The day Alaine went to my launch party
Today was the day. Feeling the nerves, I opted to go for a run in my running path that was a few minutes away from home, living in a village, had its perks considering how big it is and how everyone seem to know each other.
I ended my run in the village park, it was empty, I sat down on the bench next to the basketball court, checking to see how my stats were. After cooling down for awhile, I walked back home, to see mom cooking tapa flavored corn beef and egg, dad went out of town for two weeks since it was only just us and our dog.
I sat down on the bar stool, and poured myself a glass of water which was placed on our Kitchen counter, mom placed some food on my plate, giving it to me. I waited for her to sit beside me, and we ate in silence, she would ask questions about Alaine, and about the launch party. She told me that she would pass by, since she was meeting up with her lawyer, Frank about her cafe that she wants to open next year.
As we finished breakfast, she excused herself placing our leftover tapa corn beef in a glass container, and placing in the refrigerator, while I washed our dishes. After I did my chores, I started getting ready to meet up with the team in a thai restaurant near the bar area, parking was sort of an issue since it was on the other side of the uptown area, but glad the guard helped me find a spot in their public parking lot. I parked my car, walked across the street to where the restaurant was, "Soi Chicken" was the name, it was placed in the middle of a milk tea shop and a Japanese ramen place that had several branches in the Metro.
I walked to the restaurant, meeting the receptionist who led me to the booth area, where I saw Javier and Diego sipping their water, and perusing the menu while Macy and Layla sat beside each other, having their own conversation.
"Hey!" I say, the girls looking left seeing me go up the steps leading to their booth
"Aye!" Javier greeted giving me a fist bump
"What's good man!" Javier said, side hugging me
The girls greeted me giving me a side hug and sitting beside each other, while I sat at the head of the table. The waiter pouring me a glass of water, and walking to another table to get their orders, I perused their menu, seeing my favorite Thai dishes.
After deciding on what to order, we spent the next few minutes discussing the launch party happening tonight, it seemed that everything was ready. We then took the rest of our time together catching up, the atmosphere being a little sad because we were missing one member, but she would be joining us tonight at the venue.
As the waiter returned to take our orders, we each placed our choices, excitedly discussing our favorite dishes. The anticipation for our meals added to the cheerful ambiance. Diego and Javier exchanged a few jokes exchanged, keeping the mood light.
The waiter efficiently took note of our orders, and also repeating our orders. He then took all of our menus, leaving us to continue catching up with each other. We talked more about the event, my podcast, life and how Nikki has been. As our conversation shifted to her, a sadder tone settled over the table. Diego and Javier shared their concerns, recounting their calls and visits. Macy and Layla, visibly sad by how she missed the planning, rejoiced that we were finally seeing her at the launch party.
In the midst of the heartfelt conversation, our waiter returned with a tray of appetizers and main courses, placing them on the table. The aromatic dishes momentarily diverted our attention from Nikki and how we will be seeing her later. We thanked the waiter, and as he left, we said a prayer thanking God for our food and thanking Him for giving us a chance of planning the podcast launch event.
After we prayed, we enjoyed eating the food that the chefs prepared for us, leaving no leftovers, we decided to order mango sticky rice, a must dessert to eat in Thai restaurants. We all finished it, slowly ending our conversations, and asking for the cheque from the waiter who cleared our table.
We said our goodbyes, driving back to our homes, to get ready for the event, it was quarter to eight and I left the house going towards Alaine. I arrived at her apartment driveway, she looked beautiful, her in that pink halter top paired with white jeans, her hair tied in a bun, with strands of her hair, falling to her face. She smiled at me when she entered the car, placing her seat belt on, I gave her a kiss on the cheek which made her blush.
I held her hand while driving to the Hideaway, the newest bar in Thornville, we parked in the outside parking space designated for us. As we entered the venue, the bouncers were having a meeting, while the bartenders were preparing sliced lemons and a glass of salt for the cocktails they were gonna be making.
"Hey!" Javier said, "You must be Alaine!"
I saw Javier heading towards Alaine, a beer bottle in his left hand
"Yes!" She says shyly, "That's me."
Javier gave her a side hug, feeling her discomfort, I wrapped my arm around her, fist pumping him, who stood across from me.
"Javier, meet Alaine." I say
"It's so nice to meet you Javier." She says smiling and extending her left hand
"You can call me Javi." He says, "Do you want some bar chow? I can have the server grab some calamares for you."
"No. Thank you!" She says, "I'll have some later."
Javi nodded, leading us towards the back where we saw the others. Macy and Layla were on their phones, while Diego was eating some nachos, that they pre ordered before we got here.
"Hey Guys!" I announce, "I want you guys to meet Alaine."
I gestured to Alaine who was waving shyly, Macy and Layla placed their phones smiling at her while Diego stood up and giving her a half hug. Being an introvert, she didn't hesitate hugging him back, she sat beside Diego who gave her the plate of nachos, while I sat in the head of the table.
Looking around, Nikki wasn't here, I checked my phone and saw that it was almost nine pm. I looked at Alaine, who was busy talking to Macy about their favorite shows, it seems like they have something in common, while Layla headed to the bathroom. A few minutes later, guests started arriving, they all headed to the games area, some started playing air hockey, playing mini golf and even playing beer pong.
