The party
Heeeeey yaaaaaaa. Heeeeey yaaaaaaa! Heeeeey yaaaaaaa. Heeeeey yaaaaaaa!
Outkast's hit song was blasting through the speakers, the bass line of the upbeat melody reverberated through Jessica's and Kendra's bodies as they entered Clyde's house. The thrumming of the loud sound started at the floor, which acted as a conductor of some sort, because it ensued to move its way up and linger at the pit of their stomach. Kendra still, was very anxious, and the deep rhythmic vibrations went past her abdomen, traveled up some more and nestled in her chest where it matched the agitated pounding of her hart, fueled by adrenaline.
She did not know why she was so nervous. She liked going out, dancing her worries away. However, such lucky nights - nights out where she would enjoy herself instead of becoming troubled and jaded at an early point - were very rare. She looked at Jessica. Her face expressed pure euphoria, which surprisingly did not encourage Kendra to delight in the exciting moment and compose herself. Jessica was a nice friend to Kendra though. She found a true confidant in her. She was charming and funny. Still, she had a very unpredictable delirious side in her that would detonate whenever the circumstance was right. This party was an excellent occasion for all hell to break lose.
Kendra only hoped that Jessica would not abandon her for other company, for male company in particular. She took the initiative in penetrating into the moving, dancing and talking crowd, and motioned Jessica to follow her steps, while mimicking a drinking action. When they arrived at the beverage stand in the large rustic kitchen, both women helped themselves to a cup of punch before heading back to the partying crowd. They both gracefully managed to avoid elbow bumps that would potentially spill their drinks - God forbid - on their outfits, and looked for a spot to remain standing and observe the young people enjoying themselves before them. Jessica looked over some heads and seemed to identify someone.
"Hey that's Clyde!"
Kendra looked at her with a puzzled glare.
"Well, I should thank him, don't you think?" She screamed in Kendra's ear.
"I don't think that's really necessary. But go if you want to. If you wanna talk to him that's alr..."
Kendra did not have time to finish her sentence because Jessica fiercely pulled her arm to follow her along. Jessica shyly waved to Clyde with her fingers above the swaying swarm for the trouble of getting the host's attention. When they finally stood in front of him, Clyde sheepishly smiled down at them.
"Hi, nice party!" Jessica lamely exclaimed. She was probably keeping her sentences short given that the loud music made any decent or exhaustive conversation anything but viable.
"Hi, yea! Thanks! So who are you?" He responded. Despite the modest lighting, he was clearly appreciating the appearance of the young woman standing in front of him.
Jessica read his body language. She proceeded to flirt by alluringly smiling back.
"I'm Jessica, Jess or Jessie for close acquaintances. This is Kendra."
"Well I'm Clyde. Nice to meet you. There's booze and other drinks in the kitchen, and hey Jessica if you wanna hang out with me, I'll be over there, with my friends. I hope I'll see ya later."
"Okay, I'll definitely take you up on that. See you around, " she retorted, and moved past him only to lightly turn her head back and send a devilishly seductive smile to him. Clyde grinned and subtly send her a wink in return before disappearing into the mass.
Kendra felt silly not to have played a role in any way in the conversation, but figured that Clyde and Jessica were too occupied toying around, albeit the encounter was short, but effective nonetheless.
"Oh, it is on!" Jessica ecstatically cried out.
"Yea, you two hit it off, like instantly. What is that?" Kendra laughed.
"Oh I know, he's so hot. Man, I'm so glad I went, and that you came with me!" Jessica said, and give her a thankful peck on her friend's left cheek, after which she glanced up and fixedly pear into the direction her love interest went in. Her eyes rested on the sitting corner underneath the stairs leading up to the first floor.
"Oh look, seems like he's friends with your brother!"
"Oh Mike is here?" Kendra shouted somewhat startled and annoyed at the same time. It was awfully coherent that her twin brother would not have mentioned anything about the party to her.
