What A Boy Wants Part 5

Luckily, I was pretty good at playing things off when I wanted to, so instead of admiring her, I nudged her. Hey, you know Im all for equal flirting rights and all that, but I also gotta take care of my girls. d.a.m.n, I was a pretty nice guy when I thought about it.

If we dont see each other before, lets meet up at 11:00, I said. If we came together, we left together, so we liked to meet up to make sure everyone was still having a good time. All for one and s.h.i.+t. I pushed my hands in my pockets, feeling pretty proud of myself. We got the pre-party plan out of the way and now it was time for the night of epicness to begin.

Alright, Dad. See you guys later. Aspen started to pull Pris away, and when she did, I saw Pris lean over and whisper something to her. Aspen shook her head no, while turning back to look at us. Pris nodded, Aspen smiled and they disappeared into the kitchen.

Theyre being weird, I told Jaden.

Who? he asked, his eyes already scanning the kitchen through the gla.s.s door.

He had the right idea, so I mumbled a Nothing. After straightening my s.h.i.+rt, I looked over at Jaden. Are you ready for our night of epic proportions?

He gave his hair another ruffle with his hand to make sure it was effectively messy. I was born ready.

Blood pumped through my veins with so much fervor, I didnt even take the time to tell Jaden how corny his last line was. I strode into the kitchen with my boy at my side, on a mission. We were going to find girls and I was going to get my head on straight, because no good could come from the urge Id fought to pull Aspen back to me as shed been swallowed by the crowd.

Mattie hadnt been wrong about the ratio of female vs. males. There was a good two to one, which were odds I really liked. In fact, there were so many girls dancing around that I was having a hard time choosing which one I wanted to go for.

Dude, youve found something wrong with every girl. Im about to play this one solo if you cant make up your mind. Jaden leaned against the wall next to me. A fireplace with a mantle full of pictures of who I a.s.sumed was Matties Mall Girl was behind him.

Were not trying to decide between a Big Mac or a chicken sandwich here. This is some serious s.h.i.+t. We want epicness, we have to be choosy.

Jaden rolled his eyes, so I continued to scan the room.

What about them? he asked, pointing to a red head and girl with dark brown hair who were dancing with each other. My body perked up at the sight. Ill take Red and you can have the other one, he said.

Nah, Im not feelin her. I was starting to get a little worried about myself. I mean, this was a party and there were chicks everywhere, but none of them were really getting my blood pumping, if you know what I mean. What guy wasnt trying to hook-up at this party?

Apparently, me Okay, Sebastian. You pick, but Im telling you, if you dont pick some girls within five minutes, Im out. I at least want to get some dancing in rather than staring at your frown all night. Jaden pushed off the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

Im frowning? Why was I frowning?

Yeah, youve looked p.i.s.sy ever since we left the girls. I think youve been hanging out with them too long. Youre swapping testosterone for estrogen. I feel like youre going to start lecturing me on seeing women as more than a piece of meat any minute. I opened my mouth, but Jaden cut me off. Which I do. You know that, but I also want to have a good time and if theres a girl I meet who I like and were both willing, theres nothing wrong with that.

I groaned. He was right.

About that time a set of twins, freaking twins walked up to us. They had black hair, blue eyes and curvy little bodies that I suddenly really, really wanted to get to know better. Wow, how did we miss you ladies all night? I took a step closer, eagerness making my pulse rock out.

I was wondering the same thing, Jaden said from beside me.

Im Abby, the taller one who stood across from Jaden said. And this is my sister, Crystal.

Do you want to dance? I asked in my most suave voice. Yeah, I knew it was lame, this whole game guys and girls played, but what could I do about it? People had been doing it way before The Hook-up Doctor was around and theyd do it long after as well.

Id love to, she replied. I looked over to see Jaden and whatever her name was already locked in an embrace. I slid my hands to her waist as she wrapped hers around my neck. The song was fast, but we didnt care. Her body slinked against mine and for a minute, all I could think was, h.e.l.l yes, but then I remembered I hadnt checked my phone for a while. What if Aspen or Pris had texted and I didnt hear it?

Let me tell you, its not easy to slip your cell phone out of your pocket all incognito with a girl slinking her body as close to you as she can. Somehow, I managed it. While she was distracted, rubbing her hand though my hair, which annoyed the c.r.a.p out of me, I checked my phone for messages behind her back.

