by Pauline West
“You must know these people pretty well,” I said, but he didn’t respond, busying himself with opening a silver-plated first aid kit. It was neatly stocked with band-aids, hydrogen peroxide, bandaging tape, nail scissors, everything you could want.
“Come here,” he said, without looking at me. When I didn’t obey, he gave me that mischievous, smirky look again and tugged me close. He bandaged my arm expertly, smoothing the fabric tape flat.
“There. Now you won’t bleed through your shirt.” He grinned. “Now, admit it. You need me just a little bit.”
It didn’t help that he was impossibly cute. And now we were standing toe to toe.
“Maybe just a little,” I said.
“What, no kiss?” he said, still grinning down at me.
I laughed. “Thanks. Really. But I gotta go, they’ll be wondering where I went,” I said, escaping before he could grab me again.
But as I passed him, his hand trailed against mine, almost as if by accident. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw something like wistfulness in his eyes.
But I didn't trust myself to look back.
I fixed my hair as I hurried towards the door. As I passed a mirror that looked like it belonged in a museum, I tugged out a tube of tinted chapstick and slicked it on.
There. I looked almost like myself again.
I quickly rolled down my black shirt sleeves. Even though it was warm outside, I didn’t want to look like some escaped patient. “Even though I kind of am,” I thought to myself, grinning at the memory of my would-be rescuer. I used the mirror to glance behind me again.
Where was he?
No way had he slipped back out into the party with blood still on his shirt. This was definitely not that kind of place.
Was he upstairs somewhere…?
I pictured him shirtless, his abdominal muscles cording as he shrugged on a fresh shirt. His long fingered hands, deftly buttoning away that gorgeous torso of his. What a crying shame...
I thought of the hard, beautifully cut muscles I’d felt beneath his warm, wet shirt. The electric heat of his hips so near to mine.
His scent still clung to me, too, faint and unforgettable. That sexy squint of his and his rich dark tan. The mouth that was so kissable it was impossible to think of it doing anything else.
Except…
I rushed outside, shocked at myself. I couldn’t understand how I was getting so carried away. All my life, while other girls squealed and obsessed about the cute guys in class, I’d never been able to understand what the big deal was.
Suddenly, I got it.
As annoyed as I was with the way this stranger had scooped me along with him so effortlessly, I couldn’t stop thinking what it would be like to have him crush me against the wall and take me in his arms. To have him cover me in open-mouthed kisses with that infuriating mouth of his...
It was like he’d ambushed me, body and soul. I couldn’t get him out of my head. I wanted to be where he was.
So where was he?
Beren ran towards me. “There you are! I was worried, what the hell happened?”
“I spilled drinks all over these people, and some glass broke in the glass, and then-” My shoulders sagged. “Oh shit. I need to tell Chef.”
“Uh, honey, Chef knows.”
“Is he pissed?” I said.
“He was until he heard it was you that did it!” Beren’s lovely mouth curved into a naughty grin. “He’s hot for you, girl. I don’t know why you don’t shake it more, what yo’ mama gave you- you oughta fan that pretty tail, we aren’t here forever!”
“Can’t you tell? I’m so clumsy, I’d probably bring about the end of the world as we know it,” I said.
He took my arm, slowing me down as we passed in front of the band. “Well, you go for it, Miss Kali.”
“Oh, very nice, the goddess of destruction, I’ll take it.” Moving my shoulders in time to the music, I scanned the crowd furtively, looking for my mystery man.
“Thought you would… Hey… so, you seem a little distracted.” Beren squeezed me as we headed together towards the kitchen. “I’m going crazy! Are you going to tell me about him or not?”
“I… don’t know his name, actually.” I looked up at the twilight. “But holy shit! Look, my hands are shaking.”
“My whole body is shaking. This crowd, they’re like vampires, I’ve never seen anybody go through trays so fast.”
“Oh wow, you guys covered up my mess perfectly. You can’t even tell I was there.”
