"I feel ridiculous."
Chelsea Ward stares at herself in the mirror. She stands there, nearly tripping as she shifts awkwardly, trying to stretch her cocktail length dress hoping to make it longer. She isn't used to showing this much skin and it makes her uncomfortable. She never wares anything above her mid thighs, or her knees even, and anything strapless out in public. Her hair isn't even used to being curled or styled in any fancy way, and her feet are not used to the high heels they are making her wear, either. She has never felt more awkward with herself than she does right now in this moment.
In the entire twenty-five years of her existence, she can count the number of times she has not been herself on two hands, and not surprising to her it has been because of her friends. They are desperate for her, and somehow that makes everything so much worse. They always make her feel like an ugly duckling when they do this to her. She has always felt like they were trying to pull a fairy godmother to Cinderella moment on her, and she does not like that, not one bit. She allowed it before because she hadn't seen the harm of for one night being what they thought she should be, but not tonight. No. Chelsea isn't going to put up with it tonight.
"I'm not going in this!" She grumbles, trying to turn around to face her three friends, without tripping. She gestures to her outfit, to her hair and shoes. Even the jewelry is too much. "What is the point of going on a date when you are not yourself?" She argues, making a fair point. "I know nothing about this guy, except that his name is Bryce Finley. I don't know what he does for a living, I don't know where he is from, and I don't even know if he really even wants to meet me."
Katarina smirks. "Blind dates are like that." She pulls her dark, slightly wavy hair into a ponytail. She is the most mischievous of all four of them, and Chelsea knows that it had been her idea. The other two might have gone along with it, but it has to be Katarina's idea to set her up...it always is.
Chelsea finds herself glaring at her supposed friends. "This wasn't my idea, and I don't even want to go. So if you don't want me to bail on this guy, you better tell me something about him, otherwise, this evening is going to be a disaster, regardless if I show up or not." Chelsea admits while kicking out of her heels and walking across the living room past her friends.
"She is right." Cheyenne agrees. "We have to tell her something, or they are going to sit there in awkward silence, and we all know it." Cheyenne points a knowing finger at the last member of the group, Kristine, and glares at her with her bright blue eyes, though Chelsea doesn't seen it. Cheyenne drops her hand just as Chelsea turns around to face them.
"Fine." Kristine states; shrugging slightly while folding her arms across her chest. "He is a great guy, and if you bail he will be crushed."
Chelsea shifts, both from the awkwardness of the dress and the oh-so-familiar conversation that they have had many times over. "Alright." Chelsea gives in a little. "I will go, but you better keep talking." She hisses in mock anger. The three other woman shares a look between them as though they know something Chelsea doesn't.
Kristine is the first to look back at Chelsea, and fumbles with her fingers through her red hair. "I can't tell you exactly where you are going. You have the address, and directions. That is all he told me to give you. He wants it to be a surprise."
Chelsea's face falls into what can be described as a Resting Bitch Face. "But you know, don't you? You know where he is taking me? You wouldn't let some random guy take me out into the woods right? Because that is the plot of a horror movie in the making." Kristine only nods, a wide smile on her face, showing her perfect teeth. "Let me ask you this." Chelsea gestures to herself, and how she looks in the outfit they put her in. "Would I honestly fit in at this place? Or would I look ridiculous there?" She feels she already knows the answer, because she already feels ridiculous. Any place that would require her to wear something this fancy, Chelsea would not have any fun at because she would spend all night concentrating on not making a fool of herself. The looks her friends give her only confirm it. "That is what I thought. I get that you are all married, or about to be married, and you miss playing dress up, but I can't take it anymore. I'm sorry." She takes a deep breath, finding her pride once more. "If I am doing this, I am doing this my way." She turns around, nearly falling from the heels, and stalks back into her bedroom to change.
It has been three years since all four friends have been living under the same roof. Now it is just Chelsea and she likes it that way. She doesn't find it lonely and depressing any more. She is thankful for the quiet and the space given. The house seemed rather small when all four of them were living in it and going to college. Even after college, when they all had jobs and were unmarried. Now, it is large for just one person. She is always thankful for the size though, when people came to visit. Its basement has often come in handy with the Kansas weather, as well.
