All in the Band

We pulled up to a wooden, old house that had been painted yellow. The paint was chipping in some places, but that just gave it more of a comforting aura. The front yard was small, flowers and weeds sprouting in up in various places. The place was small, but very cute. I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out of the car, checking my reflection as best I could in the window. Jaime scoffed, throwing his arm over my shoulders.

“You look, ahhhhhmazing,” he assured me. I giggled.

“As do you, darling.”

We stepped into the house, immediately greeted by the smell of something that smelled like tomato sauce cooking in the kitchen. I licked my lips hungrily right as a woman sped out of the kitchen, clapping her hands excitedly when she saw us.

“Oh, you must be Jaime! Come here, darling, Tony is quite fond of you all,” she exclaimed, pulling Jaime in for a tight hug. She turned to me, smiling widely. I couldn’t help but smile back.

“And who might you be?” she asked warmly.

“Mrs. Perry, this is Abigail Hemsway. She’s my best friend,” Jaime explained. Tony’s mom grinned, pulling me into a hug. I hugged her back, a little bit surprised. She pulled away, smiling at the both of us.

“The rest of your friends are down in the basement. They’re playing pool, I believe? I don’t know. I think that’s what- oh dear, the food! Excuse me, I have to make sure I don’t burn dinner! The door to the basement is right at the end of that hall to the left,” Mrs. Perry informed us, hurrying back into the kitchen. Jaime and I turned to each other, laughing quietly and following her directions.

“She’s quite the character,” he smiled. I nodded, walking down the stairs to the basement. I heard the voices of our friends, Mike, Vic, Kellin, Jack, Justin, Gabe, and Jesse, then one unfamiliar one.

“Tone, your mother is freaking awesome!” Jaime exclaimed. I heard someone laugh. It must have been Tony’s since I didn’t recognize it.

“She’s pretty quirky, isn’t she? She’s so friendly to everyone, I don’t understand how she does it,” the voice called back. Jaime grinned, grabbing my hand and darting down the stairs, pulling me behind him.

“Hey everyone, look who I brought!”

All of the guys looked up and cheered, rushing forward to tackle us in a group hug. Tony stood by awkwardly, smiling nervously at me. I smiled shyly back at him, feeling butterflies erupt in my stomach. He was gorgeous.

“Oh, I’m um...I’m Tony. Tony Perry. I’m new,” he stammered. I nodded, outstretching my hand with a friendly smile. He shook it gently.

“I’m Abby Hemsway. It’s really nice to finally meet you,” I exclaimed. He smiled, growing more comfortable around me.

“You too! The guys talk about you all the time,” he informed me. I slowly turned to look at my group of friends who were all looking away, whistling innocently. I laughed. Goofballs.

I turned back to Tony, who was outstretching a pool stick towards me.

“So um...you like pool?”