Five

She smiled as she sat down beside her mom on the table for six; her mom, dad, Anthony, Jessie wasn't on her seat, Jake and her cousin; Florence, she just came by to say hi. The couple were dancing and some other couples had joined them on the dance floor.

She had left them to be away from Nicholas hawk eyes that didn't waver in her direction; she could breathe normally and think again about other things that was not Nicholas Mitchell.

'Hello.' She heard behind her.

She gasps silently and rolled her eyes, he just had to follow her here.

'Nicholas!' She heard her mom's enthusiastic voice; happy to see him. Her mother never liked him because he couldn't afford to pay for the entire wedding but what changed; she asked as Nicholas hugged her.

He smiled at her father; her dad still had a liking of him; he was a good employee.

He looked at Jake after he had hugged Florence, waiting for introductions.

She looked away; he didn't need to be introduced but Jake helped himself.

'Jake, I'm Amber's boyfriend.' He introduced himself.

Nicholas looked at the man and with a fake smile that he and Amber recognize, he shook his hand.

'Nicholas Mitchell.....'

'Amber's ex-husband. I know.' Jake said with a proud look on his face, he made sure Nicholas didn't miss.

Nicholas nodded his head. This guy knew too much for his own good.

'We are not......'

The man cut him off again. 'I know but you will soon.'

Jake removed his hand from his and moved to Amber; who smiled at him, he whispered something in her ear; she smiled and nod her head and he watched as the man put his hand on her waist and guided her to the dancefloor.

'That is a competition for you, Nicholas.' He heard Anthony's voice in his ear, he too stood up and left.

'Nicholas, come sit.' Mr William invited him to the seat beside him.

'He is such a sweet boy.'

He looked at the man one more time as he held Amber's waist for the last time before he focused on Mr William. 'Yes, he is.'

Indeed!

He watched for what went on for eternity; Jake; the man who he just started to hate, pulled his wife closer to him. He didn't just hate someone like that, it was just the way he spoke to him, like he already knew everything that happened between Amber and him and he was throwing it in his face.....that it was his loss. Skype didn't like him too, why does Amber even like him?

His wife; he remembered.

He had spent last night thinking about Amber and he convinced himself, to go after her; he has seen no divorce papers, he has signed no divorce papers..... Amber was just distanced because he just got back from a long trip, no calls, no texts and he was determined to get her back. They weren't divorced yet......he still had a chance to prove himself to her.

He smiled one last time at the couple, before he stood up and walked towards the dance floor; Jake was not even looking his way, when he reached them.

'Do you mind, if I cut in?' He said with a smile.

'This is private right now.' Jake told him without letting Amber go.

'it's just a dance.' He said calmly not wanting to admit that he lost to this big headed person.

But he haven't lost, he just hadn't gotten the chance to prove to Amber that he was what she always wanted and what she still wants.

She didn't even look at him.

'You should just take a hike, the song is almost over.' Jake added as he smiled at Amber and she smiled back.

The song wasn't close to the end yet; it had a few more minutes and he would like to dance with Amber.

'Jake.' She stopped moved and held him back.

'Let it be, it's okay. I will be fine.' She told him.

Jake dropped his hands and kissed her gently on her cheeks before excusing himself but not before looking at him.

'He has a very ugly expression....you should tell him to change it.'

She rolled her eyes and he stood in front of her.

'Knock yourself out.' She said slightly as she held his hand, much to her disadvantage.

She was still mad; he needed to do something. He sighed and he put his hand round the small of her back and clasped his fingers in hers.

'Do you remember, when we danced like this?' He began a conversation.

A conversation she was willing to avoid and a memory she wanted deleted from her memories. 'I guess you enjoy this..... dancing with women who are taken.'

He laughed; that laugh she missed hearing when he ate, in the middle of an argument, with his friends. 'Actually, you are taken.....you are married....to me.... it's not a problem but with Jake it is.....'

She looked at his eyes. Checking if they felt the humor he was trying to spread with his lips. 'I am separated from you, yet to get a divorce.'

'Yet. It a long time from now....it could be never.'

She sighed; they were supposed to be enjoying Susan's wedding. 'It's......'

He didn't want to hear about her wanting to divorce him, so he changed the topic. 'You know, this song is to pull couples closer..... like Susan and Lucky.'

Really? She looked at her friends; Susan placed her hands on Lucky's neck and Lucky pulled her to him, by holding her waist, so did everyone else on floor.

'We are not a couple.' She told him plainly. They really were not.

He sighed silently. 'How many people here knows that?'

She looked at him again. Not all of her friends but only the closest but she couldn't announce that she was divorcing Nicholas to stop rumors. She frowned as she reluctantly placed her hands on his neck and locked her fingers together behind his head.

With a sneaky smile, satisfactory for him only, he gently placed his hand round her waist.

