A Brave Start Read online

  When she stepped out of her room both Jack and Jonathan were waiting in the lounge for her, dressed sharply in suits. She noticed both of their eyes go wide as they looked at her new look. She stopped immediately and looked at them in concern.

  “Is something wrong?! Is this all too much? I didn’t know where we were going but I figured with this dress I should do hair and makeup to match—”

  Jonathan interrupted, “Ellie, you look amazing, absolutely stunning.”

  Jack nodded in agreement, “Luv, even as a gay man I can say you look incredible. Jonathan and I are a couple of jammy blokes getting to escort you tonight.”

  “Jammy?” Eleanor asked with a laugh.

  Jonathan replied before Jack, “He means we’re lucky, and he’s right.”

  Eleanor looked at him, “I didn’t know you spoke northern. This one—” she said, pointing to Jack, “—is constantly coming up with words I’ve never heard before. It would help knowing I have an additional interpreter.”

  Jack and Jonathan both laughed and Jonathan replied, “One of my old mates was from Sheffield like Jack is.”

  Jack grinned, “So this family has a thing for mates from Sheffield then. You have great taste if I may say so myself. Now, you look absolutely lovely Elle, no one tonight is going to be able to take their eyes off you.”

  Eleanor turned to look in the mirror in the lounge. She hadn’t really been paying attention as she was getting ready, just going through the motions and trying to get ready as quickly as possible. But her hair, for once, was behaving and it was gathered loosely high on top of her head with a few pieces delicately framing her face. Her makeup gave her face a soft glow and her blue eyes popped against the blue of the dress, which fit her perfectly. The dress had 3/4 length sleeves, with a scoop neck and was fitted to the waist and then flared out down to her knees. It was bright cobalt at the bodice but the ombre color faded to a soft bluish-silvery-grey at the hem. She was normally self-conscious about her figure but in this dress, even she had to admit she looked good. With a blue and silver necklace and bracelet to match and a cobalt sequined clutch and grey suede heels, the complete outfit was unlike anything Eleanor had ever allowed herself to wear before. Michael always dressed so plainly and made subtle comments any time Eleanor indulged in a more creative or whimsical approach to her wardrobe. Looking at herself in the mirror she barely recognized herself, and while it scared her a bit, it thrilled her too.

  She turned to look at Jack and Jonathan, who were still staring in admiration, and she blushed a little, “Thanks guys. And thank you Jack for helping me put this together.”

  Jack grinned, “As soon as we found that dress I knew it was perfect for you.”

  Clapping his hands, Jonathan announced, “Alright, time to get this party started.”

  Grinning cautiously Eleanor asked, “Where are we going?”

  “That is a surprise my darling,” Jonathan said with a smile. “Ok, everyone downstairs.”

  They all headed out of the flat and down to the street where Eleanor found a taxi waiting for them. She looked at Jonathan, who replied, “I ordered it while you were getting ready. I’m not expecting you to walk anywhere in those shoes,” he finished with a pointed look down at her high heels. Eleanor was grateful, though the shoes were remarkably comfortable given their height, she knew she wouldn’t be able to walk for too long in them.

  They all piled into the taxi and Jonathan gave the name of a club that Eleanor had never heard of, though that was not surprising given that she was busy writing most nights. After a drive they arrived somewhere in Knightsbridge, in front of a club Eleanor had never noticed before, even though she thought she must have walked by it a half a dozen times on her various trips to window shop at Harrods. There were men at the door wearing meticulously cut suits and just beyond them an impeccably dressed and astonishingly beautiful woman holding an iPad in a sleek leather case. Eleanor felt a little self-conscious looking at this woman and was grateful she’d indulged in the new outfit, nothing she already owned could have come close to competing with this gorgeous blonde.

