Punch-Drunk Love

I unplugged my new iPod from my computer, and slid it into the new exercise armband I had also gotten for Christmas. I secured it against my left bicep, and readjusted my new Nike pants, before placing the earbuds into my ears.

I padded down the stairs, and unlocked the garage door so I wouldn’t have to carry a key on my run with me. I walked out the front door, and hit play before starting on my seven mile run.

It was a little after five at night, and the sun was beginning to set. I shivered against the 60 degree weather, but knew I would be warm once I had been running for a while.

During the run I let Jimmy Eat World pump through the headphones, keeping me on a steady running tempo. I also let my mind wander to the new outfit hanging up in my closet that I was supposed to wear tonight. Jess, Miranda and myself had gone to the mall a few days ago and picked out outfits for the party. We had all gone with a black and white theme, agreeing that it was always a classy look.

I got pants and a top, while Miranda and Jess both picked out dresses. Miranda claimed it was because she wanted to feel girly, but Jess admitted to us that a guy she was trying to impress would be there. Of course, Miranda and I bugged her about this constantly, but she would only tell us that his name was Alec.

My iPod informed me that I had completed half of my run, and I started heading back in the direction of my house. I could feel a few beads of sweat sitting atop my brow, and brushed them away with my hand as I turned down the path in the park I had run through earlier.

As I made it to the entrance of the neighborhood, I decided to crank up the heat, and ran at my top speed to my house. When I reached the garage door, I was panting as I typed in the four-digit code. I trudged into the house, feeling semi-tired, and gulped down a few cups of water in the kitchen before heading up to my room.

I grabbed fresh underwear and a new bra, as well as clothes to wear after a shower before heading into the bathroom. I turned on the shower, waiting for the glass to fog up, before tossing my clothes into the hamper. I stepped into the hot shower, and lathered my hair with tea tree shampoo before rinsing it out. I repeated the same thing, but with conditioner before washing my face and my body. When I was done, I stepped out and wrapped a fluffy towel around my body and another around my hair.

I applied lotion to my body and face after drying off, and hung up my wet towels. I pulled my underwear and bra on, followed by my booty shorts, and groaned when I realized I had totally blanked on bringing in a shirt to throw on. I ran a brush through my hair haphazardly, before walking into my room.

“You know, you and Brian share some racy texts,” I heard from my bed causing me to jump.

“God dammit Stephen, give me my phone,” I said stomping over to him and putting my hand out.

“Nope, these are too entertaining,” he said scrolling along, “Or the way you used your teeth. Damn Sadie, kinky much?”

I blushed bright red, and pounced at him as he scrolled through even more texts. He blocked me with his arm, and held the phone out of my reach, laughing at my struggle. I considered kneeing him in the balls, but figured it was a little harsh. Instead, my hands dove to his sides, and attacked the one place I knew he was extremely ticklish.

“This. Is. Not. Fair,” he said laughing and gasping for breath.

“It’s perfectly fair, Stephen,” I said not letting up, “Now give me the phone and I’ll stop.”

“Not happening,” he said pushing me off, and pinning me down, “Paybacks a bitch, Sadie.”

My eyes widened in fear as he began tickling me as well. I squirmed violently, trying not to laugh, and brought my hands up trying to push him away. This made the tickling let up, but it turned into a full out wrestling match. Since he didn’t have my legs pinned down I was able to push him backwards easily.

I sat with my knees on his thighs as he tried to break free, my phone still in his grasp. I reached for it, thinking he wasn’t paying attention, which only caused me to become re-pinned to the bed. We were so caught up in trying to win our fight, that we didn’t hear the door open.

“What the fuck is going on right now?” I heard Brian ask from the doorway.

Both of our heads snapped in his direction, and Stephen unpinned me, jumping up from the bed and dropping the phone. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and stood up, facing a fuming Brian.

“So I guess what Audra told me was true wasn’t it?” he said with red cheeks.

“What are you talking about, dude?” Stephen asked.

“She called me last night to inform me that you two were sleeping together behind my back,” he said getting in Stephen’s face, “That’s low, dude. Real low. You always said you and Sadie had a platonic friendship. I guess you’re just a liar.”

“I’ve never done anything with Sadie,” Stephen said glaring at Brian, “We were wrestling for her phone. Nothing happened.”

“Then why is she just in a bra?” he said with a quick glance in my direction.

“I forgot a shirt when I went to shower, and when I came out Stephen was in here,” I said straightening up, “Seriously Brian, nothing happened.”

“Somehow I find that hard to believe right now,” he said with a low tone, “Audra was right to call you a two-timing whore.”

My mouth dropped open from shock, and before I could even form a sentence, Stephen had punched Brian, sending him to the floor.

“Don’t you ever call her that,” He said standing over Brian, “She has never cheated on you, and never will. She deserves so much better.”

“Get out of my house, Brian,” I said locking my jaw in place, “Audra knows shit about my life anymore, and the people in it. If you want to throw away our six months together, than so be it.”

Brian opened his mouth to respond, but Stephen cut him off pointing him towards the door. Brian pulled himself up from the floor, clutching his jaw, and gave me a look of hurt mixed with anger, before leaving and stomping down the stairs. I sighed while rolling my eyes, and Stephen looked at me apologetically.

“Sorry that happened, Sadie,” he said moving his bangs, “It’s my fault, really.”

“It’s not your fault, we were both wrestling,” I said with a look, “Plus, he was clearly overreacting. And if he chooses to believe Audra, who he barely knows, over me, then he is a shitty person.”

“Yeah, she’s just insane,” he said flopping back onto my bed, “Now you better start getting ready for the party, I know you can take forever to get ready.”

“Yeah, yeah, so do you,” I said walking into the closet to grab a shirt finally, “What are you wearing tonight?”

“What I’m wearing right now,” he called from my bed, “Can I use your macbook?”

“Go for it,” I said re-emerging with a tank top on, “Sit in the doorway so i can listen to music while I get ready.”

He nodded, and grabbed my Macbook, before leaning against the doorframe, and turning music on. I dried my hair, and started the tedious process of putting it into loose curls.

======

Stephen and I arrived at Jess’ house around 8:30 and were surprised to see that we were one of the last people to arrive. Everyone was already spread throughout the house, and had some form of a drink in their hand. We wandered into the kitchen, where we found John and Miranda taking shots with Josh.

“You two seriously are the cutest couple ever,” I said as they stood with their arms behind each others backs, “I need a picture of this.”

I pulled my phone out, and snapped the picture with a smile. Miranda was in a simple cotton dress that had an elastic belt around her waist, with black material above it and a white and black print below it. John was in black skinny jeans, a white button down, a vest, and he topped it off with his lenseless white glasses.

“Where’s your boy?” Miranda asked after I slid my phone back into my pocket.

“Dickwad came over and accused me and Stephen of hooking up,” I said with a shrug, “He said Audra told him all of this stuff, and topped it off with saying she was right to call me a ‘two-timing whore’. Stephen punched him in the jaw, and he left.”

“He’s getting junk punched the next time I see him,” Miranda said with a hard look, “No one does that to my best friend and gets away with it. Let’s get you a shot!”

I laughed at her burst for alcohol, and she promptly handed me a three wise men shot. We did a quick cheers, before downing the shots and slamming the glasses onto the countertop. I twisted my face at the burning in my throat, but that didn’t stop me from round two.

“I need to find Jess and see her in a dress!” I said as I grabbed a beer, “I’ll find you later!”

“She looks so adorable!” Miranda said with a smile, “And I met Alec. He was obviously in awe over her!”

I smiled, and cracked the tab on my beer before walking through the house in search of Jess. I found her next to the stereo in the living room, picking music for us to listen to. Miranda was right when she said she looked adorable. Her strapless dress was white on top, and black on the bottom. She was also wearing heels, and had her hair straightened, with the ends curling in a little.

“Alec will be falling for you in no time, girl!” I said as she stood up straight and adjusted her dress.

“I hope you’re right,” she said with a red tinge in her cheeks, “These heels are killer. I know why I never wear them.”

“They get easier over time,” I said shrugging, “Now where’s this Alec boy?”

