“Someone help me take out these curlers, please!” I shouted from the bathroom, where I was the last one getting ready. I was at Blissful all afternoon learning the ropes, so I was behind schedule. I felt bad for holding everyone up, but I wanted to look my best for the party, not just a thrown-together Ginger Spice.
Hannah and Lila both entered the bathroom, Lila tripping over her blanket and Hannah tugging down the sides of her painted-on black mini dress. They got to work on my hair, rolling out the curlers, dousing the strands with holding spray, and chattering about the party. I sat quietly, letting them do their thing. I was horrible at hair and learned it was best just to keep my hands in my lap.
“Are you sure you know how to get there? I do not want to get lost tonight of all creepy nights,” Hannah was saying to Lila, who struggled to reach my hair while trying to keep the blanket around her scantily clad body.
“I’m positive! I printed off directions from the Internet, plus confirmed them yesterday with Peter. And I have his number, so if it truly comes down to it, I can call him for help. But we won’t get lost.”
“And how well do you know this Peter?” Hannah wanted to know. My ears perked up. I wanted to know this too. Lila came home last week talking about a guy she met in the lounge, this Peter Gambil character. We couldn’t figure out if she liked him, as in dump Joel and move on, or just thought he was a nice guy. But she immediately switched our Halloween agenda from the first house party we were going to attend to the one that would be taking place at Peter’s house on the south side of Des Moines. And from what we gathered, Joel was not happy about the change of plans. The original house party had been at his friend’s house, so now Joel and Lila were fighting. Again. I was surprised that Joel wasn’t going to accompany Lila to the party. He usually just tagged along with her. To be honest, I was glad he wasn’t. Lila needed time away from him.
“I’ve been telling you, Hannah, he’s perfect! He’s tall, good-looking, and smart. Plus, he’s getting his generals here at Kaufman before going on to get his DDS.”
“What’s a DDS?” I piped up, curious.
“Doctor of Dental Surgery,” Lila and Hannah replied at the same time.
“Right!” Lila exclaimed, pulling a roller out with a little more force than necessary. “He’s got his own house–– well, I think he rents it with some other guys, but still–– he drives a nice car and he’s super nice. Hannah, I think he’s perfect for you.”
So that’s what it was. Lila wanted to play matchmaker. She was serious about the vow she gave Hannah a few weeks back.
“What? Come on, you’re joking. Is this like a blind date house party or something? I thought you were kidding when you said you wanted to be my matchmaker.”
“Hannah, when I see someone that is so obviously right for one of my very best girlfriends, I will not let him slip away. Let’s just go to the party, meet some new people and have a good time. No pressure. If you hit it off, then send me gifts. If you don’t, whatever. I didn’t mention you to Peter at all, so he’s not expecting any sort of hookup.”
As I listened to the girls comment about the party and then segue into blind dates, I covered my mouth with one hand to hide all the yawns that insisted on escaping. Saturdays were usually reserved for lounging, catching up on TV shows, hitting the gym, maybe a little shopping. But I was at Blissful at eleven o’clock that morning, an hour before they opened on Saturdays, to start my training. I worked with Dani, Allie, and Kamille, who were getting me started on the basics: what Blissful offered and learning the computer system. I had an appointment scheduled with Allie on Tuesday after class to get my first facial. I caught on quick to the computer system, studied the services menu all afternoon until I could almost recite the thing from memory, and started interacting with the customers–– introducing myself to the regulars who seemed delighted to see me. I was thrilled I was getting the hang of everything so fast. I just didn’t account for how tired I would be after just a six-hour shift.
“You look fab, Alex, just fab. I still can’t believe you found that dress.” I snapped to attention when I heard Lila say my name and mentally shook myself awake.
“Thanks. It really wasn’t even a bad price, and nothing says Ginger Spice more than the British flag dress,” I replied, looking down at my outfit. I found the iconic dress that Geri Halliwell donned online, and instantly ordered it. Paired with fire engine red strappy platforms and my red hair bouncing in curls, I was full-on pop-girl group stardom. Tell me what you want, what you really, really want.
