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Collette thought about it for a minute, quickly gazing over the endless essays she still had to correct. A part of her screamed out in warning, reminding her that slacking off for even a day meant more piles of work the next. Still, she had been a little restless over the past two weeks, and the closest thing to going out had been the hours spent at the coffee shop, working. Maybe she really did need this.
“You got a deal,” Collette finally said, smiling at the blonde.
Tara winked at her and raised her cup again. “I’ll text you the address,” she said. “Don’t be late, maid of honor. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Collette watched the blonde walk out of the coffee shop and disappear between the crowds.
CHAPTER FOUR
It took almost half an hour to reach the address Tara had given her. Collette looked out the cab window at the apartment building, squinting through the rain falling in torrents around her.
She paid the driver, made sure her coat was pulled tight around her, and sprinted the small distance to the sliding doors.
The doorman barely looked at her as she walked in, gesturing towards the elevator as she approached him.
“Top floor,” he said, his eyes fixated on the small portable television in front of him.
Collette felt butterflies in her stomach as she rode the elevator. She looked at her reflection in the mirrored wall, quickly fixing her hair as she studied the dress she was wearing, a black one piece she had saved for a special occasion. It framed her body beautifully, and she smiled to herself.
The man who opened the door for her was already swaying, the loud music coming from inside blaring across the hall as he ushered her in, handing her his own drink and planting a wet kiss on her cheek.
She walked into the apartment slowly, a little taken aback, surprised at the sheer number of people there. Cigarette smoke hung like a shroud above the guests’ heads, the music mixed with laughter and exciting chatter.
Collette immediately felt out of place, searching the crowd for Tara or anyone else she might recognize.
“Collette!”
Tara seemed to materialize from between the guests, drink in hand and smile wide as she hurried towards Collette.
“You made it!”
Collette smiled as the blonde hugged her and gave her a quick peck on the lips, something she hadn’t seen coming.
“Come on, you have to meet everybody!”
Tara led Collette into the crowd, pushing through the guests as she apologized and giggled. Collette felt like she was at a concert, the last time she had been surrounded by so many people having had been in college during frat parties.
She immediately felt nostalgic, despite the stinging in her eyes from the smoke and the ringing that was starting in her ears.
I’m getting old, she thought to herself.
“Guys, I want you to meet a god friend of mine,” Tara was saying, and Collette turned her attention to the small group of men and women standing near the open veranda doors where the smoke was thinner and the breeze seemed to balance the immense body heat of the crowd.
Collette smiled at them, barely hearing their names as Tara introduced them one by one, all smiles and drinks and laughter.
Collette barely had enough time to shake hands before Tara was pulling her along, back into the crowd and shaking her body in her purple dress to the music.
Collette noticed how high the skirt was, and as she looked around, realized that maybe she was a little overdressed.
“I feel like a prude here,” Collette commented when she was sure Tara could hear her.
The blonde giggled as she grabbed two drinks and handed one to Collette. “Forget it, you look absolutely gorgeous,” she smiled. “To die for, maid of honor.”
Tara kept Collette close to her for the rest
of the night, introducing her to random people as she moved them through the crowds.
The apartment was a massive open space, and Collette felt that in the few hours she had been there, she hadn’t stood in the same place twice.
