I check myself in the mirror searching for stray flyaway hairs and making sure I look alright. Leaving my face bare except for some mascara and lip gloss, I believe I am ready to go. I pull at the hem of my top, not very comfortable in the crop top Sarah made me wear. If only the shirt were about an inch longer I would feel more comfortable. I sigh and shake my head. I gave Sarah permission to choose my outfit tonight and she didn't disappoint. I do look good in the floral crop top and high-waisted cutoff jean shorts. I drew the line on shoes though. I am going in my own comfortable flat converse. I am not touching her heels with a ten-foot pole. I would just end up falling and injuring myself or someone else.
I walk out the bathroom door to see Sarah is already primped and ready to go. Dressed in a cute, frilly, yellow dress and three-inch high heels Sarah is sitting on our couch with her purse in her lap. She looks at me and motions for me to turn around.
"Well go on turn around. I want to see how it looks!" She exclaims while I turn to show off her design. "You look amazing! I can't wait to go to this party! I still can't believe you are friends Tony Orsino. He is one of the hottest guys on the team or on campus in general!" She shakes her head at the apparently incredible feat to meet him, get his number and get invited to a party by him.
I told her everything that had happened as soon as I got home and told her she was coming with me tonight. Here we are a couple hours later and she still has a hard time believing it's true. I don't really like the implication it has on how she sees me. Am I that much of loner that it's hard to believe I have another friend? And apparently a popular friend is even more difficult to imagine.
It makes me feel like I need to get out more. It's like I am not really living life to the fullest and that I am being underestimated because of it. But I will show her and everyone else that doubts me that I can make friends and do something spontaneous every once and a while.
"You look gorgeous as always," I compliment her. "Now let's get this over with. It's already 7:45. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave." Well, there goes the whole spontaneous thing. I didn't even think about it but I inadvertently said something so predictably me it is ridiculous. Maybe I'll start being spontaneous after the party? Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.
We lock the door and then hop in my little, blue Volkswagen Beetle. I love this car. With the perfect shade of royal blue paint, I secretly call her my TARDIS. If only she really were a Time and Relative Dimension In Space machine disguised as a little car. Alas, my vehicle of transport is only a car and it is as little on the inside as it is on the outside. But, my baby gets me everywhere I need to go even if it might have a few quirky traits, like one window not rolling down and the engine making a weird noise when its starts. While others may call it a hunk of junk, I call it well-worn and just needs a little love.
We drive to the other side of the small college town to the address that Tony sent me. We pull up to a rather large looking house when the GPS says we have arrived. There are two pickup trucks, an SUV and a Jeep in front of the house. The trucks sit in front of the lawn and the SUV and Jeep sit in the driveway. I look around for any other signs of a typical college party. I see none. There isn't any loud music blasting or people milling around. I start to wonder if we are at the right place.
"Wow. This place is dead. Are you sure this is the right address?" Sara asks and turns in her passenger seat to face me. I pull out my phone and read my texts again.
"Yep. It's the right place," I tell her as I unbuckle and push open my door. Getting out, I slam my door shut and Sarah quickly does the same. I guess the only way to find out is to go up and knock on the door. I look up at the redbrick two-story house and see a large window with the curtains drawn on the second floor, directly over the garage. We walk up to the pristinely white front door and I take a second to prepare myself. Who knows what lies behind that door?
Mustering up enough courage, I lift my hand and hit the door with three sharp knocks. I take a step back. All we have to do now is wait. Soon, I hear heavy thumping steps getting closer to the door and then the click of the lock turning. Finally, the door starts to open and standing there is one of the most gorgeous men I have ever seen. Although not as attractive as Tony, he is still beautiful with a strong clean-shaven jaw and a mop of curly blonde hair.
"Hey, you must be Kendyl. Tony said you were gonna come over. Come on in," Blondie says and turns around to walk down the hall. "Follow me. Everyone is in here."