“I’m jealous you can pull off a dress that short. I swear, I feel like every time I move a leg one of my ass cheeks is going to pop out,” Hannah complained, yanking down the hem of her dress.
“Come on, Hans, you are totally not in character. Don’t you remember the scene from the movie where Posh walks out and says ‘Is my dress too short?’ and they say no so she hikes it up even more. Get in character!” Lila said, tousling my hair one last time and nodding in satisfaction.
“I must have fallen asleep before that part,” Hannah replied, giving herself a once-over in the mirror. I stood, giving myself one more swipe with deodorant, a spritz of Lila’s perfume, and threw a stick of eyeliner in my clutch.
“We’ve watched the movie three times in as many weeks. You could not have missed that part each time,” Lila protested, also giving herself a glance in the mirror, frowning as she ran her hands over her bare stomach. “I need to do some more sit-ups quick.” She exited the bathroom in haste, and Hannah and I rolled our eyes at each other, following suit. Lila looked fab in her costume, though we knew she didn’t believe it when we told her.
After finishing our pregame drinks and making sure we all looked our best (and Lila finished yet another round of tummy-toning sit-ups) we finally moseyed our way outside and piled into Hannah’s Audi. Lila read the directions aloud from her paper, and we actually made it to Peter’s without getting lost, shocking us all. We walked right in the front door without bothering to knock, as we could already hear the music pulsating through the front door.
We stuck close together as we entered, grasping our clutches and still shivering from being outside for a few short minutes. We followed Carmen’s nose to the keg, which was set up in the unfinished basement that screamed bachelor pad: hard cement floors, a pool table in one corner, two dart boards side by side on the wall, a big screen TV with what looked like two X-boxes, one Playstation, and one Wii under the entertainment stand, and a few worn couches scattered throughout. A group of guys were huddled around the silver keg, filling their red party cups with beer and laughing as one guy got too much foam in his cup.
One guy glanced our way as our group approached, and we made eye contact. When our eyes locked, the loud din of voices turned quiet, like someone turning the volume down quickly on the TV. The strangers in Halloween costumes faded away, until it was just me and Mr. Blue Eyes. Did I believe in love at first sight? If you had asked me three seconds ago, I would have said no way … but now...
“Alex! Come on, there’s Peter!” Lila grabbed my elbow and firmly guided me out of my spot, leading me to the group of guys by the keg.
Oh, please don’t let that be Peter, I silently begged the relationship Gods. I couldn’t handle being completely entranced with the guy we were supposed to be hooking our friend up with.
The handsome stranger broke eye contact with me first, and I instantly felt goosebumps appear on my arm, like a gust of cool wind had flown through. He nudged the guy standing next to him, a shorter, friendly looking guy with glasses. Bespeckled man flashed us a grin and beckoned us over. I clutched my clutch even tighter, digging my fingernails into the black satin fabric. Why the hell was I so nervous over a guy?
“You made it!” glasses-man said as we finally reached the keg. “Did you find the house okay? Henry, get the ladies some cups. No charge tonight, these are our guests!”
Henry. It was Henry that I was so smitten for. Our fingers brushed togethe
r as he handed me my cup, and I swallowed back a nervous hiccup. He was the most delicious man I had ever seen.
“Peter! You don’t have to do that. How sweet are you?” Lila was saying, giving Peter’s arm a friendly pat. “We made it just fine, no troubles at all. It was mostly because of Hannah here,” Lila shoved Hannah to the front of the group, who looked like a cat heading for a full bathtub. “She got us here with no worries. Hannah Lovington, meet Peter Gambill, our fabulous host for the night.”
Hannah and Peter shook hands while the rest of us girls looked on amused, knowing that Lila was in matchmaker overload. Hannah looked painfully shy and embarrassed, while Peter was more laid back. “And this is the rest of our group: Carmen, Emma, and my roommate, Alex,” Lila continued on with the introductions, and we all said hello.