"Keep talking. I am listening!" Chelsea hollers from the next room over. She rummages through her modest-sized closet, quickly trying to find something she can wear that is nice, but not so nice that she doesn't feel herself.
Kristine groans, giving in and making Chelsea laugh. "What do you want to know?" She hears Kristine unfold her hands and smack them against her jeans in frustration at how Chelsea is acting. She knows Kristine isn't used to her being stubborn, but she is now, especially now. She has to be.
"Just give me something to go on!" She yells back. "Something that won't make me want to run the second I meet him."
"He is adorable." She gushes, saying the first thing that comes to mind.
Chelsea peeks out of the door frame with a scowl clearly on her face. "That means he is chunky." Chelsea, of course, wouldn't mind a heavier set man, but she was enjoying annoying her friends for once. Katarina snorts from laughing too hard and Cheyenne elbows her in the side while shooting her a warning look. Chelsea disappears quickly behind the door again, discarding the hideous green dress they had put her in.
"No." Kristine whines, quick to come to the mystery man's defense. "He isn't. He is quite good-looking."
"Quite." The other two women echo at the same time.
Chelsea manages to find a nice shirt to accompany her dark jeans. After throwing them on with only slight care, she starts to fix her hair. "You all are married, or nearly married, so your judgement of men's looks no longer count. Your idea of a good-looking male is based on your perfect significant other." Chelsea tries not to laugh at her own words, knowing she is just toying with them, though it is slightly true. "So, he is a great guy that happens to be cute. That still isn't enough for me to like the idea of going to meet him. Looks aren't everything, you know. They fade." She counters with her tone now serious. It has always been the one statement she has kept in the front of her mind. While her friends were always pointing out cute boys, Chelsea was always the one to comment on their personality rather than their physical looks.
"He likes the outdoors." Cheyenne chimes in, trying to help the situation.
"Okay. A nature guy. That is one small point in his favor. What else?" Chelsea checks herself in the mirror, making sure no tags are sticking out, or clothing bunched up in weird places. She has to admit, she looks rather good, and more like herself.
Kristine groans again, causing Chelsea to giggle to herself while looking in the mirror. "I'm not telling you everything I know about him. You have to ask him yourself."
Chelsea can tell Kristine is getting frustrated. She decides to walk out of the room, with hands on her hips and a smirk. "Well where is the fun in that?" She remarks sarcastically at Kristine's refusal to say anything more. After a few seconds of their silence and staring, Chelsea checks herself over again to see if anything is wrong or out of place. "What?" She asks, looking back at them for a second dropping her arms in insecurity, and feeling her cheeks flame red in slight embarrassment. Had she made a poor choice in apparel? "I mean I know it is not what you had in mind, and if he won't like it then..."
Chelsea is cut off by Katarina. "No, Chelsea." She walks over to Chelsea, turning her slightly to get a better look. "You look hot." She puts extra emphasis on the word hot, making Chelsea feel slightly better about herself, but no less awkward at the situation. No one calls Chelsea Ward hot, do-able maybe or even cute, but never hot.
Kristine smiles in approval and hands Chelsea the keys. "You look great. You were right. We were trying too hard. This is more you." She says in agreement. Chelsea's fit and protesting had paid off.
"Thanks." Chelsea replies back.
"You are going to be late." Cheyenne blurts suddenly, looking at the clock on the far wall. "You need to go." She pushes on Chelsea's shoulders, guiding her towards the door. "We won't see you until tomorrow, but we will be expecting a full report."
"Every detail." Katarina remarks with a grin. Her mind always goes to the gutter and her tone always implies everything to mean something dirty. It only escalates when she winks one of her dark eyes as Chelsea sends her a look of pure horror.
"Absolutely not." Chelsea replies in protest. "It won't get to that. Not even close." Katarina sends her back a look which seems to say "yah-right" with a wave of her hand carelessly. Chelsea groans as she is pushed out the door. She is dreading this night, and can't believe she has let herself get roped into a blind date. Twirling her keys around on her finger, she takes a deep breath and walks away, hearing the front door close behind her. Everything inside her tells her to run; to ditch the date. However, she knows Kristine will be furious and she is getting married in less than forty-eight hours. She is sure there is a rule book of wedding somewhere and ticking off the bride is probably somewhere in the "absolutely-do-not-do" section. It will not be a fight she can win. She gets in her modest car and droves off to the address barely legible on a crumpled sticky note, not knowing what she is getting into. Chelsea loves her friends dearly, and is happy that they have found happiness in their lives, but at times she finds herself jealous and wishes they wouldn't flaunt what she doesn't have, and desperately wants, in her face so much.
