Wallbanger (27 page)

“Where the hell did you learn to cook like this? Jesus, this is good!” Neil exclaimed, taking his third helping of paella from the giant pan in the center of the table.

“Thank you, Neil.” I laughed as he dug into another pile of rice.

Simon nodded toward my wine glass, and I nodded back.

I’d thought about making a quick version of paella when I saw all the wonderful seafood on sale at the local market, and when I saw their special on Spanish Rosé and Cava, my plans came together. We’d started in on the Cava while prepping in the kitchen. The sparkling Spanish wine went perfectly with the wedge of Manchego I’d picked up, as well as the little salty olives. Once again, Simon was my helper, and we moved together in the kitchen. The other four settled on bar stools across from us while we cooked, someone popped an old Otis Redding record on the ancient turntable, and we were in business.

The wine flowed as freely as the conversation, and I could tell this had the potential to become a tight-knit group. Similar interests, similar senses of humor, but everything just different enough to keep it lively.

Speaking of lively, as the alcohol was inhaled, the walls came down. Mimi and Sophia were barely hiding their misplaced interests anymore. Not that the boys were minding. In fact, they were encouraging it. Ryan currently examined Mimi’s foot for what she insisted was a spider bite. The fact that he’d been inspecting it for several minutes, and that said inspection included a calf massage did not escape my attention, or Simon’s.

He grinned and motioned for me to move closer. I slid across the bench and inclined my head to his. He put his mouth next to my ear, and I inhaled. Wine, heat, and actual sex ran straight up my nostrils and invaded my brain, turning everything a bit fuzzy.

“How long before they kiss?” he whispered, his mouth so close I swear I felt lips brush my ear.

“What?” I asked, beginning to giggle the way I did when I’d had a little too much to drink and a little too much sexy dangled in front of me.

“How long? You know, before they kiss the wrong person?” he asked as I turned to look into his eyes.

Those eyes, oh, those eyes were now calling to me.

“You mean the right person?” I whispered.

“Yeah, the right person,” he answered, scooting a little closer on the bench.

“I don’t know, but if the kiss doesn’t come soon, I’m gonna burst,” I admitted, knowing full well I was no longer talking about our friends. And knowing full well that he knew full well I was no longer talking about our friends.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t want you to burst.” He was now mere inches from my face.

Harem. Harem. Harem.
I repeated this mantra over and over.

“I wanna go in the hot tub.”

The whining pulled me away from the voodoo and back to the kitchen. Where there were people present.

“I wanna go in the hot tub,” I heard again and turned to address Mimi. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Sophia was actually the whiner, and she was now hanging on Neil like a backpack.

“Okay, so go in the hot tub. No one’s stopping you,” I insisted, sliding away from Simon and back in front of my plate where I began separating my peas from my lobster. I was full, but I would never leave lobster on the plate. I had standards, after all.

“You have to come too,” Sophia whined again as I began to comprehend. Sophia was drunk. Sophia got clingy when she got drunk. Oh boy.

“Go ahead. I’ll clean up the kitchen a little and then meet you guys out there,” Simon said, taking my plate and starting to stand.

“Hey, hey, hey! Lobster bite, hello,” I protested as I grabbed my fork.

“Here, I would never get between a woman and her lobster.” He smiled, offering me my fork back. I accepted the bite with a smile and stood up. I was a little more drunk than I thought, and this fact made itself known as gravity began tease me.

“Whoa there, you okay?” he asked, steadying me as Sophia started off for the bedroom.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine,” I answered, planting my feet and winning the battle.

“Maybe you outta slow down?” he asked, taking my wine glass.

“Oh, lighten up, it’s a party,” I cried, beginning to giggle. Suddenly everything was funny.

“Okay, party on.” He smiled as I headed to the bedroom to change into my suit. Which proved harder than I thought. String bikinis are difficult to tie when you’re more than a little buzzed.

“Okay, Caroline’s next. Truth or dare,” Mimi yelled, once again proving that Drunky Mimi only had one volume level.

“Truth,” I yelled back, splashing Sophia in the face accidentally as I reached behind me for my glass of wine. We’d brought out the last bottle of Cava and were steadily working our way through it. And it was steadily working its way through us, our game becoming more and more dangerous. The sky crackled a bit with far-away lightning, and low rumbles of thunder were just beginning to be heard over the giggling and splashing.

Once we came outside and got settled in the hot tub, it was only minutes before Neil suggested a game of Truth or Dare, and only seconds after that before Sophia agreed to it. I laughed it off at first, saying there was no way I’d play such a childish game. But when Simon implied that I was chicken, the alcohol reared its ugly head and shouted something to the effect of, “I will play Truth or Dare, you sucker, until you can’t tell your truth from your dare!”

This statement made perfect sense in my head, and must have seemed logical to Mimi and Sophia as well, as they immediately began offering me high fives and you-go-girls. I’m pretty sure I saw Simon shake his head, but he was smiling, so I let it go. And poured another glass of sparkly.

“Where’s the one place you want to travel, and haven’t been yet,” she asked, humming along to the tunes coming through the French doors.

Sophia had found all of her grandfather’s old records, and Simon almost had a fit when he saw the collection. He’d selected a Tommy Dorsey album, and the big band accentuated the night perfectly.

“Boring, make her take a dare!” Simon sang, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

“It’s not boring, and she chose truth so she gets truth. Caroline, where is the one place on earth you want to go?” she asked again.

