I saw him as I walked into the party with my two roommates. My two roommates poked me in my sides, giggling and smirking stupidly as we were dressed similarly. He was attractive alright, dressed as a cowboy, in his costume he was the perfect poster boy for Marlboro – ironic since I had a pack of them in the pocket of my skirt. He was tall, he was dark, he was wearing leather boots, tight ripped jeans that hugged his muscular legs – complete with chaps, a white button up shirt covered by a leather vest, red kerchief around his neck and a dark brown leather cowboy hat on his head.
I smiled as my roommates continued to poke and prod at me as we made our way across our friend's house, trying to get to the backyard where the food and booze were. A part of me was happy that I had opted for the slightly slutty cowgirl costume. I had the perfect bright red leather boots, the perfect short skirt and a button up shirt that was tied in a knot just under my breasts. My curly blonde hair was up in pigtails and I had a cowboy hat, similar to the one that he was wearing.
My roommates and I stood next to a cooler full of beer and various other bottled beverages of the alcoholic nature. I picked up a bottle of Smirnoff Ice, popped off the top and took a long gulp of the carbonated beverage inside. At that moment, I separated myself from my two roommates and went over next to the pool where there were several people stripping naked and jumping into the warm water. I shrugged and walked over to where a line of trees that led into a small forest.
I reached into the small pocket of my skirt and pulled out my Marlboros and my Zippo lighter. I slipped a cigarette between my lips, flipped the top of the Zippo away from me and ignited the fuel from inside. Fire shot up in front of my face and I pulled it close to my lips, lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply.
"Oh yeah," I said quietly as I pulled the cigarette away from my lips and exhaled.
"It's a nice night," a gruff voice said from behind me. I whipped around, surprised, cigarette in one hand, bottle of alcohol in another. I was a real poster child for the honors program tonight. I nodded, it was the cowboy. "Do you have a spare?" He pointed at my cigarette.
"Yeah," I said reaching back into my pocket and pulling out a cigarette for the mysterious cowboy. He put the cigarette between his lips and leaned towards me for a light. The Zippo flame jumped up in front of his face, all his features dimly illuminated for a split second. He was extremely attractive close-up, dark brown eyes with thick black eyelashes, dark and thick eyebrows and a furrowed forehead. His nose was slightly pointed, his lips full and pouty and he had chiseled cheek bones and jaw.
"It's cool to see a cute girl smoking these days," he said. I wrinkled my nose.
"I hate it," I said. "I never smoked before college..."
"Stressful?" he asked. I nodded.
"Honors program is a bitch," I replied. He was quiet as he inhaled and exhaled from his cigarette a few times.
"How do you know the party thrower?" he asked.
"Eh, we're classmates, and one of my roommates is his ex-girlfriend," I replied. "He invited a zillion people."
"Halloween parties are pretty popular," he said. "Everyone loves to throw them and everybody likes to come to them."
"How do you know him?" I asked.
"Know him from high school," he replied. I took a couple of deep drags from my cigarette this time and looked far into the woods. I could hear distant sounds that sounded similar to those that one would hear during sex. I smirked.
"So..." he said, rather nonchalantly, "do you have a boyfriend?" I looked at him, way to be unclear dude.
"No," I replied. "Not really..."
"What's your name?" he asked blowing smoke upwards into the night air.
"Cayla," I replied. "Yours?"
"Matt," he replied.
I took one last drag of my cigarette and stomped it out on the ground. I looked over at Matt as he inhaled on his cigarette, a dull glow lit up his face for a second and I smiled, I could feel myself blushing slightly in the dark night.
"What do you say we go and see where this sex party is going on?" Matt asked. I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, well Matt, I see that you get straight to the point," I replied.
"Come on," he said. "You scared?"
"Well, these woods get rather dark and hard to follow at night," I said, "and I've never quite felt the same way about the forest since the Blair Witch Project." Matt chucked and stomped his cigarette out on the ground.
"Well, you have that awesome Zippo. If we run into any Blair Witch, we'll set her on fire with that foot high flame," he said. I couldn't help but to smile and chuckle a bit myself. I was still hesitant; I had just met this mysterious man. He was able to sense my apprehension.
"I promise," he said, "I don't have anything sneaky in my pockets...not that I could fit anything in there anyway..." I smiled to myself and took the opportunity to give him a pat on his ass – rock hard.
"Well, you don't seem to have any weapons," I said.
"Come on," he said, throwing his head over his shoulder and nodding for me to follow him. I did, somewhat reluctantly and somewhat eagerly. I didn't know what to think of this Matt guy.
"So do you have a girlfriend?" I asked as I pushed aside the branch of a pine tree.
"Yeah, kind of," he replied. "I'm ending it after the weekend though. She doesn't do a thing."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"In the bed," he replied.