I am taken aback. What in the messed up hell is this? What kind of fate is this? As I am questioning why my luck is lacking these days, Jade proceeds towards their table. I have to remind myself not to act like a fool in front of him. I follow suit acting every bit unperturbed. Before we reach their table, I sidle up to Jade, "What is he doing here?" I motion discreetly in Kystan's direction.
"He is the friend I was telling you about." Jade says like there is no problem. But there is.
I open my mouth to lament but she says "Enough with the small chat. Let's go." Her eagerness to meet A-hole isn't lost to me. My girl is smitten for sure. I remind myself that this is her night, not mine.
One of the other two whom I do not know stands up and hugs me.
Huh? I have to rewind my mind a bit to at least try and figure out if I know him or not. Nope, I don't know who he is. Then why is he hugging me like I'm... why am I complaining? Honestly, he is a great hugger and it's not every day you get hugged by a good-looking guy, if you get my gist. The fact that Jade doesn't even bat an eye at this action, instantly tells me he isn't A-hole.
He let's go and I'm left flustered. "That was the best hug." I tell him with a smile on my face. I'm a sucker for hugs, don't blame me.
He grins like a kid and puts his arm on my shoulder, "Who's this girl? I like her already." He announces proudly.
I chance a look at Kystan and see him trying to suppress a grin but at the same time rolling his eyes at the Hug-man.
I turn to Hug-man and extend my hand, "I'm Liza. And you are?"
He clutches my hand and instead of shaking it he starts caressing it, "What a lovely name." He says in a husky tone.
"Back off." I say at the same time as Kystan. We look at each other, and I raise an eyebrow at him. I take my hand away from Hug-man's and move a step towards the nearest chair.
"I'm Luca. Nice to meet you, my lady." He says with a bow. The only chair that is left is next to Kystan. Very funny, I muse with distaste. I plop my rear on the chair making sure to put as much distance as I can from him.
During our greeting, I hadn't discovered that Jade and the other guy among the three had gone a little farther from us and they seemed to be having a major time. I'm not the only one who notices this:
"Seems like my boy can woo any lady into forgiving him." Kystan whispers in my ear.
I turn to him and I'm surprised by how near he is, "That sounds wrong on many levels," I say matter-of-factly, "But it's true." I agree reluctantly.
Kystan laughs softly besides me. "So Liza, huh?" He says like he is tasting the sound of my name on his tongue.
I look at him sharply. It's a pity that he knows my name now. "Kystan." I look at him unimpressed.
Luca diverts my attention, "Liza. Come and dance with me." He shouts from a makeshift dance floor.
"Nah, I don't want to embarrass you. Your moves will look so bad compared to mine." I reply playfully.
He puckers up and puts on his game face, "Game on." He declares. I get up and saunter to the middle of the dance floor and start embarrassing myself all in the name of a good time. Luca is no better because he is waving his arms like they are on fire and wiggling his torso like... I'd rather not compare.
After our disastrous dancing, I crave something sweet on my tongue. I go to the counter and get a chocolate martini with extra chocolate. I head back to the table and find all the others back again.
I set my glass down and Kystan picks it up. He examines it like a scientist examining a specimen and takes a sip. I glare at him, but he keeps on drinking. When he has chugged almost half of the glass' content, he sets it down and grins at me with a chocolate lining stuck on his upper lip. I do no more than to shake my head and smile. "You're so childish." I lament. He holds my gaze and licks off that chocolate like it's the most delicious thing he has ever tasted. Not childishly might I add. Suddenly, the temperature in the room skyrockets.
I avert my gaze from him. I focus all my attention on the conversation around us, and avoid Kystan's gaze at all cost.
"I think this year will be a blast. Gilbert isn't so dickish about the house and the beer prices went down greatly since last year." Everyone's attention goes to him. Suddenly, I am the only one who doesn't seem to understand what he is referring to.
"Is that even a word?" I ask incredulously.
"It isn't." Jade's guy answers. "The other day I met Peter, the dude who started his own disco downtown. And he asked to DJ at our party... for free." Everyone's face lights up. Free things are always delightful, but aren't they exaggerating the joy here?
I remember that I don't even know the name of the third guy yet. I lean towards Kystan and ask him, "What's his name?" I say motioning to the guy sitting next to Jade. Somehow I forgot that I have to avoid him.
"He is Asher." His voice tickles the back of my neck. I retreat like I have been burned.
I ask the next question from a safe distance. "What's this party you are talking about anyway?" He looks at me like I have two heads.
"Jade." He calls Jade with shock, "From which rock did you get her?" Everyone looks at us with confusion. "She doesn't know anything about our party." He says with an astounded expression.
I am regarded with incredulity. Am I supposed to know about this party?
"Yes." The three answer passionately. Oops, I said that aloud
"Hold on. You can just explain it to me without the theatrics." I say with a little annoyance at their exaggerated reaction.
They look at each other as though deciding among themselves in a who-will-have-to-break-the-bad-news kind of way. At last Kystan volunteers to get me out of the dark.
"All I can say is that it is the coolest party in all of Mayfair, or even England," He boasts with a self-assured smirk on his face, "I may not do it justice if I narrate it to you. Better yet come and see for yourself. Saturday after next." He says, and the others nod with approval.
I just got invited to the 'best' party, or so they think, by just not knowing about it. Nice. My chocolate martini is already empty. I order another and Kystan orders his own drink this time. Smart guy: I would have killed him, metaphorically, if he had taken another sip of my drink.
Soon, it's time to leave. The guys escort us out. As we pass a couple of guys by the doorway, one of them wolf whistles at me, my mind veers back to that incident the other night. A shiver goes through my body from fear.
Kystan's fingers intertwine with mine. I look at him sharply but his gaze is trained on the wolf-whistler, glaring at him. His hand is warm against mine, and surprisingly with it comes a sense of security. The guy gives up and leaves me alone. Kystan, let's go immediately.
I try as much as I can not to overthink the gesture. I look up at him to see his expression, but he keeps it neutral and he doesn't look at me directly at all. Ahead Jade hails a taxi and is waiting for me to arrive. I enter it as soon as I reach them. I look back at Kystan and he is looking at me with an expression I find hard to read.
The car drives off before I get a chance to decipher his thoughts. It's just me and Jade. I look towards her; she is looking out the window with a pensive look and a small smile on her lips. This signals good news and I'm most determined to juice it out of her. I prod her arm and she comes back to the now. She looks at me and squeals. "He asked me on a date. Like a real date, not the apology date or whatever you called it."
That was quick, "OK. Start from the beginning, please." I reply with zeal to match hers.
She rolls her eyes but starts anyway. "So, when you were so absorbed in Kystan, don't think I didn't see you," She says pointedly. I try to retort but she continues before I get the chance, "I was having a tête-à-tête with Asher and he actually apologized for being a jerk. I turned down his attempts and he said he would charm me by taking me on a date. I kind of accepted-"
The driver interrupts her there, "You either accepted or you didn't. Which one is it?" She looks at him with a pained expression.
"I accepted." She mumbles.
"Good. Now go on." He says.
She signals to me that we will continue in private without an audience. Luckily, we reach our stop then, and get out.
After cleaning up for bed we sit on the couch and she tells me the less interesting details of the date. Not that I am a fortune teller or anything, but I predict they will be together in the next month at most.
The doorbell goes off like crazy. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and stretch my arms. I slept in today. After last night, I wanted to rest before Monday comes along. I put a robe on top of my pajamas and answer the door. Dad's on the other side.