by Ruby Forrest
To drown out her thoughts she played a few songs as loudly as she could, trying to pass the time in traffic as peacefully as possible. It was after a while that she realized she had been playing songs from Roxette, Bruce Springsteen and White Snake and it made her feel old.
“Good luck getting a job,” she told herself as she took a left turn. “I’m probably older than my boss.”
In truth she was only twenty-seven but companies these days were constantly looking for the impossible. Often she’d find an advertisement looking to hire a single female, with no children, aged twenty-one to twenty-three. Somehow they also expected to hire someone with at least a year or two of experience. With each hiring post she found she discovered they were looking for someone young and single.
“What’s with these requirements,” she once asked. “Are they hiring a designer or a model they can seduce and fuck?”
Just a few minutes after sorting her thoughts she took the last turn and found herself in a very fancy neighborhood. All the houses on this street were big enough to swallow her entire apartment building and more. Just a few more houses down and she found a corner with a lot of cars parked in front of what she could only describe as a genuine mansion.
It took her a while to park her car but when she did she found her friends, Ayesha and May, were already outside waiting for her.
“Took you forever,” Ayesha said as she took Selena by the hand.
“Sorry, I couldn’t find something to wear,” Selena answered.
May rolled her eyes at that and said, “You couldn’t find something to wear that wasn’t black but still pretty to look at.”
The girls giggled and Selena acknowledged May was right.
“So what’s going on,” she then asked.
Ayesha led them through the front garden, where there were already a lot of people drinking and chatting away, “Well, we saw Gilbert flirting with Mylene. They were over in the basement playing beer pong with a few people.”
“Gilbert’s such a man-whore,” Selena responded as she waved at a few familiar faces on their way into the house. “Can’t believe I actually dated that idiot.”
“I can’t believe you slept with him,” May stated. “He’s probably got more diseases that a flea bag hooker.”
Selena’s jaw dropped and she nudged May with her elbow, “Fuck you.”
“You know it’s true, though,” May told her. She then opened the front door and they walked into a large reception area where couches had been moved in and a lot of people were randomly talking, standing, dancing and drinking. They quickly identified a few people they knew – the party constants such as themselves.
Selena also identified the big guns, the real people that belonged in this kind of occasion. She could tell a person was upper class just by the way they dressed or walked around. Unlike her and her friends, the genuinely rich people wore everyday clothes. They didn’t need to dress rich or make an effort to look elegant and refined because they already were.
“Is that Nicole?” she then asked Ayesha and May when she spotted a girl sitting atop a guy’s lap.
Ayesha nodded, “Yeah. The guy she’s flirting with is Garett Owelheim, by the way. He owns that big car dealership down Cicero.”
“Damn,” May responded. “No wonder she’s doing her best to keep him glued to her. I’d drop my panties too if it got his attention.”
“You’re such a bitch,” Selena said playfully and picked up a glass of champagne from a nearby table. She took a sip and said, “You know, we are here to have fun.”
May and Ayesha both looked at each other with a devious smile on both their faces.
“What?” Selena had to ask. She knew they were up to something.
“Well,” May started, “we already booked you for something.”
“Huh?”
Ayesha took a glass herself and sipped before explaining, “We met someone just before you got here. We told him about you and he wants to meet you.”
“You sold me out,” Selena said dryly. “Great, now I’m a whore. Did he pay you well?”
Both May and Ayesha laughed at her sarcastic – but somewhat true – remarks. Ayesha continued, “Well, let’s go talk to him. He’s not going to wait forever, you know.”
“Did you even ask for his name?” Selena prodded for more information before she set her glass down. “Is he cute?”
They didn’t bother to answer her and led her through several hallways. Selena’s eyes grew wide when she saw just how many rooms the house owner had built. She passed by a gaming room, two dining halls, two bedrooms and even a large playroom, which was where most of the guests were socializing in.
Eventually they reached the third floor of the house and she was brought into what appeared to be a large solar. There was a fireplace and a large rug in the center. It looked like there must have been shelves of books and an office space judging by the size and shape of the room but they have been replaced with couches, tables and an open space for people to party in. She also saw a large door leading to a wide veranda that overlooked the backyard, where she could hear people partying by the pool.
Few people were in here though, no more than a dozen or so. Seated in one large recliner was a man in a grey shirt and jeans. He was well built, with sleek muscles that rippled across his arms but he wasn’t grossly large like a body-builder. He also had short, trimmed black hair and she surmised he may have been in the military. He was drinking a bottle of beer and his gaze was glued to his phone.
Oddly enough, it was this man that Ayesha and May led her to.
“Hey, Tom,” Ayesha said to the man as he looked up from his drink and phone. “Here’s the girl I was talking about, Selena.”
Tom reached out for Selena’s hand and gave it a firm shake, “Hi, hope you’re enjoying the party. I’m Tom Sellick. Come, have a seat.”
The girls sat on the couch. May and Ayesha pushed Selena to the side closest to Tom.
“Well,” Selena replied. “I just got here but it looks like everyone’s having fun. I’ve never been to a house this big before though.”
“But you have been to other parties in the neighborhood?” Tom asked.