Nothing.

Instead of being all mopey like I had for most of the night, I tried to get into what I was doing. I had a pretty girl in my arms. A guy definitely shouldnt have to talk himself into enjoying that. Do you live around here? I asked close to her ear, inhaling a deep breath. d.a.m.n. Flowers. I hated that c.r.a.p.

No. My sister and I are staying with my cousin for the summer. Its her house.

That sucks. Id love to get out of this place for the summer and youre stuck here.

Her hand traveled up my back. I dont know I think Im starting to enjoy it.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Every warning bell in my body erupted. I was pretty sure she just told me Im the reason she was starting to enjoy herself. Me-- too I tried to say, but just about that time, Aspen caught my eye on the other side of the room. She stood with some guy, her arms flailing around as she spoke animatedly. She cracked me up when she got excited like that, talking with her body just as much as she did her mouth. I chuckled.

The guy pulled her close to him and they started to sway to the music just like I was doing with Crystal, but all of a sudden, I wasnt laughing any more. The muscles in my body tightened, like Id worked them out too hard and got a cramp. I was sweating and felt like Id had too much to drink when I hadnt.

You what?

Huh? I asked, startled. I couldnt believe I almost forgot I was dancing with this girl.

You said me, but then you stopped.

Get it together, Bastian. Whats wrong with you? Nothing. I guess Im pretty lucky you decided to come for a visit, huh?

I could hear the smile in her voice when she replied, Maybe.

I tried to focus on the girl in my arms, I really did, but my eyes kept darting to the other side of the room. The guy dancing with Aspen tried to slide his hand under the back of her s.h.i.+rt, and I stiffened, immediately pulling away from Crystal. Aspen did the same with hand boy over there, turning her nose up at him in a playful way and walking away. Thats my girl.

Are you okay? Crystal stepped back and looked at me. The girl was beautiful. There was no reason in the world I should be so distracted, but I was.

Want to just chill for a minute? As much as I wanted to be into her, I wasnt right now and I didnt want to lead her on.

She bit her bottom lip and then smiled. I found the quietest corner of the room that I could, but one that still gave me vision to scope out the living room in case I was needed. I stood in the corner, with Crystal in front of me. She showed a lot of skin. Way more than Aspen, but not quite as much as Alex did, which was nice. So, I think it must have been your cousin who met this guy I work with. Hes the one who told me about the party.

Crystal ran her hands down her s.h.i.+rt as if she was trying to smooth it out. Matt or something like that? Paula told me about him.

They hooking up? I asked, not sure why I cared. Okay, so thats a lie, if they were hooking up, I knew he couldnt have Aspen because she wouldnt be down for that. Which meant she couldnt get hurt and I could go back to being my normal self.

I dont think so. They didnt, yet at least. Who knows what will happen tonight though.

Great. There went that plan.

We talked for a little while. She was pretty cool, liked to laugh and I found out her boyfriend dumped her when she told him she was leaving for the summer. That sucks. Sounds like a jerk, but its probably better, anyway. It was pretty obvious I wasnt going to hook-up with this girl tonight and I was okay with that. I wasnt feelin this whole thing and she seemed to still be caught up on her ex. My night of epicness was turning out to be anything but. She was pretty fun to talk to though, so I didnt mind.

Why? she asked.

Whats the point? Relations.h.i.+ps never last anyway. Better to end them quick rather than drag things out. I didnt care how jaded I sounded, it was how I felt. Anyone who had seen what I had would feel the same.

A guy who doesnt believe in love? Wow, I dont run across that every day. Wed never see eye to eye on this, so I just shrugged, scanning the room for my friends. I saw Pris standing alone in a corner, her mouth tight. She obviously wasnt having a good time. Just as I was about to tell Crystal I needed to go check on my friend, I saw Aspen with another dude. He had this c.o.c.ky smirk on his face and she was looking up at him batting her eyelashes in a way Id never seen her do before.

What was she doing? She put an arm around the guys shoulders and he did the same to her. They were laughing. With each pa.s.sing second that they stood there, him looking at her like she was his perfect score for the night, my gut started to squeeze tighter. Was she flirting with this guy? And if she was, which was super freakin weird because Id never seen Aspen flirt before, but why couldnt I take my eyes off her?

