Mismatched Compatibility (10)

Dana:

In no time, we were already parking by the side of the house where the reunion was being held at. The road and driveway that lead to the house were already full of cars. It seemed like the party was already in full swing.

My eyes then landed on an open spot by the mail box. I turned to ask Ethan about the empty space when I saw that he noticed it, too. He grinned really wide and maneuvered his car to park exactly there.

“Looks like old habits die hard,” he said quietly, still smiling as he turned off the ignition and pulled out his keys.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

He turned to look at me. For a moment, I was taken aback. There was something in his eyes . . . As silly as this might sound, it was as though they were twinkling with delight – or was it pride?

He looked around at all the vehicles in the area. There was a genuine smile plastered on his face that took me by surprise. This was the first time I've seen him smile like that. I couldn't quite describe how it made me feel, but just that it was beautiful.

“When we were in High School,” he began, “there was this unspoken rule that the lane directly in front of the house where the party's at was reserved only for the star players in school. Doesn't matter if he's playing Football or Basketball.”

I was staring intently at Ethan as he told the story. So I noticed the way his smile grew a little bit wider as if he was remembering something very entertaining.

“Fact is, you gotta earn it.” He paused and leaned back his head. “I was in my sophomore year when I made a winning shot that got us to State. That same night, they made me park right in front of the mail box at whoever's party it was. Since then, it's been my spot.” He let out a low laugh. “Can't believe things haven't changed much. Even Luke's bike and Aaron's car are here,” he added, looking in front of us.

Though I was curious to see what he was looking at, I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. I didn't realize he looked angelic without the arrogance. There was a longing look on his expression. It wouldn't take a genius to see that he enjoyed his high school days a lot more than he let on.

I envied him.

He was able to live a life I could only dream of. I thought when I entered college, things would change. I'd get to be free from it all. But really, nothing changed. I got to go to parties, clubs, and bars – that was true. However, it didn't guarantee the fact that I'd enjoy it. What was the point of the place when the company wasn't worth keeping?

Click!

The sound brought me out of my thinking. Ethan was already climbing out of the car. I quickly followed after him. As we headed toward the house together, I looked around place. Empty red and blue cups were scattered across the lawn – and other indistinguishable trash. My eyes wandered to the house. Not a single light was turned off, while the music was blasting off. It was a surprise that no neighbor was complaining.

“This is your reunion?” I asked Ethan, trying to keep the incredulous tone out of my voice.

Ethan nodded. “Yep, just like old times.”

“It looks like a high school party.”

“Have you ever been to one?”

“Well, no. But . . .”

“Then, how would you know?”

I cleared my throat to hide my embarrassment.

“I've watched films,” I answered, refusing to meet his gaze.

He laughed darkly. “You're in for a shitty surprise, princess.” He was still chuckling as he went ahead to the front door. He grabbed the handle and turned to me. He flashed me his smug smile before saying, “Welcome to my world.”

As soon as he said the last word, he opened the door.

The first thing I thought of when I entered was, 'Why on earth had I worn a dress when I should've worn a perfectly good jeans?'

The inside of the house was stuffy and smelly. There were people everywhere I looked. Furthermore, the summer heat was affecting the air – making it hard to navigate around the crowd without sweating a little bit.

Well, one thing was for sure. The films made high school parties looked tame. If this was how a real-life party looked like, the one in movies did not do it justice. And I would have to say that it was for a good reason.

Now that I thought more about it, this scene fairly reminded me of frat parties back in the university campus. Only back there, I didn't enjoy those kind of parties much as I thought I would. I wondered if that perspective would change here.

Out of nowhere, a black guy about Ethan's age came toward us with arms open wide as though in a huge welcome. He was grinning broadly as he neared us.

“Ethan, my man!” he exclaimed, giving Ethan some sort of man hug.

“Yo, Nigel!” laughed Ethan.

I couldn't help but stare at Ethan for a moment. He looked so carefree, much like he did in the car when he told me about the parking rule.

These were his people. This was his world.

It was a bit odd to think how different our lives were. A part of me had always wanted this kind of life and friends, and I had to admit that I was quite jealous of Ethan because he had both of them.

“Attention, people!” the person named Nigel called out to the crowd, trying to speak over the music. When almost everyone in the room was looking at him, he continued, “Ethan Tyler, the king of parties is in the house!”

The news of Ethan's arrival was greeted by a roar of cheers, whistles, and applause. Suddenly, people were walking up to us and patting Ethan in the back.

“Thank you, thank you!” exclaimed Ethan cockily. “The party can now start!”

Another round of beaming occurred, only proving to me how much Ethan was popular among his peers. Everybody seemed to like him, which was quite shocking to me seeing as he was the most rude person I ever had the chance to meet.

“Come on, man,” urged Nigel, dragging Ethan out of the people who crowded him. “Let's go to the others. We were just about to play Beer Pong.”

As soon as I heard the game, I automatically winced.

“Aaron and Luke there?” queried Ethan.

“Yeah, they came with their girls.”

At the mention of 'girls', Nigel's eyes conveniently landed on me.

“Speaking of which, who's the chick?” he asked Ethan, not leaving his curious eyes off of me. “A friend of yours?”

