From the Author: OK GIRLS AND BOYS, THIS IS IT! I know that it's been a long time coming but it finally has to end, because all good things must. At least, I'm hoping you guys loved the story as much as I did. I tried to listen to critique from everybody and included a lot of advice from your comments. I want to acknowledge a lot of people for their amazing feedback and support of my stories...H, Addicted, Wish, Jackles, Yazzy, Kliam, :):), and everyone else who read and commented from the start. I appreciate it SO much you don't understand. I hope you enjoy this final chapter. Please remember to read my not at the bottom and leave your thoughts about the story! Thank you, thank you, thank you and Happy Readings!! ~Emalie Cofferton
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Beau grew tired of his mother抯 charity balls that she did for the university. His fourth year in college and she STILL was always around. He knew he could be somewhere else, possibly with that new freshman blonde girl that seemed to be giving him the eye lately.
"It抯 your own fault you know, that you抮e all alone," Alana said to him. "Maybe if you hadn抰 messed things up with Sloane, you抎 be having a better time."
He leaned into her discreetly with a phony smile on his face and spoke into her ear. "Could you possibly find someone else to harass tonight? Perhaps, one of your event lackeys."
Alana stiffened as if he抎 smacked her across the face, but she returned his false grin with one of her own and a response as calm and lethal as it sounded. "I don抰 know what has gotten into you, Beau Beecham, but know this: I will not stand by and watch you make a complete fool of yourself. No, son, you can do that all on your own." She barely gave him a second glance before moving away to attend to other guests.
Beau grimaced. His mother always knew how to cut a person verbally. After snagging a flute of champagne from a server, he went to a table nearby and sat down, swallowing the drink in one gulp.
"Alana, how good to see you again!"
He turned his attention lazily to his mother who was standing a few tables away, hugging some chick. A hot chick, by the looks of her amazing backside and seductive curves. Her rich deep blue dress stuck out in the room full of black and white. There was something vaguely familiar about her posture and the way she stood with her back facing him as she talked to his mother. A man dressed in a sharp Salvatore Ferragamo suit arrived by the mysterious woman抯 side, wrapping an arm around her waist. Well, Beau thought, this one抯 off the market. His mother caught his eye and motioned her hand in his direction to draw the couple抯 attention to him. The moment he laid eyes on the female抯 face, the breath left his lungs in complete shock. "Malayka," he whispered to himself. She looked absolutely angelic and clearly more matured. She flowed so gracefully over to his table that it seemed as if her feet never touched the ground. He rose from his seat when they approached.
Alana smiled happily. "Beau, look who抯 here! It has been a long time, hasn抰 it?"
"It has," he managed to say, though his throat seemed strangely parched. He stared deeply into her brown eyes. "Hello Malayka."
"Hello Beau," I greeted him coolly although seeing him after so long brought butterflies to my stomach. "This is my date, Alexander Sevani."
Beau shook the blonde-haired man抯 hand. "Do you attend Boston U?"
Alex nodded. "Yes, this is my fourth year. I'm studying law."
"Just like Beau," Alana chimed in. "Alex, would you like to see the exhibit that I set up?"
"I would love to," he replied earnestly. He kissed my forehead and followed Alana, leaving me with Beau.
The music quieted to a slow waltz. "Would you like to dance?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Sure, that抯 fine."
He led me out to the dance floor and placed his hand on my lower back and took the lead, twirling about the floor. "So, you look amazing."
"Thank you. You look handsome, too." I tried not to blush.
Emotions from his relationship with Malayka came rushing back to Beau, but he would have to keep the lid on that bottle. "Where do you go to school now?"
"I抦 a junior at Richmond. I got accepted right after I went back to Garrison Forest."
"Oh, right. How do you know Alex, if he goes to Boston U?"
I looked away from Beau抯 face. "He interns for my father a lot. He抯 really sweet and I think he抯 wonderful."
"Sounds like you really care about him," he deduced nonchalantly. She loves someone else. Oh well, he figured. All抯 well that ends卲retty crappy.
I didn抰 know how to respond to that truthfully, so I changed the direction completely. "How are you and Sloane? She still goes here, right?" I asked without inflection.
"She抯 still here, but I wouldn抰 know how she抯 doing. We broke up our sophomore year. I guess we were never really in love like? he trailed off.
I looked up into his eyes. "Love like what?"
"Like real couples in love," he managed to think up off the top of his head.
"I see." I could tell he had edited what he really wanted to say. But I couldn抰 do anything about it.
Beau spun her around elegantly and brought her back into him. "Yes, well, I don抰 have the time for getting my hands dirty with that mess."
