Surviving the Aces (#Wattys2018)

Meet Ash

"A Colombian Suit and tie?" Quintin asked me as soon as I came through the door. I had been texting him about it while Ash and I were shopping, mostly because he kept bugging me.

"Yeah." I replied. "You'll never believe who we got to come here on such short notice." I told him excitedly. "Ash knows some people in Miami. Everyone is gonna love the party!"

Quintin leaned against the wall of the living room, crossing his arms. "Jace is going along with this?" He asked.

My face fell at the memory Jace speeding away with his girlfriend, not even sparing me a backwards glance. As I began to answer, Kenneth and Christian entered the room.

"No. Jace left me to work alone, so I called in some help." I explained, trying to hide the fact that I was upset.

"Speaking of help." A voice said from behind me. I turned to see Ash carrying multiple bags, looking extremely irritated at me. "There's a butt load of crap in the car just waiting to make itself useful. Let's get moving."

I rolled my eyes. "Guys. This is my best friend Ash. He's not usually so rude, but when he is, just know he gets it from me." I claimed.

Quintin rolled his eyes but went outside to help anyways with Kennedy and Christian in tow. I jogged upstairs in search for Bryson, Tristan and Roderick to help me string up lights in the backyard.

In the kitchen, I gave Lily all the ingredients and recipes for the Colombian and American food we were having. She seemed rather excited at my choice of foods, and quickly set to work.

Once I was sure that all of the setting up was running smoothly, I decided to go upstairs and get a head start on my outfit. I knew the colors of the Colombian flag were red, blue and yellow so I figured I could represent it.

As I rummaged through my clothing, it quickly became apparent that I had no clothes for the party. I had a yellow shirt and blue skinny jeans but nothing presentable for a suit and tie party. I sighed in despair.

The reason Ash was so excited about having a Colombian themed party was because of his mother who was half Colombian. They visited Colombia every few years; they always offered to take me but I always refused to go, which I regretted now. 

"Dakota!"

I jumped up at the sound of Ash yelling in my ear.

"How'd you get in here?" I groaned, rubbing my aching head.

He laughed. "The door. Come on. We already set up the carpet for her entrance. We have a bouncer to keep out the rejects, and the food table is ready." He informed me, with a mock salute.

I rolled my eyes. "How about the decorations?" I asked, standing up.

"That be you." He said smiling and pointing his fingers at me.
I gaped at him. "The party starts in two hours and you come get me now?"

I pushed past him as he shrugged, hurrying down the stairs without giving him a chance to answer. I was anxious to prove to Jace that I didn't need him to throw a perfect party. I rounded up all the guys who were going to help and we set out to work.

-:¥:-

An hour and a half later, the house looked magnificent, causing me to smile with with pride. All the guys were now in their rooms finding the "perfect suit." I had no idea what that meant since all suits looked the same to me, but didn't question it because I was having enough hardship trying to find my own "perfect suit."

Jace was still out with his redhead, and I couldn't wait till he came back home to see what we'd done. I couldn't help being jealous of his girlfriend. He seemed to be so happy around her, yet we'd already gotten off on the wrong foot. I didn't know why I felt like I could be closer to him, but I pushed those thoughts away so that I could focus on the party.