Anything He wants

DARE

Amy balanced the phone against her ear with one hand while she tried to force the suitcase closed with the other. No matter how much she pushed, the lid would not budge. Frustrated, she told her mom that she’d call her back later, disconnected the call, and flung the cell phone on the bed, renewing her efforts with both arms on the impossibly full suitcase. Her brown curls flew around her head in a maniacal dance. She swore under her breath, kicked the suitcase for good measure, and went in search of ice cream instead.

She twisted the lid off the container of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey and plopped herself into an oversized chair, one of the only pieces of living room furniture that remained in her twisted-up version of life.

How could things have ended up like this? The last few weeks were a blur of insanity. The only thing she was sure of was that she was moving and it was happening a lot sooner than originally planned. Her phone rang again and she sighed. She wanted to ignore it but knew that it would unlikely make the caller go away, especially if it was her mother calling back.

“You’re coming out tonight, right?” said the excited voice on the other end of the phone before Amy could even manage to say hello. Amy looked longingly at her ice cream before deciding on an appropriate response.

“You do realize that I have a flight in the morning, right?” she said with an exaggerated sigh.

“So, when did that ever stop you?”

“I’m leaving, Kate. Like for good.”

“All the more reason to get out tonight and have a good time.”

Amy grumbled under her breath. Kate may have been a faithful friend for the past five years but she wasn’t very good at being sympathetic to certain life crises.

“I really can’t, Kate, I’m sorry. As much as I would like to go out tonight, it just doesn’t make much sense when I have to be up so early in the morning.”

“Frank is going to be there.”

“That isn’t playing fair, Kate.”

It didn’t help that Kate knew all of Amy’s weak spots and she’d hit her where it hurt the most – the biggest weak spot was a certain tall, dark, and handsome specimen named Frank Demmel. For the past year, Amy had been drooling over him and desperate to get together with him but every attempt at making those fantasies reality had resulted in nothing but utter hopeless despair. As much as she hated to accept it, Frank just didn’t like her in that way, and moving away was going to be a great way to press the refresh button on her life and get away from the obsession that was Frank Demmel.

“He wants to see you.”

“Don’t do that. You, of all people, should know how much that hurts, Kate. No, I think Frank has made it more than clear that he doesn’t care whether I live or die.”

“Now you’re just being melodramatic and that’s depressing. No, no, no, Amy, I am not going to let you sit in that empty house and feel sorry for yourself tonight. You owe it to me to come out and have a good time. I’m your best friend, after all, and this is the last chance we have to see each other until god knows when. Come on, tell me you will.”

“Fine,” Amy sighed into the phone, “But only for a couple of hours, Kate, and no alcohol. I need to get an early night tonight.”

“Great! You aren’t going to regret this. I will be there to pick you up at nine. Be dazzling.”

Kate ended her conversations as quickly as she started them. Amy didn’t even have a chance to agree to the arrangement before Kate was off on whatever adventure she’d planned for her day. Amy picked up her ice cream and laughed to herself. Dazzling, she thought. It hardly mattered now. She could walk into the room lit up like a Christmas tree and Frank wasn’t going to notice her. She was pretty sure that she got a glimpse on Facebook that Frank was now dating some pretty blonde-haired woman named Melissa.

Even if she’d wanted to dress to impress for the party this evening, her options were limited by the fact that almost everything she owned was now packed neatly away in boxes or suitcases ready for the movers to arrive and haul them away. She showered quickly, tried to tame her hair by pulling it back into a loose ponytail, and then pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a college sweatshirt. She knew that as soon as Kate took one look at her, she wasn’t going to be happy. She was right.

“Please tell me you’re at least wearing something sexy underneath that hideous outfit,” she said pushing past Amy to make herself at home, “Here, this is for you.”

Amy took the shopping bag cautiously.

“What is this?”

“Consider it my going away present to you.”

“Kate, you didn’t have to get me a present.”

“Somehow I knew you were going to pull a stunt like this,” Kate said motioning toward the jeans and sweatshirt, “So I took proactive measures.”

Amy pulled out a shimmering blue dress with spaghetti straps and looked at Kate in horror.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with what I’m wearing,” Amy said in disgust, “it works for me.”

“This is much better. Now go change.”

Knowing that arguing with Kate was pointless, Amy gave up and took the new dress to the bathroom to change. It was form-fitting and reached just above the knee. She had to hand it to Kate, it suited her very well. She admired her reflection a moment conceding that maybe Kate was right.

“Don’t you think maybe this is a bit much?” she asked as she emerged from the bathroom feeling better suited for a formal cocktail party than a casual get-together.

“Trust me, this is much better.”

“I feel a little overdressed for the occasion. I’m not even planning to stay very long, remember? And hey, you’re not wearing a dress.”

“This isn’t about me,” Kate said brushing off the concern and directing Amy toward the door before she had a chance to change her mind. Amy had just enough time to grab her purse before they were on their way to the party, ready or not. They took Kate’s flashy, red convertible, which she insisted on driving with the top down even though the first hints of autumn chilled the night air. Amy wished that she’d thought to grab a jacket before they left and hoped that her hair wasn’t the mangled mess that it felt like.

“So, where are we going exactly?” Amy shouted over the wind and the radio. She hadn’t been allowed to ask many questions and Kate wasn’t in the mood to give a lot of details. Amy felt the first tingles of anxiety pierce her midsection. She’d never been completely antisocial but she wasn’t really into large social gatherings either. Too many people left her feeling awkward and unsettled.

“Do you remember Parker?”

“Vaguely,” Amy said conjuring an image of a short, friendly guy with reddish hair and freckles. If she remembered correctly, he was kind of cute but not really her type.

“It’s his party.”

“Are there going to be a lot of people there?”

Kate shrugged and Amy had a feeling that meant yes. Mistake number two. She’d let Kate talk her into riding in her car instead of taking her mother’s car which she’d been borrowing up until her departure.

Amy opted against asking any more questions she didn’t want to know the answers to while they drove. Kate turned into the driveway of a fair-sized brick two-story located on a quiet residential road. The neighbors were spaced far enough apart that they wouldn’t be overly bothered by the noise of a large party but judging by the number of cars parked outside, this wasn’t going to be such a large gathering. Amy didn’t know whether she should feel relieved at this revelation or more concerned.

“You look hot, you know,” Kate said as they got out of the car and made their way up to the front door, “He isn’t going to be able to resist you.”

“I’m over Frank.”

“Liar. But who said I was talking about Frank?”