The Game Changer

by Trio, L. M.

  “Yeah, she just landed. She said she’d meet us there.”

  “I’ll bet she’s pissed.”

  “I know, I feel bad for her,” I answer as my phone as it beeps once again.

  It’s from Luke. Hav fun 2nite, sorry didnt get to c u, txt u latr.

  I respond, U hav fun 2! I’ll expct a txt @ 12! lol

  “Is that De?” Cathy asks.

  “No, Luke, he just wanted to say, have fun tonight,” I answer, smiling as I read his reply, Already plannd on it.

  She sounds curious. “That’s cute, he texts you? Is he coming?”

  “They’re going to CJ’s to meet up with their friends,” I state casually.

  She continues with her questions, “Who’s he seeing now? I haven’t seen him with anyone in a while. Even when he was with Alexa, he always had someone else clinging onto him.” She laughs.

  “I’m not sure, he hasn’t said anything.” I shrug it off casually. To be honest, the only person I’ve seen him with lately is me, but maybe he is just being discrete and not flaunting it in front of me. Besides, I don’t want to know. It makes my stomach sick just thinking of him with someone else, especially after last week.

  “What about you? There’s got to be someone you’re interested in? I can name about three guys that would love to meet you right now. Matter of fact, one of Eddie’s friends is kind of cute. He’ll be here tonight, do you want me to introduce you?” she asks.

  “Yeah, sure.”

  God, could this ride take any longer? I love Cathy, but I’m having a tough time dealing with the fifty questions. I’m not the type to give a lot of details as it is. I have no problem meeting guys, the problem is, everybody I meet, I compare to Luke. I don’t give anyone a chance. Finally, we’re here, a fifteen minute ride felt more like an hour.

  We park at the hotel and walk to the party. The house is awesome. By the looks of the cars lined up along the road, you can tell the party is already crowded. The DJ can be heard from outside.

  The house sits privately by itself on the beach. It’s set back off the road and there are people everywhere. We walk in to the large marble foyer, there looks to be three levels, with people crowded on each floor. The back of the house, facing the beach, has windows from floor to the ceiling with views of the ocean from every room or from the multiple balconies. The house is decorated with white, twinkling lights inside and out. Professionally designed Christmas Trees are everywhere.

  “Wow, Cath, this is amazing! I can’t believe he let all of these people in here. He must be crazy,” I say.

  “Yeah, crazy rich... Let’s get a drink.” She is ready to start the partying.

  The DJ is on the bottom level, which is also being used as a dance floor. We grab two martini’s off the bar and go to look for the rest of our friends. We finally find them on the third floor. Matt, Lori, Billy and Jennifer have just arrived. I stay with them while Cathy goes to look for Eddie. She brings Eddie and his friends over to our table and introduces me to Eddie’s friend, Jason. I spot Timmy making his way through the crowd.

  “Hey, did you hear from De?” I ask.

  “Yeah, she should be here any second.” He smiles.

  “How did she sound?”

  “Rushed, but glad she’s finally home,” he answers.

  “I know. I feel bad. It was a long day. She was looking forward to tonight.”

  “I figured she would be tired, I got us our own room at the hotel. I figured she’d want her own room if she wants to get some sleep. You know everyone is going to continue the party once we get back to the hotel tonight,” he says innocently.

  “Sure, so she can get some sleep,” I say sarcastically.

  He laughs again. “Seriously, it’s not like that, you can stay, too. She’ll probably want you there. I just figured if she wants to get some sleep, she’ll have a quiet place to go.”

  “I’m teasing. That was very nice of you.” Timmy does seem to always think of doing nice things for her, they have been together for a while now and I know how much Deanna really cares about him.

  “So what about you? Who’d you come with tonight?” he asks.

  “Cathy.”

  He laughs. “Oh, okay. I don’t know if you’re interested, but Stephen’s here.”

  “I don’t know about that. I mean, he’s nice and all, I just don’t know.” I feel bad saying it to his best friend, but I’m just not interested.

  “I’m teasing you, Jess. I think he got the hint when you turned him down, what was it? Three different times,” he says playfully.

