Almost There Ironically, an inconceivably large number of males were hitting on Amy. It was incredibly irritating - a year ago, when she was still a single girl with no prospect of relationship bliss, she could have counted on one hand the number of chat-up lines she was on the receiving end of. And no decent man would ever have been interested in her. But tonight . . . tonight had been shockingly different. None of the usual sleazy guys came within a five foot radius of her. Amy was so used to only disgusting guys chatting her up that the automatic turn-down was a knee-jerk reaction to her. But she found it difficult to turn the hunks that approached her one by one. Guys who resembled, in turn, Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Junior and Jospeh Fiennes had propositioned her. A gorgeous guy with Johnny Depp�s eyes had met her eyes lustfully across the crowded bar. A man who claimed he was paid a generous amount of money to be a Christian Slater lookalike plied her with numerous drinks. And that had just been a taste of what was to come. Amy was quite choosy when it came to guys but she wouldn�t have minded getting together with any of the men who had chatted her up (although she may have given the good looking seventeen year old a miss). But she was no longer on the market. Okay, so Allan wasn�t the most exciting, unpredictable guy in the world. But he was kind and sensitive and, yes, he was gorgeous. Above all, he felt the same way about her - if possible, he adored her even more than she loved him. They�d first met 8 months before, in this very bar - he�d shyly asked her to dance and she had gladly obliged, too drunk to be nervous in the presence of such beauty. After the dance, which lasted about ten songs, he�d bought her a drink and then asked her out for the following night. And more recently, he�d even stunned her by asking her to marry him. Why not? she�d wondered, and had instantly agreed. But with her joy at the prospect of married bliss came the almost inevitable doubts. She was only twenty one, was that too young? Allan had been her only real boyfriend. She�d always planned to travel too far-off exotic lands before she married and the only time she�d been abroad was on an 18-30 package holiday. Shouldn�t she experience more of life before she got hitched? However she managed, albeit with difficulty, to put these doubts to one side. Allan was her soulmate and she�d never find a guy more suited to her than he already was. They were the perfect couple, and she couldn�t ever imagine wanting anyone else. Well, only on a physical basis anyway, she thought with a secret smile as Johnny Depp�s identical twin met her eyes once more and slowly, deliberately ran his tongue around his lips. An unequivocal sign of interest. �Excuse me.� Amy slipped out of her reverie and found herself staring into the bright blue sparkling eyes of yet another adonis. �Are your legs tired? They must be, because they�ve been running around in my mind all night.� �Sorry, I�ve been sitting here most of the night,� Amy smiled sweetly, pretending to miss the chat-up line by playing the bimbo card. She couldn�t help but wonder what was going on here, why so many guys were paying her attention. In her many years of single-dom, her friends had always told her once you had a boyfriend, no guy could resist you. The actual trouble was trying to find a boyfriend when you didn�t already have one. It seemed to be yet another Catch-22 situation. Amy had never believed her friends anyway - she�d thought it was a myth, one they�d made up perhaps to make her feel better about her boyfriendless state. But she was now experiencing this truth first hand. Did she have some kind of aura about her, she asked herself, that let guys know she was totally unavailable and thus attractive to them? Or was her engagement ring that obvious? Maybe she should take it off. Her friends were no help in deterring the guys - they were positively encouraging her to have �one final fling�. In fact, in their words, �at least one�! Well, she wasn�t giving in - she didn�t want another guy. She was perfectly happy . . . �Amy? Amy O�Neill?� Amy�s entire body froze, the blood in her veins seeming to transform into ice. Oh no, she�d recognise that husky voice anywhere, even after three and a half years. Her insides began to melt as she whirled around on her stool. She�d pretend ignorance, she decided, she didn�t want him to think she still thought about him, or even remembered him. She stared into his gorgeous face, feigning disinterest in spite of the frantic pounding of her heart which proved she was not over him in any sense of the word. �Sorry, do I know you?