Alaine stayed at our reserved table eating a new plate of Nachos, this time she opted for a side of cheese pizza which she offered to Nikki, who came a few minutes after we arrived. Macy and Layla were documenting the party, interviewing people about their heartbreak while offering them shots if they don't wanna answer. The DJ blasting songs that people were singing along to, as I was making my rounds and meeting new people, I saw Alaine's siblings, Marianne and Megan. They both walked towards me, giving me both a hug, and congratulating me.
"Where is Alaine?" Marianne asks, scanning through the room
"She's in our table near the back." I say loudly since the music was loud
"Okay!" She says, "Megan and I will say hi to her and we will play some games."
"Okay! Have fun!"
They gave me another hug, walking towards the back, where they met Nikki and talked to Alaine for a bit. I saw Marianne and Megan heading to the outside patio, to play some games, as I turned around to the entrance I saw Kevin, my old high school classmate.
"What's up Eli!" Kevin says, fist pumping me
"Hey Kevin!" I say smiling
He wore a black buttoned up shirt, paired with black trousers, his hair styled with a deliberate casualness a balance between professionalism and a laid-back attitude. He looked around, seeing the amount of people dancing on the dance floor and walking out the event.
"Congrats on your podcast!" He says
"Thank you!" I say, "May I offer you something to drink?"
"Sure!" He says
We headed towards the bar, where we saw many groups of girls grabbing their shot glasses and toasting to their guy friends. I ordered myself another bottle of beer, while he ordered a gin and tonic, we moved to the side, waiting for our drinks, we talked about our college plans. He was flying to New York since he got accepted in NYU, while I told him about Alaine and how Psychology is something I wanna learn about.
We both were supportive of each other, as we got our drinks from the bartender, I led him to where Nikki, Macy, and Alaine were talking. Alaine had a glass of Aperol Spritz, her favorite alcoholic beverages, while Nikki and Macy had their second round of beer.
"Hey Elijah!" Alaine says, sounding tipsy, "We were just talking about our favorite artists, the girls and I are deciding to go a music festival. If you wanna join us that's cool too."
"She's so fun!" Nikki mentioned wrapping her arm around Alaine and leaning into her before moving away giggling
"Yeah! Your girl is super friendly plus we like her." Macy smiled
"I'm glad you guys are having fun." I say, "Listen I want you guys to meet someone."
I gestured Kevin to introduce himself, he looked at me and nodded.
"Hey girls!" He says, "I'm Kevin!"
"Hey Kevin!" Nikki said smiling
"What's up Kevin boy." Macy says waving
"Hi Kevin." Alaine says, "I'm Alaine." She stands up but holds herself up by placing her hand on top of the table
"Hi girls." He says, "It's so nice to meet you all."
"It's nice to meet you too." Nikki says, leaning on her hand
"Nice to meet you." Macy says looking at Kevin
"Yes." Alaine says, looking at him and winking at me
He sat in the other table , while I gave Alaine a glass of water before giving her a kiss on the forehead, the girls giggled while she blushed. I sat in front of Kevin and as we were talking, Javier and Diego joined us updating us on my speech that I will be doing in an hour. I introduced them to Kevin, who they shook hands with, while I was looking at the girls, who was laughing and having fun. It felt nice seeing them get along especially since I wanted Alaine to feel welcomed and not left out.
I saw the place filling up when it reached 10:30 pm, Marianne and Megan both checked up on Alaine, who assured them that everything was fine before they said their goodbyes since they didn't wanna stay long and I was gonna drive Alaine home. I gave them both a hug, seeing them off, before I headed back to the table where the boys were munching on a plate of cheese pizza while the girls had another platter of nachos and chicken tacos.
Alaine and Nikki ate while Macy took photos of the event and interviewing people. The boys and I talked about life, relationships, our future plans before I walked up on stage with a microphone.
As soon as I stepped on stage, the crowd cheered, and clapped feeling excitement in the air. I looked to the right side of the stage and saw Alaine giving me a "thumbs up". I looked at the crowd and began thanking them for coming to the event and for supporting me. I also gave shoutouts to my team who cheered on for me, giving me claps and being proud of me. Lastly, I gave a shout out to Alaine, for always supporting me and for never giving up on us. The crowd gave "Awws" and "So sweet" reactions to that last part of my speech before I closed off by informing them when my podcast episode will launch.
The audience clapped and cheered for me when I walked down the stage, Alaine gave me a hug, before we walked over to the table. The DJ meanwhile played a remix of a spanish song and a Coldplay song, the team walked to the dance floor, leaving Alaine and I to spend time with each other.
We ended up joining them, dancing and singing along to the songs played, we also played indoor golf in the games area until it was time for us to leave. The crowd started leaving at 11 am, so the team and I got to help the crew clean up before Alaine and I left. The drive back to her place was filled with laughter, talking about how she enjoyed and how happy she was for me and the team.
I told her how much it meant to me that she attended my launch party, and telling her how happy I am that we are together. She feels the same way, as we reached her apartment building, she unbuckled her seatbelt, and gave me a kiss on my lips.
I unlocked the door, watching her go down, seeing her look back and wave at me, I rolled the window down, waving back. She walked deeper into the lobby, giving me a sign that it was time for me to go. I drove out of the apartment complex gate, and drove back home, reminiscing on the memories we've made together.