Thank you guys so much for your reviews! Please keep them coming as I love hearing what you think. Here's another part one of two. And we're starting things off with Cindy.
Cindy's POV
I expertly hid my wince while the alcohol burned down my throat as I took the second of what was sure to be many tequila shots of the night. Today's difference is that now, it's totally legal.
Today is my long-awaited, by myself and a few others, twenty-first birthday. Of course, I have plans. I didn't want to get completely plastered before my party, so for now, I was pacing myself.
A clearer head made it possible to see Libby's concerned look from all the way on the other side of the room. Curious about it, I approached her.
"Everything okay?" I used those words even though I knew everything wasn't.
"Yeah, it's fine." As she spoke, she turned off her phone's screen as if she didn't want me to read what was on it.
"Libby…." I trailed, both of us knowing it would be better if she just told me.
With a sigh, she spoke again.
"So, don't freak out," with a shrug and red plastic cup in hand, I knew it was impossible to look any less calm. "I know you said you didn't mind inviting him because you figured he wouldn't come but… well, he is. Sheen just texted me. Jimmy's coming."
Oh.
"Oh. Okay," I said it both because I didn't know what to say, but also, what else was there?
"You're not mad?"
"Why would I be mad? It's not like he wasn't invited."
"But you- just…. Are you sure?"
"Yeah!"
No.
I mean, it is okay. Like I said, he's invited.
"Who knows? Maybe he'll bring a present," that was more to reassure Libby because I really don't expect him to bring something. I don't expect anything from him.
"Okay," she answered and I knew she was letting it go. "He's coming with Sheen so we'll see them both later." I nodded with a tight smile. "Do you guys need any help setting up?"
Seeing that it is a special occasion, Meg and Tess, the former whose parents are paying their rent, are throwing me a birthday party at their apartment. It's a super nice gesture and one that I was not about to pass up.
Libby and Sheen, despite being so far away, managed to make the trip to from Texas. But by the time they arrived, Sheen to their hotel and Libby to the apartment, there wasn't too much left to be done.
I was just grateful she was here.
Before I could answer, someone else spoke.
"Libby! Why haven't you had a drink yet?" asked Sonia, who approached us carrying two cups of the pale pink drink she found the recipe to online. Libby took it and smiled, glad to be so welcomed.
This night also marks the first time Libby's met my college friends. I had no doubt they'd get along, so it wasn't something I was worried about. The fact that they all got together to celebrate my birthday made it even better.
"What's going on?" Sonia, always so perceptive, asked while I was taking a drink from my cup. Libby glanced over at me, unsure if she should say anything.
"My ex is coming," I replied coolly.
"What?!" She replied in a tone I probably should have had at hearing the news. "Why? How?"
"Cindy invited him," Libby explained, taking a drink.
"What?" Sonia turned to me. "Cindy, are you sure?"
"Why does everyone keep asking if I'm sure?" I knew they could both notice the change in my tone. Even if only the two of them had asked, I knew the other girls were going to once they found out. "It's fine. Jimmy and I are adults. I can handle seeing him again."
One of those statements was a lie.
As Libby mentioned, I really didn't think he would come, which I thought made it okay for me to add him to the guest list. He is surely busy with school and other stuff and it is finals season, after all. Since he never got back to me, I figured I was right in my assumption that he wasn't coming. So naturally, I'm surprised to be hearing the opposite from Libby. Thankfully, and it could just be the alcohol, I did a great job of hiding it.
A big reason why I'm annoyed is that him not telling me before today doesn't give me enough time to prepare myself. Despite what I want to think and what I've been telling others, I am not ready to see Jimmy again, let alone see him on such a big night.
I haven't seen not spoken to Jimmy since Libby and Sheen's wedding reception in that, needless to say, awkward encounter at the restaurant. Up until that point, I'd been doing a fantastic job of avoiding him. Finding out he was literally on his way out made me feel even worse because I was so close.
I'm not stupid though. I knew Jimmy and I were going to see each other again someday. But at least by inviting him, I was taking matters into my own hands. Once I got the confirmation of his attendance, I could start bracing myself for it. Because I knew after all this time of not hearing from or about him, I wasn't going to be able to act natural about seeing him again. There was just no way. Of course, by being told at the last minute, Jimmy was ruining it.
And that's just so like him.
"So," I spoke to the rest of my friends. "If we are mostly done here, I'll go back to my room and get ready."
For my birthday, my parents, figuring I might need it or could make good use of it, booked me a hotel room. It's in the same hotel that Sheen and Libby are staying at and really close to Meg and Tess's apartment, so it's all pretty convenient. If anything, it would be a great place to hold an after-party should we feel the need to. Libby and I decided to get ready for the party there so we could take advantage of the space and since we already had our stuff there anyway.
After a few goodbyes and "see you laters" Libby and I headed to the hotel.
"So what's Sheen up to?" I asked her as we stepped into the elevator from the lobby.
"He's off doing the tourist thing. Didn't get too much of a chance to do so his first time here," she ended with a small smile and I knew she was referring to the fact that the last time Sheen was in New York, it was for their wedding and subsequent, by the sounds of it, active honeymoon weekend. "So what are you going to wear tonight?" Libby asked excitedly.
"It's a surprise, but I like to think it will be Libby-approved."
"That's a confident tone," she noted.
I shrugged and smiled. "Well, it's my birthday. I want to look nice."
