"I often wonder who that person will be for me." As soon as I said that, I couldn't help but turn to Noelle. It was only for a moment, but my gaze met hers. I continued my speech, thinking she hadn't noticed, but I saw her get up and go in the direction of the bathroom. Maybe I shouldn't have, but it came almost natural to me to turn around and look at her. I felt that I had grown very close to her in the last few days, and even though it had all happened so quickly, I was convinced that the way our relationship was evolving was natural and sincere, I felt very connected to her.

"Anyways, we are here today to celebrate the two of them; So, best wishes to the newlyweds and good evening to all." I concluded hastily.

The whole room began to applaud, and my sister smiled at me from her seat. I had really put in the effort for the speech, and I was glad that everyone liked it. I sat back in my seat, not without taking my eyes off the bathroom door, waiting for Noelle to return. However, several minutes passed and she still showed no sign of coming back. She was probably on the phone with Evelyn. I was about to start eating again when I got a message. It was her.

N: I could use a hand...

W: What happened?

N: A problem with the dress.

W: I'm coming.

When I got to the bathroom I found her in front of the mirror, trying to fix her dress by herself. I took a moment to look at her. She was gorgeous; the dress highlighted every curve of her body, and the blue matched perfectly with her copper-colored hair. I took a step towards her, and it was at that moment that she noticed my presence.

"Can you help me?" she asked, pointing to the stuck zipper.

"Of course," I answered.

I approached her slowly, my hands slightly shaking. As soon as I touched her back, I felt her breaths get heavier. The hair, tied up, had left her neck and shoulders exposed, and having it in front of me only distracted me and led my thoughts in the wrong direction. I tried to do everything as quickly as I could to make the situation less awkward, but I couldn't help but notice how soft her skin was, and I was so close to her that I was surrounded by her rose scent. As soon as I finished we parted ways immediately, she probably felt too the strange tension that had created between us. On our way back to the dining room we exchanged a few words to distract ourselves from the whole thing, but when she mentioned my speech my heart beat faster. Fortunately, Julie came to call me, and I was able to get out of the situation.

"What happened in the bathroom?" she asked.

"Nothing, why are you asking me?" I replied without even looking at her, I already knew where the conversation was going.

"I sensed a tension between the two of you as you were leaving..."

"I just helped her adjust her dress, no tension and nothing special," I said, closing the conversation.

"Okay, I believe you. Look, I'm going to throw the bouquet, are you coming to see?"

I was about to say yes when I heard my cell phone ring. It was Malcolm, probably in the midst of some crisis or emergency meeting. I couldn't help but answer.

"I have to answer the phone, it's my boss. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I really can't stand that Malcolm," my sister said before walking away.

"Me neither," I replied.

I went back to the bathroom again to avoid the chaos of the music, but there was little connection there, and I couldn’t hear my boss's voice.

"Company meeting... Discuss with customers... I could really use some advice…”

"Malcolm, I can’t hear you..." I tried to say, but the signal suddenly stopped.

"Hello?" I asked. I didn't get any response.

I sent him a quick message explaining the situation, and went back inside. By now, however, the moment of the toss was over, and not even a shadow of the bouquet could be seen. As soon as I spotted Julie, I reached out to her to ask who had taken it. It might have seemed strange, but I’d always been interested in these "gossip" details. Probably because I had grown up with two older sisters.

"So, who was the lucky one? To which man shall I make the speech on how to propose?" I asked her as soon as she saw me.

"Natalie took it."

"Natalie, your friend Luke's girlfriend? Perfect, I'm going to look for him."

"No, it wasn't her."

"So what Natalie are you talking about? What's all this suspense about?"

"Think about it."

I thought of all the Natalies I knew, and the answer hit me like a speeding train.

"Noelle took it."

"Yes. It sounds like you're the one who needs a pep talk."

"I don't need any encouragement."

"Will, stop lying to me but above all stop lying to yourself. You like Noelle, and it shows. There's nothing wrong with admitting that."

"Okay, I admit, I like Noelle. But it seems strange to me that everything happened so quickly between us. I mean, we just met, but I already feel like there might be something between the two of us."

"Ever heard of love at first sight?"

"Love at first sight doesn't exist. It’s just that living with her and being so close to her blurred the line between friendship and something more, but in a few days I won't be with her anymore, so I have to forget about it."

"William..."

"Can we not talk about it? Please," I replied, annoyed at the turn the conversation was taking. I knew I couldn't hide my feelings for Noelle anymore, but that didn't mean I wanted to talk to everyone about it. I was still very confused, and I felt like I needed time to understand how I felt about her. It was something I wanted to think about on my own, the decision of what to do was mine alone to make. Also, there were only a few days left until the end of the three weeks we had originally agreed on, so I didn't want to ruin everything at the last minute.