Leaning Into the Breeze

"Oh, come on Olivia! It's your last night in New York before you leave for Paris!" shrieked Ashleigh, who was standing in the doorway of Olivia's apartment, holding a practically suitcase size bag, full of clothes and shoes.

"Fine! But we aren't staying out too late, I have a flight to catch at three p.m tomorrow!" retorted Olivia, secretly really wanting to go out.

"Awesome!" squealed Ashleigh as she skipped passed Olivia, into her bedroom and dumped the contents of her bag into Olivia's bed.

"What place did you have in mind?" asked Olivia as she rummaged through the clothes that Ashleigh had put on her bed before going over to her own closet and pulling some items out.

"I thought maybe we could hit up NYRB. Sound good?"

"Yea! I haven't been there in ages. Usually when I go out it's with my 'friends'," Olivia stated, holding up her hands, hand motioning quotation marks around the word friends, "and they never like to go places where you can actually party."

Ashleigh understood Olivia's situation quite well. She, too, was a socialite, and, like Olivia, didn't like it too much. She much preferred the downtown or underground scene where you could really get trashed. Often when Ashleigh and Olivia had to spend time with high society girls, like Halli or Josephine, it was just dinner parties or a few drinks at a private club. Not too much partying going on there.

"Blah, blah, blah," retorted Ashleigh, pretending to throw up.

Olivia starting laughing while when she saw her friend's imitation of the other girls. She walked over to her iPod dock to crank up some getting-ready music. "What are you in the mood for?"

"I've had Motion City Soundtrack stuck in my head all day."

"Well, only way to get it unstuck!" Olivia replied while pressing the volume button after selecting the song Everything is All Right.

The two girls picked meticulously through clothes, shoes, and jewelery for hours. At the end of which they had somehow managed to have their outfits lying on Olivia's bed with their hair and make-up done. Ashleigh had chosen a Grey Antics Oversized Burnout tee, taking a pass on legging and tights, and squeezed her feet into a pair of Minnetonka triple fringe's. She tied her vibrant brunette hair into a high pony hair, wrapping some hair around it to cover her elastic and topping it all of with a destination charm necklace.

Olivia's choice was similar. They both were really into short dresses or tunics and blouses with sheer tights or leggings. Olivia threw on a Truly Madly Deeply Saturday Stripe tunic and some sheer tights and her favourite shoes. Ironically, they were a pair of black Dolce Vita Olivia platforms. Olivia preferred to keep her hair down, twisting back her bangs and pinning them into her softly curled hair.

With one last glance in the mirror, Olivia and Ashleigh headed out of the apartment into the bustling streets of New York City.

_______________________________________________________________________

"HEY! OLIVIA!" shouted Ashleigh, even though she was right beside Olivia. It was nearing midnight at NYRB and Ashleigh had consumed an enormous amount of alcohol. Olivia, however, was I feeling pretty loose, but wasn't close to being as wasted as Ashleigh. She didn't need the effects of alcohol or anything else for that matter to make her act crazy. "It's getting late!" Ashleigh continued to slur, tapping the spot on her wrist where a watch would have been.

"Silly! I don't want to leave!"

"ALRIGHT! I'm going to find someone to dance with."

"And why can you not dance with me?" inquired Olivia.

"Because I want to dance with you," said I voice from behind Olivia. At first she didn't recognize it, but once turning around she couldn't believe that she didn't.

"John OHHHH!" said Olivia, yelling the last part of his name, while jumping to give him a big hug. "Long time! Where have you been?"

John Cornelius O'Callaghan V had been a friend of Olivia's for many years. Recently, though, with his band getting bigger and bigger, they hadn't had much time to catch up.

"Oh, I've been around. Touring mostly. Actually, I just finished up The Compromising of Integrity, Morality & Principles in Exchange for Money Tour with All Time Low."

"The what what and what?" laughed Olivia, "good to hear that you are putting some money in the bank!"

John smilied at her, leading her onto the dance floor by her fingers. They danced for ages - both slow and fast.

"I've forgotten how much fun we have together!" hugging John.

"Same goes for me," said John, looking over Olivia's shoulder, "Oh, hey! Over here!" he waved to someone Olivia couldn't see. "This is who I came here with," turning back to Olivia.

"Hey, what's the deal, ditching me like that?" said John's friend.

"Olivia, this is my friend, Jack Barakat. He was just on tour with me."

Jack, thought Olivia, wow. Jack was tall, about John’s height, had black hair that was a bit spiky at the back. He was beautiful.

Just as John introduced the pair, 3OH!3's Starstrukk came blasting through the room

“Hey, that’s just what I was thinking,” said Jack after the first line, eying Olivia.

And he’s funny Olivia practically sighed.

Jack started to walk away, then stopped and turned around to Olivia, lifting his hands as if it to say what are you waiting for? Laughing, Olivia lifted her arms and danced over to Jack, putting her arms around his neck. He spun me around, grinding his hip into Olivia’s.

“Hey, want to get out of here?” asked Jack, whispering into Olivia’s ear.

“Love too - but I’ve got a plane to catch tomorrow.”

“Seriously? Damn. How long are you going to be gone for?”

“Not too long - just for Paris fashion week.”

“Could I maybe call you when you get back?” he asked, shyly.

“Of course, why not?” shouted Olivia, scribbling her iPhone number down on Jack’s arm. She looked up at him after she had written her number down. Without any time to know what was happening, Jack’s lips were against hers, pressing hard. She could taste his drink and his breath - a mixture of licorice and mint - a nice combo. Olivia kissed him back, opening her mouth.

“Bye” she whispered before slipping away into the crowd to get herself home.