“Mm-hmm, I got you girl. Which means you might have to cover for me tonight.” Beren locked glances with the sexy gymnast he’d been eyeing up earlier. “You read me?” he said, still grinning, talking sideways, and I cracked up.
“Ah, you’re terrible!”
“You picking up what I’m putting downnn?” he said.
“Yeah, yeah, no problem, I’ll cover for you.”
“Right. I’ve got to go. Kiss kiss. And good luck in there, babe, don’t take no shit.”
On the way through the door I crossed paths with Hazel, Chef’s last victim. Everything about Hazel was dark and sultry. She had long, thick dark hair and a tan as rich and golden as wildflower honey.
And she could wear an anklet like nobody’s business. We were supposed to wear black trousers and simple black button ups, but Hazel was always putting a spin on things- wearing tight black capris and chic little black ballet flats that showcased her pretty legs.
In her spare time, people said she ran some kind of Wiccan sex-magic class, but I didn’t know her all that well. Hazel was the kind of girl people just wanted to talk about, whether or not anything they had to say was true. I know all about being that kind of girl. So I also knew how much rumors hurt- and so I chose not to believe everything I heard.
Anyway, at the end of the shift last night, Chef had screamed at Hazel for taking a guest’s steak order down wrong. She’d put it in as medium-rare when apparently the guest had said he wanted it rare. But the way Chef exploded, you would have thought Hazel had spat in the guy’s food.
I hated yelling, but you could tell Hazel really hated it.
She seemed to shrink down three sizes, like the girl in the Alice in Wonderland cartoon. But Hazel stood there taking it until Chef was finished. When she walked away, still without saying a word, her head was still held high. I loved her for that.
Afterwards, Chef was the one who looked like the asshole.
I was glad she’d hadn’t just walked out forever. I mean, I would have. Everybody knew chefs were under a lot of stress but that didn’t give them permission to treat staff like disposable silverware.
She and I hip-bumped hello in the doorway. “Hey lady, where you been?” I said.
“I had to come late, I had a class. Hey, I heard what happened, but don’t worry, I got Chef all warmed up for you,” Hazel said. “He’s ready to explode!”
“Oh no!” I must have looked horrified because then she squeezed my hand gently.
“I’m just kidding, Lily” she said. “He was apologizing to me about yesterday. He said his girlfriend had just sent him some bitchy text and everything was going wrong and he just lost it or something. Anyway, he seems like he’s in a pretty good mood now. In there drinking champagne, feeling no pain.”
“Perfect.”
I could smell the metallic sweet smell of champagne on Hazel’s breath too. She gave me a conspiratorial wink and floated out into the crowd. Dusk was thick in the trees now, and the candles on the tables looked like fireflies. You could tell everybody was getting liquid from the champagne the way people moved now. Everyone stood a little closer together. Hands lingered a little longer on shoulders and hips. Love was in the air.
I saw the bride and groom arrive and turned to admire them. I saw the happy flush on their cheeks, the tender look in their eyes when they looked at each other. Even though they were walking into a crowd, they looked like they were alone in a world made of just the two of them.
Then a familiar dark-haired presence strode towards them. It was him, of course, but my body registered him before my mind did. It was like an electric bolt shot right through me. His thick, dark hair was neatly shaved in the back, and I wanted nothing more than to trail my fingers up his neck, pull him against me so that I could feel his warm, heavy body near mine again.
We locked eyes across the lawn. In the dark his gaze seemed even more sensuous, almost smoky. His lips lifted ever so slightly into that mysterious smile, and he broke off from the couple- turning towards me!
Then the kitchen door flapped open again as someone came out with yet another tray of drinks.
I heard Chef shout at me from the kitchen. “Hey beautiful dreamer, get your cute butt in here!”
My gaze ripped from the guy like a needle torn off a record player and I ducked inside hurriedly.
Chef was giving me a weird grin over his shoulder, his hands dancing from plate to plate like a magician. Even if he was an asshole, it was hypnotizing to watch him work.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-” I began.
