I Hate Christmas Parties
I grimaced at the ugly sight of the wreck which stood before my eyes. Festive bows laid all over the floor, all scattered about; wrapping paper with cartoon versions of chubby, jolly Santa Clauses and Rudolphs with his scarlet-colored noses patched across the carpet; plastic cups and beer bottles were placed upon every raise surface, from the cup rim-stained coffee table to corners of the large bookcase that pressed against the wall of the living room which held my collection of Shakespeare tragedies and Sylvia Plath poems. Looking at the scenery, it gave the sense that a holiday tornado had ran throughout the home. I fucking hate Christmas parties, I sighed and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
“You’re awake,” said a cheery voice.
I turn my head in the direction of the voice. “Oh. Yeah, Trevor.” I answered as he continued down the stairs.
“I’m surprised you’re not groaning about a head ache. You drank tons last night.” Trevor gave a sweet smile and began to straighten up the mess the two of us were standing in.
How would he have even known that? While the party was going on, I had spend a fraction of the time outside sucking on cigarettes in the dark and the rest of the time locked away in the guest bedroom.
“Olivia told me,” Trevor added, reading the puzzled look I had sent him.
“Oh. Yeah,” I replied once more. I hoped that he would not bring her up in any fashion. The mentioning of her name made me flush and my stomach sink into a shallow pit. The feeling mimicked the very one I had felt when initially meeting her, and the same sensation I had felt the previous night.
“You two seem to have hit it off pretty well, Court,” Trevor smirked. He was halfway finished clearing away the evidence of last night.
The visage arranged on my face shattered and turned into a frown. I turned my head in the opposite direction.
“Honey? Honey, it’s fine!” Trevor said as she took hold my arm. His grip firm and tight, and his eyes met mine, making the dropping feeling in my gut intensify. “I think it’s great that you get along well with Olivia.”
I tried to ignore the emotions I began to feel and to make sure my face didn’t indicate that they were hidden inside of me, but his words had only brought me back to the night of the party.
People crowded every inch of the place, but I felt isolated in the room full of nameless faces. I stood, arms-crossed, and with a cup in my hand, wishing for the hours to quickly pass by. I looked over to my boyfriend. Trevor was being his normal charming, charismatic self. Contrasting very much so with me, he was talking to a large group of people across the room. His blue eyes bright and jubilant. He must have found great humor in someone’s comment and roared with laughter as he ran his hands through his blond curls. I stood alone for minutes before being accompanied by anyone that actually cared for my existence.
“You look incredibly excited,” a whisper said into my ear. I looked to my side and saw a smiling, brunette girl before me.
“This is the face I wear to every social event Trevor throws.”
“That’s fine,” she replied. “You have a rather nice face, if you ask me, Courtney.”
I sensed my cheeks growing pink and gave an attempt at switching over to another topic. “So are you having a nice--”
“With a few more cups of that, maybe you will enjoy this party a bit more,” Olivia suggested. She pointed her index finger at the drink in my hand.
“Orange juice?” I questioned her skeptically. “No. I’m not much in the mood to drink right now.”
I felt her eyes scanning me as she asked, “What exactly are you in the mood for?”
We ended up sitting outside on the porch. The night sky sprinkled with tiny dots of stars as I gazed up at it. The chilly, winter night kissed my skin, making goosebumps arise along my sides.
“Here.” Olivia handed me a cigarette after lighting up one for herself. For weeks, I’d been struggling against the battle to finally put an end to the smoking habit that my boyfriend had loathed, but I could never bring myself to say no to Olivia. That was the problem.
I placed the cigarette in between my lips and moved my head closer to Olivia, allowing her to light it.
I could not help but analyze her beauty while she was placed so close before me. Her hair, long and dark, flowed down from the top of her head to her narrow shoulders in voluminous waves. Her rich, brown eyes made my heat beat a little faster with every contact with mine, and the red tint of her lips were still very much visible even with the only source of light being the burning ends our cigarettes and the distant moon.
“How are things?” she asked, exhaling smoke from her mouth.
“What?” I asked.
“Things with Trevor,” she clarified.
I gave a slight sigh. I searched hard in my thoughts to find an appropriate answer for the abrupt question. “Do you want the nice, ‘everything is wonderful’ reply, because he’s your best friend or…?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve known the guy since we were twelve, but that doesn’t mean I cover my ears to anyone telling of his imperfections.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I began, “Trevor is a great guy. We just happen to be very different.” Trevor enjoyed the presence of people, while I sulked away in the corner. I couldn’t bare the thought of missing a day of work to play video games with friends, when this event reoccurred with Trevor. I bickered at him for wasting hundreds of dollars on football tickets when he found it to be perfectly fine. I knew the relationship Trevor and I had wasn’t without its blemishes, but it’d be a search to come across a relationship that didn’t obtain any even with the help of a magnify glass.
“You’d rather have someone more like you?”
I felt the touch of her soft hand on mine. I didn’t bother to gesture for her to move it. I didn’t want her to. I gazed into her sensual eyes. My eyes staring straight at her, and not able to advert it anywhere else. Olivia caressed me gently on my arm and reached in closer. I was aware of what was proceeding to take place if I refrained from putting it to a halt. I was in control, and I did not wish to have it end.
Our lips pressed and I loved it. The sweet scent of her neck made me melt and the touch of her hand holding my face made me shake while her lips remained in connection with my own. I didn’t allow it to cease. Letting go of each other’s hold long enough to maneuver our way through the many bodies, though the crowd and to reach upstairs and into the one bedroom I did not share with the person that was on the furthest part of my mind in that moment. Closing the door behind us, we went on. She wounded me up and set me to a release. On the floor below us was the man I was morally inclined to stay faithful to, he being incognizant of it all.
“Courtney,” Trevor said, his hand still wrapped onto my arm. “Hey, I’m alright with you and Olivia being friends. It‘s fine.” He pressed his lips against my forehead and stroked me gently on my arm. “It isn’t as though you would cheat on me with her or anything,” he laughed.