Selena nodded, “I’m not a gold digger, if you’re worried about me hanging around well-to-do guys.”
“Oh, I never implied that,” Tom said apologetically. “I was just curious about your own sense of wonder. I do apologize for the house. I often host parties here to fill up the rooms. It’s quite dreadful when I’m all alone here.”
Selena went blank for a second. She wasn’t just talking to some rich guy or someone pretending to be fancy. She was talking to the actual owner of this gigantic mansion and host of the party. Selena looked back at Ayesha and May and silently mouthed “How the fuck?”
Chapter Two
Selena stared back at her reflection as Ayesha and May retouched their lipstick. Fortunately, the powder room was large enough for all of them to squeeze inside. Over the last thirty minutes Tom conversed with all of them but Selena felt his gaze glued solely on her.
“He was staring at your boobs the whole fucking time,” May said as she puckered her lips.
“He was not,” Selena replied. “I caught him a few times. He was looking at my face.”
Ayesha laughed, shook her head and said “No, girl, he was staring at your body. I think I even saw him lick his lips.”
Selena’s eyes grew wide and she shook her head, “No, no, no he was not.”
“What’s wrong if he’s checking you out?” May asked. “It means he digs you.”
“I’m not meat for sale,” Selena answered.
May raised an eyebrow, “You single?”
“Yep.”
“You looking for a hookup?”
“Yep.”
“Then you’re on the market, girl,” May concluded. “It may not sound right to your ears but you got to admit it, you’re on sale and he wants to buy.”
<
br /> Selena prodded her friend on the shoulder, “Fuck you.”
“Yeah? When and where, honey, I’d spread for you,” May replied jokingly.
Ayesha chuckled and started getting ready to hop out of the powder room and back to the party, “You guys are fucking stupid. Let’s go. They’re waiting out there. I think that guy David was checking me out. I don’t know about you, Sel, but I’m on the market and if he’s going to pick me up tonight I’m all set to check out.”
Selena and May both laughed and headed out of the powder room. Outside, in the hallway, there were still a lot of people going about the house drinking and dancing. It seemed like there were even more people than when they first arrived.
When they got back to the solar Tom was out on the balcony drinking alone. His friends, David and James, were seated back inside with a few other guys that the girls hadn’t met yet. Selena tried to get them all together but Ayesha pushed her out towards Tom.
Ayesha and May settled back in with David and the others, leaving Selena on the balcony and she quickly approached Tom.
“Hey,” she said as she walked up to his side.
“Hey,” he said back and smiled. He took a step to the side, nudging himself a bit closer to her. “Your friends seem to have abandoned you.”
Selena chuckled and looked over her shoulder to spy her friends, “They said it’d be good for me to spend some time with you.”
Tom looked back at her with a grin, “I don’t really understand.”
“It’s nothing, really, just some stupid shit girls say when drunk,” she replied.
“You don’t look drunk,” he said. “Want another glass of wine or something?”
Selena shook her head, “I’m not like your other guests. I didn’t grow up drinking fancy bottles of wine or vintage liquor. Give me a can of beer and I’ll be a whole lot happier.”
Tom laughed and gave her a look of approval, “All right, all right, I can appreciate that. I like it when a person’s real. To be honest, a lot of the people partying here right now are just fucking hypocrites. They think they’re fancy and above everyone else when really they’re just hoping others will think that way about them, not realizing that everyone else is also a pretender.”
“That’s deep,” Selena told him. “I’m not drunk enough for talk like that.”
“Come on, follow me,” he beckoned. “I got a stash of beer in the attic.”
“The attic?” Selena repeated in doubt. “Why up in the attic?”
Tom waved his hands in a frantic manner, “Oh, it’s not like a dusty, cramped space filled with boxes and stuff. I’m not going to stab you then keep your body up there or anything like that. Just trust me on this one.”
“All right Freddy Krueger,” Selena relented and took a hold of his hand. She followed as he led her out of the solar. Selena gave Ayesha and May a quick glance and a smile before she and Tom walked out of the room. Ayesha gave a wink before she turned back to the tall guy she was talking to.
Tom led them through the hallway, passing by a few people. None of them seemed to pay attention and continued on chatting, flirting and drinking. They passed through the stairways leading back downstairs and beyond the hallway bathroom and powder room. Eventually they came to the end of a bend and there was a small closet. Beside it was a narrow staircase leading to the attic door.
When Tom opened the door and took Selena inside she was surprised to find the attic looked more like a master’s bedroom than a storage room. There was a large bed covered in a white duvet and crimson comforter, an elegant oakwood cabinet and dresser, a TV mounted on the wall and a small fridge beside the bed. On top of the fridge was a lamp. It looked like an expensive hotel room.
“You call this an attic?” she asked as she gawked at the room.
He shrugged, “Guys like to fix up their basement with video games and stuff then call it a man-cave. I have one of those so for the attic I turned it into my personal luxury room. I can just chill here without anyone bugging me. Nobody goes looking for someone in the attic. They usually think I’m downstairs tuning up a car, working in my office or playing games in the basement. In here I can be free.”