  “I figured as much when he stopped calling. I had a good time the night we all went out… I don’t know, he is really nice, I’m just... I…” I was trying to explain why, but to be honest I don’t really have a legitimate reason. We did have a nice time the night we all went out.

  “You don’t need to explain. I told you, I’m kidding.”

  I walk with him while he gets another drink and grab a bottled water. I want to pace myself. I’m not much of a drinker anyway. He keeps checking his phone for messages because the music is so loud we would never be able to hear it. Finally, he gets the text he’s been waiting for.

  “Go ahead, you meet her. I’ll get her a drink and wait for you here.” I want to give them a couple of minutes to themselves.

  The bar is crowded. I wait amongst the already too drunk party goers, enjoying the music and people watching when Blake, the gorgeous loner, don’t-seem-to-give-a-crap guy from my Art class walks up behind me.

  “Hi, Jesse. How are you? You look amazing.”

  Blake and I have been in the same Art class all year, but have yet to say one word to each other until now. I admire his work. He’s just as good as me, maybe even better, but he doesn’t seem the type to be approachable. He keeps to himself, then again, so do I. This is the first time I have ever seen him outside of school.

  “Oh, hi, thanks. How are you?” Trying not to sound surprised that he actually knows who I am.

  “Great. Are you with friends?”

  “Yeah, they’re walking up now.” I point in the direction of the steps as Deanna comes into view. She spots me and gives me a wave. “I was getting us a drink, she just got here,” I say, picking up two martinis from the bar.

  He glances over in her direction. “Are you having a good time?”

  “Yes, I am. This is a great party,” I answer as some runway looking model walks up and slides her arm through his.

  “Thanks,” he answers as she whispers something in his ear that makes him smile.

  “Well, I better get back to my friends, it was nice seeing you. Happy New Year,” I say as I hurry away, giving myself an escape from that uncomfortable moment.

  As I head in the direction of Deanna and Timmy, I glance back over my shoulder in Blake’s direction. He has joined his friends, along with the model looking girl, still tightly holding on to his arm. He’s still watching me and gives me a smile, or a smirk, really, and holds up his glass to me. I return his smile and quickly turn away.

  Timmy still has his arms wrapped around De. They look happy together.

  “I’m so happy your back. I’ve missed you.” I give her a hug. “You look beautiful. How do you feel?”

  “Thank you, so do you. I’m exhausted. I’m happy to see you guys, though!” I hand her the drink. “I think I’m starting to get my second wind. This is great, isn’t it?” She asks while looking around and taking a sip.

  “Unbelievable,” I answer.

  “How do you know Blake Christiansen?” she asks curiously, looking over in his direction.

  “Oh, he’s in my Art class. This is actually the first time I spoke to him. How do you know him?” I ask as I glance back in his direction.

  “I don’t really. He’s in your Art class? Wow. I wouldn’t have guessed that,” she says surprised.

  “What do you mean by that? He’s actually really good. Honestly, he has me beat.”

  “This is his house. You know that, righ
t?” She laughs.

  “Oh, my God, no, I didn’t. I asked Cathy whose house this is and she said it was some guy named Brian or Billy.” Now it makes sense, why he thanked me when I said it was a great party. “Do you not like him or something?”

  “Like I said, I don’t really know him. He just moved here about a year ago from Manhattan, he was in one of my classes last year. He doesn’t hang around anyone from school. I’ve heard he’s trouble and only hangs with his New York City snobby friends... but to be honest, I don’t know that for myself. It could be a rumor, you know our school.”

  “Well, he’s nice enough to let all of these people hang out at his house for New Year’s Eve,” I answer defensively.

  De starts laughing. “Okay. I just said I didn’t know for myself. I’m just relaying what I heard.”

  I’m laughing with her. “I know. I just feel bad that all of these people are in his house, me included, and not one of us is a friend of his.”

  “Do you want to leave?” she asks teasingly.

  “Hell no, I’m having fun. Besides, at least I talked to him and told him I was having a good time.”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t count. You didn’t even know it was his house.”

  “True.”