"You wanna say hi?" Kendra heard herself say, as she in turn peered into that particular corner at the other side of the living room. She regretted her proposition as soon as she enunciated it.
"What? No, are you crazy, I've just said to Clyde I'd see him later. How eager would I look if I went on talking to him right away! Let's dance or see other people before going there!" Jessica explained in an irritated voice.
"Okay, okay. I hear ya!" Kendra said, and started to swing to the music. The deejay was playing some old house music, which stirred Kendra on to get a move and let the tuneful beat take her in. It appeared that the deejay's playlist was akin to Kendra's musical taste for everything he had played so far were easy on the ears and very danceable. On top of that, Kendra started to feel a comforting delightful drunkenness that disengaged the tension in her body and the small inhibitions that her mind imposed. Usually she did not become fuddled so soon, but she had not eaten anything after lunch which caused her body to absorb the alcohol more effectively and let the inebriation do its work on her senses.
Even so, she was aware enough of the fact that the merry sensation would soon fade away if she would not belt down some other drink. She marched off in the direction of the alcohol stand, without Jessica, who was more engaged in scrutinizing her environs instead of paying attention to her friend or dancing as far as that is concerned. Kendra poured herself a glass of low-priced chardonnay despite the fact that she favored red wine, yet took that wise decision so to avoid any messy accident later on involving some horrible burgundy stain on some lovely egg shell blouse.
She tried to find Jessica at the location where she assumed they were both standing only a few minutes ago. Not bothered by her disappearance, thanks to the sips she had been taking from her wine, she continued to sway to the music she was feverishly entertained by. Feeling more audacious, she choreographed her way closer to the deejay, but at moderate distance from the boxes at both sides of the room in an effort to circumvent the painfully deafening resonances that the speaker boxes emanate, and that one has to endure if one stands right next to them.
Feeling very warm, she wanted to get rid of her blazer. She took the piece of clothing off and started to glance through her surroundings to find a safe locality to stash it away. It would be foolish to drop it somewhere on the floor as it would undoubtedly get filth on it, or be the target of stealing. Not knowing where the coat rack was located, and aware that it would probably be overcharged, she suddenly looked right up at the deejay, surprised that she had stepped up to such proximity to him. She folded her blazer and laid it on top of the small speaker installed in front of the deejay set.
The deejay glanced at her with an unfazed look, but gave her a small smile so as to not too seem too frosty.
Kendra returned the smile and gestured towards her blazer while silently mouthing a 'Is that okay?'.
The deejay nodded and answered with 'Yea', after which Kendra thankfully imitated the deejay's motion and nodded as well. Time went by and Kendra started to observe the entertainer.
The guy looked all right, more than all right even. His ethnicity appeared to be eastern Asian. He sported a tall, slant figure. The headphones were partly blocking the view to his facial contours but his features seemed to be sharp and masculine, presenting a strong jaw line, displaying a straight and delicate nose. His raven black hair was cut mid-short, which flattered his countenance. His slant eyes looked very strenuous, as he was focused on his set.
The track which was then playing almost reached its end, and he let it unperturbedly flow over into another catchy song. Kendra loved the transition to the new sound and started to lusciously move her body in sync to the rhythm. She was having a great time and felt very much collected, humming simultaneously to the repeating riff that made the song so entrancing and melodious. She looked around her and made eye-contact with some people dancing beside her, who grinned back at her, as if they were acknowledging the idea that they all share a kinship in dancing, shimming or shuffling around, while their bodies, their feet, their hips, their arms, their heads were taken hostage by the music.
The alcohol must indisputably be one of the main causes for this spontaneous camaraderie to happen. As she was dancing next to her peers, the deejay took notice in her, in her joyful, cadenced performance. He loved that he had more than one fan who enjoyed his act. He loved how the black girl who skillfully moved her feet and got enthused over the dance records he was playing.
