"Are you ready?"
Benjamin grabbed my hands and squeezed them, and his deep azure eyes were beaming towards me. He was way more excited than I was, but that didn't matter. I loved seeing him like this.
"Yes," I giggled.
"Okay. So, pretend to be surprised, because they don't know that you already know they're in there waiting for you. I just wanted to prepare you f..."
"I know, Benjamin. And thank you for that. Now can we please get this over with?"
He suddenly looked confused and slightly disappointed, so I was quick to elaborate.
"With the surprise part. Not the party. I really look forward to that."
Do I really?
"Oh. Good," he breathed in relief.
"We'll be having fun until the early morning sun," I sing-songed, reiterating the same words he'd told me earlier that day.
"Damn right! You look really good, by the way. That red dress is... And those killer heels... God, Mousie."
"Stop talking, Benjamin! Now go! Shush!" I laughed and pushed him toward the door to his house, and the embarrassment was pricking all over my skin.
"And don't ever call me that so they can hear."
I received a solemn nod and watched him zip his lips shut.
"Give us a couple of minutes to get ready. I'll tell them you're on your way."
He winked and I shook my head. What did I do to deserve such a great friend? A bit immature, yes, but the best and most charming anyway. And now he gave me a silly thumbs up before he hurried back into the house to prepare my so-called 'surprise'. It was time for action.
Hundreds of thoughts ran through my head while I kept an eye on the time. Would there be more people than the ones Benjamin mentioned? And considering what he said about my outfit, was I overdressed? Gosh, that would be embarrassing. But what was more concerning; would Ryan be there? Also, would there be cake? Or presents? And Michael... According to Benjamin, they'd talked quite a few times. What if he was here tonight? Was I prepared to see him again? Not the least. Would I ever be? Probably not. But...
There was nothing I wanted more than just that. To see him.
"Okay. Here we go," I whispered to myself. Then I shook the tension off my shoulders and took a deep breath.
I rang the doorbell, and just as planned nobody opened. So I walked in and called for Benjamin, who didn't answer. So I called again. And again. Why didn't they jump out from their hiding places already? But of course, just when I thought Benjamin had fooled me into believing that they were there when they weren't, a loud roar came from people barging out from the kitchen.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
I jumped. No matter how prepared I was, all of my senses flipped into high alert, and I felt the intense urge to run away. Yet I didn't. I actually surprised myself for managing to physically stay cool long enough to notice that I mentally relaxed, even though they came over to congratulate me in turn. I got hugs from both Frida and Tim's girlfriend, Ruby, and even Rowan, the rising basketball star. And all of them brought a little gift that I opened in utter awkwardness, before Benjamin surprised us all with a huge birthday cake.
"Oh, my! You've outdone yourself, Benjamin. Chocolate cake is my ultimate favorite."
"Aaaaand... Tada!" he smirked proudly. "A bag of KitKat!"
"Oh, my God! You're the best!" I exclaimed, and almost ruined the cake before he managed to put it on the table so I could hug him.
"Hmpf. All of this hard work, and you're most excited about the KitKat?"
"No! Everything! It's just ama..."
I bit my tongue and felt chills run up and down my spine, when another guest appeared in the hallway.
Ryan.
"I thought you said..." I started, and I noticed Benjamin frowned.
"I did. And I told him to stay away."
"Where's the birthday girl?" Ryan announced with a cocky grin, and when he spotted me partially hidden behind Benjamin, he came straight to where we were standing.
"There she is!" he exclaimed, a little too loud. Benjamin immediately tensed up and mumbled something to me, before Ryan came into hearing range.
"Stay close to me, and try your best to ignore him."
"Aren't you glad to see me?"
Ryan barely finished his sentence before he pulled out something from behind his back. Another present. But that wasn't what surprised me. It was the sudden change into a regretful posture.
"It's the least I could do after behaving like a total ass last time we met. I'm really sorry."
Benjamin and I exchanged looks, and he seemed just as stunned as I was. Still, there was something in his eyes that told me not to trust him. I didn't. My paranoid nature had already labeled Ryan, and not in a positive way. I would never be in the same room as him if I was alone. But with Benjamin's large hand on my lower back as support, I finally stepped forward and accepted the gift, which turned out to be a tiny unicorn made of white porcelain.
"T-thank you," I stuttered. "You really didn't have to."
"Oh, come on. It's your birthday, and every girl needs a unicorn."
Benjamin cleared his voice to get his attention, and nodded toward the kitchen.
"May I have a few words with you?" he grumbled through clenched teeth, and Ryan followed him without hesitation. Then the door closed behind them, and I only heard the muffled sounds from a conversation that clearly wasn't very friendly. Still, both of them put on more or less fake smiles when they returned.
