●ACELIN●

I pressed my hand on Camille's lower back, causing her to stiffen then loosen up after realising it was part of the act.

I had coerced her into getting a dress, she complained about not wanting me to spend so much money on her.

But looking at her now, it was worth it.

Definitely.

She wore a white dress, that hugged every part of her slender body, with a slit that rose up to her thigh - her legs exposed.

I looked at her once she had gotten dressed up, taking in the sight of her. I could feel my eyes bulge out of its sockets.

Not literally of course.

Surrounded my chandeliers laced with diamonds, expensive wine, highly ranked people in expensive suits and dresses.

All I could think about was how much I fucking wanted to leave, take off this stupid tie and get Camille to make dinner.

"Hey girlfriend, hope you're good at acting. Here's the first obstacle" I whispered into her ear

"Wait what? I'm not re-"

"Acelin! It's wonderful to see you again son! This must be your beautiful girlfriend" Jack exclaimed, pulling me into a tight and somewhat uncomfortable hug.

Jack.
My mother's boyfriend.

"Hey Jack, you cleaned up nicely. Meet my girlfriend- Camille" I smile, motioning to Camille.

"Hi, it's so wonderful to meet you." Camille says, holding out her hand to receive a handshake.

"Call me Jack, it's a pleasure to meet you. How did you two lovebirds meet?"

Camille choked on air.

"Um, it's a funny story. We ju-"

I look at her panicking, rubbing her palms because she's nervous- unable to come up with a suitable fib.

I want to be a complete asshole and watch her squirm a little bit, I don't want mother to find out I was lying.

When really, I didn't need to.

In truth, I had no fucking idea why I lied to my mum about Camille being my girlfriend.

But I don't regret it.

Camille took it better than I'd thought but then again, maybe she just feels she needs to.
After all, she's living in my house.

But I don't want to make her if she isn't interested, I understand her not wanting to be affiliated with me.

If I was her, I'd feel like that too.

But I'm a selfish cunt and I want her to do this, for me.

"We met at the beach. She was volunteering to give kid's free piggyback rides. I saw her, and I knew she was the one" I interrupted.

"Beautiful and sweet? That's the real deal Ace. Your mother and I are so happy for you!" Jack exclaimed.

"Thank you, happy I have her too" I replied, wrapping my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me.

Just because I wanted to see her uncomfortable.

"That's great. I should get going now, your mother is talking to some guest's right in front of the stage. You should see her" he said, gulping his wine.

"We will"

"Nice seeing you again Ace, lovely meeting you Camille. Have a lovely evening" Jack smiled, walking forward to another group of guest.

"You can let go of me now" Camille muttered "Also, that was the worst show we met story ever. I wouldn't even believe that."

"Me either, but I don't see you doing much talking " I laughed

"Let's meet your mother already, I'm nervous"

"Don't be, she can smell fear"

"Oh fuck, she can?"

"Nope, but relax. You'll be fine."

We walked around, talking to more guests and of course spinning more lies.
I didn't expect my mother to have told so many people that I had "settled" down.

But then again, most people knew my ways with women. I stifle a laugh as I imagine how surprised they must all be.

I decide to go ahead and talk to my mother, assuring Camille that she would love her.

I'll admit, I like the fact that she cared what my mother thought even though she didn't need to.

She took my hand and entwined my fingers with hers "Ready boyfriend? That's your mother, isn't it? She looks just like you. She's gorgeous."

I looked straight ahead and saw my mother, talking to a group of guest's.

As always, she lit up the room wherever she went "That's her, don't be nervous okay? After this, I promise when we get home I'll make us a snack"

She scoffed "And risk losing my insides? No thank you"

I smiled as we walked towards my mother, hand in hand, smiling at every rando that looked in our direction.

"Hello, mother " I grinned, looking at her reaction, making me smile harder.

"Acelin! I'm so happy you're here! With your girlfriend too!" She smiles, laying emphasis on the word "girlfriend"

"It's so wonderful to meet you ma'am. Ace talk's about you all the time" Camille greeted, her smile genuine.

"Oh darling, call me Brandy. It's absolutely wonderful to finally get to meet you" mother said, proceeding to plant a kiss on Camille's on the cheek.

"Stop it mother, you'll scare her away" I laughed

"Oh nonsense, when's the wedding?"

This time, I choked on air. 

"That's a bit too fast," I said, trying to regain my composure "We're living in the moment for now"

" I was hoping for grandkids, I guess I could wait a little longer. Thank you so much Camille, I know Ace can be horrible sometimes."

"I love him, with all his flaws. He's the one" Camille giggled, squeezing my hand tighter.

Her words seemed so true, I almost believed it.

Almost.

"Camille, I can't wait to talk to you once this whole thing is over. Some "girl time" as you youngsters call it. But now, I have to go. The event's about to start"

I kiss my mother on her cheek and watch her pull Camille into a hug.
Maybe this was why she and Jack got along so much. They're huggers.

She twirled around in her white frill dress and walks off into the crowd.

I place my hand firmly on Camille's waist the moment the song changes to a slow song, placing her only inches away from me

"Want to dance?" I ask, pulling her even closer

"But no one else is dancing, It'll be just us" she replies, bending her head to stare at the floor

"That's the point isn't it ?"

I tried to make her laugh as we moved to the slow music, my arms around her waist and hers around my neck.

"This is insane, I can feel everyone's eyes on us" she whispered "I'll pass out"

"Thought you didn't give a fuck about what people thought? Or is that another Camille?" I teased, twirling her around.

"You wish, I'm still me. Let's just say I'm not an expert when it comes to these things "

I moved her closer to me, her body pressed so close to  mine "You're turning red Camille, getting flustered are we ?"

"You wish" she scoffed, regaining composure "Now turn me around and bend me over. Give everyone something to talk about"

"Bend you over? I'll assume you're talking about dancing" I laughed, proceeding to spin her as we erupted in even more laughter.

The music had stopped, most eyes had stopped gaping at our silly dancing and awkward motions.

My mother was giving a speech, her speciality.
She explained what she wants to achieve. That is, feeding thousands of kids, getting lots of them to go to school and ensuring sick kids were taken care of.

She talked about love, this was something she was passionate about, something she wants to do before she eventually passed away.

The crowd went wild and as soon as she released the charity's bank account number, donations started coming in fast.

Numbers multiplying by the minute.

"I would like to welcome my son and his girlfriend to the stage. Ace, come on"

I looked at Camille who was slightly panicking and held her hand "Relax, it's okay. I'll do the talking"

We walked up on the stage and I grabbed the mic "Good evening everyone, thank you all for coming here tonight. My mother has always been the charitable type, always wanting to give back to society and to everyone she can. I can't wait to be a part of it, with my girlfriend- Camille"

I placed an arm wrapped around her waist "I'm extremely glad I can be a part of this, and I hope you all will be too. We hope to impact and influence everyone to give back in little ways they can. Thank you for choosing to do this with us."

With that, the crowd erupted in applause.

As soon as we got down from the stage, I took Camille outside, unable to express how much I wanted to thank her for doing this for me.

Without her, I wouldn't have been able to give that speech.

I wouldn't even have attended this event.

"Thank you" I whispered, wrapping my arms around her, gripping her in a hug.

"If you keep hugging me like that, I'll stop breathing" she giggled.

I looked down on her face, staring at how her eyes were glistening, her full lips curved into a smile and her curly hair tucked behind her ears.

I wanted her.

I moved in, getting closer to her, I was going to kiss her.

Our face only inches away, her hot breath on my face.

That was until she moved away. Leaving me standing outside, alone.