Whatever It Takes

“7 fucking months” Arianna whispered angrily at Marissa, as they stood huddled in the corner of Patrick’s living room. She had found Marissa chitchatting with a bunch of hockey players after she stormed out of the kitchen, and dragged her away from the attractive men before her. “Calm down A,” Marissa soothed, as she reached out to rub her friend’s arm. “You don’t know the truth…” Marissa began until Arianna shot her a glare.

“Yes I do!” she hissed in response, her body shaking with anger, “why would his friend lie about that? I just feel so stupid! He told me when he met me there was no one, no girlfriend, no side girl, nothing” she said more softly, trying not to be overhead by the crowd beside them. “He had no reason to lie to me and he did. What does that tell you?”. Marissa looked doubtful, as she tried to think of a good response. She could see the hurt in her friend’s eyes and it killed her to know there was nothing she could do.

“Look, my first impression is to tell you to go and grab every guy in this room and use them until Patrick’s head explods from jealousy” Marissa began, as she intertwined her arm through Arianna’s and weaved there way through the crowd. “However, I find myself having to be the logical and rational one tonight, seeing as how you’ve already had three drinks” she continued, as she grabbed away the new drink that appeared in Arianna’s hands before she could take a sip. She stopped walking as they stood on the threshold that separated the living room from the kitchen. Marissa turned to face her best friend, placing both hands on Arianna’s shoulders.

“Listen to me closely when I say this. Do not do anything stupid. The best way to fix this is to just try and get the truth. Your stupidities will not get you anywhere,” Marissa warned her, knowing very well what Arianna was capable of when she was upset. Arianna scoffed at the comment, rolling her eyes slightly. “I won’t do anything stupid,” she answered as she tried to grab the drink out of Marissa’s hands. “I promise,” she added as she saw the doubt in Marissa’s eye.

“Girls!” Sharpie yelled out as he came over and threw an arm around each of their shoulders. “Having fun?” he questioned, as he gave Arianna’s shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. Marissa smiled at him and nodded, as he led them to a group of guys standing beside the kitchen island.

Arianna automatically saw his blonde hair, and felt her anger inside boil up again. She knew her anger was really a shield for the pain and hurt she felt. Why was she even hurt? They weren’t dating; nothing was going on between them. And yet she couldn’t stop the pain from rolling through her, as irrational and illogical as it was.

“You know, you come to visit me for my birthday and you spend no time with me” Patrick said into her ear, as she found herself standing beside him. “Sorry, you’ve been quite busy though. Didn’t want to disturb you” she replied, keeping her eyes focused in front of her. She noticed Marissa and Jon talking in whispers in front of her, both glancing back at her every so often. The rest of the guys who were standing around were engrossed in their own conversations, leaving Arianna and Patrick in their own little world.

“Don’t you know by know?” he asked her, as he moved himself closer to her side, “I could never be too busy for you babe”. She could smell the scent of liquor roll of his tongue, slightly intoxicating her already cloudy state of mind. Her drinks were catching up to her, as she found herself wooed too easily by his sweet words. She wanted to stay mad at him; she wanted to forget him. And yet she could feel her anger simmer down inside her the minute he spoke to her.

“Ok, someone needs to start the rounds of tequila shots” Justin said as he appeared in the circle, snapping everyone back to the same topic of conversation. “That never ends well for Soupy” Jon laughed as he nudged his friend beside him. “How about the ladies start us off this year?” Justin stated, as he turned and looked at Arianna, “you game?”.

She could see it in his eyes; he was trying to hit on her. He had been trying to all night, if she was going to be honest. “I don’t think so…” she began, as the guys began to complain. “Why not?” Justin asked curiously, “Do it for Kaner. It’s his birthday!”. Arianna laughed and shook her head, “No, tequila and me don’t mix well…” she began until Marissa interjected. “Trust me, tequila does something funny to her. You should see the way she takes her shots!”.

Arianna glared at her friend, shooting her a “what-the-fuck-are-you-doing” look. All the guys started to get rowdy, causing people around them to turn and look. “No, now you need to do it” Seabrook said, as he started pouring her a shot in a glass, “I definitely need to see what she means”. She laughed and looked at Patrick, who had an amused expression on his face. She was about to ask him for help when an unexpected person decided to join them.

“There you are” a soft female voice said, as Arianna saw a pair of hands with red nails wrap around Patrick’s waist from behind him, “I still have to give you your birthday present” she giggled, as she made her way beside him. She suddenly blushed when she saw Arianna there, her arms still firmly around Patrick’s waist.

The minute she saw her, Arianna could feel the anger and jealous pour back into her, her mind snapping back to reality. She shifted her body away from Patrick, as she watched his face struggle to hide his emotions. She could tell he was nervous, she could see it in his eyes. He glanced into hers, trying to figure out what to do or say but was silenced when he saw her glare.

“Fine, I’ll do it” she said suddenly, causing the guys around her to start cheering. Seabrook handed her the shot glass, but she starred at him weirdly. “What’s wrong?” he asked, a confused looked on his face. “This is not how you take a shot, don’t you boys know how to have any fun?” she teased, as her inner party girl suddenly started to come out.

If Patrick can have his fun, than so can I, she thought. I’ll show Patrick Kane exactly what he is missing out on.