Choices and Consequences

Lilian Donovan carefully looked herself over in the mirror, checking for flaws. For once she thought she couldn't find any. The snug red dress clung to her curves reaching just below her knees. The color and style of the dress accentuated her features and her long dark brown hair flowed to the middle of her back giving her a classy sex appeal.

"Wow, I think I actually might look...good," she murmured to herself.

"I would have to agree. Although I think 'good' might be an understatement." Lilian jumped at the sound of another voice, slightly embarrassed for being caught talking to herself.

One of her best friends, Alexandra, stood in the doorway with a smug look on her face. "I knew I picked the right dress for you. You look amazing. And where is Willow?! She was supposed to be here before me!"

Lilian gave Alex a look. Willow was her other best friend. She was sincere, reliable, honest...and always late. "Since when is Willow on time?" she laughed. Alex gave an irritable sigh and sat on Lili's bed.

"Well, she better hurry! I'd rather not be late for this party. I really don't feel like having all of our parents freaking out again."

Lili, Alex and Willow grew up together in the classic rich kid suburban neighborhood. They became quick friends with each other because they had one major thing in common. They wanted to be normal. Every year, their parents had 'formal social gatherings' where they served their special (and incredibly rich) guests to give the impression of perfect families with obedient daughters. When, in reality, Lili's mother was never home. She was usually on the family yacht with her closest friends, just to get away and talk about how hard life was for a suburban housewife. And her father...well, he was usually drunk and reclusive most of the day and rarely came out except to yell at anyone within hearing distance to do his laundry. Life was more or less the same for her best friends. And tonight just so happened to be one of the infamous Donovan social gatherings at the casino/hotel they owned.

"Funny how I'm a servant at my own family's party," Lili said darkly. Alex gave a small laugh.

"And don't forget how you're basically being forced to marry whatshisface," Alex said. Lili squinted her eyes in annoyance at her best friend.

"His name is Dave! And...ok, yes, I'm being forced. At least he's nice enough...right?"

"Sure, he's nice enough. And boring with no personality. But hey, who am I to judge? Maybe he's got a big dick or something. You should find out tonight, actually," Alex said, only half-joking.

"Alex!" Lili gave an exasperated sigh. "I hate it when you're right. Maybe I should find out though," Lili joked.

Suddenly, Willow barged in the door looking winded. "Find out about what?" she asked curiously.

"Jesus, did you run a marathon or something?"

"No, damn it. I had to park down the street...and I was late so....I ran to the house...and your stairs killed me, Lili..." Willow said, breathing in between sentences. Lili and Alex laughed.

"We all need to hit the gym or something, 'cause that's just sad," Lili said, laughing.

"Hey, fuck you! I was running fast," Willow exclaimed.

"Well, let's go damn it! We're gonna be late!" Alex said impatiently.

"OK OK!" Willow followed them out of the room. "And hey, find out about what?! You never answered."

Lili gave a wave of her hand, as if to forget about it. "Oh nothing. Just to find out how big Dave's dick was." Willow stopped on the stairs behind them for a second, then burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding? I've seen him with a boner at my family's party last year. Believe me, nothing special."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "Well that sucks for you Lili," she said trying not to laugh. Lili just looked irritated.

"Come on, we're gonna be late."

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Aidan O' Neil straightened his tie as his fiance came into the room. He hated these parties, and the Donovans didn't mean anything to him. Who were they again? He looked at his fiance, Olivia. She seemed excited.

"I can't believe how many people are going to be there! Let alone that I'm going to a Donovan party!" she exclaimed. Olivia was a bit younger than him at about 20, and still a bit naive. She was sweet, and pretty sexy, but GOD, what an airhead. Aidan was turned off by idiots. But she was good company sometimes and not bad in bed either.

"Who cares about that?" he asked.

"Don't you know?!" she gasped. "The Donovans own that huge casino/hotel...thing downtown. The place is amazing!"

Aidan's eyebrows lifted and he grunted a little as realization dawned on him. He remembered now, he met the family a while back when he was young. He didn't care then and he didn't care now. He just wanted to do his own thing. But he vaguely remembered a cute little girl....

