La Vie En Rose

Chapter 10

Food.

I love food. I fucking adore food. I cherish food like it’s a treasure. If you knew me well enough, you’d know that if there was food in the room, I’d probably eat it. I was that one person who went for seconds, the one person who ordered an appetizer, main course and dessert when I’m eating at a restaurant, the one person who went for a midnight snack if I couldn’t sleep. Yep, that’s me. It perplexes so many people too, is the funny thing. I’ll be out with friends and people will witness me eating copious amounts of food and ask, “Where do you put it all?”. I would simply look at them and give them the same, repetitive answer: You know what? I wouldn’t be able to tell you. My body works in ways I couldn’t explain to you and I have a metabolism of an athlete.

I like to think it’s a gift from God to have a metabolism like mine. I think he knew that I would make a fucking career out of devouring food if I could.

Thats probably why I consider Thanksgiving one of my favorite holidays. Turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, salad and lets not forget about the pumpkin and apple pie. Its that one time of year I don’t have to feel entirely guilty for all the food I’m about to consume.

I was thankful for the food but I was also thankful for my family. We spent the whole Thursday together. Lola and I helped Tim and our mom prepare dinner for a good part of the morning/afternoon while Cole attempted to set the table (he put the knives above the plate instead of putting them on the right - he’s four and still learning). Lola and I begged our mother to turn the music up in the kitchen so we could sing obnoxiously and do horrible dance moves. Even Tim joined in at parts, making Cole and our mom laugh hard. I’ve never seen her laugh so much in my whole nineteen years of living.

After our glorious dinner and dessert, we all went into the living room and watched ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’ together. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day. It made me realize how much I missed my family when I was back in New York.

The next morning, I woke up to a bright sunny day. I slowly pulled my head away from my pillow and sat up, stretching my arms above my head.

“Oh good! You’re awake!”

I twisted my neck around to look at Lola, who was standing in my doorway, with her bright blonde hair tied up in a messy bun on the top of her head.

I gave her a sleepy smile before sprawling my body across the bed and stretching, “Mornin’”

Maybe I could catch another hour or two of ZzZz’s....

“No G, no!” Lola grabbed ahold of my wrists and tried pulling me up, “Get up! It’s Black Friday and we have some serious shopping to do at the mall.”

“Fine, fine, fine.” I moaned squinting my eyes at her, “But I need coffee first!”

“It’s waiting for you downstairs so come on! We have a busy day ahead of us!”

Why was she so perky in the morning?

“Oh! By the way,” She stopped at the door and turned around, “Ross said there’s a party at Pat’s older brother’s house tonight. He said he can give us a ride.”

“And be a third wheel? At a party full of people I don’t know?” I asked, “As if.”

Ever since Lola went on that date with Ross, they have been absolutely inseparable. Once they admitted their feelings for each other last Tuesday, they were practically attached at the hip. It was sickening watching them from my bedroom window, holding hands happily while they walked over to his house or vice versa. Every damn day, they were gallivanting around Phoenix together like they were freakin’ Hansel and Gretel.

Alright, so I was a little jealous. But that’s only because observing them this past week made me realize how badly I wanted a boyfriend of my own. I guess I was so engulfed with school and working on my empire of clothing back in New York, that I didn’t realize I wanted a man in my life. At least I knew Lola would be safe and taken care of when I go back to college.

“John will be there.” She responded immediately, “As well as the other guys...”

And suddenly, just like that, this party had sparked an interest.

“I’ll think about it...” I said stubbornly. I didn’t want to give my sister the total satisfaction that I was only going because John would be attending.

She grinned, knowing I was sold, “Alright, I’ll give you some time to think about it.”

She walked away, but only seconds later, she popped her head back in my room, holding the doorframe with both hands while she hid the rest of her body behind the wall.

“Did you think about it yet?” She asked.

I rolled my eyes but answered her question, “What time is Ross picking us up?”

Lola and myself ended up spending the rest of the morning and a good part of the afternoon going to the mall and huge retail stores to catch up on the great sales. By the time I was finished with Forever 21, Urban Outfitters and Victoria’s Secret, my wallet was completely emptied.