Ethan glanced at me briefly, before turning his eyes back to Nigel's. “'Friend' doesn't cover it,” he replied nonchalantly. “Enough talk. I wanna party.”

“I'm Nigel,” introduced himself, ignoring Ethan's last statement. “Fuck me if I'm wrong, but haven't we met before?”

I blinked at his sad attempt to pick me up. It somehow reminded me of when Ethan used a line on me at the airport yesterday.

“I was so enchanted by your beauty that I ran into that wall over there. So I'm gonna need your name and number for insurance purposes,” Ethan had said then.

I had to admit, even though it didn't work, Ethan's line was more impressive than Nigel's. Then again, Ethan looked like he was on a whole different level from every single ladies man I had met.

“Don't even bother, man,” warned Ethan, shaking his head in amusement. “She's way outta your league.”

Nigel smiled crookedly. “Never stopped me before.”

“Whatever,” laughed Ethan. “It's your balls' funeral.” He walked ahead and left me with Nigel – whom I barely knew.

On the other hand, I barely knew Ethan and yet here I was.

Nigel shrugged, and nodded me to follow him.

“I'm Dana,” I said, bringing out my hand for a handshake.

He stared at my hand for a moment, before looking at me. Finally, he accepted it and asked inquisitively, “Where the hell did Ethan find you?”

“Long story,” I said, as our hands pulled away.

“That's what they all say,” he mumbled.

I fastened my pace so we were walking side by side, which was a bit hard in this dress and this crowd, mind you.

“That's the only truth,” I shrugged.

He turned his head sideways to me. “Are you his cousin or somethin'?”

“Heavens, no,” I replied, slightly appalled of the idea.

He burst out laughing. “What's with the vocab? You sound like those old country club ladies.”

“So you said earlier that Ethan's the king of parties?” I quickly changed the subject. I didn't want him to think I was a strange girl.

He bit the bait, though.

“Yeah,” breathed out Nigel, chuckling a little. “He throws helluva parties – one of the things he's known for.” He paused, stopping by a door. He grinned at me and said, “C'mon, they're here in the kitchen playing Beer Pong.”

I tried my best not to show my grimace as I followed him inside. I sighed in relief at the sight of people in the room. They weren't that many and they looked like they were all very close.

Aaron and another guy were playing Beer Pong in the center, while Dakota was beside her fiance. Alyson was cheering for the other guy, as Luke talked with Ethan by the kitchen counter.

“You ever played before?” Nigel asked me.

Ethan looked as if he heard Nigel's question, for he stopped talking mid-way and turned his eyes to me as though waiting for the answer.

“Once,” I nodded, involuntarily recalling the unpleasant memory. I kept my eyes on Ethan as I replied. I wasn't sure, but I wanted to. “At a frat party,” I finished, finally wandering my eyes from Ethan.

“Care to share?” said Nigel. I thought I caught a hint of sincerity in his voice.

“I'd rather not,” I told him, shaking my head.

I remembered how wasted I was that night. It was during my freshman year, and I was having a taste of my freedom. I remembered trying to find my best friend Faith, but I couldn't locate her. Then, someone tried to take me somewhere in the house for some private time. One of the frat brothers intervened (thank goodness). Apparently, he lived in the Upper West Side and recognized me as Peter Sullivan's girlfriend. He took me home right after that.

He saved me that night. Now, he remained to be one of my good friends.

“It wasn't a fond memory,” I explained to Nigel.

He seemed to have got it because he said, “Okay, I won't push it.”

I smiled gratefully at him.

Out of the blue, Ethan was in front of me.

“Here.” He handed me a red plastic cup. “Don't take drinks from anyone else other than me, Aaron, Luke, and Nigel,” he added in a bossy tone.

“Am I not trustworthy enough to be included in that list, Tyler?” called out the guy who was playing against Aaron on the Beer Pong. It was quite clear from his voice that he was joking.

“Man, you know I trust you with my balls,” replied Ethan in a serious tone over his shoulder. Then, he smirked. “Just not with my dick.”

All the guys in the kitchen laughed. I would've worried not getting the joke if it weren't for Dakota and Alyson looking just as confused as I was.

Ethan faced me again. His smug smile was still there.

“Got it, princess?”

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. “Yes, sir.”

“I mean it.”

The sudden change in his tone made me study him. His expression was stern as he waited for my answer. It slightly frustrated me that I couldn't read him as good as he could read me. And to think, I used to pride myself in 'knowing' people.

“I know,” I finally said.

He nodded. “Good.” And just like that, he left and returned to Luke's side.

“Are you sure you ain't blood-related?” chuckled Nigel. “I've never seen him that protective since . . . Hell, I've never seen him that protective. Period.”

I shrugged, even though my heart was beating abnormally hard against my chest. I really should get myself checked up by a doctor. People close to Ethan telling me how he acted odd around me didn't help matters at all.

Nigel dropped the subject, thank heavens. “C'mon,” he said, nodding me to follow him. “I'll tour you around the house.” He opened the door where we came in before. “I'll try my best not to flirt.”

At that, I laughed.

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About freaking time I updated, eh? XD