"Helllooooo?" Olivia waved a hand in front of his face. He looked at her in surprise as he was drawn from his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"I said, are you ready to go?"

"Oh...yeah," he sighed. "Lets go."

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Lili yawned as she served guests with the classical music floating in the background. An old woman frowned at her, as she took the food. "It's very impolite to yawn in front of people without trying to cover your mouth," she snapped. Lili just frowned at her, unaffected. Before she could say anything, Willow took her arm and whisked her away to the kitchen.

"Oh my lord. Ok, I know this party sucks ass, but THE sexiest man alive just walked through the door."

"What? There's no such thing as sexy men at these gatherings of idiots."

Willow scoffed. "See for yourself." And she pointed out the small window from the kitchen towards a table to the left. "The tall one." Lili leaned forward a little to get a good look and her eyes got wide when she saw him. He was sitting next to a petite young blonde who looked utterly bewildered. He was definately tall, Lili thought, at least 6'6" with jet black hair, light olive skin and piercing green eyes. Underneath the suit, his body seemed lean and muscular and the way he carried himself reminded Lili of a Greek god she had seen in a book.

"Damn," she breathed. "Why can't I be forced to marry him?"

Willow laughed. "Well I asked around after I saw him and one of the other servers, Maria, says his name is Aidan O'Neil. The blonde sitting next to him who looks like she's 12, is his fiance, Olivia. Turns out her family isn't very rich and saw this opportunity as an in to the 'wealthy crowd' and they arranged for her to marry Aidan. He's the son of Shawn O'Neil, actor turned entrepreneur and now owns a multimillion dollar business. Something with electronics. Apparently that all goes to Aidan when his dad bites the dust."

"Hmm. Well there has to be something wrong with him. He can't be perfect. He must be an asshole or something equally as disappointing."

"Yes...maybe he's an illiterate idiot?" Her friend joked. "Or better yet, gay?"

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He had been watching her from afar all evening as she moved from table to table, smiling politely and chatting with some of the guests. From where he was sitting, Aidan thought she was an exquisite creature. The way she moved and unconsciously swung her hips drew his gaze like a moth to a flame. He was itching to see her up close. He watched as two other girls came up to her and began talking rapidly. She nodded and the three headed out the back door. He frowned in disappointment, hoping she wasn't leaving.

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Break time all too slowly for Lili and her friends. They sat outside together with Willow smoking a cigarette, blowing the smoke into the starless sky. Lili frowned to herself, still thinking of Aidan. Alex sighed.

"Dear God, that man is sexy." Lili looked at her in surprise.

"You saw him too then huh?"

"Saw him? I nearly drooled on him when I served his table. Though of course he barely gave me a second glance. Maybe he really does love that stupid fiance of his," Alex declared.

"Yeah right," Willow chimed in, scoffing. "He's bored as hell and he hasn't even looked at her twice either. Believe me, he's been forced into that engagement, just as Lili has." Alex raised her eyebrows.

"You seem to know a lot about him already..." Alex said, smiling. Willow glanced at Lili as she answered.

"Well I asked around 'cause I wanted to know! Plus, I think he would like Lili...." Lili jerked her head around at the mention of her name.

"Oh no you don't! What are you planning in that head of yours?"

Willow smiled sheepishly. "Nothing! Well, sort of. Think about it! Both of you are in marriages that you hate! And - "

"I don't hate it!" Her friends looked at her incredulously. "I don't!" she repeated, stubbornly.

"Oh please, Lil. Don't kid yourself. You know you'll be bored to tears married to Dave and the sex will be horrible." Lili's shoulders slumped as she admitted defeat. She knew they were right. Suddenly, she was crying.

