
Dear Reader,
Thank you
so much
for reading this book. I do hope you enjoyed it and I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if you were kind enough to take the time out to write a quick review on
Amazon
or
Goodreads
. Not only would mean so much to me, but those things really do make all the difference for a new author like myself!
And finally, if you would like to be the very first to know whenever I publish a new book, simply sign up to my mailing list at:
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Thank you so much for all your support,
Charlotte
xx