Self-Awareness Ch. 01

"What are you doing here?" she asked, switching off her phone and snugging it into her pocket.

"Um, well uh, there was an empty seat here and I wanted to sit down so..."

"No, I mean why aren't you out there with Annalisa?" she asked, interrupting my train of thought. She too knew about this arranged marriage Megan was planning?

"Huh?"

"Megan tried to set you two up," Wendy responded. She took a sip of beer that was on the floor next to the couch. "You know, Annalisa's a good girl. You should take her out for a nice dinner or something. Maybe catch a movie."

"Yeah I don't know, I think I'm too good for her to be honest." I scoffed. Whoa, where did that come from? That was kind of smooth, actually.

"Really? Too good for her huh?" Wendy said softly. She inspected my body up and down, as if she were to judge if my statement held up.

"Yep." I replied shortly.

She had a longing stare, trying hard to phrase the next words coming out of her shiny pink lips. "The way Megan described you is not... well, it's not who I thought you were going to be."

"Yeah well, Megan's a retard," I interjected. She quietly giggled through her nose, covering her face with her forearm. "What did Megan say about me anyhow?"

"Well..." she prolonged, brushing her blonde hair back over her ear. "The main thing Megan said was, that you don't know what you want."

"Really, she said that?"

"Yep"

"That's bullshit."

"Hey, that's what she told me. Do you know what you want, Ryan?" she asked. She shifted her body so one of her toned legs can be tucked under the other. Then, she pivoted her torso towards me, awaiting my answer.

I said nothing. I sat there with a blank stare trying to think of an answer. Glancing up to her face was a mistake, as she was doing that voodoo eye contact thing again. She was just a naturally sexy woman. I was going to give my response when something caught her attention. She turned her head upwards and stood up from the couch.

Some skater boy-looking punk marched over and greeted Wendy with a hug and a slight smack on the ass. I watched as his hand cupped her voluptuous butt cheek, causing it to jiggle for a few seconds. Then, he lifted her head up to his lips and gave her a small peck. The skater punk was that guy that offered me the bottle of beer.

"Babe, you want 'nother beer?" the man asked Wendy, offering a bottle still fresh with icy water drops dripping from the glass.

Wendy bent over and picked up the half empty bottle on the floor, showing it to the guy and jiggling the liquid inside. "Nah, I'm good. Still got some left."

"Okay," he said, pulling the bottle back to the side of his body. "Me, Robbie and the guys are gonna play some beer pong outside, you want in?"

"Its fine, I'm still tired from tonight," Wendy laughed. His arm was still around her; as if to tell me that this was his woman.

"Just don't go crazy like last time," she added, winking at him.

"Yeah, I know babe," the man chucked. He turned his attention towards me surprisingly with a head nod. "Hey, you want another one?" He offered me the same bottle, revealing numerous tattoos crawling up from his wrist and into his short-sleeved polo shirt.

I looked down at my beer and saw that I barely had any. To be honest, I forgot I had my beer in hand while talking to this stunning blonde creature. I nodded my head and accepted it. Who knows, maybe I'll get super drunk if nothing goes my way.

"Don't get too drunk little man, you still gotta make your moves on Annalisa!" he snickered, then stormed off with his buddies outside making roaring sounds as they prepped for their clichéd frat boy drinking games.

I looked back at Wendy. "Does everyone here fucking know about this Annalisa thing?"

Wendy shrugged and smiled.

"So, that your boyfriend?" I asked, a little depressed but understandable. No one as hot as her could be single.

Wendy held up her fist and raised her ring finger, showcasing a shiny piece of jewelry. "Fiancé, actually," she revealed, slowly sitting her rump back on the couch.

"Oh, for a second there I thought you were flipping me off." I said jokingly.

"What?" she asked.

"Who holds up only their ring finger to show off their ring?"

"Oh I don't know, I guess it's just how I show it off."

I tried to change the subject. "So, I was wondering, why are you all glamoured up with your pretty dress, fancy jewelry and all?"

Her eyes lit up. "Oh! I just came back from a choir meeting."

"Choir meeting huh? You sing?"

"A little, yeah," she divulged, as she slowly positioned both her hands over her knees.

"You in a church choir or something?"

"Oh, I'm in the University Choir Club. We were practicing tonight for a big event two weeks from now. It's State Championships. Every university in the valley is going to compete at our school actually, so it's kind of a big deal for me!" she enthusiastically replied.