“I am POOPED!” Lola exclaimed as she collapsed onto the living room couch, releasing the overabundance of shopping bags she was clutching onto the floor, “I think I’m gonna wear the body-con black dress with the lace sleeve, that I bought at Urban tonight.”

I dropped my shopping bags by the stairs and jumped onto the other couch, “What time is it?”

Lola pulled her phone out of her pocket, “Five past six. Ross wants to leave around nine.”

“Perfect.” I sighed happily as I positioned one of the couch pillows under my head, “Time for a little power nap.”

An hour and a half later, I was completely energized by my little nap. Lola and myself made ourselves turkey sandwiches before grabbing our new purchases and bounding up the stairs.

I dumped all my new things onto my bed and rested my index finger on my bottom lip as I surveyed my new clothes. What to wear tonight? I assumed that most girls down here were probably just going to wear their ugg boots (more like uggly boots) with jeans and some random dressy top with a splash of colors on it. Arizona girls were just too predictable. I was so content with the fact that I tore away from that crowd after high school. I was almost sucked in.

I decided on the small royal blue colored dress I bought from Forever 21. It had black straps and a wide black elastic waistband. It hugged my body so perfectly that I almost felt guilty for wearing it. Almost.

I matched the dress with sheer tights and my black Steve Madden heels. For most girls, wearing heels were usually for ‘Special Occasions’ only but for me, I enjoyed the extra height at all times. I wore heels so often, in fact, that I don’t even feel the pain in my toes after several hours of wearing them. It’s an art that I’ve perfected over the years.

I stood in front of the mirror and gave myself a once over, pushing my long, brunette locks to one side and running my hands down the creases in my dress. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t trying to impress John a little tonight by my outfit of choice. It‘s been a couple of days since I’ve seen him and I really wanted to stand out. I wanted to grab his attention. There was just something about his laid back attitude and truthfulness that really attracted me to him. Was I crazy to think that maybe something could happen between him and me? The thought crossed my mind several times today and I tried not getting my hopes up. I did only meet him a week ago but all that shameless flirting that was being tossed around between us made me beg to differ.

When Lola yelled from downstairs that Ross was waiting for us, I happily grabbed my purse and jumped the stairs two at a time. As we walked out to the car, I assumed that both Ross and John would be sitting in it. You could only imagine my dismay when I hopped into the backseat and there was no one else in the car besides Ross.

“Where’s John?” Lola asked as she slipped into the passenger seat, catching a quick glance at my disappointed facial expression, “I thought he was coming?”

“He’s already there!” Ross replied, “He left with Garrett after they had band practice.”

A feeling of relief washed over me. So I didn’t dress up for no reason then!

The minute we arrived at the party, I was at a loss for words. Ross had to park almost a block away from the house because there were a ton of cars lined up beside the house. When Lola mentioned ‘party’, I imagined a solid number of about fifteen, maybe twenty, people inside a small house, happily socializing with each other in the kitchen with their cold beers. But as we walked up the steps to the house, I realized this was definitely not a party. We were about to enter a fucking zoo.

“Welcome to the house of Kirch!” A tall, muscly man with a broad bone structure and a wide grin, swung the door open, “Ross, my boy! You brought goodies!”

Lola and I exchanged looks before following Ross into the house. I looked around and felt my heart race with anxiety. There were countless numbers of people, running around the house behind the man, who later introduced himself as ‘Tim Kirch the manager of The Maine’.

“I’ll get ourselves some drinks!” Ross yelled loudly over the music as we made our way inside the house, “I’ll be back!” And with that, he disappeared into the sea of unfamiliar faces.

I did a quick lay of a land and suddenly wondered what did I get myself into? The pop music was pounding loudly throughout the whole house, guys, who smelled like mini bars, were drunkenly pushing themselves past us with red cups grasped in their hands, couples were making out in corners and on the couches while girls were dancing on the dining room table. There was even glitter on the floor. Glitter.

I was so astonished by the savageness of this party that I almost forgot why I was here in the first place.

