He arrived at her house like he had done many times before confident she'd show him a good time. The occasion was her 40th birthday party. He thought of all the shenanigans and jokes he could use to add to the festivities, as he prepared at his house looking himself over in the mirror pleased by what he was seeing. He knew she'd be inviting several people in her circle which he'd like to get to know about, so he selected an outfit that portrayed a sense of style without being too in your face about it. The weather would be warm, so he had selected something a bit more casual but fit him well. The final look was a navy v-neck t-shirt, khaki shorts, a pair of white leather lace-up sneakers, vibrant mahogany wooden shades, and a simple leather strap watch. Feeling his sense of debonair coming on he stepped away from the mirror and grabbed his keys ready to head over to her place.
On the way over stalled in traffic, he contemplated if his vintage bottle of wine was the perfect gift. She was a lightweight drinker, meaning it didn't take much to send her off into the deep end. He felt the card he had handwritten would touch her heart reassured that he had selected the ideal gift for her. Waiting at the door after ringing the doorbell he psyched himself into a social mood, reminding himself of social cues and body language that could help him when introducing and interacting with other guests.
He continued to wait at the door the thought flashed across his mind that he was too early, or worse that it was the wrong day so no one would be expecting him. As he turned to peek through an open window the door opened. The opening door revealed his dear friend Claire, a woman of Asian descent dressed in an emerald green vintage sheer top and a purple pencil skirt. She looked fabulous smiling for a beat he reached out and embraced her at the doorstep while holding her gift-wrapped bottle of wine and card. She invited him inside. He always made it early enough to beat the crowd and still left before it was too late.
Her live-in boyfriend Kurt and another one of her male friends Marlon were setting up the final touches for the evening. Festive music was playing, and the mood was seemingly set. Within moments guests began to arrive giving him enough time to share with Claire a moment to open her gift and read her card. He then took to having his first beer of the night, while assisting Kurt and Marlon with their final task of setting up lights that seemed to be giving them a hassle.
Around this point, he noticed that Claire's friend Yolanda had arrived. She was an hourglass shaped woman with a flair for the vintage 60's style that he couldn't resist. That night she was dressed in black and white stripes that extenuated her curves with a pop of color coming from a red scarf that she tied up her jet-black hair with. He moved toward her as she invited him closer with a smile. They cordially embraced and quickly caught up with each other.
Libations were flowing, and the music was turned up, and the party was now coming together as faces our character had recognized from previous parties arrives at Claire's house. The collection of people grew and became something of its own as people mingled freely and partook in a joint being passed around. He still kept his eye on Yolonda as things progressed hoping to move her from the group and talk a bit more exclusively. At one point he was brought into a conversation with another guest and Marlon. The guest seemed familiar, but he couldn't place her name. She was dressed as if she had just left the pool or beach wearing a teal bikini top and a colorful sarong around her torso. The amount of skin she had showing was extraordinarily provocative and seemed out of place within the setting of the other guests. Unphased by the display of flesh Marlon got in a heated discussing with the woman and eventually left in a rush as he was called to assist with continuing the party. On his second beer our character feeling the subtle effects take over his body this keep the up the conversation with the woman in the sarong who was spewing out anarchist ideas and conspiracy theories without much thought for good party time conversation. He then realized he was the only guy talking with the half-naked woman and as much as he should have been enjoying it wasn't. He was later saved by Susan whose name used to be Paul when she came out to grab a drink from the ice chest next to them. Susan had remembered him from a previous event at the sprawled out 80's style ranch house. This allowed him to shift the conversation by introducing Susan to the woman in the sarong, which name was Emma.
Later he joked with Marlon in passing that he took a bullet for him on that one leaving him to handle the government overthrows conversation he skipped out on with Emma. They had a laugh together and commented on the turnout. Claire stormed back through she had had a few drinks and was herself looking to push it to the next level and gathered up a few of friends whom she partook in the herb and walked out to the back of the spacious yard where there was a fire pit with tree stumps for sitting. No different, then the days of high school some smoked cigarettes while a joint was pulled out and passed around the circle of friends, which included Yolanda.
He ended up standing next to her and questioned her about her summer and what she did in her downtime. She offered him a sip of her handmade mojito. It tasted like lemonade with a flavor of mint. Puff puff passed the joint went around. There was a slight head change for everyone. He looked at Yolanda and she seemed even prettier. He questioned her about her artistic likes and method of working. She was hanging on every word he uttered to her. Puff puff passed the joint went around again as it seemed everyone was getting his or her fill and started to head back. Yolanda offered him another sip from her drink. This time as he took a sip he tried to avoid any bits of mint having to spit them out when she wasn't looking before.
Once back within the congregation of the rest of the guests. He and Yolanda pulled up a chair along each other and continued to further talk. He noticed how she sat legs crossed toward him leaning on the armrest into him. He watched her mouth as she spoke showing a set of perfect teeth and a Cindy Crawford mole. The party continued as the two talked as if there was no one around. He looked into her deep brown eyes wondering how or if he should escalate things. They continued to have a good time talking and laughing. They agreed the night was lovely and both were glad they had shown up for Claire's 40th birthday party.
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