"That's awesome! Hey, I've always wondered... if you're surrounded by a bunch of choir people, couldn't you just lip sync the entire song. Like, no one could possibly know if you were singing or not. There's like 800 people singing at the same time." I joked.

"Well, that defeats the purpose of being in a choir now doesn't it?" she answered with a smile.

"Hmm, I guess you're right," I said. "You should totally sing for me."

Wendy had a startlingly embarrassed look on her face. "Fffwh... What?! Umm, how about no?"

"C'mon! If you could sing in front of hundreds of people, how could you get embarrassed singing in front of one guy like me?"

She started squirming in her seat, contemplating if she should sing or not. "Ehh, yeah. Maybe next time."

"What if there is no next time?"

"No, I'm sure I'll see you again." Her eyebrows lifted and her eyes drifted away from me.

Well, well Ryan. It seems this going-to-be-married blonde thinks she's going to see you again in the near future. This could be a possibility with 'her being friends with Megan' and all. But for some reason I took that response as something else. Though, I should probably stop overanalyzing every fucking word in the history of everyone that's ever spoken.

And that's when I finally spoke up.

"You know what Wendy? I think I know what I want now."

Silence. Stuck in a staring contest. I wasn't sure what she was thinking, if I was coming on to her, or if I'm some sort of perv. But she didn't do anything; she just stared at me and smiled. In fact, this is the longest I've ever stared into Wendy's eyes without melting into a puddle of goo.

Her pink lips puckered up, preparing to speak. That was until her attention was diverted yet again. Man I swear, these distractions are perfectly happening just when the conversation start to get interesting. It's as if my life was scripted by a higher power and these interruptions only exist for the sole purpose of added tension and/or misdirection.

Wendy stood up, straightened up the lower part of her dress and watched as another girl walked towards us. "Kerry!" she yelped.

Kerry... that name sounded familiar. Well, audibly it sounds like the common name 'Carrie', and I knew a few girls named Carrie. But this one 'looked' familiar too.

Kerry stood there, right in front of me, towering me as I sat on the couch. She wore these hip-hugging blue jeans, as that was the first thing I saw from eye-sight in this sitting down position. A Hello Kitty key chain was dangling from the front pocket, swaying back and forth in front of her strong thighs. A small portion of her flat stomach was shown as she wore a blue tank top that forcefully wrapped around her B cup breasts. Her thumbs were stuffed into her front pockets, freeing one of her hands to brush her long black hair. Her face was angelic, with Asian features and big brown eyes. She had a short chubby nose and soft, kissable lips... although those particular lips were not smiling.

"Hey, you took my seat!" Kerry growled. Her eyebrows pushed together making her look angry.

She was definitely a cutie. Did I just say 'cutie' out loud? No, I didn't, I said it in my head. But still, don't ever say that again Ryan.

I stood up, being all proper and stuff. "Ryan." I politely introduced myself, holding out my hand for a friendly handshake. Now I was the towering one, she must be 5' 2'' or so.

"Ry...Ryan," she repeated my name, reluctantly taking her hand out of her pocket to shake my manly palm. Her hand was so tiny compared to mine. "I'm Kerry."

I stared at her for a second, trying to remember who this familiar person is. I think she was doing the same, looking at my face trying to analyze her memories with her gorgeous feline-like dark eyes.

"You could sit down if you want. I didn't mean to take your seat," I said.

Kerry had this confused look on her face. "Wendy, who is this guy again?"

"That's Ryan! You know, the guy Annalisa is gonna hook up with," Wendy snorted.

"Oh!" Kerry laughed.

"God damn it! Everyone knows about this don't they!?" I irately said.

They both giggled. Making girls laugh is the best feeling in the world. Unless of course, they're laughing when you pull your pants down.

Wendy approached Kerry. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah everything's fine. You know Xavier, he's just bored I guess so he was just calling me," Kerry said, rolling her eyes.

Xavier... now I remember. Kerry went to my high school. I had a semi-crush on her. It got to a point where I would watch porn and try to find girls that looked like her and jerk off with her in my mind. That's completely normal right? Just me? M'kay.

Anyways, Kerry was with Xavier since freshmen year. I remember because I would always see them together at rallies and school events even though I didn't know them at the time. I came to know Xavier, though I wouldn't consider him a close friend. And I'm pretty sure he had no knowledge that I had the biggest hard on for Kerry. I lost contact with him after high school, as with most people.

Wendy's fiancé came back from outside and charged right to Wendy. "Stupid Robbie miscalculated the booze. Gotta make a beer run. You down?"

Wendy looked at Kerry, then at me. "Um, yeah sure. When? Right now?"

"Yep! Let's get goin', people are waiting!" he said enthusiastically.

"Hold up!" She grabbed Kerry a few feet away and whispered in her ear. They both giggled again, while Kerry was looking at me.

"Alright fine, let's go," Wendy exclaimed. She grabbed her bottle from the floor and chugged the remains. "But I'm driving," she demanded. Responsibility at its finest.

Wendy and her fiancé gathered a few more dudes and filed their way out of the front entrance. I was hoping Wendy would look over her shoulder and give me one more enticing stare before I ever get to see her again, but none. She bounced her big booty out the door, followed by a bunch of dorks wearing backwards hats.

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SCENE FOUR: Crush and Burn

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Kerry sighed and sat herself down on the seat where Wendy used to reside. She looked at me again, this time studying me closer, pointing her nose too close in my personal space. I didn't mind.

"Did I go to school with you or something?" she finally spoke. I already figured out the mystery, but I was willing to play along to see if she would figure me out. I looked different today than I did back in high school. A lot different.

"Maybe..." I said, pretending to study her as well, although I took this opportunity to admire her physique, her beautiful skin, and her tight clothes.

"Ryan... from Hammond High School?" she asked unsurely. Bingo.

"Kerry?" I responded. Her face lit up like a homeless kid on Christmas getting a box of crayons.

"Oh my God!" she screamed, leaping into my arms and hugging me. Her hug lasted a few seconds longer than it should, as she slowly dragged her hands over my chest and arms before she finally released me from her bear hug.

"Jesus, you look so different! I would've never recognized you!" she excitedly squealed.

"Yeah I lost a ton of weight."

"Yeah you did, holy shit! What's your secret?"

I smiled. "No secret really. Ate healthy, worked out, exercised. I mean, that's really it."

She then looked at herself. "I think I need to work out more."

I gave her a baffled look, a serious one. "What!? Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm not kidding."

"You look great Kerry!" I said. It felt weird complimenting girls as I always expect a look of inappropriateness on their faces. Her face was too cute to be disgusting though.

Damn it. Stop saying cute, Ryan!

"Even back in high school I looked good?" she questioned me.

"Of course!" I said, a little louder than I should have.

"You've always looked good. I even had a little crush on you in high school." I revealed. It felt liberating to admit, but that was eight years ago. Crushes come and go. But it still felt therapeutic.

"I know." she smirked. Her big eyes sank down to her hands.

I decided to forget about the past for a second, and get back on track with her 'working out' issues. "So, what do you need to work out?"

"Huh?" She looked confused for a second.

"Working out. You said you needed to work out more. In your opinion, what do you need to improve on?"

"Oh, I think I have everything right, I just need to tone my body more. And I've been doing a lot of butt exercises. Doing squats and stuff." Kerry articulated with interest.

"Yeah I need to tone more too, actually," I said.

"You look good though Ryan."

Having Kerry compliment me felt really good. Megan always gave these friendly flirts towards me but I just brushed them away. Plus she was always flirting with me, even with Dylan in the same room. But from Kerry, that meant the world to me. I felt the courage to say something outlandishly out of my character, just to see what would happen.

"Let me take a look at your ass."

She snorted out of shock. "Hummm... What?"

"Stand up, let me see if those squats are really working out for you. Pun intended." Good one Ryan. Good one...

In fact, that joke was so cheesy she didn't even acknowledge it, but she stood up anyways. I didn't get a chance to get an up close view of her ass when I saw her enter the room and talking to Wendy, but low and behold, that ass was magnificent. It was nice and round, a tightly wrapped present with blue denim wrapping paper. That along with her thin waist made it stand out even more. An improvement from when I use to follow her from behind, staring at her close-fitting pants in the school hallways years ago. Wow, I really am a perv.

"Wait, why am I letting you check out my butt again?" she giggled, looking behind her shoulder, basically posing for me in front of everyone in the living room.

"Well, to get the best opinion, you need the opinion of a person you don't know. A true opinion. You can ask your girlfriends, your guy friends, your family, but they will always give you a biased opinion. Me, however, I will give you a true, non-biased opinion."

"Oh, so you're not my friend, huh?" she sadly asked.