We follow him down the tiled hallway into a sunken in living room. The room looks like a typical bachelor pad. A large flat-screen television is mounted against the back wall with a whole bunch of different videogame consoles on the floor underneath. Two large black leather couches sit connected at a right angle in the middle of the room. They sit in prime position to view the TV. A small coffee table sits in front of the couches with a pile of board games stacked haphazardly on top.
Sitting on the couches were two more very handsome men. What is it with this place? Is it some type of beacon to hot guys? Sarah and I need to get us a place in the neighborhood just for the view. One of the guys sits in the middle of the sofa with his legs splayed out and his arms reach across the back. The length of his arms are so drawn out that the tips of his fingers reach the edge of the couch on either side. His head is completely shaven with a slight stubble of black hair. He has a scar on his face that reaches from the edge of his left eyebrow down to disappear beneath the stubble of his five-o-clock shadow. He smirks as he sees me staring.
"Hey, I heard we were going to have visitors. I can tell now why he calls you shortcake. That hair reminds me of strawberry shortcake. Plus, you're short. I'm Trevor." He introduces himself abruptly. He stands and reaches his hand out for a handshake.
I timidly reach my hand out to put in his large grasp. "Kendyl. Nice to meet you," I respond as his hand engulfs mine in a firm shake.
Letting my hand go, he turns his attention to Sarah. I could tell he was immediately enamored with her. He took in her long platinum blonde locks, sun-kissed skin and classically beautiful face all in and you could tell he was a goner. He didn't even know what hit him. This happens all the time around her. Guys practically fall at her feet the first time meet her and they are putty in her hands.
Sarah just smiles, oblivious to the effect she has on him and introduces herself.
"Hi! I'm Sarah, Kendyl's friend."
After standing rather awkwardly in the silence while no one said anything, I cleared my throat. I rolled my weight back onto my heels.
"So, um... Where is Tony?" I ask in almost a whisper. I am really uncomfortable right now. I am in a room full of strangers and the guy I was supposed to meet isn't even here.
"He is in the bathroom. Probably taking a dump with how long it's taking him." This is said by the guy still sitting on the couch. Correction, when I say sitting I mean more like sulking. He sits leaning back into the sofa as much as possible trying to put as much distance between us as possible. He has a glower set on his face and his arms crossed across his chest. His whole body language screams closed-off.
He looks like he could be as tall as Tony when standing and probably just as muscular, maybe even more so. His strong cheekbones are more pronounced in his glower. Think Benedict Cumberbatch kind of cheekbones. They are that gorgeous. His jaw is firm, covered in a dark 5-o-clock shadow. His beautiful blue eyes are icy in their stare. Jeez. Who peed in his cheerios?
"God! Could you be any more crass? We have ladies present," Trevor shoots an annoyed look at Crankypants on the couch.
"I could've said he was taking a shit but I was trying to be polite," Crankypants snidely retorts. He curls up his lip in disgust and turns his head to look out the window.
"That's Will. He's been in a mood recently. Just ignore him. We all do," Trevor says and smiles apologetically with a shrug. "And I think you already met Ollie. He was the one who opened the door for y'all." He nods his head in the direction we came in from. I turn and see Ollie leaning against the wall at the entrance to the living room.
"Hey," he says and waves awkwardly. Ahh.. A man of so many words, I think sarcastically. Well at least it's better than Crankypants pouting over there.
"Alright! Let's get this party started!" I hear Tony's voice make its way down the stairs. "By the way guys, you might not want to go in there for a while," he laughs like it's funny to stink up a room. Boys. I will never understand their thought process.
The sound of him bounding down stairs fills the room. It sounds like elephants stampeding, it is so loud. I guess it is no surprise given how much body mass he is lugging around. He should really learn to keep from running down the stairs. He might accidentally break a step with how strongly he pounds his weight into them.
He is on the third step from the bottom when he finally sees me. You can tell he is really embarrassed when he stops dead in his tracks. He just stares at me in horror for a few beats until he finally asks me.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to know not to go near that bathroom for at least an hour," I quip dryly.
A/N: So what did you think? How do feel about Mr. Grumpyface, Will? I would love to see your comments! And if you enjoyed it, please let me know by clicking on that little star!