230Notes from the Author:Well, obviously this particular story is over but I just thought that anyone who read The Girlfriend would like to know that I've released a sequel to The Girlfriend called Testing 1,2,3. It follows Liv's Life after Emma and Justin's wedding and how she copes with with seeing the man she loves being married off. You can find the first couple chapters in my profile. I have a short preview of it below.
Prologue
Oh the things I do for friends . . . and love.
'I don't even know why I'm here.' I thought. Well, actually I did know. I was there as a bride's maid but that's not what I meant. I don't know from where I drew the strength to go to that wedding. The situation I was in at that moment was pretty messed up. I was at the wedding of my best friend/the man I've been in love with for years: Justin Bailey, twenty-year-old international movie star and Hollywood hunk. He was marrying Emma Lane. The twenty-year-old no name.
The worst thing about this wedding was that I didn't hate the girl who he was getting married to. Emma was my friend. I wanted so much to hate her but how could I? She fit with Justin so well. She had what he was never going to have: Humility. Not that Justin was an egotistical jerk, he was just smart, handsome and well-liked and he knew that.
Anyway, back to the wedding. I was standing at the doors ready to walk down the isle at the small church in Nebraska as soon as the last of the ushers made their way down the isle. Behind me were three other bride's maids all wearing the same indigo dress that I wore. I've gotta hand it to Emma, as far as her bride's maids go, she had all of the hair colors covered. There was her sister Jessica, a woman in her late twenties with bright red hair, her sister Kelsey a blond sixteen-year-old and her best friend Jody who had medium brown hair. Then there was me.
I have long, straight black hair. Since my parents are Korean I have the dark eyes and skin to match. My figure is, of course, perfect. I don't mean to brag, that's just the way it has to be. My agent won't let me gain weight. I have to maintain my size two or I lose jobs. I'm an actor and I have been for about fourteen years, since I was seven but all my fame and hoards of admirers couldn't get me what I wanted: Justin.
It was now my turn to walk down the isle toward Justin, not as a bride but a bride's maid. As I began walking down the isle people stared and pointed. I could guess what they were saying.
"Is that Olivia Seong?" or "I hear she's a snob." or "She's not as pretty in real life." It's easy for them to judge. But I really don't feel bad when people say things like that. Have any of them been voted one of the top ten most beautiful women in America?
I tried to walk down the isle without looking at Justin but it was really unavoidable. I met his gaze and the excited yet charming grin that spread across it melted my heart and I smiled back at him. Next to Justin was his best man Eric. Another famous actor and my other best friend. Justin, Eric and I had been in movie together since we were kids.
I stood in my given spot next to Emma's sister and waited. Before I knew it people were standing as the bride walked through the doors and down the isle. Emma looked lovely in her ball gown style dress. She smiled radiantly at Justin, that was my cue to look away and I didn't look back until they both had said I do but I've been to many wedding and that part is always the same.
Despite my foul thoughts during the actual wedding ceremony I wasn't a total buzz kill at the wedding reception. At least I acted happy.
"Congratulations guys!" I practically pounced on Emma and Justin. I gave both of them a hug, I probably lingered a little too long on Justin's hug than I should have but soon enough I was pushed aside by the hundreds of well wishers that had shown up at the wedding.
Having just barely turned twenty-one I found my way over to the open bar and you'll never guess who I saw there.
"Hey, old man." I sat down on the bar stool next to Will Mathews. He looked like hell. His chin was covered in a thicker coat of stubble than usual, his eyes were blood shot and his gray suit was wrinkled. However, he still did look very attractive in a sort of rumpled way.
"I resent that." he mumbled. "I'm only thirty-four."
"Yeah but you're in love with the twenty-year-old bride. Plus you're almost thirty-five. " I pointed out.
"Well you're in love with the groom."
"Shhh!" I covered Will's mouth with my hand. Hardly anyone knew that I was in love with Justin and I intended to keep it that way. "Don't mention that with so many people around! Everyone knows that you're in love with Emma but no one knows that I'm in love with you-know-who.
"Fine, I'll shut it. Just stay here and get drunk with me." Will held his glass up and gestured to the bar tender. "I'll have another. One for her too." he nodded in my direction.
"Getting wasted at a wedding isn't good for your image." I told him.
"I don't even care." He caught his drink as the bar tender slid it across the counter toward him. Will was also a famous actor who had acted in many films with Justin, Eric and I. He had fallen in love with Emma while she and Justin were having a month long fight. After a year he still hadn't gotten over her.
"Don't be so pitiful." I told him as the bar tender set the same drink as Will's in front of me. I raised the glass of amber liquid to my lips and took a big gulp. "This is strong!" I sputtered and coughed.
"I felt like something strong, you'll get used to it." Will took a long swig of his drink and it didn't even phase him.
"I wonder how long it'll take you to get over Emma . . . A couple more months or a couple more years?" Will ignored my question. "You know, we're basically in the same situation here. You think we could be better friends." I mused. Will still wasn't talking so I spoke, just to keep the conversation going. "Do you think they're too young to get married?" It was a question that many people had been asking but I didn't know Will's point of view on it.
"Hell yes!" That got him speaking. "They're only both twenty! It's insane." I think more than anything the reason he was so passionate about this was that his bitterness toward the wedding was coming out. "I suppose you disagree?" Will asked me. I took a moment to answer.
"Yes and no." I said slowly. "I think generally twenty is too young but knowing Justin as well as I do, I think that this marriage thing will suite him. He's settled down a lot and that's because of Emma." I sighed. "Let's face it, I didn't help him settle down, I just egged him on."
The entire reception was beautiful. They did all the things you'd expect from a traditional wedding and at the end of the reception they rode off into the sunset, literally. The white limo drove away and in it the man I loved.