"I hate this!" She burst. "I hate my parents, I hate this life! Everyone thinks I'm some spoiled rich kid who gets whatever they want! Well, I don't! I drive a freakin '92 Honda that I bought with my own money from working my ass off and I'm paying for my own damn self to go to college! I don't see a dime of money from my parents! I'm a normal girl trapped in this stupid rich world to be a slave to them and their friends! I'm tired of it," she sobbed. "I can't even remember the last time they told me that they loved me." Alex put her arm around her sobbing friend, anger, resentment and sadness filling her heart.

"I can't remember either," Willow said quietly. "My mother called me a whore last week because I'm not married yet. She thinks I must be sleeping around because I haven't snagged a rich man yet." The door burst open at that moment, startling all three girls. Lilian's mother glared at them. If she noticed Lili's tears, she gave no sign.

"You three need to get your asses inside! Break time's been long enough!" With that, she spun on her heel and entered the party to mingle with her guests. The girls got up slowly, brushing off any dirt, and plastered on some smiles before they went through the doors.

"Lili!" her mother hissed as soon as they walked in. "Go serve table nine. The O'Neil family is here and they're very important guests this evening," he mother said joyfully with a sparkle in her eye, which Lili knew only meant more money for her mother. She swallowed nervously as her mother wandered away, and Lili turned her attention toward table nine.

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Aidan sat half-heartedly drinking his beverage, disinterested with his surroundings. His parents had him running around in so many circles these days, he had no time for anything else. Olivia dogged him wherever he went and it was wearing on him. He missed his friends, he missed his band...and for the love of God, he missed college. At college he was just a regular guy trying to have a good time while getting a degree. But then his parents decided he should get married instead. He was 25 now, and the clock is ticking as his mother would say. Plus, it would make the family look better.

"Can I interest anyone in some hor d'ouvres?"

Aidan's head snapped up at the sound of the voice. It was her. And he decided that he had never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. He was slightly dumbfounded as he openly stared at this girls curvaceous body. Her full breasts were seductively well hidden with a small amount of cleavage, and her perfect ass and long legs were begging to be touched. He felt his cock beginning to grow and he was suddenly very thankful for being covered by the table. She turned her head towards him with her long hair swishing behind it and he found himself looking into beautiful blue hazel eyes. The sparks of attraction between them were so obvious, he thought he could hear them. He suddenly realized that everyone was looking at him strangely. Especially Olivia. No doubt she had noticed...

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What the hell is going on here? Olivia thought. He's staring at her like a fuckin drooling high school boy!

It was bad enough that Olivia forced herself to play stupid and have her family pretend to be broke so they could get Aidan and his family where they wanted them, but she wasn't working so damn hard to just have it all go downhill from here because of this stupid serving maid bitch. She saw the way she looked at Aidan too. She wasn't stupid. Well, I'll just crush any thoughts she had about him right now, she thought to herself.

"Are you just gonna stand there like a stupid ass staring at MY fiance or are you gonna serve us you bitch?" Olivia spat. Aidan's mouth dropped open. Where did that come from?! he thought. He saw the girls face immediately form lines of intense anger.

Uh oh.

Olivia looked incredibly smug as did the others at the table, excluding his father, who looked slightly taken aback. Still, no one said anything.

"Oh excuse me, I'm very sorry about that miss" Lili said, feigning her apology.

"Yes, well you should be! It was incredibly rude," Oilivia snarled snobbishly.

Lili felt her anger rising higher. "My apologies again miss."

"Just get on with it bitch!"

Lili's anger was at a boiling point. "Right away." And she turned the tray on it's side, dumping the contents onto the lap of an extremely surprised and furious Olivia among the gasps of the surrounding guests.

"You stupid BITCH! Do you know how much this dress cost me?!"

"No, I don't know. Nor do I care. Fuck you." And with that, Lili turned on her heel and stalked off to the kitchen.

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Aidan could not believe what happened. First off all, where did Olivia get a bitchy side like that?! She was worse than his mother! And that amazingly sexy creature....wow. He was actually glad she stood up for herself. She had a fiery side, that much he could tell. He was in too much shock to say much at the time, and he felt a little guilty for not stopping Olivia.

He quietly slipped outside to get some air. To get away from Olivia and all of the irritating guests.