"I guess I am your friend, but how good of friends are we if we haven't spoken to each other in years." I replied.

She giggled with defeat. "That's true. Well, what's your verdict?"

I signaled with two thumbs up. She balled her fist and pumped it to herself, happy with the rating I gave her. She plopped back down on the couch.

*Meeeeeoooorwraaawr* A sound of a kitty cat came out of nowhere. I looked at her and she seemingly ignored it.

"Is that your phone?" I asked.

"Yeah, don't worry 'bout it," she responded.

I looked around the floor and grabbed the still unopened bottle of beer. "You want this beer? I haven't finished mine." I gave her the extra booze Wendy's fiancé handed me.

"Yeah sure, why not?" She grabbed the bottle. I opened the top for her with my cigarette lighter and she took a few baby sips from the top.

"I should get your number. So uh, we could work out together. You know, if you want to." I asked.

Asking for a girl's numbers used to be the most difficult thing for me. I had to either be really good friends with her, which would usually end up being in the friend zone, or wait for her to make a move, which never happened.

"Asking for my number already? But I'm not even drunk yet!" she laughed, and then took a few more sips.

"No really, we could go work out together. I need a partner sometimes; I'm usually doing it by myself."

Get it? I usually do it by myself? I need a partner? Oh, you so clever Ryan.

"You don't have a work out buddy do ya?" I asked.

"Wendy's my work out partner actually. That's the main reason why I wanted to do those butt exercises," she said.

"That's a good source of motivation," I said.

She smiled. "But yeah, sure. You could come do it with us. That'll be fun!"

She reached into her pocket, with that Hello Kitty keychain swinging to the front of her pelvic area, and pulled out her phone.

I did the same. I turned on my phone and asked, "Alright cool, so gimme them digits."

She giggled again. God, her laugh was so cute. It made me want to curl her up into a little ball and eat her up, but I'm pretty sure that's illegal. She recited her phone number and I texted her so she can have my number, signaling another kitty cat sound from her phone.

That's when I realized...

"Aww shit, my phone's at 3%," I said. A night without my phone? The world might as well come to an end.

"You got an iPhone right?" Kerry spoke up, as if she was going to solve my problem. "Come with me! I think I got my charger in my car."

Why do I need to follow her to the car? Couldn't she just get the charger and come back to the house? I'm going to plug it in an outlet in the house anyways right? Also, why am I asking dumb questions? Do as she says!

She placed her bottle on the floor, as did I. She motioned me to follow. And I did, following behind that booty she presented to me minutes ago. We walked outside and the brisk night air hit me in the face. I must have been warm from all the people's body heat combined with my internal struggle to have a conversation with not one, but two hot babes.

She shuffled through her keys and unlocked the door of her car. Concentrating heavily, she opened the glove compartment and scavenged through the objects. She also checked all around the interior, underneath the car seats and middle compartments.

Just then, I got a text from Dylan.

Dylan: "Hey where do u think ur going? :)"

Oh yeah, Dylan and Megan were in the living room the whole time. I completely forgot. I was in my own zone for the past hour. He must have seen me leave the house with Kerry. However, as my phone lit up, I saw my battery percentage drop down to 2%. Dylan, you son of a bitch.

"Yeah, maybe..." Kerry said, still searching through her stuff in the car. "Maybe it's... shit. I don't think it's here. It's probably back at my place."

She placed the things she pulled out from the glove compartment back to where it originally was, OCD style. She got up and looked at me square in the eye. "Let's go."

"Where?" I asked. Don't tell me she wants to take me to her place?

"To my place," she repeated my thought. She had a serious expression on her face, she wasn't cheerful like before. She really wanted to charge my fucking phone.

"But, for a phone charg..." I stopped myself. What am I doing? This was a clear invitation into her house. Take it, idiot.

"...okay sure. Let's go."

"Great!" Kerry jumped with joy. She ran around the car and opened her driver door as I squeezed myself into the passenger seat. "Don't worry. I only live like a few blocks away."

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SCENE FIVE: Battery Life 100%

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The house was dark inside, as I couldn't make out anything. Finally, she reached towards the wall and flipped the light switch. Miraculously, the entire house lit up. The place was small. Looks like a two bedroom house. The walls were white and it smelled like pine cones. Must be the air-freshener. One step inside and I can officially say 'I was at a chick's place last night'. That sounded cool. I looked at the clock located on the wall. 1:12am. Well, I guess I can say I was technically 'at a chick's place this morning'.