She frowned and kept looking at the lines on his neck, she loved tracing with her fingers when they lay in bed, he had said once that if she strangled him, he'd die happily.

He used one of his hand and raised her chin to look at him.

'Dance is a means of communication, it is a connection, sending bodily messages for the other to apprehend, I won't understand if you don't look at me.'

She felt like snatching his amusing eyes out; his amazing dark chocolate eyes; that brighten when she came into a room, those eyes that captured hers right now. She loved the way, his eyes would look at her every morning....... especially thoes times after their first kiss like they knew what she was thinking. After he kissed her; she had flared up at him; the next day in the company for no good reason because she trying to keep that employee's relationship strictly work related but he had caught her at the hall way alone and told her; it was okay, for them to have relationship at the office and after she had apologize for flaring up, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her silly. They weren't just colleagues; she wasn't just an intern and he, her supervisor. They were in a relationship and they were happy being together for those moments.

'I'm sorry.' She saw his lips moved; she hadn't actually heard what he said but read it from his lips.

She looked up to his eyes, embarrassed that he knew she had staring at his lips because his eyes smiled; he hadn't said it out, he just whispered.

'I'm sorry.' He muttered to her hearing this time; this time he didn't smile and his eyes were no longer smiling, instead they were dead serious.

'What are you apologizing for?' She asked. There were reasons why he should be apologizing but she needed to be sure, he knew what he should be apologizing for.

'For everything..... Anything.'

'I don't understand.'

He gently sweep the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. His hand stopped on her cheeks; they were not moving, they just staring at each other.

'I think you are upset with me.'

She shook her head; not getting the message.

'Your body is tensed and your eyes are angry at me.'

She sighed. She is ferociously more than mad at him right now; but sometimes he could surprise her with certain descriptions of her and her mood. 

Then she noticed the couple already seated, they were the only ones standing on the dancefloor; apart from Nicholas'eyes, she could feel the guests were beginning to look at them.

She dropped her hands. If he must know. 'You are just like every other guys, good luck on your latest conquest...... besides you are getting divorced, aren't you?' She took a look at him one more time and walked away from him as his hands fall from her waist.

He didn't understand what she meant until he and Maxwell were in the car driving Lucky and Susan to the airport.

He pressed the honk loudly shocking everyone in the car.

'Damn! She saw us.'

'Who saw you doing what?' Max asked him.

He looked at his friend before turning back to the road. 

'Amber's saw me kissing her sister!'

'What!' He heard all three at once. Jeez! He thought Lucky and Susan were busy or something.

'Wait. Pull over first.' Susan was the one who said this.

'Your flight?'

'Is not in another hour.' Lucky answered.

He sighed and pulled over and then he heard Lucky;

'Thank God, I haven't gone yet.'

He pressed the brakes and put off the engine before jamming his fist on the wheel.

'You what?' Susan asked like she did not hear before.

Nicholas didn't repeat it, he didn't even dare; he was a disappointment to himself.

'I know Jessie looks like her, but how could you kiss Jess. Don't you know she is Amber's twin? Did you drink too much to forget who you married?' Susan bombarded about to pick her phone to text something.

He turned and saw her with her phone. 'Please, Susan, do not tell anyone else. I am so ashamed of myself.'

'Baby, hold on.' Lucky told her and she reluctantly dropped the phone.

Nicholas watched from the rear mirror that he was contemplating on how to direct his question but Max helped less closer to the edge unlike the way Lucky would have said it.

'Were you drunk?' Max asked.

He shook his head. 

'What happened?' Lucky asked him to explain.

Nicholas sighed like he had told the story a hundred times and he didn't want to repeat it. 'I was at the bar, watching the girls when they came in, when they begun dancing and suddenly Jessie showed up.'

'And you forgot about Amber.' Susan said bitterly.

'No, Susan, it wasn't like that.'

'Tell us, what happened?' Maxwell asked him to go on.

'Jessie was there, drunk....she walked to me and kissed me.'

'You didn't push her away, instead you kissed her back like she was Amber.' Susan entered again.

'Susan, it wasn't like that.... listen, I pushed her from me, but she came right back.'

'And you didn't see Amber?' Maxwell asked him the important question.

'No, but..... I did feel like I was being watched, when I looked l didn't see anyone.'

'What happened next?' As if Lucky doubted that was where it ended.

'I'm sure he must have taken her back to his apartment and......'

He shook his head, he couldn't do that to Jessie or Amber.... especially when they were drunk, even any other lady to be precise. 'Nothing happened.'

'Are you sure?' Susan asked him threateningly.

He frowned at her and looked at his friend. 'Susan is not helping, Lucky call her off.'

'I'm the only girl-friend you have that got your back....you can't treat Amber like that.' She said regardless.

'Cass is also my girl-friend and she got my back. It wasn't my fault.'

'Whose fault is it; Amber's?'