"You can go for more than nice Cindy," she answered. "It's not like you're… spoken for." I noticed the hesitation in her voice. But since she was right, it's not like I could really say anything.
Instead, I gave a small nod, not wanting this subject of conversation to go beyond that.
As we approached my door and the lock unclicked after I put in my key card, I spoke in a warning tone.
"Easy on the makeup, okay?"
I never really thought of myself as a cliché. That is until I was three cups of this strong electric blue drink in, nearly a dozen shots deep (made easier by my shotglass necklace), and wearing a hot pink sash telling everyone what day it was with a cheap plastic tiara I was dying to take off.
I was having too much fun though.
It was a better turn out than I anticipated. While I didn't invite that many people, I knew my friends had included others too. I made an effort to greet everyone figuring that, with a crowd this size, there were bound to be one or two party crashers.
As I looked around for Libby, realizing I hadn't really seen her since the photos us girls took, the music was blasting and made my head pound more than it should. If I wasn't so motivated to find her, I could have very well passed out.
"Hey!" I spoke as soon as I spotted a couple of familiar faces.
"Cindy! Hey!" answered Sheen.
Although I was glad to see that he made it, I knew him being here meant that Jimmy had arrived as well. And I felt that I should be more concerned knowing that I hadn't seen him yet.
"Happy birthday!" He surprised me by giving me an unexpectedly tight hug. I could immediately tell that he too was enjoying all the free drinks. It made me wonder how long he, and in that case, Jimmy, had been here. "Great party."
"Thanks," I looked over at Libby, who gave me what appeared to be an apologetic smile, probably regarding Sheen. "You guys having fun?"
"Hell yeah!" Sheen immediately replied.
"It turned out great," Libby put in.
"Awesome! That's good!" I played off Sheen's energy, trying to avoid the fact that Jimmy was somewhere in this apartment and hoping neither of them would bring it up. "I'm going to go say hi to more people. I'll come back though, okay? Thank you for coming!" Just before I turned away I could see Libby was trying to say something but the music drowned her out.
Staggering to get back to the booze table, because I absolutely needed another drink, my journey was interrupted by a sight I almost couldn't believe.
With the amount of alcohol in my system, it's possible that I was just seeing things or just not the right things. That rising anxiety about one of my guests could have added to it as well. But what I saw was no mistake.
There, close enough for me to see but not close enough to hear, was my ex-boyfriend and our red-headed hostess Meg, chatting, dare I say, animatedly.
I couldn't make out what they were saying, but based on how close they were standing, with a small smile on each of their faces, and Jimmy doing that thing where he grabs the back of his neck when he's nervous, they were definitely talking about something private.
Tearing my gaze away from them, hoping that they didn't see me, I marched back to my destination.
My heart and head were throbbing, and I didn't know how to describe the emotion I was feeling. Finally reaching the drinks, I served myself a generous amount of the blue beverage and poured extra vodka for good measure.
As I started drinking, I decided to join in on the dancing, not caring how silly I might look. It only really took a minute for it to feel like I was doing this all night.
Between all the bodies and a rush of energy running through me, it got really hot, really quickly. I soon found myself pushing through the crowd and practically shoving hands off my body while making sure my drink didn't spill.
Feeling suffocated, I decided to go out to the terrace. Once I reached it, I was thankful at how empty it appeared. Taking deep breaths, I leaned against the balcony.
"Hey," a voice I would recognize anywhere spoke and startled me.
"My God, Jimmy! Don't scare me like that." I almost, almost, forgot that he was here.
As he walked out of the shadows and got closer, I could see the small smile on his lips.
"Sorry," he apologized and I knew he meant it. "So what's the birthday girl doing out here?"
"I just-," I felt breathless and I knew there was more than one reason for it. "I needed some air." He nodded in return. A few seconds passed before I decided to break the silence. "Are you having fun?"
"Yeah, everything's great." I don't know why I related these two things but since he didn't have a drink in his hand and didn't appear like he drank anything, I wasn't sure if I believed him. "Your friends are really nice." Yeah, I bet. "It was great of them to do all this for you." Now it was my turn to nod even though all I wanted to do was ask him about talking to Meg. "Oh, hey I almost forgot." He reached into the inside of his jacket. "I got you something."
What?
"Uhh," it was all I could get out as he handed me a bright pink card sized envelope "Thanks. You, uh, you didn't have to."
He shrugged, thinking it was no big deal.
"Aren't you going to open it?"
"Umm, I'll just put it with the others and open it later." I guess I didn't realize the impact of what that meant.
"Oh, okay," seeing the look on his face shifted something inside of me and it didn't help that he took a step closer. "Can I um, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah?" I answered his question while asking another, taking a lot of effort to do so.
"I appreciate the gesture and all but, why did you invite me? I mean, it just seemed really… unexpected."
I knew this would be brought up at some point. I didn't think, especially hope, that it would be tonight under these circumstances, making it feel like the hardest question in the world.
My head started spinning and I now saw three Jimmys where there was only one. Despite how I felt, I still wanted to respond.
I wanted to say that I thought it would be weird or awkward if I didn't. Or maybe that I wanted to be nice but figured he wouldn't come anyway. Or maybe I should just tell him the truth and say how much I badly wanted to see him again.
Instead, all that came out was the day's food and drink, in a color I couldn't describe, in the form of vomit. All of it splattered on the terrace and Jimmy's shoes.
Happy New Year?
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