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Couples sway side to side in the center of Encino Oaks Country Club wrapped in decadent attire and flashy jewelry for everyone to admire. Jazz music plays throughout the room as I lean my head against my palm from the table I sit at.
"What'd I miss?" Erik asks out of the blue as he hurries into the ballroom, adjusting his tie in unison.
"Just about everything that would cause a need for a lobotomy." I deadpan, earning an awed expression from my sister.
"Lovely," She comments, "Dinner hasn't started yet."
"Perfect timing," He replies,
"Is my car still intact?" I question,
"Just hanging on by a thread." I raise my eyebrows to display my I amusement. "Yes, Sam. Geez, I'm not as bad of a driver as you are. It's safe and sound at home."
"At home?"
"Yeah, mom said there wouldn't be any parking so I caught a ride with one of my buddies." I attempt not to groan in response, knowing I'd have to stay as long as the rest of my family.
Ali's table is across the club, but in eyesight and I found Johnny's to be on the opposite end, almost making a triangle formation throughout the room. The tension is noticeable when Johnny glances over occasionally but I just pretend I'm in a conversation with someone in attempt to not look like a complete loner.
Dinner is barely tolerable and by the end, the only thing I want to do is slide on my headphones and pretend I'm not stranded where I am. Couples begin dancing all over again and some migrate to each other's tables to begin speaking to one another. Ali's parents end up by us and the two moms immediately fall into a conversation full of laughter while the dads kind of sat on the sidelines.
Another woman ambles up, wrapped in pearls and a gray dress that rests just at her knees and her hair wrapped up in a fashionable collage.
"Oh, Laura, I've been meaning to catch you." Ali's mother beckons her over in an inviting manner, softly leading the other woman's shoulder into the conversation. "Michelle, this is Laura Lawrence and her son Johnny. Laura, these are the Emmeriks." My eyes flicker to the boy who appears behind the blonde woman, politely half hugging Mrs. Mills.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." He smiles, charmingly and Erik's eyes are already shooting daggers at Johnny who appears unaffected.
"Welcome to Encino. Are these your children?" She asks kindly and my mother proudly turns around and introduces us each individually, causing me to muster a quick, delicate smile. "They're gorgeous." She comments quietly to her, placing a hand on her chest in awe.
They easily slide back into some sort of topic and my father goes to greet Johnny warmly.
"Nice to see you again, Johnny." My father begins, causing my face to go blank and my eyes double in size as I watch the interaction.
"You as well, sir." He flashes his teeth gladly.
"Are you coming around again anytime soon?" The older man asks, and Johnny's focus flickers for me for a second before he answers.
"Uh, yeah I'll see." Dad's eyes trail to where his attention was and I can tell he's about to invite me over to join them. Erik's tongue pokes the inside of his cheek as he studies my movements, his fingers tapping against the chair he leans his palm on.
"I'm going to the restroom, I'll be back." I lean over to my mom and she nods, returning to the other two women. I begin toward the exit of the room and Erik manages to catch up to me.
"So, when were you going to tell me that you hung out with Lawrence again?" He interrogates gruffly.
"Wasn't planning on it actually." I shoot back, as I'm about to reach the bathroom.
"He's gonna break your heart, Sam." He states with one hand tucked in the pocket of his dress pants and the other pointed towards me.
"Then enjoy the show." I shove open the door in irritation and sigh, finally getting a moment to breathe since the night began.
I hop up onto the white marbled counter and dangle my feet above the floor, gliding the bottom of my heels against the stone occasionally. One of the stall doors open and Ali creeps out, discovering me in relief.
"Are you hiding too?" She asks and I nod, keeping my focus on my bracelets that I fiddle with.
"Why would you be hiding?" I ask and she checks the dainty silver watch under her sleeve.
"Because I've spoken to over half of Encino just in the past ten minutes and I'm getting tired of having to fake a laugh every time they make a joke." She admits with a grin, "Plus, I'm supposed to meet Daniel right about now." The dirty blonde excitedly fluffs up her hair in the mirror.
"Tell him I say hi." I smile at her.
"Will do," She replies in a giggle, aiming for the door. "You know, Johnny's been pining at you all night. Just thought you'd like to know." She smirks and disappears out of the bathroom.
I recall how he appeared when he was speaking to my dad and how much it irked me that he actually looked good. The regret settles in, having avoided him all night and assuming he would stop trying by now, I manage to snatch a bottle of wine from a silver serving platter just outside of the kitchen along with a few mints from a table in the front of the establishment.
My ego is way too big to walk back in there and associate myself with him after what happened the other night, no matter how much I really wanted to. I slip out the side doors of the country club and wrap my black lace shawl tightly around my arms. I take a swig of the wine and grip the bottle tightly as I cross my arms.
