Hey, bitch! What's up, girl?"
I turn around slowly, throwing my head back swallowing down the scream that was threatening to uncurl, "Ana! Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack, I hate it when you do that!"
Ana just laughs, "Ambrosia, grow a spine! I made so much noise coming in that you should have known I was here! You know I'm literally the most clumsy person alive!"
And I couldn't argue with her, because she was the most clumsy person alive. I almost didn't trust her in the bath alone.
"Yes, well, you need to work on that. It's a personal problem, hun."
Ana rolls her eyes, shoving me playfully, "Look, you know I try to work on it, but you know it's also never gonna happen so can't we puh-lease stop pretending that Ana Rosen will ever not be clumsy? I'm clumsy, but I'm cute."
I scoff at her, "Oh, no you're just cocky. You're not that cute."
Ana playfully squeals, "You are such a bitch! But I know you're kidding, so I'll let it slide. Anyways, the party is at 10. We're going."
I shake my head, "You're going to have to go alone, then, because I'm not going."
She rolls her eyes, "Like hell you're not going. I already lied to your mom and got you an out for tonight," she smirks slyly, smugly saying "You're going."
I sigh, "Well, I better go find something to wear then." I emerge from my closet with four dresses to choose from, laying each one down next to each other on my King sized bed. The first one is a spaghetti strapped black dress with a corset like top and a flowy bottom that reaches my feet, the second is a tight red dress that reaches my midthigh with a black zipper all up the center of the front, the third is a sleeveless plain black cotton dress that's form fitting, and the forth is a green version of the first dress.
Ana picks up the first dress, "This one, and put your hair in a loose ponytail with a few loose strands on each side."
I smile at her, "What would I do without you?"
She chuckles, "You'd die."
"You're probably right about that."
So here I am at nine thirty, leaving the house with Ana to go to a party I'm not sure I even want to go to.
Once we arrive, I realize were actually early. I look at Ana, "I thought you said the party started at 10, Ana?"
She smiled, "There's no party, Ambrosia. Just trust me, okay?"
I frown at her, because it's so like Ana to set me up with a lie like that. I just never know what to expect when she does. I just know she will tell me anything it takes to get me out of my house, and onto her plan. So I silently follow her to the house, waiting to see what she has up her sleeve this time. I just hope it's nothing too stupid.
Ana knocks softly on the door three times, and smiles softly at me. "You won't regret it." I'm starting to wonder myself....
Suddenly, I hear the locks on the door move, and the door swings open revealing a guy in his mid 20's, with blonde unruly hair, thick with long curls, a neat beard lining his strong jawline, his eyes the color of the ocean and his cheek bones well defined. He's tall, he must be around 6 foot tall. He's grinning down at small little Ana, who barely makes it up to his chest, and she instantly attaches herself to his wait, "Hi Brandon!" That must be his name. He looks at me, and I give him a small smile, "I'm Ambrosia."
He nods, "I'm Brandon. Come on in, ladies."
I follow Ana inside, and Brandon leads the way to a large room well-lit with bright bulbs in the ceiling. There's a guy in the den, on a black couch.
Brandon calls out, "Caleb! They're here, man."
The guy gets up quickly, turning to face us with a curious look on his face, "Oh hey."
Brandon, "Ambrosia, this is Caleb."
Caleb looks at me, and the curious look changes into a warm, inviting one instead, "Hi Ambrosia."
I smile, "Hi."
Ana and Brandon go and sit on the couch opposite of Caleb, and as I consider going and sitting by Caleb, he's already begun to walk towards me slowly. He's tall, dark and handsome, with a muscular jawline, deep brown eyes, dark black hair, high cheekbones, and he looks quite fit under the white T-shirt he wears. I blink once I realize I'm staring, and look away as he approached me, after it seemed he was moving in slow motion.
"You want to go out back?"
I look at Ana, and nod, "Sure."
