Food, Cats, and Being Lazy

Twenty-Five

I didn't really understand why the heck Vincent didn't want me to dance with Collin. I didn't want to overthink it, though. It sounded kinda like jealousy to me. Collin was one of his closest friends. They were always doing stuff together, and Collin was super nice. So why wouldn't Vincent want me to dance with him? What could a harmless dance do?

Unless he didn't want me to dance with him because he knew Collin would ask me and didn't want to see me with someone else. It was the only reasonable explanation I could come up with. Especially since Collin came up to talk to me while everyone else was distracted.

"How come you've never come to a dance with your sister before?" he asked. I shrugged and tried to play it cool even though my heart was pounding.

"She's never asked me before."

"Your dress is very cool. You look like Catwoman." I nodded.

"That's what everyone keeps saying. Except that we were going for Audrey Hepburn."

"That was my second choice."

"You look nice too. I like your tie."

"Oh, thanks. The kids at the YMCA picked it out for me." He laughed. It was a really cool tie. It was zebra print. Everyone else just seemed to stick with solid colors.

"Well, they have good taste."

"So, do you want to dance with me?"

I was completely frozen for a moment. Did that really just happen? Did Collin Denver just ask me to dance with him? I remembered what Vincent said, but I suddenly didn't care anymore. I'd been in love with this guy since the eighth grade. I only ever occasionally entertained the thought of liking Vincent. So naturally, Collin won. Plus, I couldn't see Vincent anywhere anyway.

So I just nodded and said, "Yeah, sure."

He stood up to head onto the dance floor, and I turned to Paige to show her I was going to dance with Collin. I expected her to be happy for me. But instead, she just looked a little upset. She turned to Emmy, and they immediately began whispering to each other. I decided to ignore it.

To be honest, I didn't know how to dance. That was probably not a surprise to anyone. So I really wasn't thinking it through when I agreed to dance with him. I just thought, "Oh my God, he likes me." Not "Don't forget that you've never danced in your entire life." So when we finally found a place he seemed comfortable with, I had to come clean.

"Um—I really don't know how to dance," I admitted.

"That's fine. I don't know how to dance either. So we'll just—take it slow. How does that sound?" He smiled at me, and my knees got all wobbly. That sounded absolutely perfect. He pulled me in by my waist, and I nervously put my hand on his shoulders. My heart was pounding in my ears. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe.

We danced in silence. I'd like to say it wasn't an awkward silence, but it kind of was. I didn't know what to say to him, and I was afraid if I opened my mouth, I'd just puke. So I refused to even look at him. But he was being a champ about it.

"So um—Vincent kind of told me something," he said toward the end of the song. There was a myriad of things Vincent could have told him. So I looked up in surprise.

"Like what?" He smiled.

"Like how you kind of have a thing for me." I didn't like how he'd said it. Like it was funny.

"Well—that depends." He laughed.

"It's cool. I can tell. It's kind of flattering, actually."

"Well—I'm glad I flattered you."

"You know it's easy to tell when someone likes you." Oh God, shoot me, please?"

"Um—okay."

"You see—they do things for you that other people don't normally do. They're nice. Sometimes they give you gifts."

"I can't say that I've ever given you a gift. And I try to be nice to everyone."

"I'm not talking about you."

"Then what are you trying to get at?" He laughed again.

"It's cute how innocent you are." Then it hit me. Why didn't I notice it before? It was so obvious.

"You're drunk, aren't you?" I asked. He laughed again, washing the scent of alcohol over my face. No wonder Vincent didn't want me to dance with him. It wasn't because he was jealous. He was trying to protect me.

"I haven't been sober in months," he said.

"Right. Well—I'm gonna head back to my sister now." I pulled away from him and tried to step back, but he pulled me back in by my waist and hugged me closer. I used to dream about being that close to Collin. But now, my heart was pounding, and I was pretty sure it was fear.

"It's okay," he said into my ear, too close. "I think it's cute that you have a thing for me. It's almost sad, isn't it? When the person you want the most feels that way about someone else? It's all just one big fucking circle of people being in love with people who love other people who love other people. It's like the circle of life, isn't it? So I figure I'll never be happy, and she'll never be happy, and he'll never be happy. At least this way, one of us gets to be happy, right? Besides, it's what you've always wanted."

"I'm pretty sure I've never wanted to be felt up by a drunk," I told him. His hand was exploring my back. My feet felt frozen. We weren't dancing anymore. Well, he was swaying. But I was just stuck there. I was unable to move and thinking about how much trouble I'd get in if I punched him in the stomach.

"Well, now you're just being negative."

"You're stepping on my feet, and your breath smells like alcohol, and I don't like the way you're touching me."

"I just want to make you happy. Is that wrong? To want to make one person happy in the hopes that the circle goes back around the other way?"

"I think you've completely lost your mind."

"And I think you've had enough," someone said, putting his hand on Collin's shoulder. Collin straightened himself out and pulled me to his side like he was making a claim over me. Vincent and Paige were standing on the dancefloor now. Paige still looked upset. And I realized it was because she was worried about me. They both knew what kind of person Collin really was.

"Oh, look at that," Collin said, pulling me closer to him and giving me a gentle shake. "The whole circle is here."

"Come here, Piper. He's drunk," Paige said. She pulled me out of his grip. I stumbled in the shoes but managed to not fall on my face. My sunglasses were askew, and one of my evening gloves had fallen past my elbow. I got free of him and tried to fix myself. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine. I just feel kind of sorry for him."

"He'll be fine," Vincent said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder to lead us away. "He just needs to cool his head a bit."

"Hey, Paige?" Collin asked after us. "Pretty little Paige. Did you know your baby's daddy put his tongue in your sister's mouth the night you told him you were knocked up?"

Then Vincent released me and swung around to punch Collin in the face. Collin was bigger than him, but Vincent had the advantage of being sober. But they still tumbled onto the floor and a crowd immediately formed around them, cheering them on. Paige just pulled me away.

"Just ignore him," she said.

"What about Vincent?"

"He'll be fine. Collin's too drunk to do any real damage."

"You're not mad at me?"

"For what?"

"For what Collin said?" She laughed.

"It's okay, Piper. I don't believe him anyway."

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because you're not Vincent's type. Trust me." I pulled out of her grasp and stopped. She turned to me, confused about what she could have said to hurt my feelings.

"I'm not his type?" I asked. "What's his type exactly? Like you? Blonde? Blue-eyed? Or do you just mean pretty? Cool?"

"Piper, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just—we come from completely different worlds." My eyes were getting hot with tears. I was going to cry. This night had been a disaster after all.

"No, we don't, Paige. We came from the same trailer park, remember? Or are you too pretty, rich, and popular now to remember it? Well, I remember it because it was the only time you and I were ever friends. It was when I still looked up to you. We come from the same world, Paige. I just didn't forget where I came from. And for the record—what Collin said is true. He did kiss me." Then I turned and ran.