“Do you see the guys anywhere?” I asked Lola, scanning the crowd in hopes to recognize any of them.

Lola narrowed her eyes and searched as well before grabbing my hand, “I don’t see them. Lets go look.”

Lola pulled me through the busy house, making our way through the foyer and towards the kitchen. I noticed that as we walked past everyone, we were getting a couple of glances from both the guys and girls. They were probably wondering why we weren’t dressed in tacky tops and wide-set jeans.

When we arrived in the kitchen, we bumped into Ross who was holding three red cups.

“Coke and vodka.” He explained when I peered down at the cup he gave me, “It was the only alcohol I could reach since John was leaning against the cases of beers. He’s so fucked off his face.”

My mood was instantly lifted when Ross mentioned John. I think Lola realized this because before I knew it, she was pushing both Ross and myself back into the kitchen.

The kitchen was almost as packed as it was in the other parts of the house, so it was hard at first to spot John but the minute my eyes landed on him, I felt my heart drop to the very pit of my stomach.

John was leaning against the counter, his back blocking the cases of beer, giggling with a girl. His eyes were glowing while he laughed along with her, swaying back and forth as he played with the girl’s hands.

I assessed the situation with an unamused expression. My cheeks suddenly burned a bright red with embarrassment. I felt like such an idiot. I don’t know what was worse: the fact that I convinced myself John was interested in me or the fact that he didn’t even notice my presence in the kitchen.

“Oh look, the guys are on the back porch!” Lola spoke up, also noticing what John was doing, “Let’s go hang out with them for a while!”

I was so mad at myself. This past week, I was so positive that John was into me. Why did I jump to conclusions so quickly? This whole time I thought he was flirting with me when, in reality, it was only him being friendly. And suddenly it dawned on me. I had a revelation: He put me in the friend zone. Oh my God, I was put in the friend zone.

I quickly downed the contents in my red cup in one go. This was going to be a long night.

“Ow ow!” I heard one of the guys cat-whistle as Lola and myself made our way over to the beer pong table, “Break me off a piece of that!”

I quickly put my emo thoughts aside for a moment and laughed at Garrett’s reaction to what I was wearing.

Garrett, Kennedy and Jared were standing on one side of the ping pong table, with a line of cups in front of them while Pat, Halvo and Tim Kirch were on the opposite side.

When Kennedy got a look at me, he whistled loudly, his eyes widening with surprise, “Damn, Gigi! You are lookin sexy tonight!”

I blushed and shrugged, “I try.”

“Oh thats fine, you don’t need to say anything about my outfit or anything.” Lola cut in with sarcasm, “That’s cool guys, thanks.”

“You’re off limits, Lilo!” Halvo called from the other side of the table, “You’re Ross’s girl now. Gigi however...”


Halvo wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively making me laugh again.

I decided to let the whole thing with John go. I didn’t want to think about it and more importantly, I didn’t want to seem like a Debbie Downer at the party. So, I refilled my cup with some alcohol and put on a brave face until the night was over.

Lola and Ross eventually wandered off back inside the house so I opted to sit with Kennedy and Garrett on the spare couple of plastic chairs while the rest of the guys continued to play beer pong.

It was easy enough getting along with the guys. I’ve learned over the past couple of days I’ve spent with them, that Kennedy was the sweet, sensitive one, Pat was the youngest and the craziest, Jared was the most responsible one and Garrett was literally the boy version of me. That’s probably why I got along with him the easiest.

Halvo and Jared challenged me to a game of beer pong after they successfully beat Tim and Pat. I eyed the table suspiciously. I haven’t played a solid beer pong game since Senior year of high school. Beer pong wasn’t exactly popular at fashion school...alas, I decided to take up their offer.

“Only if Garrett’s my partner!” I exclaimed.

“Oh hell yeah!” Garrett said with enthusiasm as we both stood up, “Gigi and I are gonna call ourselves the double G metal heads team”

I made the ‘rock on’ sign with my hand and rest it on top of my head. I laughed while Garrett intimidated me.