� she asked coolly, raising an eyebrow. �Michael Jones,� he prompted her, clearly not buying the memory lapse. �You must remember me, we - sort of - got to know each other at the sixth year prom.� Of course she remembered. How he�d taken her onto the dancefloor, kissed her with a brutal mouth, then left her there stranded. She�d watched in horror as his friends slapped fivers into his open palm. And then, she�d continued to love him, even more so than she had before. She had hated herself for it, taking the anger she felt towards him and turning it on herself, punishing herself for still loving him, but she couldn�t help herself. And now, here he was. And he was clearly into her. And she still had feelings for him. �Oh yes.� She half-turned away from him, letting her hair fall in front of her face so he couldn�t see the hurt expression that crossed her face at the memory of prom night. �You were the guy who kissed me for a bet. How could I forget?� Her words were heavily sarcastic. She couldn�t help bringing that up. He�d really hurt her, bruised her already fragile ego. She�d never been particularly well known in school until that night - afterwards she was known as �Amy something , the one Mike kissed for a bet�. Naturally quite a shy person, the constant whispers made her virtually suicidal. As it was, she would run home every night and cry over Michael�s picture in the shcool yearbook. It had taken a long time for those scars to heal. Now they had reopened and the memories of the pain she�d experienced drowned out her adoration momentarily. �Yeah, that was me, I�m afraid.� A dimpled smile, only mildly apologetic. �Can I buy you a drink to make up for it?� �Bacardi and coke.� Amy met his turquoise gaze with a smile of her own, forcing herself to remain cool and collected. �Make that two drinks - I think you owe me that much.� As she sipped one of her drinks, eyeing him provocatively over the rim of her glass, he started trying to explain his actions of years before. �At that age, you have to go along with your friends. I really liked you at the time, honestly I did, but - I was too chicken to just stay out on that dancefloor with you all night. My friends would have ridiculed me for the rest of my life.� Was this guy for real? Amy placed her empty glass on the table and picked up her second, staring into the depths of the drink as if looking for answers. In her experience, someone who punctuated a statement with �honestly� was usually lying. �Really?� she purred, finally looking up at him. �Well, you�re lucky I�m willing to give you a second chance then, aren�t you?� She was? she wondered inwardly, not believing the words that were coming out of her mouth. �What? You mean you want me to kiss you again? You�re willing to take the risk?� Michael asked, his eyes sparkling triumphantly. �You think I kiss virtual strangers?� she asked in mock outrage. �I grew out of that a long time ago. No, you can�t kiss me - yet. I was thinking more along the lines of a dance. Tomorrow night.� �Sounds good to me.� Michael grinned widely. �Where and when?� �The Hotel Royal, main ballroom. Eight o�clock.� Amy polished off her second drink and hopped off her bar stool. �A party?� �You could say that. I�ll see you there tomorrow. In fact, whay not bring some friends? The more the merrier!� Amy reached up, hardly believing her nerve, and kissed his cheek. Then she joined her friends, who were desperate to leave for a club. She felt guilty all night - Allan having a relatively quiet night in with his friends, beer and the footie while she was flirting and arranging dates with the object of her high school crush. But - she had to do this. It was the only way to forget Michael Jones, to put him back in her past and have him stay there, where he belonged. Michael meanwhile had rejoined his two friends, his grin stretching from one ear to the other. �So, was it Amy?� Jason asked. Michael nodded. �Yeah, it was. She�s pretty hot now, isn�t she?� he gloated. �And totally hot for me. She�s asked me to come to a party tomorrow. You two want to come?� �Why not?� Eric replied. He and Jason exchanged looks - why did Michael always get the girl? Less than 24 hours later Amy was boogeying on down in the centre of the dancefloor to �It�s Raining Men�, remembering that the previous night the men rain had been of the torrential style. She felt radiantly happy for once and knew that she looked it too in the little black dress she�d changed into. She was hopelessly excited as well as she waited for Michael to arrive, but she hoped Allan wouldn�t notice anything. After all, he and many of his closest friends were nearby. �Amy!