by Anne Thomas
An hour or so passed, us chatting amicably about Christmas. I told them about our fairly disastrous Christmas dinner (we had dinner with Pascal's family and finally sat down to eat at midnight), while Elisha informed us with wide, upset eyes about how Ed and her mother had engaged in a furious row on Christmas Eve because Ed wanted to go to Christmas dinner at her house.
Gethin and Pete sloped off later on, presumably to get drunk and flirt with any girls there who were around their age. Siân also left to talk to Liam about something or other, leaving us in charge of her younger brothers. Gareth and Bryn also scampered off eventually, although I've no idea what they were doing.
Beth and I were just in the process of teaching little Evan how to say the word "dick" properly (he kept on saying "dick-uh" in a really exaggerated manner, which just shows that Siân taught him how to say the word in the first place), when a quiet, accented voice interrupted our lesson.
"Nerys? Would you like to dance?"
I looked up to see Antal Kiss stood over me. He was smiling, the grin really reaching his hazel eyes, and he wore a pale blue striped shirt and jeans. He looked gorgeous and I really wasn't expecting to see him there.
"Sure," I managed after feeling slightly stunned. Elisha and Beth giggled to each other while trying to stop Evan from climbing on top of the table.
"So why are you here?" I asked him as led me onto the dance floor.
"My mother is friends with Margaret Kyffin," he explained, gesturing towards the side of the dance floor with his free hand, where a tall pretty woman with toffee coloured hair was stood, talking into a phone, looking very happy. His sister Bianka was sat at a table nearby, head propped on her palm and looking incredibly bored.
"Fair enough," I murmured. "Who is she talking to?" I asked as we began to dance.
"My father," Antal responded softly. "He is in Hungary."
"Oh. I see." He twirled me around on the spot, and I spoke up again. "Does he live in Hungary, or...?"
"He lived here. He went back home a few weeks ago." Antal shrugged. "I do not know why. My mother would not tell me or my sister why." I nodded, and we lapsed into silence.
We continued dancing together for most of the night; at around eleven o'clock Elisha and Beth joined us, having left Evan in the care of Gethin, Pete and Matty (all pleasantly drunk) as well as a sober Pascal (she had to drive, which was a blessing because she goes mad when she's drunk).
Antal actually looked a little put out by Elisha and Beth's presence, but I ignored that. Bianka even got up and joined us, not looking so bored anymore.
But then at quarter to twelve, Antal's mother finally got off the phone and wandered over to us, a huge smile on her face.
"Mother, this is Nerys Powell," Antal introduced us, "She is a friend from school. Nerys, this is my mother." Conveniently, he left out Elisha and Beth from the introduction, which irritated me slightly.
"Hello, Mrs Kiss," I said politely, holding out my hand for her to shake. She grasped it.
"Please, call me Ilka," she smiled. She had a very thick Hungarian accent. "Antal has told us much about you."
"He has?" I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes, and he looked embarrassed, and muttered something in Hungarian under his breath. My earlier my earlier irritation at him vanished, and I found myself smiling.
"Oh, yes," she confirmed, looking very happy, but then her face took on a more serious expression. "Excuse us, I must talk to Antal and Bianka."
Looking curious, her two children followed her from the dance floor.
"Weird," Elisha murmured. "I wonder what they're talking about?"
"I don't think he likes us," Beth announced as we began to dance again.
"Don't be silly," I rolled my eyes.
"I'm not being silly, Nerys," she retorted, and then she giggled. "Although, he might just be pissed off at us because we interrupted his 'moment' with you. You two actually looked like a couple, it was kind of cute, even though Pete looked ready to kill him."
I was pleased that she thought we looked like a couple. That meant lots of things.
"Yeah, but she looks cuter with Billie," Elisha argued, doing a weird kind of cancan dance which was attracting a lot of attention.
"You do look cuter with Billie," Beth agreed. "Me and Kerry were talking about it at the disco –"
"Kerry? As in Mully?" I asked incredulously.
"Yeah. She's not so bad. Anyway, she was going on about how you look good together because he's dark and you're light. Kind of."
"Yeah, but Billie and I aren't a couple," I reminded them.
"Neither are you and Antal." Beth pulled on my hair, and I glowered at her.
"That, is completely besides the point –"
And then the whole mood in the room changed.
"It's one minute to midnight!" Margaret Kyffin announced over the DJ's microphone, "So everyone get ready!"
Siân appeared out of nowhere, towing Liam along behind her. He had lipstick all over his face and looked kind of dazed. I was glad that Gethin wasn't around; otherwise I think he would have lost his temper.
"Nerys!" Antal bounded over, looking happier than I'd ever seen him look. Behind him I could see Bianka and his mother hugging.
"Yeah?" I looked up at him, and then he enveloped me in a tight bear hug.
