12- The plan

— That's the spirit! I said excitedly.

— Don't celebrate too soon; I don't know how he'll react, Diana said dejectedly.

— Even if you get a "no," at least you'll be a warrior who didn't let the opportunity pass.

— That's true, and this way, I can forget about him definitively and move on with my life. I'll put a stop to my past.

— That's the spirit, Di! I said, applauding.

— First, Kyra, I want your number; I feel like we're going to be great friends.

— Absolutely! I'll give it to you, I said, sharing my number with her.

— I'll send you a "hi" message so you can save my contact.

— Deal! Now let's put the "plan into action."

— What are we going to do? Diana asked, curious about my foolproof plan.

— First, I'll try the cliché of bumping into her and making the wine spill on either her or me. I'll try to spill it on myself.

— Good distraction.

— You'll approach him, acting casual, and try to find out if she's his girlfriend. If she's not, then we'll proceed with the plan.

— I understand. If she is his girlfriend, I should give up, right?

— Yes, Di, it's not worth continuing then, as it would be unfair to the girl. I put myself in her shoes.

— Alright.

— If he says she's not his girlfriend, that he's just accompanying her tonight, then you ask if he can spare a few minutes to talk with you.

— And what do I do then?

— Lead him to a more secluded area, it can be outside the hall. With all this noise, you won't be able to hear each other.

— Well thought out. You know, I'm not helping much because I'm quite nervous, Kyra.

— Take a deep breath, have a couple of glasses of wine, and the nervousness will fade away while courage takes over, I said, laughing.

— I think two glasses are too much, but I'll definitely have one, Diana said, calling over a waiter.

While Diana was busy calling the waiter, I noticed that Dominic couldn't stop looking at her. He had a curious expression, but at the same time, he seemed to be trying to make her jealous with the redhead.

The waiter arrived with the wine, and Diana downed it in three sips. I was even surprised.

— What's this, Di? Don't drink so fast; you'll get dizzy.

— I think I'm ready, she said, making a face as if the wine hadn't settled well. The wine made her cheeks rosy.

— Alright, let's go over the plan again.

— I'll bump into the redhead, Dominic will make his move, and the bathroom is your responsibility.

— Huh? Diana, are you as weak with alcohol as I am?! How many fingers am I holding up? I asked, holding up three fingers in front of her face.

— There are three fingers, Kyra. I just mixed up my thoughts. I'm nervous.

— Alright, let's wait for the opportunity, and I'll put the plan into action.

As I finished speaking, the redhead left the table to go to the bathroom. I saw it as a perfect opportunity to distract her and give Diana a chance to move on to phase 2 of the plan, talking to Dominic.

— It's time, Di; she went to the bathroom. Go talk to him, I said, heading towards the bathroom.

"And now, would Diana be able to leave the table and go talk to him? Well, I don't know, but I'll try to keep the redhead occupied for as long as possible," I thought.

Dear reader, here I will explain the two perspectives (mine and Diana's), in other words, the two parts of the plan.

>> Phase 01 - Talking to the redhead. (Kyra) <<

When I arrived at the bathroom, I found the redhead doing her makeup, and I immediately struck up a conversation.

— I love the color of your lipstick, I started the conversation.

— Well, that's good; it shows you have good taste, she said.

I didn't expect that response; she reminded me of Lola, with the same tone of arrogance.

— You can ask if you want to know the brand. I don't use cheap brands; everything I use is imported.

— I see, you do have great taste. I think you look so elegant in that dress, I said, pretending to like it, but deep down, I was screaming for help.

— We have to do whatever it takes to make the person you're interested in unable to take their eyes off you, understand?

I nodded my head in agreement.

— Your partner is quite handsome, she said.

— Yours too.

— Mine doesn't seem very excited, and I actually came here to try to hook Dante. But he didn't even look at me. What did you do?

— Me? I still don't even know what I did. How dare she say those things to my face!

— You're not beautiful, you clearly don't know anything about fashion, and I heard you're studying administration. You really have nothing in common with him.

"Yes, she managed to irritate me, but I'll try to calm down... all for Diana!" I thought, closing my eyes, with a nervous touch on my eyebrow and clenched fists.

