Authors: Anne Leigh
"He is a gorgeous guy. He has the backside of a god, the face of hotness, and a body to die for. Oh, and he sure knows how to throw a football. His passing yards are off the charts," my voice was now breathless, probably from the annoyance, frustration, and
irritation with these guys.
Once the words came out of my mouth, I wanted to retrieve them back. Peter and Duncan's jaws dropped. Kieran was probably smirking on the side. Zander's expression was so dark. I could not read him. His gaze fell on the beer that he was drinking and his Adam's apple slightly showed as he swallowed. A muscle started ticking on his jaw line.
"Man, that izz zzome zerious
cruzzzh," Duncan exclaimed.
No comebacks from me. I felt kind of awful. It sounded silly but I didn't think I would appreciate it either if the person I was kissing half an hour ago, was getting her rocks off describing another guy.
Kieran tried to hug me. The cat was already out of the bag and jumping. I couldn't stay mad at him. He loved to tease me. His Nintendo DS and WII console
were still going to drown.
I was feeling extra t
ipsy and slightly embarrassed by my actions. I wanted to go home.
"Kieran, can you call a cab for me
, please? I know you want to drive me home but you barely got here and I'm going to be fine," I whispered to Kieran. He nodded.
Peter and Duncan were still analyzing my crush for Aaron Miller. I said in a voice loud enough for those two bumbling doofuses to hear, "Sorry to break it to you guys, I won't be your teasing target anymore, I’m going home." I have had way too many margaritas. I was spouting out my undying crush for Aaron Miller, something that sh
ould have been kept private.
"Oh come on, the night's young. You barely drank," Peter protested.
I made Kieran promise that he would stay and I would take a cab if I went out with him and his guy friends. I knew they liked to stay out late. I didn’t want to ruin their fun. He was about to dial for the cab, when Zander said to Kieran, “I’ll take her home.”
To the other guys, he said, “I want to know more about her crush on Aaron Miller. He’s a good friend of mine.”
Oh
crap.
Zander’s face was determined. Kieran looked at me and I nodded. Yes, Zander could take me home.
Zander
I was not letting this topic go. I helped her into my car. She leaned back
against the passenger seat and kept her eyes closed. I lowered the volume of the club music that was currently playing inside my car.
Halfway during the drive, I said,
“Got a big crush on Miller, huh?”
It was a great thing that Aaron Miller, my high school buddy, was hundreds of miles away. If he wasn’t, then i
t would be different story.
"Like I said, it's only a crush," she emphasized, her eyes were still closed, "Plus, Aaron Miller's not going to spare me a glance. Probably thousands of ladies have crushes on him. Let's
move on from this topic."
"
You're wrong, Sedona," I spoke, my voice had a hard edge to it.
"Wrong?"
I nodded, “Yeah, you’re wrong. You see, Aaron went to my high school. We were kind of close so I know his type." He was two years ahea
d of me. Nice guy, overall.
The inside of this
car was getting hotter every second. I fumbled with the steering wheel, a habit that came up when I was nervous.
"And?" she asked.
"If Aaron knew that a girl as beautiful, smart, and hot like you had a crush on him, he would have no problem sparing you a glance. He'd probably fall at your feet," my eyes flickered; I felt the molten heat rising from them. I tried my best to keep my facial expression contained, p
assive.
My outward somber expression belied the intensity of my emotions. For more than a month, this girl had been on my mind. I was reaching the end of a very short stick. I wanted to let her know how I felt.
“Wow,” she whispered, “I’d like to see that.”
No fuckin’ way. Not a chance in hell.
She was not done, “He’s probably used to tons of girls also falling at his feet. Kind of like you, you know.”
WTF?
“What do you mean? Kinda like me?” She was pushing my limits. After the taste of her lips and her impassioned
response, I wanted to crawl in bed with her for days. Talking about Aaron and other women were not my desired topics.
She said matter-of-factly, “Well, you know, you have Blondie one day. Next, you have a redhead and then another day, you were with a brunette. Now, you’re back to a Blondie. You’re going through the color wheel of hair pretty fast, Zander.”
She kept tabs on me?!
“You should know, all of your lady friends are posted in Chatty Pepper’s site,” her voice sounded strange.
I was going to burn that web site.
“You told me you weren’t ready for anything,” I responded, “Then, all of a sudden, you were with Kieran.”
The margaritas really did a number on her, her eyes were slightly glazed, “Kieran,” she hiccupped, “Excuse me, Kieran is my best friend.”
We were almost at her place. I slowed the car down.