"TEN!" Everyone shouted.
"I have news!" Antal shouted.
"NINE!"
I looked up at him, a sudden feeling of dread washing over me.
"EIGHT!"
"Yes?" I prompted warily. He held tightly onto my elbows, his grin gloriously happy.
"SEVEN!"
"My mother was talking to my father, yes?" I nodded, biting my lip.
"SIX!"
"They were having a very big talk," he continued. In my mind, I was shrieking, get on with it!"
"FIVE!"
He looked like he was going to burst. He looked so excited...
"FOUR!"
...It was kind of endearing. But I still felt like...
"THREE!"
...Something bad was about to happen.
"TWO!"
"Nerys, I am going home!"
"ONE!"
All around me, people were shrieking, hugging, kissing, wishing everyone a happy New Year, while Antal and I were in our own little bubble as I stared up at him, feeling slightly sick.
"Home?" I repeated.
"Yes!"
"As in...Back to Hungary, home?"
"Yes, I am going back to Hungary." His eyes were glittering. "That is why my father went home and why my mother was talking to him."
Great night for it, I thought darkly in my head.
"Well, that's..." I didn't know what to say. Good for you, but shit for me because I kind of like you? "Great," I finished lamely.
"I know," he agreed happily, and then he took my face in his hands and kissed me full on the lips before pulling away. It felt nice but it felt wrong as well, and when he pulled away I lightly touched my lips with my fingertips.
"Happy New Year," he said brightly, brushing a hand over my hair before bounding away to his mother and sister.
And then I was being pulled into a group hug involving all my friends and my parents and brothers were there and I didn't really have much time to think about Antal's announcement.
But lying in bed that night, I knew that I didn't have long before Antal would walk out of my life, possibly forever. And I knew I'd really regret it if I didn't tell him if I actually...liked him. Especially as he seemed to – well, potentially – liked me back.
Rolling over, my mind was set. I would tell him that I liked him as soon as possible because – quite honestly – what did I have to lose?
-END OF PART ONE-
The End
Thank you for taking the time to read the story; I hope you will enjoy the rest. Reviews and feedback are always welcome, and very much appreciated. Thanks again for reading!
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Introduction:
Molly sighed, running her hand through her curly hair. "You don't understand, Marty."
"You're right, I don't. You got the love of your life right in front of you and you refuse to admit it to yourself or him, or anyone!" Her best friend said from her spot on the sofa. Shrugging, Molly began to pace across the floor. "Red is half of me; half of my life, half of my soul. He's the only guy I can stand talking to for hours on end and who I eat with for almost my every meal. The only one I share my deepest thoughts with since I first had deep thoughts. He's inspiration and my support in everything I do. He understands me and expands upon all my wildest dreams and constantly pushes me to do more and better. He's who I run to when I'm hurt or something goes wrong. Why would I try and mess with what's already so perfect? Why jinx my great luck. Why risk it all to add lover to that list?"
Marty shook her head in disbelief. "No Molls, no! What you just said is the perfect reason why you should make him your lover and probably even more!"
A tall frame filled the doorway then, showing Harrison's arrival. He cocked an eyebrow, backing away slowly.
"Why are the two of you staring at me like that?"
_______________________________________________________________________
Chapter 1
"Where the hell are your pants?" Molly exclaimed through the door that was cracked open only an inch or two, the chain lock still attached. The man outside her apartment looked like he was suffering. It was true, he wore no pants. Instead, he was dressed in a white muscle shirt and a hot pink towel.
"She won't let me have them back. Please Molls, you got to help me."
Molly suddenly understood what was going to happen next, so she slammed the door before it could happen. It was the same story. Harrison Redford always came to her when he needed her help in getting his latest girlfriend back. He would beg her to befriend this latest girlfriend and find out what had gone wrong and how to fix it. She'd then relay this information to Harrison, along with advice on how to go about getting this unlucky girl back. But she was sick of it now. She already had so many so-called friends, that it nearly filled all of the Nevada state and the California Coast. All these also doubled as Harrison's exgirlfriends. No more. Never again. Not after helping him to shatter the last girl's heart and many more before her.
Leaving the door, she walked over to the black leather sofa and sat down, picking up a menu. "Chinese is good."
"Well yeah, but Chinese has it's down sides too." Marty said, looking through the different home delivery food menus. "I mean...there's so many boxes and you never eat them all. You either are faced with leftovers to stick in your already overfilled refrigerator or you have to throw it out and it's a total sin to throw out something so amazing as Chinese food. By the way, what's with Harrison?"
Ignoring the last comment, Molly picked up an Italian menu from the coffee table. "How about here then? You like Italian."
"Lots of carbs and fats..." Marty said, biting her lip in temptation.