I noticed how distant and aloof he was when he talked to me. It抯 like he didn抰 care. I didn抰 like it one bit. "Love isn抰 a 憁ess?that you can wash yourself clean of."
He shrugged. "You抮e probably right. Besides, I suppose I wouldn抰 know because I抳e never loved."
That caught me off guard. "You抳e never what?"
"I抳e never loved," he repeated. "Anyone."
I felt a lump in my throat and for all I knew it could have been my heart threatening to choke me. "In your entire life, you抳e never loved even one person," I stated, daring him to confirm.
Beau knew he was mercilessly baiting her, yet he couldn抰 grant her the peace of mind she wanted. "Yes," he stated. "Aside from my family, there抯 no reason to love when it抣l only let you down."
That had been the dagger and final twist to my heart. I stopped dancing and stepped out of his hold. "It抯 been quite an evening seeing you again, Beau. Can抰 say it was a pleasure. If you抣l excuse me? I turned and started walking away before I lost it.
"Where are you going?" Beau asked, following her determined stride toward the banquet hall doors.
I hadn抰 planned on him following me. "Why do you even care?" I said over my shoulder as I walked.
He stayed right on her heels. "Well, I can抰 have my mother抯 guests disturbed by a female having a fit of PMS."
I whirled around once I reached the coatroom. "PMS!? How stupid and inconsiderate can you be?,
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"What is your problem?" he asked her.
"You are my problem. You have ALWAYS been my problem. Why won抰 you just disappear and make everything in my life right again?"
Beau folded his arms across his chest. "You tried that already. You disappeared. You ran away and played it safe. I took the risks and they抮e finally paying off."
I scoffed. "Oh, yea, you seem so content with yourself. No love, no heart, no happiness," I sarcastically pointed out. "You抮e filled with so much disdain."
"Courtesy of a year and a half with you. You should be proud of your work," Beau taunted.
"I didn抰 cheat."
"I didn抰 ########-date your best friend."
I wanted to strangle him, but I restrained and grabbed my coat from the attendant in the room. I put it on and stormed past him to search for Alex. But of course, Beau continued to follow me. "Leave me alone, Beau. You抳e already done enough," I said with my last shred of control over my emotions.
"What抯 the matter, no more witty insults?" he asked.
I spun on my heel and faced him. "Stop it, Beau." A tear betrayed my efforts and escaped my eye. "You抳e made your point, loud and clear. I should have never come back."
Beau stared at her obvious hurt, speechless. "Malayka?
"Please just let me go," I said, straightening my back in defiance. "It's what you're good at anyway." With that, I turned away from him and went to find Alex, who was chatting with Alana and two of her associates.
"Is everything alright?" he asked, concerned by my abrupt decision to leave.
I composed myself and slapped on a cheery grin. "Yes, I抦 just a little exhausted from the long day."
Alana tried to conceal her frown. "I do hope you抣l visit again."
"We抣l see," was all I could say before Beau showed up next to his mother. Alex slipped an arm around my waist.
"It was nice meeting all of you," he said. "Thank you for a wonderful evening. We抣l be going now."
Alex led me away from the circle and we walked to the coatroom to retrieve his things. I sighed and rubbed my temple.
He looked at my weariness. "Are you going to tell me what happened between you two or no?"
"I choose the 憃r no?option," I said dryly. "Sorry, Alex. I just want to go home."
"Alright. Let抯 get out of here then."
We got as far as the lobby before the sound of approaching footsteps and the shout of my name stopped us. I turned to see Beau catching up to us. "What is it now?
"Why did you come back?" he interrupted.
"What? Beau, I thought I said?
"Answer the question. Please. Why did you come back?"
I looked to Alex for some assistance, but he apparently didn抰 want to be dragged into it.
"I抣l be waiting outside," he said and left her to face Beau.
Beau stood there waiting for an answer. "Well? Why did you?
"I love you," I blurted out uncontrollably. "I came back because I love you, as ridiculous as that sounds."
"I see. And what about Alex?"
"Alex is just my date. Nothing more. But I have feelings for you, Beau. I always have and I guess I always will. I know I left, but I thought if I came back to you, you might still love me and still want me," I confessed wholeheartedly. "Now, I see that I was wrong, since you never actually loved me."
Beau lowered his head shamefully. "That抯 not true."
"What? You said?
"It was my own sorry attempt for a safety net. If I don抰 love, I won抰 hurt after. But it抯 clear that you抮e the only girl I have ever loved, even if I stubbornly tried to forget it. I抦 sorry, Malayka."