He sighed looked at her again. 'See that's why we don't like talking about the ladies when you are there.'

Susan removed the hair from her face and resigned with a noiseless hiss. 

'We love your contributions, Susan. Nick is just pissed, things are not working out for him.' Maxwell defended; knowing Susan might still go ahead and tell Cassie, if she didn't know already and if he didn't tell her himself.

'What did she say when you guys danced?' Lucky asked him.

'And stole spotlight for us.'

He smiled and pressed his palms facing her; 'I'm sorry, Susan. When I am with Amber......'

'Yeah, you seem to lose your head.'

'You seem to forget everything else.' Lucky and Maxwell finished for him simultaneously.

Susan just sighed. 

'How did she feel?' Susan asked him.

'Hurt.....her whole body tensed, she couldn't even look at me to beginning with.....' He snatched his brows.

'Guys, I'm afraid, I might never get her back, maybe lose her to that Jake guy.'

Susan smiled testing him; 'Jake is pretty good-looking and he likes Amber.....'

The guys look at her and she quiet her mumbling. 

'I"m just saying. But I prefer you with her.'

'Thanks, Susan.'

'I thought Jessie didn't like you?' Maxwell asked looking at him.

He rubbed his forehead; that was where Maxwell was wrong.

'Oh! She liked him.....those meetings Nick claimed he attended and stayed up late.' Lucky told Max.

'So, She was the one you had to leave work for; because of an exhibition she wanted you to see?' Maxwell continued; remembering.

'Or did you forget when Nicholas went with her to Paris because she couldn't drive and Amber's was busy?'

Maxwell smiled; 'Those 'my friend needs me' thing..... I wish he came running like that when we asked for help.'

Lucky and he smiled, Nicholas shook his head; they were really having fun at his own dismal.

'Tell me something.' Susan's said looking up from her phone.

Nicholas looked at her.

'Did you meet Amber first before Jessie?'

He looked at her; 'Susan, this is......'

'This are questions I need you to answer about whether or not it is Amber you want or Jessie.'

Is this lady kidding him right now? 'Of course, it is Amber I want.' He said looking at his friend

'Describe her.'

'Babe.' Lucky looked at her, confused but she shook her head.

He looked at the internal parts of car and suddenly he came out dreamingly. 'Amber is the quiet and the most beautiful woman I have ever met, her anger is like a volcano; she has that dark eyes like night, she has a long silk soft long chocolate hair.....'

'If she cut her hair to the same length as Jessie, would you still recognize her?' She sternly this time cutting him short.

He looked at her; of course he could recognize her; she was his wife; if Jessie and Amber were in the same room; Amber loved the smallest things, she easily got bored and the silliest things makes her happy.  'Yes, I would recognize her.'

'How?' Maxwell asked; sometimes he didn't know which was Amber or Jessie.

'Amber has the small dark zit on her ear lobe.' He said.

Lucky and Maxwell exchange glances with him; they hadn't noticed; how could they, she is his wife after all. He looked at Susan; even she didn't know. 

'Right, and you met her before Jessie?' She repeated her first question.

He nod. He had met her in her father's office and Mr William had specifically assign her to him; beautiful, an intern but his boss's daughter. She didn't like him at first because he was so bossy and acted like he didn't like a thing she did but that got him, observing her, being by her and he scared off every other guy who wanted to be more than colleagues with her.

And he had met Jessie in her sister's chair one morning; he immediately knew it wasn't Amber because; she has never smiled at him when he came to her table and her computer was turned off, Amber's computer is never off, Jessie sat waiting for him to say something he would tell Amber but he didn't instead he had asked where Amber was and Jessie had immediately confessed and told him how dashing he looked, not without adding her sister went for a coffee trip with one of the male staff. Nicholas had told Jessie to tell Amber to come to his office when she got back.

From that day, Jessie in her own special way, had considered him; friend or something more; the two or three times, she kissed him, showing him she was interested in him but he only had eyes for Amber.

'Did you ever like Jessie the way you love Amber?'

'No.' He spat out. Of course not, maybe Jessie would have fallen in love with him one occasion and she had said the same time Amber accepted him into her life.

'What if Jessie wants to be with you?'

'I want to be with Amber, Susan. Not Jessie.' As a family member but not as his wife or companion but a friend.... only that nothing more.

She raised her hand in the air. 'Then I hold no grudges against you.' She said relaxing back on the chair.

What does that even mean? 'I don't understand.' 

She glanced at her phone again. 'First, let's go to the airport. I don't want to be late for my flight.' Susan told him and he started the car.

'Amber may be angry with you, right now but you need to win her heart.'

'How?' He asked his eyes on the road.

'I don't know, you know her better. It's your turn to think or share the men's idea.' She said as she felt Lucky's hand covered hers.

Nicholas looked at their linked hands from the rear mirror and wished it was he and Amber right now.