Selena took a seat on the edge of the bed, “You’ve got a pretty big corner to be yourself. When I want to be alone I go to the park.”
“Solitude with nature?” Tom asked as he opened the fridge and took two cans of beer. He opened one up and handed it to Selena.
She took it, sipped, and then answered “No, not that kind of park. I mean the children’s park down Maple Street. I like to sit on one of the swings and just think, usually with a Slurpee or something cold.”
“That’s adorable,” he told her. “I haven’t been to a children’s park since I was eight or nine.”
“Seriously?” she looked at him in horror. “Oh god, we need to go tomorrow.”
“Oh, so now I’m guaranteed to see you tomorrow,” Tom poked fun at her.
Selena’s jaw dropped when she realized she had blurted that out, “Okay, you got me there.”
“I’m good for tomorrow,” he told her nonchalantly, pushing forward with the thought.
Selena sipped again from her drink and looked at him as she said “All right, then, tomorrow it is but only if you help me with something first.”
“You’re bribing me and charging me to spend time with you,” he commented before he drank. He did chuckle at the thought then said “Okay, what’s this one condition?”
“Help me with this job thing,” Selena told him. “There’s a designer’s company downtown. I think I’ll get in if I show them a good portfolio.”
Tom grinned then asked, “Oh, so you’re a designer or something like that? You want me to put in a good word for you?”
Selena laughed and then gave him a soft punch in the gut before replying, “No! I don’t need anything like that. My car’s due for maintenance tomorrow and I need a ride so if you help me get there in time I’ll let you take me on a date to the park.”
“Oh, so now it’s a date?” he again gave her that grin. She loved that look on his face. It gave a unique sparkle to his eyes and she knew he was playing with her at this point but she was having so much fun too.
“Shut up,” she told him and placed her beer can on the floor. “Can I have another one?”
Tom lay back on the bed, reached over his head to open the fridge then handed a can of beer to Selena without sitting back up. As she took it she saw him close his eyes and rest his hands on his chest, holding his can so it wouldn’t spill.
“Hey, don’t fall asleep,” she told him.
“Just relaxing,” he answered.
‘What the hell,’ Selena thought to herself and she lay back down as well. This was when she noticed the ceiling was covered with glow-in-the-dark stars and a moon. It looked like a kid’s ceiling.
She nudged him with her elbow, “Really? Glow-in-the-dark stickers?”
He shrugged then pointed out to one of the formations. It looked like a sword, “Yeah. I loved these things when I was a kid. I always wanted to be an astronaut and visit other planets and stuff. Even today, that’s still kind of my thing.”
“You’re twelve,” she commented.
“Twenty-eight,” he told her. “Sadly though, I never got to touch the stars.”
Selena sat up for a minute, finished her drink then placed the can down on the floor, beside the previous one. She then lay back down and snuggled in a little closer and told him, “I don’t really know what it is you do. I mean, I know you’re some big hot-shot since you live in this house and all but I don’t really know what you do.”
Tom turned to his side, drank a bit, and then placed his can down. He then lay down and turned to his side to face Selena, “I’m a programmer. I help make video games, actually.”
“You earned all this making video games?” Selena gave a genuine look of amazement. She then turned to her side just like he did and now they
lay face-to-face.
He nodded back, “Yes. Games these days have budgets that can rival Hollywood movies. I got really good at coding. When I was in high school I wanted to make games because at least in a virtual sense I could still go to the stars. I made a game where the goal was to visit other planets and then make a community out of the natural resources and stuff like that. I don’t want to bore you with all the nerdy stuff.”
Selena smiled and bit her lower lip before she replied, “No, no, I like it.”
“Even the boring stuff?” he asked as he cupped her cheek with his hand. It felt warm.
“Especially the boring stuff,” she answered as she closed her eyes and nestled her face into his hand. “I only just met you but at least this way I get to know you for who you are. The real you, I mean, not the fancy rich guy everyone wants to be friends with outside this room.”
Tom stared back at her for the longest time she could imagine, without saying a single word. He just stared into her eyes and yet despite the silence she didn’t feel any bit awkward. Maybe it was the alcohol swirling in her or just the fact she was incredibly comfortable with him, she didn’t care.
Maybe that was what she felt when he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer. She scooted in and closed her eyes when she felt his lips suddenly land on hers.
Chapter Three
It was a soft kiss, brief and gentle. When their lips parted she opened her eyes and looked to find his staring right back. For a second she was unsure, as if a nudge of hesitance was tugging at her chest, but then it subsided when he leaned back in for another kiss and then another. With each kiss he planted she felt her breath taken away and she inched her body closer to him. As she did she felt his arms wrap around her little form.
His kisses became deeper, with pressure, and she felt her whole body seemingly crushed by his passion. She gave it up to him, allowing him to engulf her with each kiss and she opened to him, letting their tongues tie and dance as their bodies began to grind against each other in a slow and steady rhythm.
She could feel a warm knot in her chest begin to flare as they continued to kiss and his arms begin to roam across the expanse of her body. His fingertips danced wherever they travelled, gently caressing her as they glided from her back to her arms and to her waist.