  “He keeps looking over at you,” she says, glancing in his direction.

  I peek over. He is watching and I quickly look away. “Probably because this is the first time we’ve seen each other outside of Art class,” I answer casually, not making too much out of it. Then, I switch topics. “You made good time getting here.”

  “I did. I got ready so fast. I jumped in my mom’s shower and Mikey jumped in ours. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten ready so fast in my life. He drove me over while Luke showered.”

  She looks gorgeous for getting ready so quick. She’s wearing a stunning dark blue halter dress; her long black hair is slicked back into a sleek pony tail. Her skin is perfectly tanned. Everyone stares when she walks in a room. God, I even stare at her. She and Luke get that reaction from a lot of people. In the back of my mind, I’m wishing Luke would have dropped her off and stopped in to see me. Oh well, I’m here to have a good time and, so far, I am. Everyone is.

  The DJ is doing a great job keeping everyone moving. We walk down to the first floor whenever we feel like dancing, but keep a pub style table on the third floor to hang at in between. It’s somewhat quieter up there and at least we can hear each other talk. Every now and then I will take a walk around the party by myself. The more Eddie’s friend, Jason, drinks, the more touchy feely he gets with me; he’s somewhat obnoxious. Then, I have Stephen, who is with Timmy’s group of friends. He seems to notice that I don’t want to be bothered by the Jason kid, so he tries his best at striking up a conversation with me. He’s nice, but I don’t want to lead him on.

  On my last trip to the bar, I look for Blake, but don’t see him. Now that I know this is his house, I take notice of the artwork hanging around the house. I’m sure some of it is his. I want to ask him about it.

  As I’m wandering around on the second floor, I notice that everyone is holding little plastic flutes of champagne. I look up at the huge plasma on the wall and notice that there is only a minute till midnight. I grab a glass of champagne from the bar and start to make my way towards the stairs; my friends are still on the third level. I at least want to be with them when the clock strikes twelve.

  ***

  (Luke)

  “Why do you keep checking your phone?” Mikey asks as we are driving to CJ’s.

  “I’m not,” I annoyingly answer, changing the subject, as we pull into the lot. “Wow, the parking lot is crowded, isn’t it?”

  “What did you expect? It’s New Year’s Eve,” he answers, pulling into a spot in the back of the lot.

  It’s already after eleven, due to the late start we had today. Our buddy is working the door when we walk up, but there are a couple of others that we don’t recognize. I guess, since it is New Year’s Eve, they have extra guys on staff. A bouncer we don’t know asks us for I.D., Mikey calls over to Lou, the doorman who knows us. He waves us along and stamps our hands.

  It is packed and the band is playing. Normally, I would have loved this, but tonight, I just can’t get in the mood. We make a beeline for the bar and order two beers. As we push through the crowd, we find our friends at the usual spot, standing by the back bar. It’s a little less crowded in that particular area. By the time we arrive, most of them are already wasted. Megan finds Mikey. She is with one of her friends. I’ve met her before, but can’t remember her name for the life of me. She was with Megan the night she met Mikey. I recall her giving me her number at the end of the night, but I tossed it. She walks up to me and kisses me hello. She tries to strike up a conversation, but I’m not really interested. I’m not in the mood for some chick I don’t know, clinging to me as soon as I walk in the door. When she turns to say something to Megan, I make a bee-line towards our friends. They’re being obnoxious, as usual. I actually have a few laughs. They’ll probably end up getting thrown out before the night is over.

  Suddenly, I feel someone tugging at my arm and I turn to face the annoying person. Oh great, it’s Alexa. Drunk. She puts her arms around my neck and leans up to kiss me. “Are you still mad at me?” she asks.

  “No. I’m not mad at you. I’d actually have to care to be mad,” I say cockily as I untangle her fingers from around my neck and push her arms away. Just what I wanted. Drunken Alexa is worse than regular Alexa.

  Again, she ties her arms around my neck. Apparently too drunk to register what I have said. “Haven’t you missed me? I’ve missed you. How about we get out of here?”

  “I just got here,” I answer, pulling her strangle-hold from my neck once more.