  Jonathan took Eleanor lightly by the arm and Jack flanked her on her other side and they approached the door. Eleanor noticed the long line of people wrapping to the right of the entrance but felt Jonathan leading her straight ahead. Glancing up at him she noticed that his posture was straight and his eyes locked on the hostess. He gave a slight nod to the two bouncers and they gave casual nods back at Jonathan. Sometimes she forgot how posh Jonathan and his family were, they were always so down to earth. Eleanor felt like she was in a movie. She’d never been to a club, let alone skipped to the front of the line and waltzed in like she owned the place. As they walked up to the hostess she looked up and her stiff demeanor dropped when she saw Jonathan.

  Smiling warmly, “Mr. McNeil, what a pleasure to see you again. We have your table ready and several of your guests have already arrived.”

  “Thank you, Celeste,” Jonathan replied, lightly kissing each of Celeste’s cheeks, in a casual way.

  Eleanor thought she noticed Celeste’s attitude lighten even more as she seemed to blush slightly in response to Jonathan, and Eleanor wondered if she was just like every other woman who seemed to have a crush on her cousin or if there was something more there, considering Jonathan was smiling more warmly than Eleanor had noticed him do with any other woman.

  Celeste directed her gaze at Eleanor, “You must be Jon’s cousin, Eleanor. He’s spoken very highly of you. I hope we’ve managed to put together a lovely evening for you here tonight, Jon and his mother have been very meticulous in their planning.”

  Celeste’s shortening of Jonathan’s name confirmed that there was something going on with them and Eleanor made a mental note to ask him about it later. For now, she smiled brightly at Celeste and replied, “Yes, I’m Eleanor, pleased to meet you Celeste, and thank you, I’m looking forward to tonight, even though I have no clue what’s been planned!”

  “My, what a charming accent!” Celeste responded sincerely, which made Eleanor laugh inwardly, she thought her American accent was boring, but so many here seemed to love it. Celeste gestured to someone behind her and another immaculately dressed woman walked up. “Please show Mr. McNeil and his guests to their table,” Celeste instructed, and with that Eleanor felt Jonathan’s hand at her elbow and Jack’s at her lower back as she was moved forward into the middle of the club.

  “Do you come here often,” Eleanor said quietly to Jonathan, both curious about his choice of venue, and his relationship with Celeste.

  “Well, mum redesigned the place a couple years back, so yeah, I do come here a bit. Just one more perk of being the son of the great Victoria McNeil,” he said with a quiet laugh.

  Looking around Eleanor tried to process her surroundings. The club was incredible! She could definitely see her aunt’s aesthetic in here. Low lighting cast a soft glow over all the patrons. The sound of glassware tinkling and laughter mixed pleasantly and added to the overall atmosphere of fun and happy, glamorous people. The walls were a combination of dark, gleaming wood and mirrors and one side of the main room was dominated by a massive and impressive bar. The furniture consisted of large wood tables with matching chairs and clusters of plush arm chairs and sofas gathered around low tables for more intimate gatherings. Looking at all the people in the club Eleanor felt like she was on a movie set with all the extras straight from central casting. The men were all very good looking and impressively dressed in casual suits, while the women were all immaculate in beautiful dresses and high heels, hair and makeup done to perfection. Once again Eleanor was relieved she’d taken the extra time to dress up, she never imagined that Jonathan would take her somewhere like this.

  They approached one of the clusters of arm chairs and sofas off to the side from the end of the bar. As they got closer Eleanor realized that all of Jonathan’s LSE friends that she’d met the night school started were there along with some of the girls she’d become friends with
in the program, clearly Jonathan and Jack had teamed up on the guest list and Eleanor was grateful. The group was big enough to feel festive but not full of people Eleanor didn’t know, which she had been a little afraid of. When they saw Eleanor, Jack and Jonathan approaching a large cry of “Happy Birthday” sounded, ringing out over the sounds of the rest of the club and Eleanor felt herself blush as people at the nearby tables and bar looked their way.