I thought about his confession for a second. "You said you and Sloane weren抰 really in love like?
He sighed. "Like you and me."
My heart began to race. "Beau?
"I wanted to tell you that I loved you that night in the woods. I don抰 know why I didn抰. I should have gone after you. I shouldn抰 have let you walk away."
"Yes, well you did. You let me go," I mentioned dryly.
"I did. Because of that, I lost out on years that we could've spent together. I gave up the chance to see you at your best and at your worst, and to love them all the same. And now I guess it's too late to make it right." He grinned weakly.
Beau kissed the back of my hand softly like a gentleman and turned to leave.
"It抯 never too late," I breathed nervously, barely an audible whisper.
He stopped and slowly faced me. Beau stood staring at me for a few good seconds, but pulled me in to the warmest embrace. He kissed me with such passion that I felt down to my toes. It felt so wonderful being back in his arms, his sweet kisses playing on my lips.
Alex reentered the building. "Well, now that you抳e literally kissed and made up, I抦 gonna head home. I抣l see your father early in the morning, Malayka. Goodnight, you two."
I giggled as he walked out.
Beau smiled, enjoying her cute laughter and smile. "I love you, Malayka. The past is the past and I want you and only you in the now, and forever in my future. I抦 not letting you go ever again." And he tilted my chin up to meet another passionate kiss.
I抳e missed this, his touch, his kiss, his love. I spent four long years away from him. And now that I抦 back, this is where I plan on staying.
*** *** ***
"Babe, if you don抰 hurry up we抮e gonna be late!"
Beau adjusted the cuffs of his HUGO Alwis/Hewitt two-button vent tuxedo as he stood at the bottom of the steps in the large, lavish foyer.
I grabbed the elusive pair of my Jimmy Choo Lance mirrored sandals from the top shelf of shoes in my closet.
"I抦 coming!" I shouted back to him.
Geez, men can be so impatient sometimes. I did a quick look-over of my ensemble, adjusting my Herve Leger Swarovski crystal-embellished bandage dress until it was perfect. My hair fell down a little past my chest in loose ringlets that I slaved over for the past hour. I grabbed the Harry Winston 慛ightlife?diamond necklace that Beau got me for our fifth anniversary as I walked out of the master bath and bedroom suite. Beau was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps and I could tell he was a little agitated. "Hold your horses, Beau. I抦 ready. I抦 ready."
He sighed and grinned devilishly. "It took you long enough. But you DO look sinfully delicious in that dress, Malayka."
I smirked. "Keep it in your pants, mister. Here, can you put this on me?" I handed him the necklace.
"Ahh, you can drive a man insane," he teased while he clasped the jewel around my neck.
"And I know this firsthand, every night." I chuckled and grabbed my crystal clutch from the foyer table, making sure I had everything I needed. "Did you check on Eli?"
Beau grabbed her coat and slipped it over her shoulders. "Yep, he抯 fast asleep in his crib and Rosita knows to check on him hourly."
"Are you sure? Maybe I should go peek in and say goodnight?
"Sweetheart, he抯 two and he抯 under the care of the most highly-rated nanny in New England, hired by the two most loving parents in the world. He抣l be fine. We have to go or we抣l be late," Beau reasoned while ushering me out the door and into our black M-Class Mercedes-Benz.
I watched the scenery fly by as Beau sped on the interstate toward our old stomping grounds. He massaged my left hand gently in his and kissed my diamond clad ring finger sweetly.
"Are you nervous?" he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing they say can affect me anymore. My life is absolutely perfect right now."
He smiled with his eyes on the road. "I love you."
"I love you," I replied, reciprocating his smile.
We turned into the familiar entrance and followed the line of cars up to the main building. When we finally gave our keys to the valet and got to the front door of the dining hall, I took a deep breath.
"Are you ready?" Beau asked, offering an arm.
I smiled and wrapped my arm around his. "As ready as I抣l ever be."
We walked into the building and were greeted by a large banner reading 慚anchester Preparatory Welcomes Alumni to the 10-Year Reunion Celebration!?We walked to the registration table to check-in. A woman with brown curly hair sitting behind the table attended to us.
"Hi! Welcome to the reunion. May I have your names please?" the female spoke.
Beau took the honors with the brightest, proudest smile on his face, reminding me of that perfect day five years ago, and he spoke. "Beau and Malayka Beecham."
***
I hope you enjoyed Manchester Prep! Now, the only question that remains is if I should put out an epilogue of the reunion. I don't have it written, but if enough people would like to read it, then I'd gladly oblige!
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