� Michael had made his appearance and wound his arms around her as if they were already a couple, smiling smugly at his friends, who�d already made themselves comfortable at a small table next to her friends. A little too forward, Amy thought in disgust, not to mention a hint of fear. She untangled herself, smiling weakly at Allan�s best friends who was staring over with curiosity. She should never have suggested coming here, it was too risky. �Let�s have that dance.� �Wait, I�d like you to meet some of my friends first.� Amy had found she had to tell some of her friends what was going on with Michael. They�d been slightly shocked at her uncharacteristic nerve, but they�d been all too eager to meet Michael. �Everyone, this is Michael.� �So, are you two going out?� Jessica asked excitedly. Amy refrained from answering but Michael smiled smugly. �Looks like it, doesn�t it?� In his eyes, their romance was already signed, sealed and delivered. �Now. For that dance.� Before Amy ventured onto the dancefloor, she caught Jessica�s eye and jerked her head towards the next table. Her best friends instantly took the hint and gestured the Michael�s sleazy schoolfriends to join them. Amy smiled contentedly and then danced with Michael for several songs. After all, she could afford to be generous . . . in a few moments he wouldn�t know what had hit him. And she couldn�t wait. She no longer had any regrets or guilt. And if Allan found out, he�d just have to deal with it. �Amy, I really like you,� Michael breathed, pulling back to stare in her eyes. It was time to reel her in, she�d been dancing on the end of the line too long. He didn�t like the girl to be in control, he had to somehow tip the balance of power back in his favour. �I always have. Would you like to . . ?� �If you�ll excuse me, I�m going to the bathroom,� Amy informed him, ducking out from the enclosure of his arms and nipping off in the opposite direction. That had been close - too close. Michael sat back down at the table full of Amy�s frends and his friends. He was brimming with smiles. He hadn�t had a girlfriend in a while. Amy was the ideal candidate - pretty, kind and placid. A trophy girlfriend who would let him do as he pleased. Just the way he liked them, he thought contentedly. He was extremely confident that he had won Amy over. At first, he�d wondered that maybe he had well and truly burned his bridges back at that prom. She�d been kind of distant at first, like there was something holding her back - a boyfriend, perhaps. But, within the first five minutes of talking to her, she�d been putty in his hands all over again, his to shape and mould however he felt was best. Michael knew these things. He knew when a girl wanted him and - god! - Amy wanted him alright. �You and Amy seem to be getting on well,� Jessica commented, looking him up and down with one sweep of her long dark lashes. Michael eyed the sultry brunette with predatory interest. She might be fun, he pondered, his gaze lingering on the Wonderbra style cleavage. She would definitely be fun. �Yeah, me and Ames, we�re like that.� Michael couldn�t resist boasting about his unmistakable prowess, he held up two crossed fingers, �accidently� brushing against Jessica�s breast as he did so. And, then, because he couldn�t resist boasting some more. . . �She�s totally into me.� �Really?� A look of amusement crossed Jessica�s perfect features. �You know, I could see that.� The muisc cut out as a tall thin man made his way on to the stage, tapping a finger lightly on the microphone to indicate silence. �The happy couple are almost ready to leave,� he announced, clearing his throat. As he said this the �happy couple� themselves entered the room, decked in all their finery, ready to head to an exclusive resort in Barbados, courtesy of the groom�s parents, for their honeymoon. As Michael spotted the bride, his jaw almost hit the floor. �What?� he mumbled, perfect air of composure crumbling to reveal your average insecure male. �She�s so into you, Michael,� Jessica gloated, chuckling along with the other girls. As Amy and Alan sailed past, Amy made a show of dropping her handbag. Picking it up, her joyful face came level with Michael�s shellshocked one. �Who�s laughing now?� she whispered maliciously. And then, leaving him in a group of her laughing friends, his own friends sniggering and reaching for their mobile phones, Amy took Allan�s arm and they left for the honeymoon suite. Together and blissfully happy. Michael Jones, needless to say, didn�t live the humiliation down for a long time.
Copyright © 2000 Paula M Shackleford |