  Eleanor felt a glass of champagne be put in her hand and then heard Jonathan exclaim, “I am so happy you all could be here to help celebrate my dear cousin’s birthday tonight. We’ve been lucky to have Eleanor here in London for a while now and I know I’m not the only one who’s noticed how well London seems to suit her.” Eleanor blushed again as the group nodded and exclaimed in agreement to Jonathan’s compliment. He continued, looking at Eleanor, “I am so happy to have you living here this year and getting to spend so much time with you. I love you like a sister and I can’t wait to see what this year brings for you. I wish you the happiest of birthdays tonight and all the best wishes for the coming year, may it be as brilliant as you are. To Eleanor!” he finished, raising his glass.

  Everyone else raised their glasses and exclaimed, “To Eleanor!”

  As everyone sipped their champagne Eleanor felt tears prick her eyes. Jonathan looked down at her and quickly wrapped an arm around her, drawing her close. He said quietly so only she would hear, “You deserve all this and more. I want you to enjoy yourself, and so do our mums. Ok?”

  Looking up at him she grinned and reached up to dab the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes, “Ok,” she agreed with a small laugh.

  Jack came back over to Eleanor and stated loudly, “Don’t you dare start crying missy, now is not the time to get all soppy and humble. Tonight we party!”

  “Alright, alright, give the poor woman some room and a chance to drink her champagne,” Mark exclaimed, reaching between Jonathan and Jack and taking Eleanor by the arm he guided her into the group and sat her in an open spot next to her friend Clara. Mark sat next to her and clinked his glass against hers, “Cheers darling, happy birthday.”

  Smiling, Eleanor replied, "Cheers, and thank you.”

  Over the next couple hours the group chatted excitedly and there was a lot of seat swapping as Eleanor made the rounds around the group, determined to talk with everyone. She spoke for a bit with Clara and her other girlfriends from school, Maggie and Alexandra, with Jack joining in while they were talking about school and then drifting over to talk to the guys while the girls started talking about Eleanor’s outfit and shopping. The guys talked a bit about school and also asked Jack about his writing. Eventually Eleanor got caught up with Zaf, Malcolm, Henry, and Ioan and how they were doing at school.

  She and Malcolm shared a nice moment when he caught her in between conversations, “School seems to be suiting you,” he said with a small smile.

  Eleanor smiled at the memory of their first meeting when he had confessed he’d almost dropped out of LSE after his first day. “Yes, I’m glad I went back. It’s still tough and they work us hard, but it’s definitely been worth it.”

  “I knew you’d be just fine,” Malcolm said kindly.

  They chatted for a bit longer and after a while the group settled down in a large circle and conversation flowed between them all, along with more champagne and mass amounts of food. Eleanor thought the food in this place was the best she’d ever had. Looking around at all of her friends Eleanor thought about the life she was building for herself in London. She never would have imagined this was actually possible. She felt like she was living in a dream, or a movie, particularly tonight in this incredible place. Her face hurt from smiling so much but she didn’t care. The confidence she gained from her new outfit had her feeling like she might actually belong in a place like this.

  Eleanor glanced up after laughing hard at something Mark had said and she noticed Celeste walking over to the group. Jonathan leaped up and said something to Celeste and then turned and gestured for Eleanor to come to him.

  Getting up she exclaimed, “What have you done now?!” Looking past him and Celeste she saw a cake with sparklers being brought over to their table. Eleanor’s eyes flew wide at the sight and with the sparklers it all looked so magical she couldn’t help but clap her hands together and laugh like a little girl. She didn’t realize it, but several men in the area, including Mark, were looking at her admiringly. In that moment, Mark especially noticed her, thinking to himself the she looked more beautiful than he had ever imagined a woman could be.

  The group all wished her a happy birthday again and sang, with people at the surrounding tables joining in with the singing and cheering as she blew out the candles that had been lit after the sparklers had died. They all ate cake and chatted some more until the dance floor started to fill up. Before she knew it, Eleanor found herself dancing. First with Jonathan, then with Jack, then for a few songs with the girls. For once in her life Eleanor felt completely unselfconscious. She just threw her head back and laughed and enjoyed herself. The music shifted and a slower song came on and Eleanor found herself in Mark’s strong arms. Maybe it was the giddiness of the night, maybe it was the champagne, probably it was both, but she allowed herself to dance with Mark for a few songs. Sometimes they talked, sometimes he just held her in his arms, guiding her expertly around the floor.

