We Only Breathe For So Long

I had 15 minutes left until Greg would be knocking on my door or hooting at the entrance. I didn’t really know what to wear because he didn’t specify what type of party it would be so I assumed it was a house party. I put on black skinny jeans, my white all stars and a white flannel shirt to match with it. I didn’t feel like having my hair loose so I tied it up in a bun. I decided that a bit of makeup wouldn’t hurt, so I just applied mascara and lip-gloss. Greg arrived at my house just it time, he was very punctual and this was no exception. I grabbed my cellphone and shoved it quickly inside my white coat’s pocket and picked up my scarf. I figured I wouldn’t need a bag and it would probably get lost so I only took my phone with me.

As I exited through the main door, Greg got out of the car to open the door for me and I gently nodded my head to show a gesture of gratitude.

“So, ready to rock this party?” I asked as soon as he got back in the car.

“Hell yeah!” he said awkwardly.

“You are definitely spending too much time with Asstini, he’s starting to rub off on you,” I said with a sarcastic grin.

“You know, he’s not much of an ass once you get to know him.”

I chuckled in disbelief at the words that departed Greg’s mouth a few heartbeats ago. Those were the last words spoken between us throughout the ride. The words hang in the air along with the music playing out of the stereo. After what felt like forever, Greg stopped the engine and pulled the car keys out of the ignition.

“We’re here!” said Greg, half way out of the car already.

He pulled the car on the sidewalk, a few cars away from the house where the blasting music was coming from. We both stepped out of the car and started walking after Greg locked the car. We walked for a minute and then we entered the yard of a house on the left. It was a very modest looking home. It was a wooden house with two floors and a little balcony out on the front. The front door was opened and I could already form bodies of people dancing and walking throughout the house.

As we made our way in, we had to push through some people who were already too drunk to even notice we were trying to pass through them. Greg moved his head constantly towards all directions, trying to find a familiar face through the crowd of people. A minute later, he found Eric’s head, and soon his entire body could be seen. He was in the kitchen talking with a few people. They were in a circle and Eric kept on smiling and nodding his head. Next to him were two boys and a girl facing him. He kept talking non-stop to the girl, so I assumed that it was his girlfriend whom he was talking to.

Although we all work together and spend several hours around each other, we don’t truly know each other very well. We just know the basics about the other so we keep everything pretty much on a professional level rather than personal. Since I started working, this is the first time that I actually do something with my co-workers besides work.

Greg and Eric are really good friends, they’re always dissing one another and making snotty comments about each other but their friendship go beyond that. They’re total opposites but they go along extremely well. I don’t know much about Eric, I know more about Greg since he is so opened and he thinks I’m good with advices.

Don’t get fooled, I’m not. He just thinks so.

My thoughts were interrupted when Greg bear hugged Eric from the side and said, “There you are birthday boy!”

Birthday boy? So, I was invited to Eric’s birthday party without him even knowing plus I didn’t bring any presents.

“Wow, Kylie. What a great way to take things to the personal level,” I thought to myself.

At that moment, I wanted to clap hands for myself in a very mocking way. I resisted the thought and just smiled once Eric laid his eyes on me.

“Hey Kylie,” he said as he shook my hand with a handshake. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Yeah. Um, Greg didn’t really tell me what this party was all about so I pretty much missed the memo. I’m sorry for coming empty handed, happy birthday though!” I let go of his hand and gave him a quick hug.

“Thanks, but your presence can be measured as a gift,” he half smiled at me and turned to the other people who he was chatting to previously.

“Where are my manners?” Eric thought to himself out loud. “Greg, Kylie. This is my brother, Ryan. This ugly girl is my sister, Jane. And this is Marc, her boyfriend,” he said while pointing at each person while he said their names. He smiled at his own snotty comment, making us to smile too.

I looked at each one of them and smiled. “Hi! Nice to meet you guys.”

“Well, I know your boring asses already so shall we skip the getting to know part and start drinking?” Greg enquired from Eric a couple of beers, one to cease his thirst for alcohol and the other one for me.

It’s funny to think that I always thought that Greg was a nerd, and here he was - at a party, socializing and drinking beer. This was definitely a lesson learned; do not judge nerd-looking guys. They could be hardcore players for all we know. Don’t judge handsome guys talking with a girl also. She could be his mother or sister for all we know.

Eric handed a bottle of beer to Greg and then one to me. I clicked it open and took a sip. I’m not much of a party girl, but I do like to party now and then. I’m not much into alcohol either, just beer. Nothing else.

“Let’s not make this awkward. I’m going to let you all get to know each other a little and meanwhile, I’ll steal Greg for an hour or so,” said Eric slowly walking backwards and pulling Greg towards the direction they were planning to go.

As they trailed off, I heard Eric say something about how he found a ‘babe’ for Greg and I couldn’t help but laugh to myself.

“So, Kylie, you work with Greg and Eric?” asked Eric’s sister, Jane.

“Yeah, I do. I started working at the bookshop for about a month now,” I casually smiled to her.

“What were you doing before?” Ryan asked.

Jane elbowed him quickly to make him realize how rude he was being. I noticed her movements.

“It’s okay,” I said addressing that to her. “I used to live in Arizona. I moved here a couple of months ago to do Journalism.”

“That’s really cool!” Marc joined the conversation.

We talked about how Arizona is and how different Canada is for about half an hour before I couldn’t take it anymore.

I waited until Marc was finished with his sentence and quickly jumped in before anyone else spoke. “Um, will you excuse me? I need to use the restroom.”

That was the last thing I said as I made my way towards unknown corners of the house. I needed some fresh air. There were too many people inside the house and I’d like the thought of being able to think properly without the loud music vibrating my brain.

I kept walking towards nowhere in particular until I reached the slide door that led to the front balcony. Bingo! I opened the door and got to the other side while closing it quickly before anyone decided to go out too. The cold air caught me by surprise since it was so hot inside. I let a sigh out and noticed a shadow with the corner of my eye. I wasn’t the only one in need of fresh air, there was somebody sitting down with his head on his knees and several beer bottles next to him.