“These are my roommates: Henry, Kyle, and Max. We’re really glad you all could make it tonight. Does anyone know anyone?” Peter asked the group, and we all shook our heads. “How is it possible that we haven’t run into each other before on campus? It’s not that big of a school.”
“True, very weird. But at least you’re here tonight. Let me fill your cups up,” Henry volunteered, taking my cup first. I let him fill it to the brim and pass it back to me, trying not to stare at his piercing blue eyes and the way his black hair flopped over his forehead in the most adorable way. It was then that I realized what his costume was, and finally found my voice.
“I, um, I like your costume.” Lame Alex, so lame. I giggled a bit. “It’s very unique.” I tried again.
He smiled at me, showing a row of perfectly straight teeth that had to have been touched by braces as a kid. No one should have that great of teeth without some work. “Thanks. I actually hadn’t planned on being here tonight. Me and Max,” he indicted to his blonde friend, “were going to go back home for the weekend. So this was made in a pinch.” Henry was dressed as a deer, with an orange ping pong ball that was probably swiped from the beer pong game attached to his nose, and a few skinny twigs perched atop his head as antlers. The camo he was wearing didn’t showcase his body, but I could tell from his lanky yet lean build that I wouldn’t mind a few layers being stripped off.
“Henry won in rock, paper, scissors so he got to be the reindeer,” Max grumbled. “And I got stuck with this.” He spread his arms out to show off his rabbit costume, which looked hilarious and a tad feminine. He wore a gray shirt and matching gray athletic shorts, with a bunny tail fastened to his tailbone, Playboy pink bunny ears, and someone had used a pink marker to color the tip of his nose. Even under the ridiculous fuzzy pink bunny ears, it was easy to tell Max was a hottie. Tall, blonde, blue eyes, with a surfer-look going for him. Peter and Kyle weren’t bad either, and were both dressed as hunters in full camo and water guns. But it didn’t matter how good looking they were. My eyes were still finding their way back to Henry between sips of cold beer.
Carmen and Max struck up a conversation about apple pie shots, Hannah was still struggling to get words out around Peter, Lila was trying to help their floundering conversation along, Emma was chatting with the last roommate Kyle, and I was staring into my cup, wishing I could be funny and witty and charming and sexy and convince Henry he was in love with me.
“Do you like pool?”
I looked up to find Henry looking at me, his dark blue eyes scanning my face. “Um, what?” I stammered, feeling my face start to flush. Why couldn’t I be calmer around the opposite sex that I found attractive? Think bold, Ginger Spice!
Henry pointed to the pool table in the corner, now abandoned. “Pool. The table’s open. Want to play with me?”
“I’m not sure if I’m any good,” I said, trying to rack my brain to determine the last time I played pool.
“Well, I’m pretty good, if I may say so myself, and I can teach you a few tricks. Come on.” Henry reached out and grabbed my elbow, since my hands were full of beer and my clutch, and steered me to the table. “My dad loves pool and we have our own table at home, so I get a lot of practice. I can give you some pointers.”
“Okay. Thanks.” Say something! Make a real conversation, Alex! “So you also go to Kaufman?” Finally. A real question made it out of my mouth.
Henry started placing the pool balls inside a triangle contraption. “Yep. I’ll graduate in May with my Bachelor’s.”
“Hey, that’s awesome! Congratulations. I still have another year to go before I’ll be done. What did you major in?”
“I had some trouble deciding my major along the way. I changed it about three times. But I finally ended up with Entrepreneurship and Sales and Marketing.”
My spine tingled. Similar majors? Could the signs be any more obvious? Clearly, we were meant to be. We would date, marry, own our businesses, have gorgeous babies and live happily ever after. Henry and Alex….um… “What’s your last name?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. Well, that was awkward. Why would I be digging for his last name for any other reason than to figure out what my name would be in a few years? I was sure Henry could see right through me and my wedding vision bliss.
But he didn’t say anything, just flashed me another gorgeous smile and plucked a pool stick from the hanging wall rack, rubbing some blue chalk on the end. “It’s Landon.”