I follow him outside, and we sit on a bench near a large pool outlined with a beautiful stone design. Caleb clears his throat softly, "So do you feel like you've just been set up?"
I laugh, thinking the same thing, "Leave it to Ana to play Cupid."
"Nah, they were both in on it. They've been seeing each other for months now."
I snapped my head up at that, "What did you just say?"
"They've been seeing each other for months now?"
"Ana usually tells me everything...I didn't even know that."
Caleb, "Look, I'm sure she had a good reason. Maybe she wanted to enjoy it alone for a while?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well," He pauses, "Maybe she wanted to make sure he was going to stick around before involving her best friend."
I pause while thinking about it. "Maybe. I guess so."
He nudges me, "Bet you won't jump in the pool."
I glare at him, "I-Youre right. I won't. I'm in a dress."
He grins, "Chicken."
I scoff, "Am not! Take it back!"
He laughs, "Chicken, chicken, chicken!"
I stand up kicking off my shoes, "Fine, you're on." I put my dress over my head, leaving myself in my bra and boy shorts, and run and jump in the pool.
I swim to the top, and look over the edge of the pool at him, "Hmm...looks like I win. Who's the chicken now?"
Caleb stands up, "Well, not me!"
"Wait what?" He pulls his shirt off, and kicks his shoes to the side, and then jumps into the water behind me.
I giggle as I watch him swim up, "Well, then, I guess we're both winners."
He smiles, "Yes, yes we are."
....
Walking up to the house, I hadn't known what to expect. All I know is that I wasn't expecting Ana to play Cupid, and especially not to play Cupid so well that she matched us up to the T. Caleb is exactly my type of guy, and I'm particularly interested in him, though I refuse to admit that to him.
I have always been one to enjoy a chase, nothing should come easily. Not when it's a relationship, anyways. I could go with the easy pace, go on a few dates, be the cute new couple who lucked out and met the right dude right away. But what's the fun in that?
That creates boredom, you just gotta keep them chasing. Make him want you more than you want him. Now I'm not gonna lie, you obviously should want him as much as he wants you, but let him chase you. Chasing you keeps your relationship fresh, but more so, it's healthy. I don't expect Caleb and I to turn into anything, of course he could just forget about me. But if he does want to continue going.... He's gonna have to work for it.
Heading back into the house after we've dried off and put our clothes back on, I hear giggling, I instantly know it's Ana. I guess their having a good time. Brandon has Ana's arms pinned above her head with one hand, the other hand tickling her waist. Ana's so ticklish, you barely have to touch her. We continue on to sit on the couch Caleb sat on when we first arrived at their house, and only then do they notice we've entered the room.
Ana chuckles, "Hey guys, I guess the two of you have gotten to know each other. You guys look wet."
I frown at her, "We went for a swim, why do you look like you're imagining something in your head?"
She wiggles her eyebrows cockily, "Well, wouldn't you like to know." I don't have to question it anymore, I know Ana was hoping there was more to the story. Leave it to Ana to expect the worst, but I would not stoop that low just upon meeting someone. Much less with someone I hardly know anything about.
I guess Ana senses what's going through my mind, as she leans forward to give me a nudge, "I'm just kidding."
I roll my eyes, "I know."
Brandon clears his throat, and Ana and I both blink, looking over at the blonde haired boy. We get lost in our own bubble sometimes, and it seems this was one of those moments. "So do you ladies want to spend the night, what's the plan?"
My eyes flicker quickly to Ana, and I know she's going to want to stay the night just by the look in her eyes as she peers back into my soul. Undoubtedly pleading me with her eyes, knowing it's up to me if I'm willing to hear about it from Danni tomorrow. It seems like a small price to pay for my best friends happiness, though, and I know that Ana would do the same for me.
So I blink twice at my best friend, our secret signal for an answer. She grins, slightly jingling the small necklace on her wrist, "Yeah, we could spend the night."
