“I’m going to suggest you start living in the moment and quit worrying about the ‘what ifs.’ If you and Tami are meant to be, it’ll happen. What I don’t want to see is you not considering finding a girlfriend, just because Tami’s coming back. I think it would be a huge mistake if you and she started dating when she gets back. You two need to learn to be friends again first.
“Nothing would make me happier than to see the two of you get together ...” Mom started.
“What about me and Beth?” I teased her.
“Smartass, of course, Beth is a better choice.”
I’d slowed my mom down enough that I wasn’t going to get a lecture. I knew deep down Tami and I had a lot to work through. My fear was we were both changing. I was starting to get hints, and I didn’t like all the changes Tami was making. My best friend would never have treated her mother like she had over Christmas break. She had even abandoned her Wesleyan friends. Another example was how she treated me when I won State. The one concession I had received when she left was I could call her and tell her if I won. Instead, she’d called Jeff and gotten the scoop.
I started to wonder if I wanted her to be my best friend anymore. If I wanted a self-absorbed friend, I could always start hanging out with Maggie. The girl I knew, who cared about everyone, was slowly disappearing. That didn’t mean I didn’t miss her, though.
I WENT TO GET READY for tonight and found Nancy doing her hair and makeup. I told her what my mom and I talked about.
“Wow. I wish I could talk to my mom like that ... no, probably not. I can see what she’s saying, though. Just from the way you talk about Tami, it’s a different conversation.”
“I want to have fun tonight,” I declared.
“I think we need to work on your pick-up skills tonight,” she said, getting an evil glint in her eye.
“Hang on, I want to spend the night with you,” I assured her.
“Pfft, you’ll be coming home with me. I have plans for our last night together. Remember when you picked me up?” she asked, and I nodded. “I want to help you pick someone up tonight. I think this could be fun.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“No, I want to see my big stud in action. I want it to be a real challenge, too. I think we should put something on it to make it worthwhile.”
She was really getting into this. Her body language just screamed this was turning her on.
“Okay,” I ventured.
“Winner gets to use the loser as their personal sex slave for the night,” she announced.
“Hang on, what exactly does that mean?” I asked, getting nervous.
“I see this worries you; good. It means what it sounds like: you do whatever with whomever I decide if you can’t pick up the girl of my choosing.”
“I have rules. They have to be old enough; they can’t be drunk or high; they can’t be in a relationship; and they have to be of an age I would have a shot getting a date with.”
“So, no one over sixty,” she teased.
“Oh, and no lesbians. They have to at least be bi,” I finished.
“I’ll tell you what, Hot Shot: I’ll pick the hottest single women at the party. You get at least a passionate kiss, and you win.”
“Deal,” I said.
I immediately regretted this bet. I had done something similar with Adrienne, but the stakes were not so worrisome. It was going to be ‘put up or shut up’ time tonight. I was hoping my mouth had not just written that check.
THE NIGHTCLUB HAD BEEN transformed. Instead of many smaller tables, they had brought in large round ones to seat five couples. The waitstaff was all in black, and it reminded me of some of the TV shows when they showed upscale parties. They were walking around with hors-d'oeuvres and sparkling wine. There was assigned seating, and my family was all together. Our fifth couple was just Caryn, aka Candy, Devin’s executive assistant/elf/stripper. She didn’t have a date.
I noticed Greg and Uncle John both gave Caryn the once-over. I introduced her to everyone and then flirted with her to tease my brother and uncle. She rolled her eyes at me, and Nancy got a big smirk on her face.
“I think we found your target for tonight,” she whispered in my ear.
“I think she’s a lesbian,” I said, trying to get out of it.
She just laughed at me. I stood up and took Caryn’s hand.
“Come on, introduce me to people,” I told her.
It didn’t take long to figure out why Caryn was here alone. No date would have put up with the blatant lines and innuendos sent her way. It would have been worse if I hadn’t put my arm around her. She gave me an appreciative look, and never pushed me away.
When we were done, we had a moment to ourselves.
“Thank you. I was supposed to introduce you to everyone, but I was dreading it. I think every guy thinks because I’m cute, they can hit on me. You did a good job of fending them off.”
“I know what you mean. I’m hit on all the time, too. It was a good thing we were there for each other,” I teased her. “If you need help tonight, find anyone in my family, and they’ll keep the wolves away. I personally find my mom is excellent at scaring off cute girls.”
She kissed my cheek.
“Thanks. I might need it once this group starts drinking.”
“I do need a favor, though. I need you to kiss me in front of my family.”
“Why would I do that?” she asked.
I was glad to see she wasn’t mad, just curious.
“I made a stupid bet with Nancy. She said I couldn’t pick you up. After seeing what you just went through, I don’t want to be one of those guys, but I don’t want to lose the bet, either. It would also make my uncle and brother jealous.”
“All I have to do is kiss you?”
“Well ... it has to be a really good kiss,” I confessed.
That brought a smile to her face.
“Okay, I’ll make the sacrifice for you.”
“If you want to slow down the wolves, we should also probably do it on the dance floor,” I suggested.
She swatted my arm.
“Sandy told me to watch out for you, you’re a sneaky one. We’ll see about the second kiss. You might be a terrible kisser, and I wouldn’t be able to suffer through it twice. I think I’d better keep my options open. I might need to kiss your uncle or brother instead,” she teased, and then we headed back to the table.
I was starting to like Caryn even more since she could definitely hold her own. When we got back to the table, she turned and laid one on me. I heard Nancy mumble, “Shit,” and Angie started to giggle. Mom finally cleared her throat, and I let Caryn go.
“Oh, sorry, I forgot where I was,” I said, acting dazed.
That got everyone to laugh. Angie and Nancy whisked off Caryn to the bathroom. When they got back, Nancy had a big smile on her face. I knew Caryn had come clean when Nancy gave me a big kiss, claiming me back. I think I liked this game. It was now Caryn’s turn.
Dinner was fun. They had different serving stations where they had a chef who made what you wanted to order. They had chefs making pasta, pizza, stir-fry, sushi, and steak and chicken on a grill. I had a steak and a variety of sushi. I made the mistake of letting Mom and Bonnie try my sushi. I taught them how to mix some wasabi in soy sauce and then dip the sushi in it. I was sent back for more sushi because they soon convinced the whole table this was some good stuff. Being a West Coast girl, Caryn loved sushi. She helped me pick out what to have them try, and even showed them all how to use chopsticks correctly.
Range Sports had hired a great band. They started out with a swing number, and one of the backup singers asked for volunteers. Of course, Greg pointed me out, and I went out, acting all shy. The singer about dropped her teeth when I grabbed her and showed her what the girls in my dance class had taught me. They loved to do swing because I was big and strong enough to do all the throws safely. Once the backup singer realized I knew what I was doing, she let me lead. She was good and had a flair my dance-class girls couldn’t match. I was disappointed when the song ended, but our little dance got everyone else on to the dance floor.