The Matchmaker of Decaydance

“Alana Wentz!”

“Yes, Peter?” I called down the stairs.

“Did you get the Hint of Lime chips and make the salsa?”

“You think I would forget that stuff? Are you insane? Joe would kill me.”

I heard him laugh a little. “Just checking. Where are they?”

“Salsa is in the fridge and the chips are right above the cereal.” I retreated to my bedroom to get ready. People were coming over again, mostly the usual crew. Pete said there would be a few more guys joining us tonight, but that was perfectly fine.

I had two swimsuits laid out on my bed: one was a red string bikini with black Fleur des Lises on it, and the other was a one-piece black one with white and pink skulls all over it.

I glanced back and forth between the two a few times, then threw my hands over my head in exasperation.

“Ashlee!” I called.

“What?” She came into my room, already dressed in her red and white striped halter bikini.

“Which one?”

She thought for a second. “I think the red. You have an awesome tummy, you should show it off!”

“To who?” I scoffed. I still picked up the red suit. “Thanks.”

Ashlee nodded and left, then poked her head back in the room. ”Wear that black dragon sarong, too. I love that one.”

“Yeah, I know you love it. You wear it all the time.”

She shrugged. “At least I put it back. It’s on your dresser.”

“Okay, I will. I’ll meet you guys down there.”

She left again. I started undressing to get my suit on when I heard the door downstairs open and shut.

“Hey, where is everyone?”

“Travie!” I shouted as I tied my top.

“Alana! Can I come up?”

“Hell no, I’m changing!”

“Well, call down to me when you’re done, and then I’ll come up.”

I slid off my jean shorts and put the red bottoms on. The sarong was sitting on the dresser, like Ashlee said. I wrapped it loosely around my hips, tying two corners together so one of my legs was exposed. “You’re good, Travie.”

As soon as the word ‘good’ came out of my mouth, my door flew open and Travie jumped into my room, yelling. I screamed and fell backwards onto my bed. Travie’s yelling turned into laughter and he leaned on the doorframe for support.

“Travis McCoy!” I gasped. He just kept laughing.

“Holy shit, dude! I hate you!”

“No you don’t,” he stuttered.

Then I noticed the guy next to Travie, standing there smiling. He looked a little bit younger than the rest of us, and kind of like Travie.

“I’m sorry I don’t know you, and this dork is too stupid to have introduced us. I’m Alana.”

“Oh, Alana, this is my cousin Michael. This is Alana Wentz.”

“Call my Tyga,” Travie’s cousin said.

“Tyga. All right.” I stood up and adjusted my sarong. “Let’s go. The pool is waiting.” As I passed Travie, I shouldered him back into the doorframe. “Whoops, sorry Travie.”

“Sorry my ass, Alana.”

I jogged down the stairs, the other two following me. “Is Katy coming today?”

“She’s not feeling so hot. She told me to come party for her.”

“Gotcha.”

“Alana!” another voice called form the backyard. “Where’s the -”

“Pete took it out there, Joe. And hello to you too.” I gave him a shove as I stepped onto the warm concrete of the pool area. Obviously, the rest of the Fall Out Boy guys had arrived. I gave each of them a hug. Joe was already munching on the chips and salsa.

“Who else is coming?”

“I dunno…” Pete said. “Hayley is. Probably the rest of Gym Class, right, Trav? And maybe some Cobras. William might stop by too.”

“William Beckett? You mean my other bestest friend ever?”

“Yeah, that one.”

I headed over to the table, more excited than I had been before. I had no clue who the Cobras were, but they were probably part of Pete’s label. I should probably pay more attention to that sort of thing.

I heard the gate open. Someone was here - maybe it was my William! I turned to look, and it wasn’t Will.

It was a taller guy, one I didn’t know. He had a white hat on, twisted to the side and covering most of his dark, messy hair. His eyes were dark too. On his cute, yet striking face was a cocky smile, with near-perfect teeth. He was wearing white Converse sneakers with white skinny jeans. A bit of blue was peeking out over the waistband of his jeans, probably his trunks. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and he was showing off an in-shape, sexy torso.

1. I love hot guys.

2. I’m a sucker for guys in skinny jeans.

His smile grew once he saw Pete, and he went over to greet the six guys that were standing over by the pool. A few people came in behind him, but I didn’t notice. I was too busy staring.

“Hey, slack jaw.” Ashlee put her hand to the side of my face and turned my head so I was looking at her, not the gorgeous guy that just walked into our backyard. “Quit staring.”

I was brought abruptly back to reality. “Was I that obvious?”

“Only to me.”

“Who is that? Him, in the white.”

“I think his name is Gabe. Gabe Saporta.”

So this was Gabe Saporta. Pete had told me about him. He was notorious for fooling around and all of the girls fell for him.

Well, I can see why…

He looked in my direction, and we locked eyes for a second. Then his gaze fell, covering every inch of my body. I quickly turned back to Ashlee.

“Like the guy Pete told me about? Have you met him?”

“Briefly, at a record label thing. I think he was pretty spazzy, to tell you the truth. Yeah, that was him. Kind of drunk and all over the place.”

I giggled, a little nervously.

“Girls, come here for a sec,” Pete called.

Ashlee exchanged looks: hers was an eye-roll for Pete’s beckoning, and mine was an almost panicked look. She took my arm and led me over to where everyone else stood, right in front of him.

“Guys, this is my sister, Alana. Alana, this is Victoria Asher, Alex Suarez, Ryland Blackinton, Nate Novarro, and Gabe Saporta. Also known as Cobra Starship.”