As cold as it is, I'd rather avoid the entire country club experience in the shuttering chill than return and have to deal with all of it. When I first moved here, I had a positive mindset, if anything, and comparing it to now, it forms a sort of pit in my stomach. I wish it went differently, completely differently, and I wish I didn't hate the new lifestyle my mom worked so hard for.
I can almost recall back in Chicago when I was jealous of people who had what I have now and would even kill for it. I would've loved to get dressed up in fancy dresses and jewelry just for one night to get out of my old handed down t-shirts. Now, having all of it, it seems if most of it hasn't changed and the struggles only migrated into other categories.
I pop a mint into my mouth and after what feels like ten minutes later, the door opens again. I cloak the wine bottle beneath the fabric of my shawl, but my muscles relax once I notice Johnny's figure in the doorway. He's now in only his tie and white button up with a few of them undone at the top, assumably due to the warm temperature accumulated within the ballroom amongst the crowds of people dancing.
"It's cold out, you should be wearing a jacket." He comments after a minute of silence.
"I'm actually quite warm." I reply tranquilly in a low tone and he smirks at my response.
"Of course you are." He exhales, glancing down at the bottle in my hand.
"So you came out here just to judge me, sounds about right." I tilt my head to the side and begin walking toward the sidewalk.
"Where're you going?"
"Home," I retort,
"You're gonna walk." He states in disbelief.
"That's the plan." I reply, working my way around the building and into the main parking lot, but he keeps at my side.
"I'm not letting you walk home alone."
"Then be my guest." I deadpan, gliding my arm out in front of me.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" He spits with a slight edge.
"Why do you have to be such a dick?" I seethe back, causing his jaw to clench.
"Get in the car." He demands once we reach his vibrant red convertible.
"I'd rather get frostbite on the walk home, but thanks." I roll my eyes, partially wanting to
get a reaction out of him.
"Emmerik, just get in the car."
"No."
"Why not?" He presses, his expression twisted in frustration.
"Because I'm apparently so 'blind.'" I reference his words and I witness him ponder for a moment, assumably putting his ego to the side, and looks back at me.
"I'm sorry about what I said, now can you please just get in the fucking car?"
"I'll think about it." I squint my eyes slightly, knowing the apology was only slightly sincere, and continue walking.
"You can't be mad at me forever."
"I guess I'll be the first to break the record then." I retort and that's when he cracks.
"You're driving me fucking insane!" He blurts, "What more do you want from me?" I halt in my tracks and flip around, regressing a few steps back toward him.
"I want an answer! That's what I want! Why can't you just tell me?" I shout, finally letting my anger run free.
"Because you already know! And I can tell what you're thinking so, no, I'm not gonna spell it out again. There's no point." He blurts, his eyes hopeless and wild.
"If you can tell what I'm thinking then you would've done something about it."
"We've already been through this once and you made yourself clear the first time." His voice lowers from a shout to a rough tone, underlined in what I assumed to be hurt.
"Then I take it back."
"You're drunk." He counters, but I place the bottle onto to the surface of his car, allowing the moonlight to peer through the inside of it and reveal that it's still almost completely full aside from a small amount being drained from it.
"I take it back, Johnny." I repeat and his eyes graze over my entire body, flipping up to mine when I utter his name for the first time in his presence.
"All of it?" He steps forward, the closing distance causing me to have to look up at him.
"All of it." I assure him and I can visibly see the shift in him when he glances down to my lips and back to my eyes.
He immediately melts his lips with mine as he slides his hand onto the side of my face. I feel the adrenaline surge my body when he presses me against the hood of his car and I entangle my hands in his hair.
His alluring cologne floods my senses, never having been so close before, and his urgency is revealed in the way he kisses me. I feel him grab a hold of the silken waist of my dress and pull me closer, leaving no space between our bodies. The experience is exhilarating and I acknowledge the anger and annoyance fleeing every part of me as if it were never there in the first place.
He slips his tongue past my lips and instantly deepens the kiss, not holding back whatsoever. I glide my fingertips down his partially exposed chest and he almost shutters at the action before leaning his knee against the gap in between my thighs. The sweetness of his lips is addicting and it almost seems that I'm unable to get enough to satisfy my desire.
I realized in that moment that it wasn't hatred that kept drawing be back to Johnny Lawrence, it was the need for him.
Not a few minutes after, couples and families begin exiting the building we're stationed in front of. We immediately break apart without a word being spoken, the only communication between us being Johnny's head shaking when I reach for the bottle of wine and then tilting it towards the country club, advising me to go back inside.
I glance back as he hides it in one of the bushes and when I flip back around I run into Andie who appears shocked at my presence.
"Where've you been? Mom has been worried." The worried dirty blonde informs me.
"I had to get some fresh air, it was getting too
stuffy in there." I assure her, and her green gaze trails in the direction of Johnny.
"Got it," She grins and allows me to follow her back inside.
For the first time in a while, I was able to get a good amount of rest through the night although, there was an overwhelming amount to process.
a/n:
AHHH IT FINALLY HAPPENED WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK