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The It was a small club which was why it was constantly crowded. It had a bar with twelve swiveling bar stools and a dance floor with a disco ball overhead. The DJ, Michael Kane AKA Mikey K, played great hip-hop songs and good slow songs. The one thing that was nice about The It was that it had a wall of booths that were secluded with thick colorful curtains. Couples made out behind them, best friends giggled and shared beers, and rich people rented them for their friends. There were also several round tables in the club, where people sat and chatted. The minute Chad, Arno, Charley, Luc, and I walked in, Charley and Luc headed to the dance floor and started dancing crazily. Chad headed to the bar, ordering his usual Corona Light. Arno and I sat at a table and we ordered drinks; Arno with a Bud Light Lime and me with a margarita. Arno popped his slice of lime into the mouth of his bottle and plugged the top with his thumb. He turned it upside down and all of the amber liquid rushed towards his thumb and the lime swam through the beer slowly. Arno looked up at me, his stony grey eyes glinting in the dim light of the club. He’d changed while Charley and I was upstairs, now dressed in a loose white tee-shirt and jean shorts that were held up by his dark belt. His dark hair was now mussed-up and he shot me a grin as he swigged his beer. I sipped on my margarita and Arno yelled something that I couldn’t hear over the music.
“What?” I bellowed back, feeling silly, but Arno hardly seemed to notice. He smiled and took a gulp of his beer. I followed suit and drank more of my margarita. “I’m sorry, the music is a little loud,” I added loudly, and Arno nodded as if to say he understood.
“I was thinking the five us should go on a vacation. You know to the beach or something?” He asked, stroking his chin which was dotted with specks of dark stubble. Arno gazed at me dreamily as he finished his beer in record time. “Maybe Hawaii. . .” He suggested, raising his eyebrows at me. My heart fluttered as Arno stared and I beamed to try to hide my excitement. I felt so much younger than twenty-two, I felt like a little fourteen year old girl on her first date. To try to calm myself, I glanced over to the dance floor where Mikey K had turned the music to a slower song. Luc and Charley were pressed against each other, dancing back and forth. Chad was talking to a brainy blond from our Chem class named Victoria Mend. Victoria looked slightly tipsy and kept slapping her hand against Chad’s brawny shoulders.
“That’d be so much fun, Arno,” I exclaimed flirtatiously, batting my eyelashes at him daringly. I sipped my margarita again and kept drinking because no matter how many slurps I took; I was still thirsty. Arno ordered another beer and I said, “Mikey K’s really jamming tonight.” I wanted to smack myself, but Arno hardly noticed. He was already tilting his beer back and chugging it. Arno wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and inspected the contents of the bottle. There was only a fourth left and he’d only just gotten it.
“Ya, he’s doing great,” Arno replied, taking a glance at Luc and Charley. “Looks like Lucian and Charlotte are slow-dancing.” With a laugh he added, “Again.” Arno chuckled; I giggled. I couldn’t help but feel like we were a couple. Instantly I wiped the thought from my head. I’d tried so many times to get over Arno, but he was just so. . . Arno. He was beautiful, hilarious, and confident with a flinty attitude. In reality I knew he was an unsympathetic jerk sometimes; but he’d never been that way to me. I’d also never seen him act that way except to other jerky guys. In my eyes, Arno was perfect. Arno spotted Chad and commented, “ugh, not Victoria the brain. She’s crazy. She has a guinea pig named Jana whom she takes for walks.” I laughed at this but then wondered how Arno knew this information. He didn’t seem to notice this as he took a sip of my margarita. I swooned. God, he was gorgeous. “Want to dance?” Arno asked, motioning towards the dance floor where Mikey K had started playing a hip hop beat by Lady Gaga. Obviously I nodded, wondering what this signified. Come on, Maddie, I thought, don’t over-think things. Arno was being nice because that’s what he was: nice and perfect and beautiful. I danced with Arno for several songs that were fast and up-beat for a while until