“Your last name is?” I was confused. Henry Landon? Or was Henry his last name, and that’s what all his buddies called him?
Henry/Landon laughed, motioning me over towards him at the far end of the pool table. “That’s right. My name is Henry John Landon. Three first names. Don’t worry, you’re not the first to question me on it. Some people call me Landon, like when I play sports, and that just confuses everyone even more.”
Henry Landon. Alex Landon. It was perfect.
“Have you ever broke before?” I snapped out of my white dress fantasy and focused on the balls in front of me. The pool balls, of course.
“Um, no? Not sure what that is. Sorry, I’ve really never played a full game before,” I apologized for my lack of knowledge and pool skills.
“That’s okay. Everyone’s got to learn sometime. Here, you stand here.” He placed my body in front of his, with his chest slightly touching my back. My body was on fire. I had boyfriends in the past, even a few that I really cared about, but no one caused my body to react like this. I started to get scared of my attraction to Henry Landon. It could definitely lead to heartbreak.
“Here?” My voice came out in a squeak.
“Perfect.” His lips were close to my ear, his baritone voice vibrating through my body. I shivered, hoping he couldn’t feel me tremble. “And wrap your hands around the stick, just like that. Now you want to get low to the table, line up your shot, and pull back.” His hand rested over mine, and together we pulled back and flung forward, smacking the white ball against the colored ones, sending them scattering around the table. A solid fell into the far right corner, causing me to whoop in delight.
“I got one in! I got one in!” I said, reaching to hug Henry. “Thanks for your help. That was fun.” I kept my arms around his body for a beat longer than necessary. The beer was already starting to make me feel braver. Blaming the beer was always best.
We kept playing for a while, and it took Henry to be behind me for me to make a shot each time. We chatted about Kaufman, our roommates, wondered if Hannah and Peter would hit it off, and gulped glasses of cold beer. I felt relaxed, confident in my British dress, and none of the topics veered towards family, which I was thankful for. My complicated mess of a family life did not need to be discussed from the start.
When Carmen and Lila came over with a round of jello shots I didn’t hesitate, grabbing two cherries for me and Henry. “Where’s our Hannah?” I asked, sticking my index finger in the slimy jello and whirling it around, prying the red slime from the sides of the cup.
“She and Peter went upstairs so they could better talk to each other,” Lila spoke up, her eyes shining with delight. “I just knew they would hit it off!”
“Y
our friend isn’t some big jerk, is he?” I aimed my question at Peter’s roommates, who had also joined us with shots in their hands. Carmen snickered at my drunk language.
“Nah, Peter’s one of the good guys. He’s one you don’t have to worry about,” Henry said, placing his hand on the small of my back. I drew a breath in and stood up straighter.
“And which one of you boys do we need to worry about?” Emma flirted, looking from Henry in his deer costume, Max the playboy bunny, and Kyle the hunter. Henry and Kyle pointed a finger at Max, who pointed a finger at himself. Our little group burst into laughter, with Max looking unabashed at being singled out. We cheered to our new friendship and downed the shots, and the party raged on. A new keg was brought in while I continued to play pool with Henry and tried my best to keep an eye on all my girlfriends. We were at a party at an unfamiliar house, an unfamiliar neighborhood, and with a bunch of people we didn’t know. We knew to stick close, which is why I started to get worried when Hannah still hadn’t appeared a few hours into the party.
“Carmen! Carmen! Come here!” I shouted across the busy room for Scary Spice, who started to weave her way between people to reach me. I was standing by the sliding glass door that led out to a concrete patio, where I could see plenty of party-goers standing and smoking. Henry had dashed upstairs to go to the bathroom, and I realized that I was feeling drunk.
“What up, chica?” Carmen asked as she approached, looking cool as a cucumber and not at all like she was drunk. I was sure my hair was starting to frizz and my face was getting the telltale red to it that happened when I drank heavily.
“Where a ish Hannah? I worried her ‘bout,” I said, growing confused when Carmen started to laugh.
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