I Think I Love You

I went to bed in the early hours of the morning, and woke up around twelve the next day to a lot of giggling going on down the hall. I figured Quellie had her friends come over to get ready. I climbed out of bed and went down the hall to knock on Quellie's door. "Come in," she said. I entered and saw five girls piled on Quellie's bed. "Nikki!" Quellie ran over to hug me. "I want you to meet my friends. Nikki, this is Quinn, Jasmine, Dakota, Rylee and Jocelyn. Girls, this is my sister-in-law Nikki." I smiled and waved. They were all much prettier than me, and that made me nervous. I was still in my pajamas, and all of these girls were in pretty dresses, including Quellie. Her dress was extremely colorful, but it was still pretty. I heard someone come up the stairs, so I turned to see Abby.

"I was just coming to wake you up! Go ahead and get ready. We're leaving in an hour." I smiled and went back to my room to get ready. I walked into my closet and looked for a dress that wouldn't upstage Quellie's, though I'm sure that's impossible. I found a really cute blue, lace dress, so I pulled that on, but added my own flare with a black biker jacket and some black Louboutins. I sat down at my vanity to do my hair and make-up. When I was done, I stuck my phone in my purse, grabbed the bag with Quellie's gift and went downstairs.

Abby was in the kitchen talking to someone on her phone. I stood in the kitchen doorway, but Abby had her back turned to me so she couldn't see me. "Yeah, I've set a date. No, today's Quellie's birthday, so I'll tell them tomorrow. They seem to be getting along really well, but I haven't seen any romantic activity yet. I know, I know. I just want them to be happy together because I know they can be if they try." I stopped listening after that. It was too painful. I couldn't believe Abby actually set a date for the wedding. I went into the living room and collapsed on the sofa, wondering how much more time I had to get to know Ez better. Hopefully it would be at least a year. I heard heels clicking on the wood floor, then Abby appeared. "You look gorgeous!" she said.

"Thanks, so do you."

"What's wrong?" I tried to change my attitude. Maybe become more lively, but it was next to impossible.

"Nothing."

"Oh, okay. You just seemed a little down."

"I'm not." She smiled and walked away, but I could tell she didn't believe me.

"Come on, guys! We have to leave!" she yelled up the stairs. A few minutes later, everyone came running down the stairs. Quellie and her friends piled into her car, Abby and Stefan got in their car, and I hopped in Ez's car with him.

*

When we arrived at Posh (apparently the hottest club in all of Los Angeles), it was almost three. The party started at five, and we still had to set everything up. I noticed on the stage was a full band set and a microphone. I wondered who was playing.

We filled pink and purple balloons with helium and let them float up to the ceiling. We wiped off te bar top and tables, and swept the dancefloor. It might be the hottest club in Los Angeles, but it's also the dirtiest. I don't know why Quellie wanted to have her party here.

When we were finished cleaning and setting up, it was a little after four-thirty. I went out to Ez's car to grab my phone from my purse, and I saw a line of people that wrapped around the building. That didn't include the people that were still parking and getting in line. I had been told that the club was rented out exclusively for Quellie's birthday, but it didn't appear that way.

When five rolled around, Quellie started letting people in. I made the decision to stay close to Ez, so I'd have someone to talk to that I actually knew. The only person that walked through the door that I recognized was Wes. I thought it would be better if I stayed away from him.

By the time it was eight-thirty, it was almost completely dark out and everyone was having a good time. The only thing that was missing was music. I made my way through the crowd to find Abby. When I did, I asked, "Abby, when are they going to start playing music?" She laughed.

"Whenever someone decides to take the mic."

"Wait? This is a karaoke party?"

"Bingo!" I grinned and looked for Ez. I found him talking to Wes and Zac.

"Dude, this is a karaoke party!" I said.

"I know." Just then, in that moment, an idea popped into my head.

"Go up there and sing!"

"Fuck no! I don't sing." I got close and whispered,

"If you go up there and sing something, I'll kiss you at midnight on New Year's Eve." He smiled and said,

"Deal." I laughed and prepared for him to completely suck as he took the mic. Wes got behind the drums, Zac picked up the bass and another guy that I didn't know took the electric guitar. Everyone cheered. "Hey everyone. First off, I'd like to wish my baby sister Quellie a happy birthday." I smiled. He had to have been stalling. "Second, I just want to say I'm doing this for a deal that was made." He looked straight at me, causing everyone else to do the same. Someone shouted,

"What are you going to sing?" Ez smiled at me.

"Alive by Adelitas Way." My heartbeat quickened. The guitar started, followed by Ez singing. He lied to me when he said he didn't sing. His voice was heavenly, unlike any I'd ever heard. "Cause you make me laugh a little louder," he sang, adding in "Everybody jump!" before continuing with "Love a little harder. Uh-huh." When he said everybody jump that's exactly what happened. I got in the groove and jumped as well, mouthing the words to the song. Ez's eyes never left me as he sang and I couldn't help but wonder, did that mean anything? I'm guessing by the wink he gave me at the end of the song, it did.

He approached me after jumping off the stage and said, "Your turn." I grabbed his hand and pulled him up to the stage. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not singing by myself." He grinned.

"You're scared!"

"Yeah, I am."

"There's only one mic."

"We'll share."

"Fine, but only this one time." Since there was no piano, I started singing acapella.

"How can you see into my eyes like open doors? Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb." The guitar started. "Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold. Until you find it there and lead it back home."

"Wake me up!"

"Wake me up inside."

"Can't wake up!

"Wake me up inside."

"Save me!"

"Call my name and save me from the dark"

"Wake me up!"

"Bid my blood to run."

"Can't wake up!"

"Before I come undone."

"Save me!"

"Save me from the nothing I've become." We were close together since we had to share the microphone, and it surprisingly wasn't as uncomfortable as that day on the beach. I never took my eyes off of his as we sang. When the song finished, I had to catch my breath. The room was completely silent. Ez slowly started leaning in, but everyone in the room cheered, making him pull away. Things from that moment on were just... awkward.