I leaned my head back against the edge of the tub. I looked up at the stars and an image immediately came to mind: soft wind blowing, warm sun on my face, the ocean spread out in front of me dotted with craggy rocks. I smiled just thinking about it.

“Spain,” I sighed quietly, the smile lingering as I imagined myself on a beach in
Spain
.

“Spain?” Simon asked.

I turned my face toward his. He was smiling back at me. “Spain. That’s where I want to go. But it’s so expensive, it’s going to have to wait a while,” I smiled again, my head still wrapped around the image.

“Hey, wait, Simon, aren’t you going to Spain next month?” Ryan asked, and my eyes widened.

“Um, yeah. Yeah, I am actually,” he answered.

“Great! Caroline, you can go with him,” Mimi decided, clapping her hands and turning to Ryan.

“Ryan, you’re next.”

“No, no, wait a minute. First of all, I can’t just go with Simon to Spain. And second of all, it’s my turn,” I protested, as Simon sat up.

“Actually, you could ‘just go with Simon to Spain,’” he said, turning to me fully. The other side of the hot tub got very quiet.

“Um, no, I can’t. You’re working. I can’t afford a trip like that, and besides, I don’t know that I can take time off next month.” I felt my heart swell as I processed what he’d just said.

“Actually, I heard Jillian telling you the other day that next month would be a good time to take your vacation before the holiday season,” Mimi piped up. She sank back into the shadows as I glared at her.

“Be that as it may, I also can’t afford it, so discussion ended. Now then, I believe it’s my turn. Let’s see, who should I pick?” I looked around at everyone.

“It wouldn’t be that expensive. I’m renting a house, so that would be paid for. Airfare and spending money—that’s all you’d have to cover,” Simon added, not letting this go.

“Hey, that’s a pretty good deal there, Caroline,” Mimi spouted, her energy making little ripples across the tub.

“Okay, Mimi, truth or dare?” I asked, gritting my teeth and pushing ahead with the game.

“Hey, we’re discussing something here. Don’t change the subject,” she objected.

“Well, I’m done discussing it. Truth or dare, you little shit,” I said again, letting her know I meant business.

“Fine. Dare,” she pouted.

“Great. I dare you to kiss Neil,” I shot back, not missing a beat.

“What?” she shouted, as the entire hot tub erupted in gasps.

“Hey, we’re just playing a game, right? And Mimi, really, it’s not that shocking that I would dare you to kiss the guy you’ve been seeing for weeks now, is it?”

“Well, no, I just, I don’t like public displays,” she sputtered, almost going under. This from the girl who was almost arrested for public nudity when she was found under the bleachers at a football game freshman year at Berkeley.

“Oh, come on, what’s the big deal?” Simon chimed in, and I looked at him gratefully.

“Nothing, it’s just—” she said again, and Neil interrupted.

“Oh, come here, Tiny,” he exclaimed and pulled her over. They stared at each other for a second, and then Neil swept her hair out of her face. He smiled, and she leaned in. I heard Sophia inhale at the same time Ryan did, and we all watched as Mimi kissed Neil.

And it was weird.

They broke away, and Mimi swam back over to her side. Next to Ryan. All was quiet for a moment. Simon and I looked at each other, not sure what to do next. We’d been outsmarted. And I got pissed when I got outsmarted. I began to burn. The fact that I was drunk had
nothing
at all to do with my overreaction.

“Okay, I guess it’s my turn. Hmmm…Ryan, truth or dare?” Neil started, and I stood up, splashing everyone around me as I did.

“No, no, no! That’s not what was supposed to happen!” I yelled, stamping my foot, losing my balance and going under in the process. Simon’s strong hands brought me back to the surface, and I continued my alcohol-induced tirade. Flashes of lightning, now much closer, blazed across the sky.

“
You
were not supposed to let
her
kiss
him!”
I sputtered, spitting out water and pointing at Ryan and then at Mimi. I whirled on Sophia. “And
you
were supposed to get mad at
her!”

“Why would I get mad at Mimi? For kissing her boyfriend?” Sophia mumbled, taking a sudden interest in her fingernails.

“Argh!” I screamed and turned back to Mimi.

“Mimi, are you even remotely interested in Neil?” I challenged, hands on my hips as I steamed into the night air.

“Neil is exactly what I’ve always wanted in a man. He is my type to a T,” she countered robotically, flinching when Ryan looked at her with hurt in his eyes.

“Blah, blah, blah, have you fucked Neil yet?” I screeched, pointing wildly as I tend to do when I drink.

“Okay, Caroline, you’ve made your point,” Simon soothed, trying to get me to sit back down.

“What point? What are you two talking about?” Sophia asked, leaning forward.

“Oh, please, the four of you are ridiculous! I don’t care what you all think you want on paper. In reality, you’re doing it all wrong!” I answered, smacking the top of the water for emphasis. Why weren’t they getting it? I don’t know when I’d gotten so riled up, but in the last sixty seconds or so, I’d become blazing mad.

“Are you kidding?” Mimi cried, jumping to her feet in the hot tub, which kept the water at about the same level.

“Mimi, come on! Anyone with eyes can see the way you and Ryan feel about each other! Why the hell are you wasting time on anyone else?” I pushed.

Simon pulled me back onto his lap and attempted to quiet me.

“Okay, this has gone far enough,” Neil said, starting to get out of the tub.

“No, no! Neil, look at Sophia. Can’t you see she is totally into you? Why the hell are you all so thick? Seriously? Are Simon and I the only ones that can see clearly here?” I yelled once more, bringing Simon into the conversation whether he wanted it or not.