"I had a weird time at college. It was the first time in my little life I'd had freedom. Freedom to do what I want, wear what I want, be who I wanted to be. And do you know what I did?"
"Of course not."
She laughed. That was the perfect answer. She turned in her chair, throwing her legs over one of the arms and leaning against the other. She took a sip of wine straight from the bottle and stared into the fire a bit. For dramatic effect, of course. Not to stall. Not at all. "I did what all kids do when they escape. I ran wild."
"Did you?" He laughed, the sound soft on her eardrums. Soothing.
She sighed. "Well, within reason. I cut my hair. Wore shorts. Drank. Swore. Played video games. Skipped class. Changed majors. All the hallmarks of a good little ex-Catholic gone wild." She smiled at herself. "Even dabbled in good ole lesbianism." She heard his chair creek as he sat forward. "Oh? That's got your attention?"
"You've had my attention for a while now."
Jesus. What a charmer.
She rolled her eyes. "Sure I have. Any way, there was this girl. Friend of a friend of a friend. She was beautiful and a confirmed lesbian. She was my first date, actually. Well, kind of. It was...not a regret really but if I could've done things differently..."
Her mind went to that dark car parked outside the house she shared with too many other students to invite the girl in. The buzz she'd felt from whatever she'd been drinking that night. The urge to lean towards her. To do what she'd only seen in cheesy teen rom-coms.
She shook her head. "She had a birthday party. A themed birthday party. Under the Sea. It was lame and cheesy but it was hers. Her place was within walking distance of mine. I put on some random clothes in an attempt to match the theme. Followed her directions. Sat down around a little fire like this one. And was promptly hit on by some random guy I'd seen around campus.
"It was...strange. I'd come for her and here I was fielding questions about myself and declining offers to go out for coffee. I half expected him to pull out a guitar and start playing 'Wonderwall'."
"Not a fan of guitars?"
"Oh, I've been playing since I was a teenager. I love music...I do not love the 'Wonderwall' trap."
"Excuse me?" She looked at him. His head was tilted, waiting for an explanation. Her eyes flickered down to the hands gripping his beer bottle. They were strong. They were safe. She looked into his dark eyes and shook her head. She laughed to calm herself.
"It's - you know, you're at a party. Some douche brings out a guitar they only got to pick up chicks, spews what they think is panty-dropping philosophy, and then plays the one song they know how to play with all the grace of a walrus
"Of course, that's about as arousing as a sandpaper dildo so they never achieved what they wanted. At least not with me. But it's awkward and you can't leave because it'd be rude. Here's this man, or would-be-might-be man, playing his heart out, crooning a mating call. You can't walk away without being labeled a bitch. I didn't know who I was back then but I knew I didn't want to be a bitch."
He'd been laughing the entire time she explained the "Wonderwall trap". She felt a swelling of pride in her chest. She'd made him laugh. Not just a soft laugh either, a deep belly laugh he had to hold his chest for, like he had to keep the laughter from growing too great and bursting out like in that alien movie. He laughed harder at the words "sandpaper dildo". He wiped tears from his eyes.
She took a deep swig from her wine bottle, content to watch him come down. With his eyes closed she took time to take him in. Firelight was flattering. That was certain. Yet, he seemed to be the type who would look good under even the harshest fluorescents. He took several breaths. She watched his chest rise and fall as he took deep, steadying breaths. Jesus. He was beautiful. In all the ways a man could be beautiful, he was and then some.
Where did she know him from?
"Are you good?" She teased, ignoring the heat buzzing through her body when he smiled and her and nodded.
"I'm good. Please continue."
"As you wish." She took another sip of wine before resuming. "So, I'm at this party. I'm drinking partially because it's a party, partially because this was my 'rebel' phase, partially because I'd declined coffee three times in thirty minutes, and partially because I could feel her...floating around, soaking up the attention, just being herself."
She sighed, slipped further down in her chair to hide a little from him as she remembered the way the light from the pool had flickered over the birthday girl's pale skin. It was magical. "I kept it coy, stayed in my little circle of people, and endured declining coffee a fourth time. Just to be there. Just to be where she was."
She smiled to herself, remembering the glances she snuck at the birthday girl and the smiles she was rewarded with when the girl noticed. "We might've talked maybe all of five minutes at that party before she declared herself drunk and tired and asked everyone to go home. I didn't hug back then but I wish I'd hugged her goodbye."
"That's the regret?"
"No." She shook her head. "Not at all. Maybe a little, like the date but..." She took another drink. The warmth of the fire. The warmth of the wine. The heat of his inescapable gaze. It all emboldened her. "I never told anyone about this but, after I walked home and took off my costume we started texting. The birthday girl and I. I don't remember who texted first or how the conversation turned the way it did but, in about a blink we started texting a little dirty."
He laughed. "You sexted the birthday girl?"
"Of course," she nodded to avoid looking at him, "it was her birthday and I'm very giving." She took another swig, her head was starting to buzz. She looked up. The clouds were still covering the moon. How late was it now? When were the others getting here? "At one point I had her, in the text mind you, tied up and blindfolded."
"Oh?" His chair creaked again as he leaned closer. Why didn't he just move closer? There were plenty of empty spots.
"Mmmhmm." She closed her eyes, trying to remember the texts. Instead, she remembered the birthday girl and the tight costume she'd worn to the party. The glittering pants she wore to look like a mermaid just made her seem like a lost member of ABBA. Even so, the birthday girl was beautiful.
She'd never gotten to the girl's bedroom but she imagined it back then, and now again. "I'm sure she'd said something about not being tired anymore. I'm sure I told her I would tire her out. I'm sure she asked how and I'm sure I was drunk enough to tell her."
"Tell
me.
" He pleaded. His chair creaked again but he didn't move closer, just shifted in his seat. "We're supposed to be honest, y'know?"
"Here or just as a general rule?"
"Both, I think."
She sighed. "It's a bit embarrassing."
"Doesn't sound embarrassing to me."