Molly rolled her eyes. "Oh please forget about all that crap. Loosen up a bit."
"...I will, if you tell me why Harrison keeps knocking at your door."
She groaned because they could both hear that he was still there, knocking and yelling through the wood. "Molly! Come on, Molls! Please help just one last time! Please? At least let me in for a pair of pants! Or...or a manlier colored towel? Please?"
His voice sounded muffled through the door and not very loud, so Molly kept going. "Maybe I'll get eggplant parm. It's horrible anywhere else, but the Italian restaurants get it perfect...oh, and spaghetti and meatballs...though I'd want to watch Lady and the Tramp if eating spaghetti and meatballs from a real Italian restaurant..."
"Bread sticks...I want cheesy bread sticks." Marty said, licking her lips. "If I'm going to forget all this 'crap' about carbs and all, I'm going all out. And a...medium pizza for us. Unless you're going to invite Harrison in?"
Molly shook her head. "No, medium will work. Why don't you go order in the back room so the restaurant don't think their delivery guy will be threatened by the madman outside the door?"
Marty took the cell phone from her pocket. "Okay, I will. But when I get back, I want to know how you got such a strong stubborn man like Harrison Redford to be groveling at your door and why you're not answering it."
"Molly! Please? You have those forest green towels...that'll work just fine. And I need a phone to call the taxi you can just slide it through the mail slot if you want..."
She groaned, grabbing a throw pillow and making its name literal.
"Hey, was that directed to me?" Harrison yelled.
Marty walked in a few minutes later and checked her watch. "Food should be here by seven. Want to go through your movie collection a while?"
"In a moment." Molly said, cleaning out her refrigerator to ready for more food.
"Is Harrison still out there?"
She shrugged. "I think so. At least from in here you can barely hear his anger."
Marty watched a smirk appear on her friend's face. "So...why is he here?"
"He wants pants, I think."
"Pants? He's standing outside your door for pants?" Marty said, looking as if her friend had gone insane.
"Well, that's the only part I'm willing to acknowledge."
"And the other part that you're not?"
Molly sighed, leaning against the fridge and opening a can of soda. "He wants my help with another one of his girlfriends. He knows I won't do it, but he thinks if he begs long enough, I will because I caved before. He thinks he can walk all over me. I'm showing him he can't."
"So you're not even going to give him pants?"
Molly laughed with a sigh. "He expects me to do too much for him. Let him suffer a bit and learn how to take care of himself."
"Huh...well, he's your friend. I guess he's not going anywhere anyway. I mean, you two have been in so many fights through the long years..."
"Twenty four years," she noted. "Yeah...we got into some horrible disputes through them."
Marty walked out of the kitchen and looked towards the door, where Harrison was still groaning in fizzing anger. "I'm sure there will be many more through the rest of the years."
Molly shook her head. "Just ignore the doggy. He'll get hungry eventually and find his own way back home."
"Yeah...unless he snatches our food before we get it in here." Mar
ty said in worry.
Molly and Marty sat on the black sofa with their feet crossed on the coffee table, watching Lady and the Tramp and eating all the food they ordered, save the cheesy bread sticks that Marty had so craved. Those had been snatched up by Harrison and his bright pink towel before the bags made it in to the apartment.
"Just wondering..." Marty started as a song she thought boring on the movie came on.
"How do you get such an unbreakable man to plead for your help? I mean, just to know for myself when I find a guy like that. How do you get them to beg?"
Molly laughed. "You don't! Red is better when he's being closed and stubborn than when he's outside your door pantless."
Marty got a devilish look in her mismatched color eyes that made Molly put up her hand to stop her. "None of that, thank you."
She giggled, but relented. "If you say so."
Outside the door, Harrison shoved in the last part of his last bread stick. "You know, if you don't help, Amber will leave me. And then the whole breakup ordeal will have to start all over again...isn't it easier to just help me get her back?"
"No!" Molly growled from her spot in the room, then made the movie louder.
The alarm clock blared some kind of eighties music on the radio, the time flashing warningly. Molly groaned, burying her face in her
pillow, wishing for anything but to wake up now.
Yet as she snuck a peak and the angry numbers, she moaned and slowly got up, dragging her weary body in to the shower. After she was awake enough, she shut the water off, toweled off and quickly got dressed. Looking in the mirror, she turned on her hair dryer to full blast, drying her soft auburn curls that cascaded down to the middle of her back. Not having time to brush it out, she ran her hands through it to fluff it enough to look suitable, then rubbed at her bloodshot dark brown eyes.
"Molly! Hurry up, we'll be late! Harrison already left for work!" She heard Marty yell in.
Slipping on a pair of brown suede high heels that matched her mid calf length skirt, she grabbed her coat and messenger bag and ran out the door to car pool with Marty.