“I thought he was your boyfriend. You were with him at the awards and you guys looked really close. And John sent me a picture of you and him at the beach, all cozy and shit.”
She laughed lightly and managed to explain, in between hiccups, “I like hanging out at the beach,”
Hiccup,
“with Kieran,”
Hiccup,
“he’s my bestest friend,”
Hiccup,
“Awards night? Nalee was,”
Hiccup,
“there with us too.”
What a bunch of misunderstandings! I saw the dynamics between her and Kieran tonight. They were close, yes. But there was nothing close to romantic going on between them. If there was, I didn’t think Kieran would be the type to just sit around and say nothing about his girlfriend’s mouth on another guy.
I was going in. She was tipsy, but I was grabbing my chance. I’ve missed too many chances with her. I parked my car.
“Sedona, those other ladies, they were just dates.”
“Just dates?” She hiccupped again.
“Yeah, nothing happened between me and those women.”
“Nothing?” she looked at me, unbelieving, “Really?”
“Yes. You were too busy occupying my mind that nothing ever happened between me and them.”
“Yeah?” she asked again, then a hiccup, “I’m tipsy, Zander, not stupid.”
She had to believe me. I planted my hand on her leg and asked her to look at me, “Believe me, they were there. But they weren’t you. I just hung out with them, but I went home alone every night.” Suddenly, it was very important for me to let her know that she was the only one on my mind.
She was quiet, I was sure she was going to tell me to go home, she did not believe me.
She looked to her right, towards her apartment, “Zander, you know what the best cure for hiccups is?”
I was not following her train of thought; I answered anyway, “No.”
“Hiccups are caused by the involuntary contraction of a person's diaphragm…”
She was giving me a science lesson?! She was tipsy but her brain was obviously working.
She continued, “Drinking too much alcohol can cause hiccups.”
I was not sure where she was going with this. She was changing the topic.
“…and I heard the best cure for hiccups is a kiss. Lots and lots of them.”
My mind whirled, my gaze landed on her lips. Was she saying what I thought she was saying?
“Zander, kiss me.”
She didn’t have to ask twice.
“If you get the chance to experience something new, grab it, and hold on for the ride”
Sedona
Thank g
od for Saturdays. I stretched in my bed and stared at my digital wall clock. 10:38 AM. I adjusted gym time to 1 PM on Saturdays if I had a late night on Friday.
The margaritas were great last night. Now, the effects were bound to hound me for the rest of the day. My neck muscles were sore. I massaged my back with my hands as I tried to recall last night’s events.
I remembered wanting to drown Kieran’s Nintendo, Zander taking me home, and Zander ‘curing’ my hiccups.
I thought I heard that ‘cure’ on a radio station. I wasn’t sure if it was scientifically proven, but it sure was effective.
I remembered Zander bringing me to my apartment and then to my room and he applied the hiccup cure some more. That was where my memory ended. I must have fallen asleep.
I was still wearing last night’s clothes.
I reached for my phone and saw a text from Zander that came in 9:35 AM, “How u feelin?”
Kieran also texted me at 8:15 AM, “Hangover much? I heard you got home ok. Zander called me.”
I texted Kieran first: Hide your Nintendo. It’s going down the tub, buddy!
He texted back: Get some aspirin first. BTW - My Nintendo goes missing, your planner goes into the ocean.
Yikes. He knew how to hit me where it hurt.
Time to text Zander.
Me: Hey, thanks for curing my hiccups.
It took less than 10 seconds before my phone beeped with an incoming text.
Zander: My pleasure. Definitely. What r u up to?
Me: Just wakin’ up. Hangover. Aspirin, crackers, juice, in that order.
Zander: Hope u feel better
Me: Me too
Zander: Any chance u feel better this PM?
Me: Hmm
Zander: ?
Me: Why?
Zander: I wanna hang with u
Me: Ok
Zander: 5 good?
Me: Yeah. Now, my bed is calling me. Again.
Zander: I wish I was in that bed
Me: Me too
Zander: hfjjjikym
Me: ?
Zander: Sorry, almost dropped my phone
Me: K
Zander: So, u wish I was in that bed too?
Me: I think I texted the wrong guy
Zander: WTH?
Me: I thought I was texting Miller
Zander: Not funny
Me: J/K
Zander: For real, u wish I was there?
Me: Yes
Zander: U just made my day
Me: Cool
Zander: K, later, pick u up at 5
Me: K
I brushed my teeth, took a quick shower, changed into my lounge clothes, grabbed an aspirin from my medicine cabinet, and headed towards the kitchen.