Page 17 of The Virgin Playboy

I could’ve been a bit more adventurous when it came to color, but I was totally making up for it with the makeup I’d spent all morning trying to perfect for the event. Strategically placed confetti I placed in moon shapes under my eyes, and I could see why women and queer men really liked winged eyes, because it brought attention to the eyes I’d always seen as ordinary. I wasn’t trying to bite Kaihautu’s thing, but I was rocking a temporary septum piercing, because, why not?

Thankfully my Tā Moko added an extra layer to the look, as I passed Kaihautū on the way to the living room, as we shot each other a shaka, waiting for the others to join. The plan was to leave by ten, so we’d get there by ten-thirty and we’d have most the day to vibe out, get a bite and maybe have time to go out later. It probably hadn’t been deliberate, but Yenory had every intention of managing our time, as Kaihautū and me threw out the itinerary she handed us, rejecting it from the jump.

“Yenory, come on, we came here to have fun. Not follow a strict schedule, that’s why I came here this weekend,” I argued, but more in a gentle teasing way.

“I just wanted to make sure everyone knew everything that is out there. It’s a big festival and I didn’t want anyone to miss out on anything.”

Kaihautū playfully wrapped his arm around Yenory. “Listen. I’m going there to smoke. Eat. Vibe. That’s it. Maybe I might learn something, but I go where the wind takes me, you can relax with the project managing.”

“Well, we all have to get going, you two are the only ones ready. Avi, Carly, Jaq?” she yelled out. “We gotta go, it’s almost ten o’ clock.”

After that type of summoning, it was like Carly materialized from nowhere, totally unlike the trendy, metropolitan woman I had met the day before. She kinda reminded me Samantha Manson from Danny Phantom, only with a lot more pink.

Yenory had kept her look more simple and focused. Black flight suit, fingerless gloves and I could already tell from just one afternoon around her that the keds she wore were out of character for her, but with all the walking there’d be, it was a smarter choice.

“Damn, Ma. I didn’t even get to fix my other eye,” Avi finally stepped out, and I was glad I hadn’t been the only guy to decide on eye liner to complete the look, only his wasn’t finished on one eye, and Yenory offered to help, since she was faster with it. Dang, I should have asked one of the ladies for help. I nearly poked my eye out the first try.

It was awful giggly between Kaihautū and Carly, and I fear me backing out the movie night last night made me lose the context between them being buddy-buddy all a sudden.

Granted, both of them were pretty friendly, so I assumed Kaihautū wouldn’t eat where we would sleep, but then again, I could have just been getting ahead of myself. We were all guests in the same house, it would stand within reason to get along.

But them grouping up meant I’d be forced to go at it alone. There was little reason to think I’d spend any time with Jaq. If anything, it would be my goal to actively avoid her if I’m humanly able. We didn’t plan it this way, but we didn’t have to be in each other’s way, either.

When Jaq finally did come out, I’m ashamed to admit she held all of my attention, as she highlighted her legs with black tights with heart embroidery, complimented by Doc Martens, a vampy dress that ended at her upper thighs, but pillowed at the sleeves, and witchy makeup to match. It was like Laura Winslow meets Elvira rolled into one outfit.

“Finally,” Yenory huffed, pushing Jaq out the door. We were riding together, which I’m sure sounded like a good idea before Jaq and I knew we were both going to be in attendance, but it was too petty of a reason not to go or enjoy our time out. We were just going to have to be adults.

I was brought back to earth when Kaihautū sharing an inside joke with Carly made me even more suspicious that he was going to try something. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but, should something go wrong, it’d make the trip as awkward for him and Carly as it’d been for me and Jaq.

Before I could claim a seat next to my cousin, or at the very least, not intentionally be as close proximity to Jaq, Carly and Kaihautū chose the second-row captain-style chairs, forcing me and Jaq to squeeze through the walk space between them to sit in the back.

“I’m probably not gonna know any of the artists there, but Imma be hype regardless,” Avi announced, claiming the front seat.

“Well, at least prepare us for the music we’ll be hearing,” Carly demanded, as Avi put on a playlist that was giving peak millennial emo music. It was kinda hard not to sing back the lyrics to Paramore’s songs, especially given the religious undertones to their past work. Paramore had definitely gone triple platinum in my household.

Nearly the entire car joined in, even if off key, but Jaq was the only one holding back, and that made it even more uncomfortable than ignoring her. “Do you have any requests?” I asked, trying to get her involved.

“I actually don’t mind it. She's a good singer, she's just…safe,” she said with a scrunch to her nose.

“Yeah, Paramore is pretty gnarly, but maybe not what I associate with Black alt.”

“Don't get me wrong, Haley Lynette Williams got the voice of a powerhouse, no question about that. I just know she’s a safe option given she sings so well. Some of my faves do better through expression, than how strong their voice is. But I know that’s not exactly a selling point to my friends. It’s why they’ll probably just meet me for the headliner, because they don’t know most of the artists. But I love that they know me well enough to respect we have different tastes in music. They’ve known I’ve loved punk since I was a kid,” she admitted.

“Guess they’re luckier than me. I never really got the chance to know you,” I said without thinking. Was that a shitty thing to say? Everyone was too busy rocking out to “I Write Sins, No Tragedies” to even notice our discomfort from the back.

Carly and Kaihautū had been so busy flirting, it took up most of the attention in the car. Sometimes I envied the freedom Kaihautū gave himself when it came to giving into his desire. It felt like I was fighting two battles depriving myself of the experience. One with myself and one with my high standards. But I just had to have faith that it’d be worth the wait when it finally did happen. And I was at peace knowing it might be far from the special moment I’d romanticized in my head.

Relief flooded me when we were finally finding parking close to the Noir Noise festival, because I really needed to stretch my legs, mentally preparing for a long wait to get in, and grateful that I could keep my distance from Jaq.

“When we finally get in, I think we should create a buddy system, so no one gets lost, this place is way too big, and I’m not judging your music Jaq, but I predict a lot of non-recreational drug use. So I think we should create a buddy system if we don’t plan on sticking together the whole time through,” Yenory announced. Well, it was obvious Avi was going to be hers. They were married after all.

Before I got to protest, Kaihautū playfully put his arm around her. “If it's okay with Carly, I would be her B-U-D-D Y.” He sing-songed, making her laugh come out as a snort.

“So that just leaves Jaq and Graham. Is that okay with you two?”

“I didn’t want to really cramp anyone’s style,” I admitted. “But I don’t want anything to happen to anyone, especially to you ladies. It’s up to her,” I kicked the ground, my plans to avoid her completely ruined.

“I guess whatever prevents anyone from getting roofied or snatched up. But I’ve been to a million of these. I can usually take care of myself,” Jaq dismissed.