Loving My Best Friend

Emily straightened her pencil skirt when standing up from her seat and shook hands with the executives. It was Friday and a very busy day for her since she had meetings over meetings lined up for her. Pasting a tight smile over her face, she shook hands with Mr. Artair. "I am sure it will be a pleasure working with you," she said to Mr. Artair, who had her hand in his. He ran his wandering eyes over her figure, to her irritation, and said, "I am sure it will be." Emily could swear it was not the type of pleasure she was talking about. But men! Their brains worked only in a single direction. Her father nudged her elbow and she had to almost snatch her hand from Mr Artair’s with a faltering smile. The executives left after that and soon she and her father were the only ones standing in the conference room. "You wanted to say something?" Emily asked her father, curiously. Creases formed on his forehead and he shook his head. "No, I think it was fine... Oh! One thing... I have invited Hansen and his family to dinner tonight. I am sure you will be glad to meet your childhood buddy, Oliver." The mention of his name was enough to send a chill down her spine. Her hands froze over the page in the file. She slowly looked up towards her father and nodded stiffly. She plastered a fake smile on her face and nodded, but on the inside, she was hyperventilating. Oliver! Why was he coming now after all these years? She didn't want to see that bonehead’s face. Hopefully, he would not come and the dinner would be as peaceful as it had been before. "You have no idea how eager I am to meet him." Emily said to her father while crying inwardly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that evening… She was brushing her long blonde hair when David, her brother, entered her room and shouted, scaring the hell out of her and making her stumble to the floor from the seat. "They 're here!" He announced and left, closing the door to her room. David was such a scare, Emily thought, but she couldn’t deny the news was equally terrifying. Her shoulders slumped in worry and she blew out a breath. How was she going to face him after all these years? Did he still remember what had happened? Of course, he would. It was the reason she left. There was no chance she could flee now. Her father would be furious if she did. Sighing in defeat, she got up and eyed herself in the mirror. "Not that bad, huh?" She said to herself, eying the blue halter neck and white trousers with minimal makeup. After fixing her hair one final time, she went out of her room. Emily walked out of her room, crossed the corridor and living room in long strides, to stand at the entrance, and braced herself for the impact of seeing him again after all these years. She saw Mr. and Mrs. Hansen at the door and behind them were their sons. They had no daughter. Oliver was the second one, then came James and the youngest one was Matthew. Their eldest son Rickard was not present with them, making her think of the family troubles they had. Rickard was always the stubborn one, whereas Oliver was the cool-minded one. That was why she got along with Oliver better, but that was something from the past. It didn't exist anymore, Emily reminded herself. Emily greeted everyone but Oliver, since he was the last one to enter the house. As soon as he entered, his eyes wandered everywhere, which resulted in them finally landing on her. Yes, he practically scanned the room. Emily registered surprise on his face, not that she expected anything less. It was the first time he would have seen her after she left the university. On the other hand, she often saw his pictures in the news and magazines which, she had to admit, didn't do justice to his features. He was even more attractive in person. Blue eyes that could lure anyone towards him and with a smile that could break a million hearts any second. She blinked to clear the haze from her mind and looked away with a forced smile aimed at others. Everyone was eying them, Emily observed. Their families had no idea that they had a blow up when they were in university... more like a split-up. But for now they had to play the part. She forced a grin on her face and walked towards Oliver while saying "Hello." Oliver stiffened as he saw her walking towards him and seemed bewildered. "Olly! How are you?" Emily asked, sugar coating her words, and took him in a bear hug. She felt him stiffen at the instant. He made a sound like he was choking but she didn't let him go, squeezing him even more. After a millisecond, he got the idea and hugged her back hesitantly. The hug felt familiar and comforting. She could recall a thousand times when she had sought comfort in his arms as a friend, but now it was all ruined. His hand came to rest on her back, making her shiver. "Excited, are we?" He whispered in her ear and she patted his back awkwardly. He smelt heavenly, which made her want to keep him in her arms like before, but she forced herself to pull away. "I missed you too, Olly," Emily said, emphasizing the nickname Olly. Breaking apart, she pasted a sickly sweet smile on her face, which Oliver returned with equal fervor. Her heart might be beating fast but it didn't show on her face. "Olly? You still got that nickname for me, Emily?" He muttered through gritted teeth. She could see how difficult it was to hide his irritation behind that smile. "I know you love it," Emily said with a smirk, knowing how much it irked him. He rolled his eyes and walked away, making her notice that besides them, everyone was seated and chatting already. Oliver went to sit beside his father while Emily sat with her mother and Mrs. Hansen. Emily had a younger brother, David, who was at the moment talking animatedly with James and Matthew. She could hear them gossiping about the latest bimbo in their school and who she had slept with. My poor innocent ears… Emily thought. She got up and excused herself. The main reason, she assumed, for Oliver being her childhood buddy was that Mr. Hansen had no daughter and Emily had no sister to keep her company in these family gatherings. Now, it was different. Even though there was no female of her age, she couldn't go to Oliver and have a nice chit-chat. They had gone really far from being buddies and it was majorly Oliver's fault. Emily’s thoughts were interrupted when she felt someone following her. She turned around and saw that Oliver was following her. Her eyes narrowed at him and he ignored walking past her towards the terrace. Emily pressed her lips in a thin line in irritation seeing his attitude. He knew every corner of her house like the back of his hand. It was not as big as his house, but Emily still sometimes felt that it took her too long to reach her room. Following Oliver, she walked onto the terrace and stood a few steps behind him as he leaned on the iron railing, looking at the view in front. When Emily came closer, he turned around and pinned her with his gaze. "Why are our families unaware of...?" He pointed between him and her at the end of the question. His lips were pressed in a thin line, making his distaste evident to Emily. "I assume it has something to do with the fact that our friendship ended on bad terms." "Yeah, because you went psycho all of a sudden," he said and advanced towards her. Her eyes widened at his audacity to call her a ‘psycho’. She lifted an eyebrow in challenge. "Psycho? Oliver, you need to get yourself checked. " She muttered loud enough for him to hear. He took another step towards her but she moved aside to give him space. "Emily, I didn't even know that you had left until I asked one of your friends," Oliver said, getting angry. "Don't call me psycho! I had my reasons for leaving, which I told you later,” Emily said, glaring at him. He was looking at her like he could see through a facade. But it wasn't a facade. Emily actually hated him. However, Oliver was not convinced and he took a few steps towards her, caging her in a corner. "Tell me, Emily… Do you really hate me that much?" He said and his hand touched her hand. "Get your filthy hands off me. I am not one of those women, Oliver. So get them off me," Emily said, then saw his eyes darkening and jaw clenching. Oh, I must have struck a nerve… Emily thought. He moved closer, as if there was any distance left between them. "Really? You're not one of them?" He said as he cornered her, making her realize that her back had just hit the wall. Her hands pushed against his chest but she was becoming powerless when he brought his face closer. "Emily!" "Oliver!" Their heads turned in the direction of the voices and they were startled. David, James, and Matthew stood in the doorway. They were staring at Oliver and Emily, looking surprised. Emily quickly pushed Oliver away and walked to them, brushing off any dust on her clothes. "What is it?" She asked them. David spoke up. "Sorry to interrupt you guys but our Dads are in the library and they called you in there... Both of you." Emily could feel something was coming and she wasn’t going to like it. Why would their fathers call them all of a sudden?