  She tightly holds the front of my shirt. “Okay, we’ll wait till after midnight,” she slurs.

  “I don’t think so,” I say, removing her hands for the third time.

  It takes her a minute before she realizes that I am treating her like shit. Like I said, she’s drunk. “You’re an asshole, Luke. Who do you think you are? You’re really not that great anyway!” She begins babbling and cursing me out.

  “Yeah, okay… whatever. Why do you keep coming back for more then?” I probably shouldn’t provoke her, but I can’t help it. She continues rambling in my ear as I turn away and walk towards Mikey.

  He’s cracking up. “Dude, what the hell did you say to her?” he asks as she continues yelling at the back of my head.

  “I don’t know. She’s drunk,” I answer. “I should have stayed home.” I’m in a foul mood and it’s showing.

  “Ah… Man, you’re pathetic. Here.” He dangles his keys in front of my face.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Take them. Go find her. I know that’s what you’re dying to do anyway.” He laughs.

  “No, man. I’m not going to leave you here with them.” I look over in the direction of our rowdy friends.

  “You’re not leaving me with them. I’m with Megan. Go.” He hands me the keys.

  I don’t have to think twice about it. I put my half empty beer down on the bar and take off. The party is only a few minutes from CJ’s. I can still make it there by midnight. As I head over to the party, I start thinking that maybe I should try calling her first, instead of surprising her. After all, it is New Year’s Eve, maybe she’s with someone else. That would suck, but I’m willing to take the chance. I really want to see her. We need to talk. I’m done with this hiding bullshit and I hope she is, too. Besides, after this week, my whole family pretty much knows the way I feel about her. It came up in Florida while Mikey was busting on me for texting her.

  There must be a million cars when I pull up, I can’t even get close to the house. Once inside, it is worse; it will take me forever to find her. I look at my phone, five minutes till midnight.

  I do a quick sweep of the first floor, there seems to be a thousand people dancing. I eagerly look through the crowd and I don’t
see her or any of her friends. I make my way to the second floor. I start on one side of the room and work my way to the other. Shit, this house is huge and I have only a minute till midnight. Just as I’m making my way to the steps to head up to the third floor, the counting begins, 10, 9... and then I spot her near the stairs. She is by herself and looks to be in a hurry. Thankfully, a couple making out on the steps has blocked her path. God, she looks hot. This is exactly where I want to be tonight ...5, 4… I come up behind her and slide my arms around her waist, pulling her close to me as I whisper in her ear... 3… 2…

  ***

  (Jesse)

  Everyone is shouting, 5, 4… Suddenly, someone grabs me from behind. I hear his voice as his lips brush the side of my ear. My stomach drops and chills run through my whole body... 3… 2... Slowly I turn to face him, not quite believing that he is actually here, but he is. He wraps his arms tightly around my waist and pulls me closer, causing me to drop my glass. I throw my arms around his neck. Our eyes never leave each other’s as our lips meet. In the background, I can hear everyone screaming, Happy New Year!

  When we are finally able to pull our lips apart, he looks at me and smiles. “Happy New Year,” he whispers, still holding me close.

  “Happy New Year,” I say as we kiss again. When I finally get over the shock of seeing him, I ask what he is doing here.

  “Mikey gave me his keys. I wanted to be with you tonight. Man, I didn’t think I was going to find you in time with all of these people.” He looks around at the crowded room.

  “I really can’t believe that you did, with seconds to spare, too!” I say happily.

  “I was determined. See what I can accomplish when I want something,” he jokes as he pulls me down a hallway that is somewhat more private. He places my back to the wall and we kiss again. We’re interrupted by the ringing of my phone.

  “Hello? Happy New Year... Okay. Yeah, we have the room at the hotel... Everyone. Love you, too. See you tomorrow.”

  “David?”

  “Yeah, he’s staying at the casino tonight. He just wanted to say Happy New Year and make sure I was okay. Everyone is upstairs. Do you want to go up?” I ask hesitantly. There is nothing I want more than to be alone with him, but I’ve been missing now for a while and I know everyone will be wondering where I have run off to.