Gabe. It was him. And he was part of Cobra Starship? I never knew that…

I absentmindedly shook hands with each of them. Gabe and I locked eyes again. I heard Pete saying something about Ashlee, how they had already met, but I wasn’t paying much attention to that either. Gabe and I were in a stare-down.

The gate opened again, and I managed to tear my eyes away from him. This time it was Will walking into the backyard, and I used him as an excuse to get away from Gabe for a minute.

“Hey, Alana!”

“William!” I jumped into his arms.

“Hey, love.” He was the only one who called me that.

“How was your trip?”

“Good. But it’s kind of better to be back, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“William Beckett!”

“Gabe! How are you, man?” Will headed over to the table where Gabe was now standing.

Come on. Did everyone know this guy but me?

“Hey, who made this salsa?” I heard Gabe’s voice say through a mouthful of food. I tried not to laugh when I saw him; his mouth was full and it looked pretty funny. Plus there was a little salsa on the corner of his mouth.

“Alana did,” Pete said.

“Damn, this is good. Apenas como hogar.”

I decided this was a good time to say something to the infamous Gabe. “Just like home, huh?”

He looked at me in something like admiration and swallowed the rest of his food. “You know Spanish?”

“Mostly. Five years worth.” Now I was over at the table with him. “You have a fantastic accent.”

“Native speaker,” he said proudly.

“Sweet, where are you from?”

You sound like the lamest person on the face of the earth right now, Alana.

So what? Shut up.

“Uruguay.” He took another chip, loaded it with my salsa, and stuffed the entire thing in his mouth. “Mmm!” he hummed excitedly.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I’m surprised I’ve never met you before. What do you do?”

“Mostly guitar tech for these dorks,” I said, pointing to the group of Fall Out Boy guys. “But I also dance when I can.”

“Dance?”

“Latin. Tango, Rhythm, and Salsa.”

His eyes opened wider. “No way. That was such a huge thing back in Montevideo. I remember when I was a little kid going to see the dancers at -”

“Guys!” Pete yelled. “Get in the pool!”

“OKAY!” Gabe yelled with the most enthusiasm I’ve ever heard. We heard a few splashes. Gabe set his plate down and unbuttoned his pants.

Oh god, there go his pants

I bit my lip and turned around, fumbling with the knot in my sarong. Ashlee caught my eye and she rushed over, grinning evilly.

“Shut up,” I said before she even came to a stop.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were about to.”

“You’re the one that’s blushing madly.”

I groaned. “No.”

“Yes.”

“Damnit.”

“Alana?”

I whipped around. “Yes, Gabe?”

“Are you coming? Or are you just going to stand there chatting?” he asked slyly. I felt Ashlee give me a little push at my back. I smirked, untying the sarong at my waist and tossing it on the chair by the table. I saw his eyes drag over me again, and I felt a rush of exhilaration. I don’t know if I tell anyone this outright, but I love to be fawned over, and Gabe was doing just that.

“Well, come on then,” I said, heading for the pool. I stood just by the edge, dipping my toe in.

“Is it cold?” Gabe asked.

“Why don’t you find out?” I grabbed his hands and pulled him with me as I jumped into the pool. The look of surprise on his face was priceless. He resurfaced with his eyes wide and staring into mine.

“I couldn’t resist,” I said. “It was so tempting.”

He grinned wildly. “I tend to have that effect on people.”

“COWABUNGA!” Patrick Stump shouted as he ran for the edge of the pool.

“Get out of the way!” I dove through the water to the edge of the pool, holding on and sheltering myself from the splash. Patrick had the biggest cannonball splashes EVER.

“WHOA!” I heard Gabe yell.

“Well, didn’t I tell you to get out of the way? He has an amazing cannonball.”

“Who wants to play chicken?” Travie called, his wet hair covering most of his face.

“Not with you as my partner. You’d be going the wrong way with that face shield you call your hair,” Pete said.

“Come on, I’ll be your partner,” Gabe said, holding his hand out to me. I nodded and we swam to the shallow end. From behind I was admiring him - he was a total sexbomb with his hair all wet and everything.

Pete ended up getting stuck with Travie, Vicky with William, and Joe with Andy. (I was most eager to see how the last pair would do.) Gabe ducked under the water and I climbed on his shoulders. He lifted me completely out of the shallow water when he stood.

“Whoa,” I said, wobbling a little bit. I buried my fingers in Gabe’s hair, but not roughly.

“Holy shit, you have the strongest legs ever,” he thought aloud.

“Dancer, remember?” I tapped the top of his head.

“Oh yeah. That would do it.”

“GO!” Pete yelled.

The game went pretty smoothly, with Gabe and I pretty much ruling. We conquered Joe and Andy fast. Vicky and Will were in a hardcore battle with Pete and Travie, until Gabe charged them.

“Aaah!” I hung on to Gabe even tighter. He was going with enough momentum so that when we reached the four still in the game, we ran smack into them. All of us that were on shoulders went tumbling into the water.

“Gabe!” I scolded while laughing. ”What was that?”

“We did it, didn’t we? We knocked them off!”

“Well, I got knocked off too, just to let you know.”

“Oh, damn.”

I shook my head, rolling my eyes.

“Hey, guys, we have liquor!” Pete called, magically out of the pool and by the table with Andy, who had been sent on the alcohol run.

“Yay!” Gabe cried, bounding out of the pool. The rest of us followed, pretty much ready for the party to begin.

We had no idea.