Jul 05 2010
I mentioned the idea for this story in my previous blog post; it took me a few days to pen it out. There’s two (maybe three) important details about the story that I’m curious to see if anyone notices. I also have one question for everyone who reads it: how does it end?
“Mixx”
Ham! No, turkey. Lettuce, tomatoes. Wait, scratch the tomatoes. Add some onions. With cheese? Yeah, American. Footlong, too. Maybe a bit of oil and vinegar. Now that’s a good sandwich.
Waiting in the line to order, I was trying to figure out what I wanted for lunch. I think I must have gone over the menu three or four times before I decided.
Hello! Who are you?
I spotted him a few places down in line. All-American boyish looks, average hair like all the kids wear it these days. Jeans, t-shirt. Strikingly cute, but not my normal type. He was chatting with a friend of his, probably trying to decide the same thing I had settled on just moments before. I caught his eye briefly before stepping up to the counter; I think he was wondering what I was looking at.
—–
A few days later, I’m getting ready for the reception. I’ve spent a couple weeks preparing for it and I’m pretty sure I’m ready. I’m not really nervous, either, just excited. Walking into the hall to get started, I notice him again—he’s here, at the reception! I guess he was invited, too. Not that I mind, of course.
—–
Everything goes off without a hitch. Everyone in attendance loved it and had a great time! I’m glad it went well. A bunch of us decided to go to an after party and relax—I’m always game to celebrate.
John, Travis, Sara, Nikki, Patrick, Ted. OK, I don’t know that girl. Or that one, or the guy over there. Come to think of it, there’s a lot more people here than I thought and I don’t know most of them! This should be fun.
I wandered over to the kitchen to grab a drink—sweet tea vodka and lemonade—and sat down at one of the tables. They were playing a drinking game, some variation off euchre. I quickly joined in and made some new friends; one of the girls, Laney, was very chatty and very wasted. They taught me some new drinking games I had never heard of before and, as could be expected, I soon joined Laney in our euphoric stupor. Someone turned on a stereo and started playing some music—yeah, I think I can dance to this. Pretty soon everyone was on their feet dancing around, singing aloud, laughing and giggling. I was enjoying myself a lot until he walked in.
Shit, I’m drunk and he’s gonna think I’m an ass. I don’t even know what to say to him—should I introduce myself? Should I just go over and start talking? What if I play a drinking game with him, loosen things up first?
As luck would have it, Travis knew him and could tell I was being too indecisive, so he swooped in and brought me over to him.
“Jason, here’s the friend I was telling you about.”
I stood there, quavering at first, not knowing what to say. At least I know his name now.
“Hey,” I awkwardly said and offered my hand.
He replied the same and shook hands with me. We stared uncomfortably for a few seconds before he wandered off with his friends.
Dammit! What an idiot. Could I have been more awkward?! There’s no way he’d be interested in me after that.
Still, I had been down that road before—not knowing how to approach a guy—and finally figured that if I don’t take some risks in life, I’ll never get anywhere. So I walked up to him again.
“You look thirsty.”
Yeah, a stupid line. Maybe it’d work.
“Guess I am! What are you drinking?”
“Firefly. Want a cup?”
Thank god he said yes. We walked over together and I poured him a glass before we returned to the table. Laney was pretty far gone by now, to the point she was stumbling over both her words and her feet. She tried getting up only to dizzily fall back down, laughing.
“Maybe we should help her to a bed,” Jason offered.
“Good idea.”
We each take one of her arms and half carry her upstairs. When we reach the room she’ll sober up in we gently lay her on the bed and sit down next to her, exhausted from both the lifting and our own drinks. Maybe it was the alcohol, but I suddenly had the urge to kiss him—that’s not like me, jumping into things so fast. Still, it couldn’t hurt to go a bit further, so I put my hand on his thigh and looked up at him.
“You know, I thought you were cute since I saw you at Subway the other day. I think I have a crush on you.”
Jason simply smiled and said, “you’re pretty cute, too. Let’s see where this goes.”
He leaned in to kiss me—fuck my inhibitions, I wanted this too. I eagerly returned the advance, tongues entwining together. What shot through me next was this incredible feeling in my stomach: butterflies? Lust? Drunken toxins? Whatever it was, it was pure bliss and I sure as hell wasn’t stopping.
—–
After we finished playing our own round of “Seven Minutes in Heaven” Jason offered me a ride back home. That was sweet of him—romantic, too, him being all gentleman-like. When we got to my apartment door we hesitated for a second before kissing again—hell, we already made out, what’s wrong with a quick kiss good night? I told him I’d love to see him again and he just gave me one of his cheeky smiles before heading back to his car.
What a night.
—–
Fast-forward a week. I’m working at my desk when this guy comes up to me and introduces himself.
“Hi! I’m Darius. I’ve heard a lot about you!”
“Hopefully good things,” I responded.
He chuckled and explained yes, they were all good things. Apparently Darius was at the party a week ago but never got the chance to say hi to me. He saw me descend from the second floor with Jason right before we left and wanted to make sure that things went alright from that point on. Parties, whether high school, college, or otherwise, they never change. You always gotta be careful around who’s there, he reasons. Thanks, I tell him, but everything turned out fine. I wasn’t raped if that’s what he’s asking.
“Oh gosh, no, that’s not what I meant! I’m good friends with Jason; I know he wouldn’t do something like that. I’ve just seen people like Laney get into trouble before and hoped it didn’t happen to you, too. Glad it worked out for you!”
Darius walked away, leaving me wondering exactly who else was at that party and what, if anything, I missed.
Again, I ask: how does it end?