  Jonathan’s information that Mark was attracted to her bounced around in the back of her mind, but she didn’t want to make herself nervous so she tried not to think about it. She just wanted to enjoy the fact that a cute guy was dancing with her.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” she heard him say suddenly.

  Looking up at him, she laughed, “Nothing really, just thinking about how amazing tonight has been. I wasn’t sure what my birthday was going to be like, with all my friends being back in the states. But I really do have friends here now, don’t I?”

  “Yes you do. And we care about you very much.”

  Between the effects of the champagne and the way Mark was looking at her, Eleanor started to feel a bit lightheaded.

  Looking concerned, Mark asked, “Are you alright Elle?”

  “Yes! Yes, I’m fine. Just a bit too much champagne. Excuse me for a moment Mark, I just need to visit the ladies room.”

  “Of course, I’ll meet you back at the table.”

  Nodding she quickly cut across the dance floor towards the opposite side of the room where the toilets where. Unsurprisingly the ladies room was just as impressive as the main room. More plush sofas and vanities with lights and various lotions and perfumes and makeup samples for the patrons to help themselves. After a quick visit to one of the stalls Eleanor came back out to the lounge area of the ladies’ room and crashed on one of the sofas. She was having a great time, but the lounge was so much quieter compared to out in the club and she enjoyed the momentary break in the festivities. Eleanor was an introvert through and through. She replayed the night’s events so far in her head. She couldn’t believe how incredible everything had been.

  She also didn’t know what to think about Mark. He obviously liked her. And she thought she liked him. But she was still gun shy after Michael. And there was something about Mark. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. They’d hung out together a few times, always in a group, or chatted for a few minutes in the flat when he’d come over to work with Jonathan. She always felt a bit off kilter with him. He was always so pulled together and seemed to always know what he was doing. Whereas she always felt like she was making stuff up as she went along. Maybe someone like Mark was what she needed. He certainly wasn’t controlling or manipulating in the way Michael sometimes was. She leaned back and closed her eyes.

  After a few minutes, she collected herself and headed back out to the party. She knew if she was gone too long she’d be missed.

  She was still thinking about everything when she felt someone bump into her. Between the champagne and the high heels, she quickly felt her
self losing her balance but just as quickly felt two strong arms reach around to grab her and set her right again. She looked up suddenly, apology already on her lips, when she found herself staring once again into the eyes of Patrick Reynolds.

  “I’m so terribly sorry!” he said at once, “I wasn’t paying any attention to where I was going, I didn’t see you!” Concern was etched all over his face, making him appear even more handsome. But the concern changed to recognition suddenly. “Wait. It’s you! Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I’ve collided with you twice now, you must think I’m terribly clumsy. Are you alright?”

  Eleanor knew she needed to respond but she was still struck silent by being once again in the arms of her favorite movie star crush. Is this really happening?! she thought. Forcing herself to speak, she slowly placed her hands over his, which were still grasping her around the waist, and steadied herself. Looking up at him and feeling a bit mesmerized by his eyes she shook her head slightly and tried to speak, “Yes. Yes, I’m fine. You just caught me off guard. I’m sorry.”

  “Please don’t apologize, I swear this was my fault,” he said with a shy grin.

  “If you say so,” Eleanor said with a laugh.

  “You ran off before I could properly apologize last time—”

  “Yes, well I still maintain that I was at fault for that one, I was too busy staring at my map!” Eleanor interrupted.

  “Sorry, I’m afraid I can’t let you take the blame,” he countered.

  “Do you apologize for everything?” she asked.

  Grinning sheepishly, “I have been told it’s something I do. Sorry?”