Ryan's party was in full swing by the time Tasha and I pulled in an hour later. Tasha had gotten lost and made a wrong turn and had ended up driving into the country. I walked inside and was instantly pulled aside by Payton, another friend of mine.
"Where have you been? I got a text from you what, an hour ago, saying you were pulling out of your driveway, and you just got here."
"Tasha sucks at driving."
"Oh."
"I do not!" Tasha said. "I just misinterpreted the directions."
"Tasha, you've been here before."
I laughed. "How did you get lost then?"
"I don't pay attention to signs, okay? No big deal, we're here, aren't we? We're in one piece."
"Alright," I laughed, "whatever."
Just then, Ryan appeared. "Hola chicas, que pasa?"
Tasha looked at him with a confused look and started walking off. "I'm going to get a beer. Caroline, Mike's Hard?"
"Yeah, any flavor," I said to Tasha. To Ryan, "I'm alright, now that I'm here."
Ryan smiled and led me to the couch. Payton walked off. Tasha came back looking confused, and then spotted me. She threw the bottle of Mike's to me and walked up to a girl I didn't recognize and started chatting her up. I was alone with Ryan.
Hours later, after I had given up on Mike's and switched to something with lots of Bacardi in it, I was still talking to Ryan. Somehow I had gotten onto his lap and was facing him, one leg on each side of his body. I wasn't paying attention to anything he said; I was just studying his attractive face. I got caught up in the green of his eyes and the tiny freckles that were sprinkled across his nose. I listened to the deep tones of his voice and how every once in a while he would stop and think. I noticed he was far from drunk. My eyes traveled down his body, to his arms and hands. He was strong, and his arms showed it. His hands were big and callused, as he loved to sail on the lake nearby.
"Caroline? Did you hear me?"
"What? Yeah. My favorite song of his is Dark Blue."
"Mine too! Jack's Mannequin is probably better than any other band I've heard live. He's my favorite." There was a silence between us, but not an awkward one. It was a silence in which you've realized you have yet another thing in common with someone. Then Ryan leaned in really close and softly whispered, "Dark blue, dark blue, have you ever been alone in a crowded room? Well I'm here with you…" And at that moment, I realized that I was alone, and that was why when I placed my lips on his, I felt the spark that I had been wanting and waiting for.