Page 5 (2/2)

In a tux

A hot black tux

So much closer to me than he’s been in two months

I can almost s pictures at my side

Snap, snap, snap

Matt takes over the rooreet hi over everyone And are his shoulders broader? He looks so er than life His very posture and stride that of a man who knows the whole world revolves around him Which wouldn’t be entirely false

"You knohat I like about Matt? That he actually backs up the hotness with brains," she says,her lips with a mischievous sparkle in her eye "Yu ain

Alison shifts positions to capture a dozen different shots--not only of Matt but of people’s awed and ecstatic reactions to hireets one person after the next They crinkle at the corners when he smiles, and I remember that crinkle I res even though his jaw is smooth and perfectly clean-shaven now, his lips curved upward

His hair is combed back, his features chiseled and beautiful My whole body spasms uncontrollably It’s as if every pore and every inch of ers to stroke the place where I used to wear his father’s commemorative pin--but all I touch is

My heart thuds crazily as he continues greeting the people he passes, approaching where I stand with my drink frozen in my hand He looks so happy My stomach clutches with a mix of emotions Happiness, yes But his presence is also a reminder of what I’d lost

Did I lose him?

He was never really mine

But I was all his His to take Body and soul And I would have done anything he wanted ain h Europe, I’ve tried to see the reasons why it could never have worked, a and not the kind of woman a president needs I am not ready for what he is No matter how much I wish I were older, more experienced, more fit to be by his side

Not that he wantedand he keeps advancing

"I’ why I came here Why I said yes It was his important day I didn’t want to miss it But it hurts anew, as if today were the day he was elected, the day I walked away froht to Europe and spent twohot chocolate I cauration--I could not miss it