Brandon slides her closer to him, "Good."
I smile to myself, I'm happy to see a real smile on Ana's face, it's been a long time. I've decided I can't be mad at her for not telling me that she's been seeing Brandon for months, I understand she has her reasons, and like Caleb said, maybe she wanted to test the waters before involving her safety blanket. I wish she would have told me so I could have supported her, but I'm just happy she finally let me in, and happy I get to see this side of her.
Caleb takes my hand, and I look over at him questioningly, as he stands up, guiding me to follow. He leads me up the stairs, into a large room, with dark grey walls, and black furniture. Like the rest of the house, decorated to look exquisite. Caleb sits on the bed, and I sit beside him, as he turns on the television.
"What kind of movies do you like?"
I smile, "Horror."
He nods, "I dig it. I could definitely go for a good horror movie right now."
I push my shoes off, moving further into the bed, laying down in a comfortable position on my side.
We start to watch the movie, and about thirty minutes into it, I feel myself falling asleep. I stretch out onto my stomach, and I hear the television turn off, just as my mind starts wandering into slumber, I feel two strong arms wrapping me safely into a warm embrace, until soon.....I succumb to the thick sleep waiting for me in my dreams.
.....
Light burns through my eyelinds, it's all I can see. Squinting I reach my hand up to shade my eyes, yawning as my eyes adjust to an unfamiliar room. Caleb's room.
I look down and sure enough, there's two strong arms wraps around my waist, and a muscular chest against my back, a steady breath on my neck. The smell of aftershave etching into my ever-so-loving nose, a woodsy smell mixed in, his scent. His body is so----
Did I really just let that happen? I slide out from his arms quickly, but smoothly to not wake him up. Mentally kicking myself, I sneak out of the room and go down into the loft we we're all in before, sitting on a couch alone.
I check my phone, suprisingly finding no calls or texts from Danni. She usually would have made some sort of degrading comment by now. I guess she doesn't really care at all anymore.
"Ambrosia?"
I look over to see a messy haired Caleb, fresh out the sack. "Good morning."
"You left bed to come sit alone?"
I smile, "Well,yeah I left bed, because staying in bed is for relationships. Which we are not, so no offense, but don't expect that to happen again."
Caleb sits beside me, "You're a girl for a chase, I see. Well, I'll bite, but....sleeping together is different then having sex, and being together. You know, there's nothing wrong with spending the night, enjoying a warm body every now and then. If you're not interested in a fast paced relationship, I respect your decision, I just don't see the problem in innocent sleeping."
I quirk an eyebrow. "I guess that I'm just not used to innocent spending of the nights with males." I laugh, "I guess innocent sleeping isn't so bad, so long as it remains innocent."
He smiles, "Does that mean we can have some innocent cuddles since you left me alone in bed for no reason?"
I shrug, "I guess so." I lay down accross the couch, Caleb stretching out behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist snugly. I nestle into him, feeling the warmth spread across the back of my body. I turn on the TV above the couch across the room, and I choose to watch Harry Potter. I look at the TV, but my mind isn't on the movie.
Danni may not have texted me, but that doesn't mean I'm out of jail free. When I go home she could easily say something to me, and maybe that's her plan. Maybe she doesn't want to talk about it through text. Though a part of me considers that maybe she really just doesn't care.
Ana must be having great morning sex, or must have been really enjoying sleeping next to a male partner, because it's now 10 a.m and she's usually up and going by now. I'm starting to get ansy, because the longer I take to return, the more likely that Danni will say something.
I sit up, Caleb's arms falling from around me, as he pushes himself up, too. "Can one of you take Ana home, please? I really need to go, my guardian is not going to be happy with me the longer I stay out."
Caleb stands up quickly, "Sure, can I get your number from her?"
I nod, "Yeah, tell her I said to give it to you."
He nods, and hugs me goodbye quickly. I don't hesitate to beeline to my car, so that I can get my ass home.