"Don't worry. He'll behave," Benjamin whispered when he came close enough. Ryan was already mingling with the others, asking for something to drink, and soon after he sat down next to Yak with a cold beer in his hand.
"...and then Tiffany ran into the toilet, bawling her eyes out. I almost felt sorry for that bitch. But seriously, who goes through your bag to steal your worn panties, and put them on the desk right in front of your teacher?"
Frida sure talked a lot, especially with some alcohol in her blood. But I actually found it quite amusing to listen to the many stories about her classmates and family. Ruby also piped in now and then, but it was mostly Frida, and I had to admit that they were both quite comfortable to be around. Maybe I could even consider them as my friends too, instead of just Benjamin's?
The boys had been busy playing FIFA 21, and were arguing about who was the real winner, because allegedly Benjamin and Rodney had cheated. I highly doubted it was even possible to cheat in a game like that, and if so, Ryan and Yak would most likely be the ones to do so. Either way, the game was obviously over.
The music was booming through the stereo, so I was probably the only one who heard the faint sound from the doorbell. I thought maybe it was one of the neighbors who wanted us to turn down the volume, until a bunch of guys entered together with two girls with the skimpiest looking outfits I'd ever seen.
"Aaaand basic bitch has entered the chat," Ruby commented dryly and rolled her eyes. Then she nudged me and made me look in the same direction as she did.
"The one with the way too tight corset."
I nodded slowly and tried to digest the sight in front of me. Two platinum blonde girls about the same age as me, looked like they came straight from the Playboy mansion, only that their clothes had shrunk on their way here. Although, I didn't even know if you could categorize them as 'clothes'.
The girl who obviously was Tiffany, wore fishnet stockings, a black leather miniskirt and a purple corset with lots of laces and ruffles. The other one was wearing a pink dress with a tiger pattern, and it barely covered her ass. She had a really nice tattoo on her leg though, but it kinda disappeared in the whole picture. And their way too heavily made smokey eyes didn't conceal that both of them already were pretty hammered.
"Ladies! Have a drink!" Ryan shouted when he saw them stumble across the floor.
"Like they need that," Frida huffed and rolled her eyes.
"At least they'll keep the dickhead occupied."
Frida, Ruby and I looked at each other and laughed, until I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder.
"Hi, Benny," I giggled. He looked funny when he was buzzed. "Are you drunk?"
"Pfff," he scoffed. Still, he stumbled a bit to keep his balance. "D'ya want me to get 'em out of here?"
I glanced over at our new guests, who already were joking and laughing with the others. Skimpy One and Skimpy Two each had a drink somewhat secured in their hands, and Tiffany sat on Ryan's lap, while the other one tried to coil herself around Rowan like a worm. Poor guy.
"I..." I started, but narrowed my eyebrows when Benjamin pulled up his phone.
"Who are you calling?" I asked.
"Cops," he mumbled, followed by a hiccup.
"What? No! Let them stay. No need to involve the police for this. They look..."
I glanced over at them again, and noticed that the guys looked pretty intimidating. But it was probably just because of how tall and muscular they were."
"...nice enough," I finished.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded and smiled. I felt safe together with my new friends, anyway. Besides, Benjamin was here as well. Nothing bad would happen.
"Positive."
Benjamin gave me one of his typical half-smiles and leaned in, and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me. But just as I was about to pull away, he turned his head to whisper something into my ear.
"I like that," he murmured, and I cocked an eyebrow to make him elaborate.
"You called me Benny. I like that."
"Oh," I giggled and praised my dark skin and the dim light in the room that nobody could see that I was red as a lobster.
"Tell me if you change your mind," he said and glanced back to those who were the center of our attention.
"Truth or dare anyone?" someone yelled, and my blood froze in my veins. Before I knew it, I had jumped up from my seat in panic.
"NO!" I yelled.
Benjamin looked a bit startled, but got the point. So when they kept shouting for that stupid game to start, he was quick to make them stop.
"It's her birthday, idiots! Find something else to play."
"Give me a nice, warm pussy, and I'll be busy playing with that all night," one of the new guys snickered, and I saw Tiffany try to hit his arm. Instead she almost fell off Ryan's lap, and he didn't even bother to help her keep her balance. They were drunk, alright.
"Beer pong!"
There was cheering from most of them, while Yak shook his head and looked bored. He obviously wasn't planning on joining them, and neither was I. I'd had two drinks and was just drunk enough to feel the buzz. It also helped me stay calm in a situation that otherwise would have freaked me out. Yet it didn't stop the alarms that went off when Ryan suddenly came up behind us and climbed in between us on the couch.
"Get lost, dipshit!" Ruby yelled, and tried to push him away. She didn't succeed much. And neither did Frida. So they changed tactics and moved away from him instead.
"Come on, Mia. Let's go to the toilet and freshen up our makeup."