a slow song came on. This was when Arno suggested we get something to drink. Between the two of us we drank six beers before going dancing again, and by that time we were drunk. Arno grabbed my waist and spun my around as I giggled. He did a tuck (which was terrible; he landed on his back) and I cartwheeled (if you could call it that), we were wild and crazy; drunk and in my case, in love. Dancing fast and hard, we were the zaniest ones on the floor. That was the moment when Mikey K decided to play a slow song. Arno pulled me close to him, his arms around my waist as I put my arms around his neck. We teetered back and forth, Arno spinning me a few times. Once, he even tried to dip me, which resulted in Arno almost dropping me on my back. When the song ended, I leaned in and so did Arno; ever so cautiously. He kissed me, his pale pink lips meeting mine perfectly. Then, it was just us in the middle of the dance floor; kissing with our lips smashed together. The two of us danced for a while and Arno kept sneaking me kisses in between songs, during songs, and as we ordered another beer. We were sitting at the bar when we gripped hands and Arno led me outside where we kissed by Luc’s Jeep. At one point Arno climbed on the hood of the Jeep and I followed; where we kissed and looked up at the stars. He put his arm around my shoulder and rested against me, kissing my forehead. I didn’t know how long we’d been out their when Luc, Charley, and Chad finally showed up. They drove Arno and I back to my house; where Arno and I kissed by the stairs for a long time. Finally, Arno collapsed on the couch while I went up to my bedroom, locking the door behind me. God, he was beautiful.
~
The next morning I woke up craving coffee. My head pounded and I was starving; so I quickly jumped in the shower and changed into a pair of short shorts and a camisole. I headed downstairs where Arno was staring ahead blankly. He’d made a pot of coffee and some toast which was already lathered up with butter. I sat down across from him and leaned in to kiss him, but when I touched his lips with mine, Arno pulled back. “God, Maddie, stop it,” Arno commanded, looking slightly ticked. Confused, I sat back down; straight and stiff in the chair. Arno gazed at me, biting his lip. I ran my fingers over my own lips that still burned from rejection. It was nothing like the lovey-dovey kisses and short sweet pecks that Arno had given me yesterday. Today his lips felt cold, foreign, and he hadn’t kissed me back. I stared at him expectantly and he slammed his foot down on the floor. “Stop it, Maddie, stop!” He yelled, turning his back away from me. Silence. I nibbled on my toast, sipped at my coffee which was black although I didn’t notice. It tasted as stale as my kiss to Arno. Why was he mad at me? Had I dreamed of our kisses last night? There was no way. I still felt the zap from our very first kiss; which had electrocuted me like lightning. “We’re just friends, Mads,” Arno said, as if saying it aloud made it true. “Last night was nothing. Just a few kisses, Maddie. We’re just friends.” He spoke under his breath as though I couldn’t hear, but I did and every word broke my heart.
“But Arno,” I said, my voice cracking. I hated feeling so helplessly in love with this boy who seemed to hate me. “You like me. Arno, you like me and I like you. What’s so bad about that?” Arno swore under his breath. I stood up, hovering over him for a second, and then placed my dish in the sink. I scrubbed it fiercely, as if washing away my pain. Arno mulled over my words for a moment and then he stood as well. I rinsed the warm, soapy water off of my hands and faced him. “Arno,” I breathed and he leaned forward and kissed me, hard. It seemed like he had to pull himself away, as if he wanted nothing more than to stay there and kiss me.
“See, Maddie, nothing,” Arno said softly. He grabbed his shoes, which were resting by the couch. He must’ve kicked them off yesterday when he’d plopped on the couch. “You mean nothing Maddie. Just friends,” Arno added, sounding bitter. He looked at me with something in his eyes I’d never seen before. “Listen, Maddie. You and I can’t date okay? You’re too nice for me. You’re my friend. I don’t want to ruin that.” He laced up his sneakers before saying, “We’re going to Hawaii with Lucian, Charlotte, and Chad on Tuesday. Pack up Maddie.” Arno left without saying another word.