Aw, so shes the reason youve been distracted all night?

I glanced at Crystal, back over at Aspen and then at Crystal again. I havent been distracted. Yeah right.

Its okay. She sighed. I think I was using you to get my mind off Will, so were even.

This time, my vision jerked toward her. What? Im not into her. Shes my B-- I groaned. Why did I keep saying BFF? I swear, it was like Paris Hilton took me over. Shes my friend. I watch out for her. Thats all.

In the sea of people, I found Aspen again. She stood up on her tip-toes and whispered in the guys ear. Dude, whats she doing?

I didnt realize Id spoken out loud until Crystal answered me. Flirting. Aspen stumbled. She looks a little drunk.

Nah, we have a three drink rule in the PPP.

PPP?

Pre-party plan. She doesnt drink much anyway. I dont think shes ever gone past one drink. A memory popped into my head. Oh! There was this one time Priss parents were out of town. I dared her to drink this fierce drink Jaden made and she was gone. Stumbling all over the place like-- Holy h.e.l.l. Like she was doing now. I gotta go.

Crystal grabbed my arm as I tried to walk away. I guess I was wrong, you do believe in love.

Pfft. I tried not to roll my eyes. I didnt do love and if I did, it wouldnt be with my best friend. Its not that. Shes just a friend. My mouth felt all sticky. As I looked over, a hand grabbed onto Aspens arm and started leading her down the hall. Not going to happen, dumba.s.s. I pushed my way through the crowd, grabbing him right before they made it to a door. Thanks, bro. I got her from here.

His eyes narrowed at me. Who the h.e.l.l are you?

I ignored him. Come on, Woodstock. Lets get you out of here. Standing this close to her, I could see she was definitely trashed. Her big, green eyes were droopy, with pink tinting the white part.

Im okay, Baaaa.s.ssstian. Tads just helping me find a bathroom. She patted his chest.

Well, now I am. You can go, I told him. About then, Aspen grabbed her stomach. Oh, c.r.a.p. I think Im going to get sick. She swayed a little. About that time, Tad took off and I pushed the door open. Bathroom my a.s.s, it was a bedroom with a big empty bed. Id have to remember his face so I could kick his a.s.s next time I saw him.

Uggg. Aspen groaned.

Well get you to the bathroom. She stumbled so I picked her up, pus.h.i.+ng doors open until I found the bathroom. When she was on her feet, I locked the door behind us and thats when it happened. Instead of aiming for the toilet, Aspen faced me. Green puke flew all over my not-so-lucky-anymore s.h.i.+rt. Ugh! She freaking owed me for this. I turned her toward the toilet and let her finish. With her hair in my hands, she emptied her stomach. I kept feeling it threaten to bubble up in my throat, but I held it down. Puke and I didnt go well together. The last thing we needed was one of us up-chucking in the toilet while the other took the bathtub.

When she finally finished, I helped her to her knees, rubbing her back. Please dont puke. Please dont puke. What was it with girls and alcohol? Boys always get the bad name, but Id never drank so much I blew chunks. Its okay, I told her when she started to cry.

I hate being sick, Aspen mumbled. I kept smoothing her hair down and sliding my hand over her back.

You okay?

No her eyes were starting to close, but she kept popping them open again.

Im here, Woodstock. Are you going to be sick again?

She shook her head. I grabbed some tissue, wet it and wiped her face. I felt like an idiot, but I knew she wouldnt want to go out there like this. I pulled off both my s.h.i.+rts, and tossed my puke covered, Beastie Boys s.h.i.+rt in the trash, before putting the other one back on. I wanted to cry myself. That was a nice s.h.i.+rt. Im going to pick you up. She mumbled something which I a.s.sumed was an okay. Bending down, I pulled her into my arms. Lets get you home. Her reply was to wrap her arms around my neck.

Everywhere that she touched me, it was like little currents of electricity sparked beneath my skin. It was weird as h.e.l.l, but kind of felt good, too. As soon as I hit the front door, both Jaden and Pris were by my side.

What happened? Pris asked. At the same time, Jaden said, Is she okay?

Were good. Just a little too much to drink.