The four of them meet in second grade, having been assigned by the teacher to sit in the same group of desks for the entire year. Cheyenne Gibson had moved from Wyoming to Chelsea's home town at the beginning of the summer, and Kristine Taylor had moved to town from Missouri just two days before school started. Katarina Marcus, the rebel, skipped first grade and joined second grade, and Chelsea already felt like an outsider. Their teacher thought they would get along, and it worked, perfectly. The four girls became fast friends, and remained so to this day, despite their many arguments over the years. After high school was over, they were all accepted to the same college, and decided to rent a house together their second year. It all started to change, however, when they took their trip to Australia, which they had been planning since they were freshman in high school. It has been four years now, and all four were barely graduated when they packed their bags and headed to the airport. When asked, Chelsea always answered that her favorite part of the trip was the scenery and wildlife, but for her friends, it was an entirely different experience. Their favorite parts had nothing to do with the continent.
Katarina had been first in this specific kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience. As they left that morning for the airport, for their amazing trip to Australia, she decided she was going to take pictures of every "hot guy" she saw. As long she kept it discrete, the others didn't much care. It was during their layover in Florida when she very indiscreetly took a picture of a man she had dramatically described as being eye candy triple dipped in chocolate. He was tall with an athletic build with his dark skin. His dark curly hair was kept relatively short, and his dark chocolate eyes had locked on to Katarina almost instantly, as though he heard the silent snap of her phone camera. Kristine and Cheyenne suspiciously eyed something in the opposite direction and ran off to investigate, pulling a confused Chelsea with them. Katarina had only once admitted to being terrified at being caught in her photo stalking and had been momentarily struck dumb when he was rather entertained and intrigued by her. His name was Sean James, then twenty two. Sean and Katarina, then nineteen, had chemistry immediately into their first meeting. When he ran to go catch his flight a few hours later, though Katarina shrugged it off externally, they all felt her spirits lower a little when his friendly, fun-loving presence had gone. Sean is the son of Congressman Alfred James, who at the time of their meeting was about to win his election, to which his son was going to attend in Chicago. For their first anniversary of dating, they went to the Bahamas and ended up with an unplanned elopement, then later had a real wedding back home a couple months later to please his family.
Kristine had been the second. Half-way through the trip the girls came across Lucas Hendricks, then a 25 year old bartender at a bar the girls had stumbled upon. His cocky and sarcastic comments had caught the attention of the then twenty-one year old Kristine. He was immediately challenged by Kristine, who is known to be sarcastic and stubborn, when she called him out on his fake Australian accent. A flirtatious round of witty comebacks took up the rest of the night for the two, as they were challenged to one-up the other's lines, building chemistry with every glance, word and second that passed between them. Katarina hadn't much noticed, for her phone lit up every few minutes with a new text from Sean, but Cheyenne was thoroughly entertained, though Chelsea found entertainment in the live authentic band. When Kristine commented on his second accent, Lucas revealed it wasn't fake because he was originally from England. Lucas wanted to travel the world, and told Kristine of all the places he had been, and had yet to go, always searching for the next best thing. It wasn't until Lucas came to the United States a few months later, when he started to see what he really wanted. What he truly wanted was a tall, sassy red-head named Kristine. When Lucas proposed to Kristine, two years later, he revealed that he could never imagine anything greater than her, and where ever she was was where he wanted to be. The two of them made a bucket list of sorts, of places they wanted to go and things they wanted to see before they got married, and they spent the next year doing so, traveling abroad. Once every place was crossed off, they returned, and set the date.