“How about team G-spots?” I offered jokingly. Oh God, the alcohol was finally catching up with me.

Kennedy shrieked with laughter from his seat, “Guys, I think I’m in love Gigi. She’s such a bro at heart. Welcome to the family, G-spot!”

“We’re out of beer!” Jared called while he organized the cups into a triangle, “Let me get another pitcher!”

When Jared came back five minutes later, holding the two pitchers of beer, he was shaking his head with disappointment.

“John is completely trashed.” Jared explained as he poured the beer into the cups.

Oh. I almost forgot about him.

“What’s he doing?” Halvo asked.

“He’s all over Melissa.” Jared explained, “He has no fucking idea what he’s doing.”

“Melissa!?” Kennedy questioned, “But why!?

“Who’s Melissa?” I asked casually, sneaking a sip from one of the beer-filled cups.

“His ex-girlfriend.” Garrett explained, “They’ve been broken up for a while now. Long story short, she fucked around with his feelings. She’s a bitch.”

“So, do we hate her?” I asked.

“Yes!” They answered in unison.

I laughed, pretending to think the whole situation was hilarious. A tiny part of me did find it funny, however, a bigger part of me was jealous. Jealous that he was giving his ex girlfriend attention.

“Should we do a bro intervention?” Halvo asked, directing the question to all of us.

“Nah, let him learn from the mistake he’s about to make.” Kennedy piped up, “Which, in my opinion, is a HUGE mistake.” The rest of the guys agreed.

I cleaned my throat and spoke, “So, hey, are we gonna play this game or what? Team Double G Metal Heads are ready to beat you.”

“I hear that!” Garrett joined in.

And we did exactly that. A couple of minutes in, all the guys, including myself, were getting into the game with a little too much enthusiasm. Even Kennedy and Pat stood on the sidelines cheering us on. Every time I threw the pingpong ball into one of their cups, I clapped with excitement. I forgot how fun this game was.

Just as Halvo tried throwing the ball into one of our cups, Jared looked straight pass Garrett and I and shook his head again.
“Uh oh.” Pat said under his breathe as he also looked past me, “Here comes trouble.”

I bit my lip, doing everything in my power to stop myself from turning around. I didn’t need to, judging by the facial expressions on the guys. It was pretty obvious who was approaching us.

“Hey guys!” I heard John’s voice slur behind me, “I think little Melissa and mysel-whoa, whoa, whoa. Gigi?”

I slowly turned around to face him. Oh, so NOW he noticed me?

“Yeah, hi John.” I offered him a wary smile. My eyes quickly flickered over to ‘Melissa’ who was holding onto John’s arm protectively. She was a short little thing, I noticed. I hope me being taller than her, was threatening.

“Wow Gigi, I didn’t even-” He looked me up and down, “I didn’t even KNOW you were here!! When did you get here?”

“She’s been here the whole time.” Garrett said before I had a chance to respond. There was a hint of frustration in his tone of voice, “I guess you were just too busy to notice.”

“Sorry, Geeeeeg” John pouted at me, completely oblivious to Garrett’s frustration.

“It’s cool.” Was all I said, diverting my eyes elsewhere. Oh wow, look a pool...

Melissa cleared her throat loudly and pulled on John’s arm.

“Oh!” John exclaimed, “I’m leaving. With Melissa. So...I’ll see you guys later.”

“Word. Catch you later, bro.” Garrett simply said, “Come on G-Spot, let’s kick Jared and Halvo’s asses.”

“WE’RE TIED, GARRETT!!” Halvo yelled with exaggeration, throwing the ping pong ball at Garrett’s head.

I turned back to the table and sighed heavily as Melissa and John left the party. I definitely wasn’t expecting the night to end like this. Not one bit.
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And there you have it! Longest chapter to date. This baby has over 3,300 words in it. I hope it didn't bore you too much! I'm so excited for the next couple of chapters. This story is finally getting some action!

Also, I have a question. Does anybody know how to put a link in the chapters? I tried putting a link but it didn't work :S If anyone could help me out, that would be great!

Thanks again to all the new subscribers! You all make my day :)