“He’s the one in blue by the stairs,” she said with a point, “And where’s Brian? He’s usually right behind you.”

“Good pick on a boy, Jess,” I said with a nod, “And I don’t know where he is. He’s being an asshole, so who knows if he’ll even show up. I’ll explain more in detail later. Let’s live this party up!”

She nodded, and the two of us raised our beers before taking drinks, and starting a conversation about her new found crush in Alec.

======

It was currently 10 minutes until midnight and everyone was in the kitchen grabbing glasses of the cheap champagne we had picked up for a midnight toast. The TV was on in Jess’ living room, and we were all waiting for the countdown to start.

I drunkenly walked over and stood by Miranda, John and Josh after I grabbed my champagne, and found myself leaning against Josh for support.

“Partying pretty hard tonight, are we Sadie?” he asked as I swayed a little.

“Of course, it’s New Years Eve!” I said with a slur, “What a better way to forgot about a year of bad, then leaving it while shitfaced?”

“I guess you have a point,” he said with a laugh, “While all of these lovebirds kiss at midnight, I say we take shots of jaegar. You down?”

“You’re like a drinking god,” I said as we walked over the table and grabbed shot glasses and filled them.

We made our back to our previous spot, and in no time the countdown was beginning. As it hit zero, the couples kissed, and Josh and I downed our shots. We ended it with a high five and a laugh, before getting hugs from all of our friends. The last shot had driven me to the point of being completely drunk, and I was to the point where I had no filter.

“Could you guys help me up there?” I asked two unknown males as I stood next to the island.

They looked at me skeptically, before helping me crawl onto the counter. I stood up, and hollered for everyone’s attention, which didn’t take long to obtain.

“I want to make a toast,” I said raising my glass of champagne, “This goes out to all of the girls who have ever been fucked over by their boyfriends. We do everything for them, and what do we get? Nothing. So here’s the girls who say “fuck guys and their shitty ways.””

When I was finished, I heard quite a few girls cheer, and raise their glasses before we took a drink.

“I mean think of all we do for them,” I said continuing on with my drunken ramble, “We dress nice, do our hair, and do our makeup. Not to mention we give them blo-.”

“Okay, you’re done,” Stephen shouted cutting me off, “Great speech Sadie.”

I heard a few random claps, before taking a bow. I lost my balance, and was headed face first for the tiled floor. I was caught by Josh and Stephen, and giggled as they helped me stand back on my feet.

“You two are the best,” I said giving them a kiss on the cheek each, “I just love you guys.”

“We love you too, Sadie,” Josh said still helping me stand, “Now let’s get you some water, and put you in the guestroom.”

I nodded, before trying to walk in my heels that now seemed so high. I twisted my ankle with one step, and let out a yelp of pain.

“Fucking shoes,” I said sitting down and yanking them off, “I’m never wearing you fuckers again.”

“Is your ankle okay?” Stephen asked taking my shoes before I could throw them.

“I think so,” I said with a shrug, “Now where’s that damn water Josh promised me? I can’t wait forever!”

“It’s right here, don’t worry,” Josh said appearing with a bottle of water, “Let’s get her upstairs Stephen.”

Stephen helped me up, and I stumbled between him and Josh as they lead me up to the spare bedroom. Before we could make it into the room, I felt the urge to pee, and pushed them away as I stumbled into the bathroom. I quickly did my business, and as I was pulling my pants up, I fell backwards and into the tub. I started laughing hysterically, ignoring the pain in my elbow and back, before pulling myself up and washing my hands.

“What was that thud?” Josh asked as I opened the door.

“I fell into the bathtub,” I said with a giggle.

“Christ Sadie, you’re way too drunk,” Stephen said leading me into the bedroom, “Now just drink this and lay down. You’ll be asleep in no time.”

“You guys are the best,” I said sliding under the blankets.

“We’re just being good friends,” Josh said placing the water on the nightstand.

“The best of friends,” I said with a smile on my face, “Just don’t kick Brian out of the band. He may be an asshole sometimes, but he’s a great singer.”

“We won’t kick him out,” Stephen said patting my back, “Now get some sleep.”

I nodded, and closed my eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.