Prosperity

2

It didn't take long at all for me to come to the conclusion that Jamie Horner was boring.
It seemed that his only personality trait was that he was rich, and even that isn't that interesting when it's talked about so much that you feel like hitting your head off a wall.
I kept looking over at my Mom, desperate to get away from them, but she was too absorbed in flirting with her boss to pay me any attention.
"My father has owned the company for twenty years. He took over after my grandfather died, and one day I'll take over from him," Jamie explained slowly, as if I was some kind of fool who didn't know that this was how family businesses normally functioned.
"Yes, I gathered that." I nodded in return, sipping from my champagne flute and debating whether or not I should throw it at him.
"The business has been going so well recently... It really has been great.... We went to Bali... Our family holidays are so much fun... My father is just so good at what he does..." Jamie continued, but I was barely listening to him by this point.
Every word that came out of his mouth resembled nothing more than a cats claws against a chalkboard. As cliche as that sounds, I had never truly understood that saying until I got myself into a conversation with Jamie Horner.
I would rather sit through a lecture from my Criminology professor at university, who sounded like he wanted to kill himself whenever he spoke, than listen to this man brag about his rich family for another minute, so I excused myself to the bathroom, where I could still hear Jamie's monotonous drivel ringing in my ears.
I downed my drink in a singular gulp, preparing myself for yet more repetitious conversation and made my way back out to the party.
Jamie came straight over to me, smelling even more strongly of Scotch than he had done when I'd left him. 
He leant over my shoulder, his breath hot and smoky as he spoke.
"Let's get out of here." he whispered, clutching my arm as he almost fell over.
"What? To go where?" I asked, lightly pushing him away.
"Anywhere you'd like to go. I can get my Dads keys." He told me, looking over at Harry, who was now dancing with my Mom, both of them heavily drunk.
I knew I should have said no and walked away from him and believe me when I tell you that that's all I wanted to do, but Mom had made me promise to keep Jamie sweet "whatever it took" so I agreed half-heartedly and Jamie stumbled over to his Dad while I got myself another drink.
I grew curious as we made our way out of the front door and onto the driveway. The darkness was eerily quiet and a black cat stalked across the path as we made our way towards Harry's car, the midnight breeze unravelling my tight curls so that my hair waved freely to my waist.
"You look beautiful." Jamie said, as he opened the car door (with great difficulty.)
"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself," I shot back, my stomach churning with disgust at the thought of myself flirting with him so naturally.
I know that I said Jamie was boring, but he really wasn't that bad once he'd had a couple of drinks down his throat.
He sped downtown as rain thudded on the roof of the car. The kaleidoscope of streetlights glittered along the road and reflected in the puddles that were scattered across the roadside. Distortions of skyscrapers and other cars formed through the windows of the car, which were fogged from the downpour as we hurtled further along into the outskirts of the city with no real destination.
"What a beautiful evening," exclaimed Jamie, looking over at me and smiling awkwardly.
"Yeah yeah." I said in return, but I couldn't stop myself from grinning as I turned away from him. I watched as the city became quieter and darker, the only light being the dim glow of the front headlights.
After what seemed like hours, Jamie pulled into a dark alleyway and switched off the engine.
"Why are we here?" I asked him, edging towards the door, slightly afraid.
"You'll see. Follow me!" He replied, and he got out of the car. Cautious yet curious, I got out of the passenger side and followed him down the dark alleyway, peering anxiously around in case someone was hiding, lurking in the shadows, waiting for us.
"Hurry up! It's just down here on the left." Jamie said, taking my hand and leading me further down the alley.
I felt extremely uneasy, because I'd seen enough television to know that the connotations of a dark secluded alleyway were not good ones, and that I could well be in danger.
At any given moment, Jamie could push me into a fence and do as he pleased. He could pounce on me from behind and hold a knife to my throat. Anything was possible, and nothing was there to prevent it.
I took a deep breath, not allowing these drastic thoughts to control me, and as we turned left I breathed out in disbelief.
We were stood on a grassy hillside, overlooking the streets that we had not long driven through.
"It's beautiful!" I exclaimed, staring at the city beneath me.
The lights shimmered below as the starry night sky swept overhead, every colour of the rainbow reflecting itself in Jamie's eyes as I looked at him, his eyes technicolour pools of wonder. He looked back at me, staring right into my face, and then he leaned over and kissed me.
It wasn't exactly a nice kiss, as his teeth pulled at my lip and he pressed himself against me a little bit too hard, but it was a meaningful one.
I knew it meant something to him, and I suppose it meant something to me too, although I just didn't know what exactly.
We drove back to the party not long after, and Mom and Harry came hurtling over to us the minute the car pulled up in the driveway.
"Where the hell have you two been?" Harry asked frantically, as we both got out of the car, hanging our heads in embarrassment.
"Relax, we just went for a little drive into the city. It's no big deal." Jamie laughed, but Harry looked angry.
"So what you mean to tell me is that you have been driving my car, unlicensed and unsupervised, whilst under the influence of alcohol?" Harry bawled, his face red with anger.
"Your precious car hasn't come to any harm, so get over it," argued Jamie, and he took my arm and led me inside.
Anguished, I looked at my Mom, who tried to smile, although she looked petrified.
"Shouldn't we apologise? He seems pretty het up," I whispered anxiously, turning back to see if they had followed us inside.
"No. Leave it. He'll get over it soon enough," Jamie argued, waving it off as if illegally driving an expensive car was the same thing as forgetting to turn off a light switch.
He chuckled at me when I frowned, and tapped my nose playfully. Normally, I hate when people do this, but having my nose touched was the least of my worries at that moment.
Harry came over to us as Jamie necked yet another whiskey, and grabbed his son by the arm. He swung him around and led him to the end of the room. He must have thought that by doing this, Mom and I wouldn't hear their conversation, but this was not the case as his fury boomed around the room, bouncing off the walls.
"What the hell are you playing at, Jamie?" He shouted, grabbing Jamie firmly by the shoulders.
"Nothing Dad, we just went for a drive around. Stop being such a spoilsport," He replied, looking over at me, winking cockily.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you, not at her. Was it her idea?" He demanded, his voice growing more impatient, more fierce.
It took all my strength not to look over at him, but every-time I stole a quick glance I saw him looking at me wistfully.
When Harry asked for a second time whether the drive had been my idea, James looked away from me, looked up at his Dad and nodded.
"Yes. She made me." He said finally, and he looked down at the floor while I stared in disbelief.