Frida grabbed my hand and started pulling me up, but I was held put, with Ryan's arm around my waist.
"Let me have a few words with her, ladies. I won't bite."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Ruby said with concern, and it made me even more nervous than I already was. I looked over at Benjamin who was consumed by a conversation with Rowan, most likely about sports. At least he was close enough to hear me if I needed him.
"It's okay," I said with a nervous smile. When they didn't leave, I nodded as well. "I mean it. Go ahead."
Frida glared at Ryan as if to threaten him, and he held up his hands to show that he wasn't planning on anything stupid. Still, moments later, he offered me a drink.
"No, thank you," I said and refused to even touch the glass.
"Come on now. I just want to make up for the way I behaved last time."
"Thanks, but no."
I firmly pushed his hand away, and he finally gave up and gave the drink to Rodney, who was just passing by on his way to get some more snacks. And after what felt like an eternity of awkwardness, he leaned closer. But only close enough so we could talk over the noise.
"So you guys are dating now?" he asked and looked at Benjamin.
"No, we're not."
"You're single?"
Ryan looked genuinely surprised. All I could do was to shrug.
"Yeah, I guess you can say that."
"Ha!" he exclaimed. Then he mumbled something that probably wasn't meant to be said out loud. "Damn, Benny. You're dumber than I thought."
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing. I just find it hard to believe that he hasn't hit on you yet. He's climbing the walls for you, you know."
If only you knew, I thought to myself. Then I praised higher sources that he would never know what happened between us, and almost laughed in his face.
"Well... Again, I'm really sorry for the way I treated you, and I hope you're having a great birthday."
He patted my thigh shortly and got up. And just as he left, Frida and Ruby came back with a drink for each of us.
"Did he behave?" Frida asked, and scanned me with her eyes. And she would probably freak me out a bit, if she stared at me like that while sober.
"He did, actually. He just apologized for the umpteenth time."
I noticed the two of them exchanged quick looks, before they sat down on each side of me.
"Don't ever trust that guy," Ruby said and took a sip of her drink. Frida gave me one of hers, and shoulder bumped me lightly.
"Don't worry, girl. We'll protect you like furious Dobermans with rabies."
We laughed and cheered, before we all took a large gulp each.
"Mmm, this is good," I hummed and took another large sip. "What is it?"
"I'm not completely sure, but Rowan helped me to make this. It's a 'Sex on the beach', and he did pretty well, actually. Wanna taste?"
She held out her cup, and my nose caught the fruity smell before I could taste it.
"Gosh, I need one of those," I groaned.
"I know, right? I love it. I can ask if Rowan can make you one too."
"Okay. I just gotta finish this one first."
"Is it the same as mine?" Ruby asked and leaned over to taste, but she shook her head.
"That tastes more like pineapple punch."
"What? No!" I snorted. "It's more peachy. Or maybe... Lemon?"
"Who in their right mind makes lemon drinks? It's too sour."
I gulped down some more of it, almost emptying my glass.
"Okay, it's not lemon, but it was good. But why were your drinks larger than mine?" I whined. Then I giggled because my voice sounded silly.
"Probably because you're the birthday girl, and is honored to drink out of a glass, while we have these stupid, red cups."
"But I want a red cup, too. With sex in it."
Frida and Ruby laughed out loud.
"It's 'Sex on the beach'. Do you want me to get one for you?"
"Yezzz!" I slurred. I really shouldn't. I was obviously drunk enough. So I promised myself to only drink water as soon as I was done drinking... Sex... That stupid sex drink.
"Oh! And ask Rowan what the pineapple drink is called."
"So it was pineapple, after all? Not peach?"
"Or lemon!" Ruby added, chuckling like crazy.
"Yeah... That... Uh..."
Why did the world spin so fast?
"Rowan!" I heard Frida shout, already before she got up. Then she disappeared into the ocean.
Wait... Where did all the water come from? We're gonna drown!
"Are you alright, Mia?"
I looked at Ruby, and the water reached up to her neck. I tried to move, but everything went so slow.
"Mia?"
"I'm fine," I slurred. Maybe the water would go away if I blinked hard?
"Mia!"
I felt a sting on my cheek before my ears filled with water, and gradually all the sounds faded and sounded like they came from really far away. Then it filled my lungs, and I felt a small wave of anxiousness wash over me. A wave that disappeared right after when I noticed that I could still breathe. I could breathe under water. Was I turning into a fish? I hope not. I didn't like fish. They're slimy.
"Mia! Oh, my God. I'm gonna go and get Benjamin."
"Nooo, Ruby. I'm fiiiineeee," I wanted to say. But fish don't speak, and obviously I couldn't either. Not anymore. I was just drifting around deep down in the middle of the ocean, until a pair of arms came and picked me up.
Benjamin.