Lastly was Cheyenne, who was then twenty years old and a hopeless romantic. She believes it was fate that led her to Ronnie Clarke. It wasn't hard to believe either, for the she kept running smack into him countless times in one airport, but she was not brave enough to say more than a few words to him. She was stunned, however, to find the then twenty-four year old sitting in the seat right in front of her for the remainder of their flight back to the states. From the moment he met Cheyenne, he felt as though he needed to get to know her, and thus spent the entire plane ride from Australia to Florida doing so. The two shared a common interest in Wyoming, which was Cheyenne's home as a child, and Ronnie's end destination. He revealed he was carrying out his dream of owning a ranch. He had, at the time, recently inherited one in Wyoming from a distant relative who knew he wanted it. Kristine and Katarina had only mildly been interested in Cheyenne interest in Ronnie, both having more important things to them on their mind, a.k.a. Sean and Lucas. Chelsea, however, knew nothing of Ronnie, for she kept to herself in the airport, and was fast asleep on the plane with the music of Def Leppard clearly heard through her headphones. When they parted ways in Florida, Ronnie invited Cheyenne to come visit him anytime she wanted. They were later married during the year Kristine and Lucas were abroad. The couple returned, for just the weekend, to attend the celebration.
As Chelsea arrives at the mysterious destination she only briefly worried about getting the wrong address until she saw where it leads. She sits in the parking lot for a few minutes, trying to talk herself out of going in. However, it doesn't work. She sluggishly gets out of the car, giving a quick laugh to where she is at and is thankful she changed her outfit. The mysterious address and directions had led her to a country bar/restaurant in a renovated giant barn. She shrugs to herself, mumbling that she guesses it is better than Hooters. She checks her outfit one last time, making sure no wardrobe malfunctions will happen throughout the night. She also checks her make-up, making sure the red-orange lipstick hasn't left smudges and has stayed in place. The hot summer night was the reason she chose her dark blue tank-top, which, she was told, hugged all the right places. Her dark brown hair, though still holding the curls from earlier, is pulled up in a simple ponytail, showing off her simple tiny hoop earrings, which complimented her small cross on a silver chain around her neck.
Deciding it is now or never, she takes another deep breath and walks across the parking lot and into the wide open doors of the establishment. Whatever idea Chelsea had in mind for what the inside looked like, it isn't this. The front, where she has walked in, is indeed the entrance, which is barely out of the way of the dance floor and the live country band, which was playing in the corner to her right. There are a few standing tables for those who are taking a break from dancing, but if people want to sit down, they don't have to walk far. In the back of the barn, are booths for fine dining. The booths were on three of the four walls and in the last quarter of the barn's length. These booths ranged in sizes, from seating groups of possibly six or eight, to groups of three or four. Chelsea can only see the booths partially because there is an inner wall with booth wrapped around it in small cubical like the outer walls, but at least the inner group of booths on the outside have a view of the band.
"Good evening, Miss." Someone chirps next to Chelsea, startling her slightly as she had been lost in the scenery, as always. She looks and sees a boy, probably high school aged, smiling at her with menus in one hand and a radio walky-talky in another. "Are you by yourself, or meeting someone?"
Chelsea glances around, before looking back at him. "Meeting someone." She answers reluctantly. "I was told to ask for Bryce when I arrive." She tries to hide the guilt of not being able to give a last name, or even the awkwardness of not knowing who Bryce was or what he looked like. She hoped there weren't too many Bryce's here tonight. It would be entirely just her luck to meet with the wrong man.
"Are you Chelsea?" He ask, with a curious smile forming on his freckled face. He has suddenly become a bit more curious and excited.
Chelsea gives him a quizzical look. "Yes." She nods. How did he know that?
The boy smiles widely and he glances around for a quick second, but then pulls up his radio and talks into it. "She's here." That is it. That is all he says.
This makes Chelsea more nervous than anything. "You didn't say my name." She states while biting her lip for a few seconds, hiding a nervous smile. "Please tell me you do that for everyone who is meeting someone here."
He tilts his head at her for a second, sensing her nervousness. "Yup." He chirps, though his small chuckle that follows implies otherwise.
Though Chelsea always tries to remain polite to strangers, she can't help the rise to her eyebrows that tell him she knows the truth, unfortunately. "You're lying."
He only laughs and his grin remains plastered across his face. "Yah." He confesses with a shrug. Rolling her eyes, she turns away from him, momentarily contemplating making a run for it. It wouldn't be that hard; just one foot after another, but she can't seem to make her feet move. Something has her rooted to the floor, and it quite possibly could be the fear of the wrath of Kristine. She is too busy with nerves to notice someone coming down the stairs.