Bittersweet Serendipity

Chapter 8 - Business Possibilities and Beer Pong

I barely have enough time to mutter, "Whoa," as I enter the glass doors of the lounge of the recording studio because Tom tackles me with a loud caw of my name. I almost stumble backwards but Jay supports my back and catches my fall. "Thanks," I smile shyly. And turning to Tom, I gasp, "That was full-on harassment, Parker! Kidding."

"That was meant to be, babe," he replies. "Arielle's here. Caleigh, I want you to meet Arielle, my girlfriend."

I give the beautiful blonde a hug. "So this is the famous Caleigh," she says, smiling at me. She's so beautiful, good God. I don't know who's luckier, her or Tom. And I could not decide if I want to be her or to do her. Her hazel brown eyes are examining me, but she is still smiling. I cannot quite guess what is in her mind as of the moment and that makes me nervous.

"Famous?" I cock my eyebrow.

"Yeah," she replies. "Jay tells us a lot about you."

"I do not!" the curly-haired lad interrupts.

But Arielle pays him no attention. "Caleigh this, Caleigh that..." She kept moving her hands as if to gesture direction, sort of teasing Jay.

"Stop it!" Jay says, his face reddening as he tries to cover Arielle's mouth with his hand. But after a few moments, he recoils sharply, by reflex. "Ew, you disgusting woman, you!" He points at Arielle after wiping his hand on his jeans and shouts, "She licked me! Send her out; she licked my hand!"

"It's true though," Arielle whispers in my ear. "He's like, 'Caleigh and I are going to Starbucks today,' 'She told me she didn't like me because she likes me and thought that was annoying,' 'I guess she really didn't expect that she'd like me,' 'I gave Caleigh her first kiss, actually. At least that's what she says,' 'Sadie told me Caleigh's still in theatre so I'll invite her over after,' 'Caleigh's coming--'"

"Don't think I can't hear you," Jay warns, glaring at Arielle. His cheeks and the tips of his ears are quite pink but it may just be me who notices it, though I can't really be sure. "But it's just what friends do, you know. Especially new friends, you sort of update everyone about them so they know what's going on."

I sort of believe him, I mean, I was like that when I first met Sadie five years ago. Now, we're inseparable. Same thing happened when I first met Mason. And now, we're together. It is not really surprising that Jay doesn't babble much about Sadie because he's not as close to her as he is to me (no double-meanings included, please). (But of course, things would've been different months ago, when it was me who loved Nathan to bits and Sadie who loved Jay.)

"Let's go see how they're doing!" says Jay, quite enthusiastically. Tom puts down the guitar he has been strumming and helps Arielle up from the couch. We head inside the heart of the room -- the studio. Max is singing something along the lines of, "The memory of being here with you is one I'm gonna take my life through, 'cause some days stay gold forever." It sounds like a tune, something inspiring and I can't wait to hear the whole thing.

Seev and Nath are on queue to record their own parts. Max continues singing, "We're standing in a light that won't fade. Tomorrow's coming but this won't change..." The producers (or whatever the fuck they're called -- I'm a student, not a fucking musician) don't really touch much of the buttons that maybe probes that Max is a great singer live and doesn't really need technological editing. "The song's called 'Gold Forever'. It's going to be our next single from the new album," whispers Jay. "Plus, it's for Comic Relief so, you know, the video will be dotted with red noses."

Siva gets in the studio itself, after Max. The Bald One pulls me into a hug as Siva sings in the background. ("Promise me, you'll stay the way you are. Keep the fire alive and stay young at heart...") "I knew you'd miss my dad jokes," says Max, chuckling. "What brings you over? Jay invited you over, didn't he?"

"Yeah, " I nod. "What's the album gonna be called?"

"'Battleground,'" Max replies with pride in his voice. "Me an' Nath came up wi' it, but mostly me, hah. It's also in one of the songs in the album called 'Warzone'. 'I throw my armor down, and leave the battleground.' Yeah, I'm not gonna spoil you."

I pout. "Aw. I'm excited to hear the whole album! What have you written so far?"

"Not gonna tell you either."

"Dammit," I complain, the pout spreading across my face.

Nath enters the glass case. "When the storm feels like it could brow you out, remember, you've got me and I've got you." His voice never fails to amaze me. Man, that kid could sing. And as he sings, Jay leans into my ear. "Hey," he says, still in that low, sexy voice, "you and Sadie wanna be in the music video as extras? We could get the management to hire you."

Another profitable opportunity. Challenge accepted. "Sure, why not? I mean, we are going to get paid, aren't we?" I ask and he nods in confirmation.

"Count us in."

We all listen to the song after it was compiled, and that is when we had to pause playing an exhausting round of beer pong. Tom, Jay, and Max are dancing around the room with their red cups, probably on their second or third servings. Siva is hugging (the lad who's not allowed to drink yet,) Nathan by the shoulders tightly, sipping from his own cup.

We all celebrate the upcoming single by finishing three more rounds of beer pong, with Jay drinking the most out of them, followed by Tom. Jay's not actually really bad with the game, but I think he quite meant almost every fail. He's probably really in it for the beer. Of course, Nathan has his own punishment since he has to wait a few more months to be legalized. He has to lick whipped cream off Sadie's neck, or to get the lime wedge from inside Sadie's mouth. Sadie came quite a little late from piano class but arrived a few minutes before the last three rounds started.

Sadie can't drink, too, so she ends up licking cream off Nathan's torso. Man, those two are so sexually frustrated with each other that we're afraid they'd shag each other right then and there. Maybe they will, back in the hotel or wherever private place they fancy.

Of course, I got my fair share of beer. So we decide to play spin the bottle: Nathan, Jay, Max, Sadie, and I. Tom and Siva can't play because they have girlfriends, and they're both playing Wii with Arielle. Nareesha, on the other hand, is working, says Siva.

Still a bit tipsy and drunk, Max spins the bottle. The bottle points back to him. He spins it again. It points to me. The hooting begins. The rule is you have to kiss the person it points to, for thirty solid seconds -- if the person is from the opposite sex. If the person is from the same sex, the other would have to assign a dare.

And in the end, I score a kiss from Max, from Nathan, two from Jay, and (as I dared her) a cheek lick from Sadie. I gave out a kiss for Max, two for Nathan, one for Jay, and (as she dared me) a lap dance for Sadie. How I managed to live after this game, I do not know.

I will rather not discuss the details of the others. It will be their own stories to tell. What matters is that we had fun and we celebrated, end of discussion.