Chef turned, wiping his hands on a rag, wordlessly leaving the sous chefs to step in and finish what he was working on. Chef’s kitchen ran like German clockwork.
Except for me and Hazel. We were the faulty machinery.
“It’s okay,” Chef said, stunning me. Sweat was beginning to darken his whites, and beads of it stood out on his skin, which was flushed from the heat of his work. But he was smiling. Sort of.
“I- wait, really?”
“Yeah. Come on, keep me company, I need a smoke break.” Chef gestured for me to follow him as he strode across the buzzing hive of activity that was his kitchen. I followed him out the opposite exit, which gave onto a dark, quiet alley behind the house.
Across from us was an old colonial era wall made from gently rounded stones. You could see the tops of magnolia trees and crepe myrtles bobbing over the side of it gently. On either end of the long, narrow alley, distant gas lanterns threw light onto the cobblestones like melting butter.
Just then, the trumpet player broke into a gorgeous solo, his notes seeming to hang in the air like panes of quivering glass before they broke, shivering down all around us.
It was erotic to think that right now, standing on the lawn, the sexy guy whose name I didn’t know was hearing the exact same thing.
Was he thinking of me too?
I was swirling with feelings I couldn’t quite name. Everything was so beautiful, it didn’t seem real.
Then Chef’s nasal voice broke into my thoughts, and I realized I hadn’t been listening to him at all. “...know you’re new here...can’t happen again… have to pay more attention, blah blah blah.”
“Yes sir, I will, I promise.”
Then he fell quiet, and the smell of his cigarette hung between us like stale toast. By the way he looked around, I could tell he was experiencing the beauty of the evening, too. I wondered why he hadn’t yelled at me the way he’d yelled at Hazel. What I’d done was definitely way worse, but what can I say? There was something magic about the Calhoun’s mansion, maybe, or maybe about that night in particular. Everybody seemed so happy. It was infectious.
“This is all pretty special, isn’t it?” I said, leaning back against the cool wall.
“What do you mean?” Chef said. He dropped the butt of his smoke and crushed it under his black Dansko heel.
“I mean this- getting to be a part of the most important night in people’s lives. Making everything perfect for them. It’s really special,” I said, feeling embarrassed, bouncing a little.
He smiled at me as he bent to pick up his butt, not wanting to leave trash even in the alley, and that tiny gesture actually made me like him. I smiled back.
“Better get back to it,” he said, holding open the door to me. “And Lily?”
“Yes sir?”
Chef pointed at both his eyes, then mine. “Head in the game, kiddo,” he said.
Dinner service went without a hitch. We even buddied up with a few of the guests. Beren, flirting outrageously with both men and women, soon had a cluster of guests laughing uproariously, insisting on taking shots with him.
“Well, I do aim to please. Don’t mind if I do!” he said. “Lily, get over here and meet these fine people! This is Cindy, and this is Mr. Joe….”
There was a pause while the shots were poured. Beren took advantage of the hubbub around us to whisper in my ear. “You know, not so long ago, this wouldn’t have happened. I mean, before the shootings here? Some of these guys would be saying, “Boy this,” and “Boy that.”
I didn’t know what to say to my sweet friend. After a beat, I just put my arm around his waist and my head on his shoulder. Beren snuggled me back.
“It’s okay. It’s just... nice, you know?” Beren said, smiling lightly at nothing. I noticed shadows behind his eyes I’d never seen before. A haunted past, a difficult childhood of his own.
“Yeah, it is,” I said.
On the other side of the lawn, Hazel was having an intense conversation with a cute, owlish older guy who was rocking the bowtie and spectacles look. And whenever I took a tray of used plates and glasses into the kitchen, I found Chef and his minions getting sweatier and louder, already celebrating their evening’s success.
“We nailed it!” Vanessa shouted. “Madison Calhoun just told me we’re the best caterers she’s ever had!” She was beaming from ear to ear, practically glowing. Chef high-fived her.
“Hey, great work out there, Lily,” Vanessa said. “I’ve been getting lots of compliments about you.”