I let my parents control my life and look where it gets me, he thought angrily. I wish I had finished college. I wish I wasn't marrying Olivia. I wish...arggg. I need a cigarette.

He heard the door open to his left, and sighed inwardly. Most likely Olivia coming to find him. He was pleasantly surprised to see the sexy serving girl walk outside. She didn't notice him at first, she seemed too involved in her thoughts.

"Shit!" she said. "Shit, shit, shit." He couldn't think of anything good to say.

"Um, hi." He tried to sound casual. She jumped and turned to look at him. Her eyes got wide when she realized who it was.

"Oh damn it! Look I -- ." He stopped her by putting his hand up.

"Don't even worry about it. I was actually kinda glad you did it. Truth is, she's never acted that way before."

"Which way exactly?"

"Rude, bitchy... insanely jealous." She looked at him strangely.

"Jealous? She just seemed pissed off that I was staring at you."

"So you were staring at me?" he teased.

"Of course I was. My friend and I agreed that you were the sexiest guy we had ever seen before I went out there," she blurted before she could stop herself. She blushed a little at her words.

He suddenly wanted to kiss her very badly at that moment.

"So what is your name?" he asked. He was very curious now.

She hesitated a moment before answering. "Lilian."

He smiled and repeated it. "Lilian....It's a beautiful name for someone like you." Surprised at himself, he stood staring at her unable to move, waiting for a reaction. He found himself imagining running his hands over her naked body, making him want her even more. He just knew her skin would be soft and warm. She was tall, her long legs seeming to reach for a mile before they met at her graciously curvy hips. And the ever so sexy dip in her back was making his mouth water. He was thankful for the dark of night, because his erection was straining painfully against his pants. When was the last time he'd had this strong of a reaction to a woman simply by standing next to her? Never, he decided.

As if reading his thoughts, or perhaps just seeing the bulge in his pants, she smiled slightly. He shivered a little as he stared at her mouth. "And who exactly is someone like me?" she asked quietly, stepping a little closer. He turned his head and found her body inches from his and suddenly he was the nervous one. She moved closer still. He could smell her perfume, mixed with a natural womanly scent, intoxicating him. But he found the nerve to speak even though their faces were so very close. Why was she making him so nervous? Women never did this to him. He usually had the control.

Even though he knew he shouldn't have...he answered her anyways."Someone like you is...beautiful, strong...sexy and intelligent..." he said slowly trailing off. It was insane to do, but he ran his hands over her skin, from her wrists to her bare shoulders, watching the slow journey his hands made. "Soft..." he whispered huskily. He looked back up into her face. Their mouths were hovering so near each others. The temptation to press his lips to hers and taste that amazing mouth was overwhelming. Desire surged through him like a lightning bolt.

"And...?" she asked. She wanted to hear more. She liked his reaction to her. She'd never had this effect on men before. Had she? She didn't think so. She couldn't really remember right now standing so close to him. She really wanted him to kiss her.

God, he wanted to. But reason overcame desire. After all, he was technically engaged, and like it or not, he was faithful. He put his hands on either side of her face instead and pulled back slightly. He didn't miss the look of disappointment on her face.

"And...you're so very unattainable and forbidden right now," he breathed. He sounded so bitter...and so sad. She sighed a little. She recognized his tone and sympathized with it. She thought she knew where it was coming from. She slowly began to pull back, seeing frustration and desire on his face. His breathing was slightly erratic and his hands were fisted at his sides to prevent himself from pulling her back.

"Well, I should get back to the lame party. My parents will be hunting me down by now asking why I dumped food on an important guest of theirs," she said, starting to walk away. The realization of what her words meant hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Wait! Lilian...Jesus...Lilian Donovan? Your family owns this place?" he asked weakly.

"Yeah...I'll never be able to forget that," she said with a mixture of anger and sadness. And then she was gone through the door, disappearing back into the party.

He stood in shock. "Lilian Donovan?!" he said again. I almost kissed her, he thought to himself. Great, she's unattainable, forbidden, AND out of my league. He felt like yelling.

Could it get any worse?