When we got to the car, Jaden somehow made sure Aspen was strapped in, while she was still lying down with her head in my lap.

I dont know how Im going to get her into my house like that, Bastian. My parents will freak, Pris said from the front seat.

I pushed her soft hair away from her face. She can come home with me. Im pretty sure my moms out.

Pris dropped us all off at my place. Jaden stayed downstairs, planning to sleep on the couch, and I carried Aspen up to my room. After I had her all tucked in, I started to walk away.

Bastian Dont go. Her voice was hardly over a whisper.

I closed my door and locked it. Im right here.

A smile curved her lips and then she was out. There was nothing I could do but fall into my torn-up computer chair and wonder how I got myself into this mess. The goal for the night had been freedom. To find a girl who was interested, listen to music, dance and get my mind off of all this other heavy stuff: to forget mom and the loser, to forget my Aspen confusion, to help Jaden block out whatever was going on at home. Instead, I ended up with green vomit on my not-so-lucky s.h.i.+rt and sitting in my cramped chair while I watched a girl sleep in my bed.

Here was my epicness, because despite how things turned out, I wouldnt be anywhere else. I wouldnt want anyone else to take care of her. To watch her sleep. To hold her hair. To carry her to the car. Of course, I could have done without the puke part for both of our sakes, but besides that, Id rather be with her than anyone else. Id rather be here than dancing with Crystal or any other girl.

Thats when it hit me. How had I been so dumb? How could I be such an idiot? And when the h.e.l.l did it happen? When had things changed or had they always been like this, but I didnt realize it?

Looked like I did do love and I was in it with my best friend.

I was so f.u.c.ked.

Chapter Eight.

Now, Im not a scientist or anything, but I figured every theory needed to be tested. And so far, thats what the whole think-Im-in-love-with-my-best-friend thing was"a theory. I mean, Id never been in love before. How did I know for sure? It could have been lack of female attention, rebellion, or, I dont know, delirium or something. Stranger things had happened. Jumping to the conclusion it was love, was just a whats it called? Hypothesis? My science teacher would be so proud. The way I saw it, I wasnt educated enough in love to make an educated guess about it. Especially since I wasnt even sure I believed in it.

I wasnt sure Id ever really seen anyone in love before. My dad obviously didnt love my mom, since he bailed on us. He obviously hadnt loved me either. Mom thought she was in love a lot, but look how all those relations.h.i.+ps turned out. Either people put too much stock in something that was so easy to fall in and out of or love and my family just didnt jive. Before I pledged my undying devotion (not that Id ever do that), but before I decided if I wanted to do anything about this or not, I needed to figure it out.

The thing was, I wasnt sure how to do that. Would ignoring her, showing up where she was or flirting with her do the trick like it did with my clients? I could always try making out with her, which Id enjoy a whole lot, but: 1. I was pretty sure if I started kissing Aspen out of the blue, Id be talking with a high pitched voice when she finished with me.

2. Love wasnt supposed to only be about kissing, right? I mean, I did that with the other girls and I knew d.a.m.n well I didnt love them.

The Hook-up Doctor was in uncharted territory and it sucked.

I clicked the red square in the right corner of my inbox. PA hadnt replied back to me, so I didnt know how her attempted flirt-fest had gone. Hopefully, it worked out for her. At least somebody should get what they wanted, even if I wasnt. Of course, that could be because I had no idea what that was, but why keep score?

When I turned to walk toward my closet to get my guitar, a soft rapping came from my bedroom door. I groaned knowing it would be my mom. I so wasnt in the mood for her s.h.i.+ny-happy-people impersonation today. I made a quick U-turn anyway and opened the door. Hey, Ma.

Hey, kiddo. Do you work today? She walked into my room and stole my chair. I plopped down on my bed, figuring we must be due for some big, important conversation that I had no interest in having. She never came into my room, so this had to be big. Fear trickled through me, gaining speed. Had Roger asked her? Was she getting married? Had he broken up with her? Hurt her? I bit all that back and answered her question instead.

In a couple hours. Whats up? I tried to focus on my bed and how it still smelled like Aspens cinnamon. I took a big whiff and at the same time, realized Id totally freakin lost my mind. I was trying to sniff my bed? If this was love, it really screwed with you.