— Sweetheart, what's your name? I asked, wanting to mark it so I never get close to her again.

— I'm Veronica, she said disdainfully.

— Pleasure to meet you, I'm Kyra. Oh, and to answer your question about what I did: I gave him what you couldn't give, and I did it well! I said with a victorious tone, leaving the bathroom.

— That snake, how dare she try to humiliate me. I hope my suffering was worth it, I said as I returned to the table.

I looked for Diana in the hall, but she was nowhere to be found. So, I looked for Dominic, but there was no sign of them in the hall.

"This is a good sign, I think Diana put the second part of the plan into action," I thought, smiling with a sense of victory.

>> Phase 02 - Talking to Dominic <<

I saw Kyra heading towards the bathroom, and I gathered all my strength and courage and approached Dominic, who, to my surprise, was staring at me intently.

— Better late than never! Dominic said.

— For you, it's always late, huh! Good evening to you too, I said, irritated.

— I thought you wouldn't come to jeopardize me, he said, getting closer and pretending to be upset.

— After the way you've treated me all this time, I should really pretend I don't know you, but my manners prevailed.

— I'm glad at least a part of you still thinks of me, he said seductively.

— You're flirting with me while you're here with your girlfriend, how shameful! I replied sarcastically.

— Girlfriend? What girlfriend? Oh, you mean the redhead? I only brought her along because I owed her a favor; the woman is a nuisance.

— Ah, so you're not denying that you were flirting with me? I said with a triumphant air.

— Darling, he said, placing his hands on my waist and speaking into my ear, I've always flirted; you just never gave me a chance.

I froze, I couldn't feel my legs anymore, my heart felt like it was about to jump out of my mouth, the proximity made me dizzy. Was this real?

— Your perfume is delightful, he said, close to my neck.

— You must be joking with me, right? I mustered up courage from I don't know where to respond.

— Why do you think that? he asked, furrowing his brow and now staring at me with those deep gray eyes. You never noticed how irritated I would get when I saw you with other guys?

— Why didn't you tell me that? I asked, confused.

— Back then, I thought it was wrong to get involved with my best friend's sister. Until your graduation, Alexander asked why I seemed so down, and I didn't want to tell him it was because of you, but he said, "If it's because of Diana, I support you."

— But I remember very well that on that day, you ended up with my "best friend," I said, making air quotes around the word friend.

— Diana, shall we go somewhere more private? I want to talk to you.

— Yes, I agree.

Dominic took my hand and led me out of the party hall. Outside, the air felt less stuffy, the stars were beautiful, and the night breeze sent shivers down my spine. Dominic noticed and took off his jacket, placing it over my shoulders. I had never seen him like this before.

— Does your father still maintain that flower structure near your house?

— Yes, it's been a long time since you've been here?

— Yes, I was trying to get my thoughts in order. And to answer your question about me being with your friend, yes, I did it because I wanted to get your attention, make you notice me, or just feel something.

— You know very well that you made me angry that night.

— I waited for you the whole night; I was desperate because if I told you what I felt, you would reject me.

He was truly right; if he hadn't been with another woman that night, I would never have known that I loved him. Yes, that was the feeling I discovered and wanted to express to him.

— You're absolutely right, but what do you really feel for me? I asked, taking his hand.

— I'm crazy about you, Diana, I always have been. Since the first day I saw you, you were wearing those light jeans overalls and a black t-shirt. It was torture to spend all these years seeing you and not being able to say what I felt.

I was so happy to know what he felt for me that I became emotional, and tears started to fall.

— Don't cry; I don't want you to suffer because of my feelings, Dominic said, wiping away my tears.

— Dominic, I love you, I finally managed to say.

Dominic stood frozen, as if in shock from what I had said.

— What did you say? he asked incredulously.

— I said that I love you. You've occupied my thoughts since the moment I met you. I've fallen in love with you. I'm sorry it took until my graduation party for me to realize it, I said with regret.

— I love you too! he said, embracing me. You're the love of my life; you have no idea how much I've dreamed of this moment.

— I never imagined my dream would come true.

Dominic gently pulled away, bent down, and kissed me.

Not far away, Kyra watched everything, celebrating with a little dance that her plan had succeeded!