Tied To My One Night Stand

1. Prologue

SCARLETT POV

My name is Scarlett Preston and my father, Charles Preston, is co-owner of one of the biggest marketing firms in Dallas. I don’t know much about my father’s partner. They were never friends nor enemies. Simply business associates. I've had my life mapped out for me for as long as I can remember. Being the only child, I will take over my father's share of the business when he retires. Having everything mapped out for me takes the excitement and thrill out of life. Not that I ever thought of doing anything else with my life. I can't help but wonder if I would survive if I truly were put in a position to make my own choices? Not having everything handed to me? I would like to think that I would rise to the occasion. That I don’t really need my father’s money or company to make something out of myself. The reality is much drearier. Life is fickle. It can lead you down a path of prosperity and happiness, simply based on luck, who you know or something is simple as timing. It can also just as easily to the depths of poverty for those very same reasons: lack of luck, who you don’t know and bad timing. Two people with the exact same goals, educations and upbringings can have such different outcomes. I know I should be grateful. Grateful that I never have to worry about any of those things.

My mother left us when I was only four, for a bigger and better existence. That means an elderly husband that will leave her everything when he dies, more money and no children. She doesn’t bother contacting me anymore and, given the fact that she wasn’t really present before she left, I don’t see the difference. My boyfriend Michael and I have been together since I turned sixteen. I'm the envy of every girl in town. He’s tall with blond hair and gorgeous brown eyes. All the sports he plays gave him an amazing body. Our fathers have been friends since college, so we basically grew up together. It was kind of expected that we would end up together. We’ve been together for three years now. My dream was always to go to the University of Manchester. I even got in! Michael was accepted to Southern Methodist University here in Dallas. I was also accepted. I gave up on my dream because Michael wanted to get married after our first year of college. I love him, so I made that sacrifice. He’s been such an amazing boyfriend, keeping his hormones at bay so that we can save our first time together on our wedding night. We have just finished our first year and are on summer break.

Our wedding is only a month away. I will be married at nineteen. We will both be working for my father’s company after we graduate. Based on what Michael's mother has panned for us, I’m also expected to pop out a few crumb snatchers by the time I’m twenty-eight. Sometimes I feel guilty. I’m disappointed about giving up going to Manchester, about getting married so young. I love Michael, I do. I’ve just never been with anyone else. I constantly remind myself that I’m being selfish. We love each other and people that are in love make sacrifices. I used to dread that I would take over as co-owner of my father’s company. It just seemed so boring. I’ve decided that the company will be the one thing I control the future for. Don’t misunderstand, I’m happy. My father is amazing and never pressured me into anything. I never expressed that I was unsure of taking the same career path as him. He has no one else to take over for him. Had I told him I wanted to attend Manchester University, he would have made me go. He also would have scolded Michael for asking me to stay. They are the two people in my life that I care for the most. I can’t disappoint them.

The other two people in my life that have been there for me are my best friends, Phoebe and Kelly. I’ve known Phoebe since Kindergarten, she is my ride or die. My bubbly, ditsy and sweet Phoebe. She has black hair that she wears in a bob and hazel eyes. Kelly became our friend during our first year in high school. She can be a bit shallow at times, but we’ve learned that it’s only a mask she wears to cover her insecurities. Not sure why she is insecure though. She has gorgeous thick long brown hair and piercing blue eyes. On the skinnier side, compared to Phoebe and I. I’m actually curvier than either of them. We are thick as thieves, although within the past year Kelly has become more distant. I assume it’s because both Phoebe and I went to college and she did not. We still hang out together, but it feels as though there is a vast distance between her and us. I guess growing apart can happen. We are now young adults making our path through the world. In my case, following the path left for me to follow.