“Oh really?” Chef said, winking. “How many of them were X rated?” He wagged a finger at me. “There’s something about this one… I’m keeping an eye on you!”
Flushing, I zipped back outside.
The sound of jazz cymbals sizzled up my bones as I stepped back out into the warm, sultry night air. People were dancing cheek to cheek in the neatly clipped grass. A few couples had paired off under the trees, strolling around, kissing, whispering to each other.
Hazel came over to me, grinning. She nodded towards the tables in the first row casually.
“That dude’s been staring at you all night,” she said.
“Really?” I said, pretending not to have noticed.
I couldn’t keep from grinning, though. I knew exactly who she was talking about. He hadn’t been in my section, but I’d been aware of his gaze all night. I could actually feel him looking at me, like a butterfly tickling my neck. But I was afraid to turn around and glance back, in case I was wrong.
“Oh yeah,” she said. And then Hazel waved at him!
I grabbed her hand, laughing, pinning it down to her side. “What are you doing?!”
“What?” Hazel said, innocently. “He likes you, you like him, so…”
“I…”
“Oh, hello,” she said, as if someone were behind me, crinkling her eyes up merrily.
“Har-har, Hazel!”
“Yep, well, I just remembered I have to… do something,” Hazel said, dashing off, and I turned around, blowing a stray wisp of hair out of my face.
And there he was, grinning at me.
“Oh! It’s… you,” I said, lamely. “Um, do you need something?”
His smile broadened. “Like what?”
“Uh, hey, you changed your shirt.” Now he was wearing an ivory colored button-up that made him look even sexier. Amazing to me that was even possible. So apparently I could no longer carry on a normal conversation.
He glanced down at it, as if remembering. “Yeah. Would it make you smile to know I found a little barb of glass in me, too? Who knows, maybe it was from the same cup.”
“Who says things like that?” I said. But to be honest, I liked that he was a little weird.
He shrugged, grinning helplessly. “Just a guy who wishes you hadn’t run out so quickly. That’s all.”
“Just a guy, huh?”
“What’s your name?
” he said, intently. As if my name were the key to something he desperately needed to unlock.
“Lily,” I said. “Lily Inoue.”
“I’m Ry,” he said. The music grew louder, more insistent, and he began to groove with it. “Dance with me, Lily.”
“I don’t dance.”
“Everybody dances.” Ry took my hand and placed it on his shoulder, fitting me close to him, and then put his hands on my waist. His hands were hot and dry, so big they almost completely fit around me. Wanting bolted through me again, so that when I looked up at him, I knew my eyes were hot with lust.
His were, too.
Someone stumbled behind us and I knocked into him-
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Beren dance away. He’d bonked us into each other on purpose!
I made a mental note to bake both Beren and Hazel each an enormous cheesecake tomorrow, which would only be fitting in honor of all their hard work. Cheeseballs. I adored them.
“You have the cutest grin,” Ry said, tipping my chin up towards his. “I can’t take my eyes off you.”
“I really can’t be doing this, I’m supposed to be working...” I said. I forced myself to try to twist away from him. The last thing I wanted was to actually make Chef really mad, but Ry’s fingers only tightened.
His thumbs pressed deliciously into the front of my hips. I wasn’t going anywhere.
I almost swooned at the sensation. “Oh…”
“Wow,” Ry said, his eyes flicking over my face, my open mouth.
He pulled me so close our legs almost tangled together, and he bent down and pressed the side of his face briefly to mine, tenderly. We weren’t really dancing any more, just pressing together like that, there in the dark. I ran my hands down his shoulder, tracing slowly over his biceps, the ridges of warm, dense muscle. I felt the shape of him turn hard against my womb, and shivers went through me like falling stars.
“Lily…” Ry said, huskily.
“That’s an interesting dance,” an angry, high-pitched voice suddenly observed behind us.
Ry tore his gaze from mine slowly. “Uhhhh, hey Madison,” he said.
