The night of the party she was nervous, but determined to enjoy the evening no matter what. She knocked on the door and the boy answered. He looked a bit different, same smile, same light in his eyes, but he had shaved off all his splendid curls. She was a bit shocked, but did not show it. She came inside and sat down to wait for the friend, they would be going to dinner before the party. There was another boy there on the couch talking to the boy. He said hi to the girl and they introduced themselves. Then it was quiet. The boy would not look at the girl, not even in her direction. It was awkward and the girl was a bit bewildered, but still she was going to have fun.
The girl and the mutual friend went to dinner and then came back to pick up the boy. They headed to the party where the mutual friend began immediately to wind his way through the party. The boy walked into the kitchen put his six pack of Sierra Nevada down on the counter, opened one and spent the next half hour leaning on the counter drinking. He did not offer the girl a drink or even try to talk to her. The girl sat down on a couch and tried glancing at the boy a few times. He would not look at her. A few other boys said hi to her and one sat next to her talking for few minutes. The girl felt pretty silly. She really was here to see the boy, and she really was shy. But still. It all felt a bit ridiculous.
The girl realized she would have to make the first move. She walked into the kitchen and asked the boy if he had saved a beer for her. He smiled his beautiful smile and offered to make her a drink instead. She said she liked screwdrivers. He pour her the drink, half a cup of vodka with a splash of orange juice, she laughed and took the drink.
Pretty soon the house was full and people were standing shoulder to shoulder and chest to chest. The girl and the boy were talking and laughing and the party all around them seemed to disappear. The girl knew the excitement of meeting someone new coupled with a bit of alcohol (she really could not do more than sip the horrible concoction) was a combination sure to sway any young person, but still. She was falling, a little bit, just the same.
The boy was funny and well liked, he introduced the girl to all sorts of people. He put his arm around her and smiled. The boy really was loud, he liked to be the center of attention, and the girl found she did not mind so much. She was having fun. Also the boy really was big; tall and muscular with a bit of a belly, but she found she liked that too. His arm around her was delightful, and so she settled in to enjoy the evening.
The girl slept on the boy and mutual friend's living room couch, but truly she did not sleep much. She was nervous and happy and wondered what he thought and what he felt. The boy had to work the next morning, she pretended to be asleep as he left. She was not sure what to say in the light of day.
It was the boy's 27th birthday and he had asked to see her that night, but the girl had plans and so things were left up in the air.
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