The Next Best Thing: Part II

Twenty-Six

The day of the party, I was in charge of keeping Min out of the house for as long as possible while Rae set up the apartment.

Tyler was still missing and no-one had heard from her since she called Rae. I had my suspicions; however, I would confront her first before telling Min and Rae about them.

I took Min to breakfast at that Cuban place she loved, where I was always flirted with by the owner's daughter, a gorgeous free spirit who loved the colour of my skin. Of course I knew she really didn't; I just wasn't about to admit she had a crush on me.

"Zoe, you look so beautiful today. My horoscope said today I'd find a gem in the most unlikely of places. You're a gem, if I do say so myself," she greeted me in the cafe's bathroom.

I didn't want to accuse her of stalking me in the toilet of all places; it was just a little odd that she happened to show up just after serving our coffee.

"Thank you, Alayla," I replied with a genuine smile. She took a strand of my hair and put it behind my ear, running a thumb down my cheek.

"Your hair is as soft as your skin is, did ya know?" she added with a wink, leading the way out. I shook my head and she said, "You're quite unaware of your outer beauty which radiates from within, your radiant soul and gorgeous heart. I'm glad I'm here to remind you, delicious Zoe."

Min was amused by what was happening - I could see she was about to burst into very loud laughter that'd attract a lot of attention. She would have loved to stream it, considering she begged me to come here just for Alayla to hit on me. Apparently my reactions were killer.

"What was she saying now, delicious Zoe?" she laughed. "'Your aura is like the laughter of Venus? Contagious and infectious?'"

"Min, she's so weird," I whispered, " I thought she was going to kiss me. She was close enough I could smell the incense. She scares me."

Min found it all hilarious, enjoying how jumpy I was each time someone passed by our table. Alayla would check on us every ten minutes, either massaging my shoulders, fixing my hair or just staring at me with yearning in her eyes.

"Min, your Zoe here is an incredible human being." It freaked me out that she knew all our names. We hardly ever went there.

Eoin called me suddenly when she was now going on about how I had an old gentle soul that would live on forever, her insight on me as a person quite intriguing. I excused myself, briskly walking outside to answer it.

"You're an amazing and wonderful person for calling me right now," I practically shouted into the phone. I would have reached out to hug him through the phone if possible.

"What's going on?" he asked knowingly.

I explained in short about my not so secret admirer and her harassment of me. "I don't blame her." That's it. That's all he said to me.

I felt like he didn't care about what she was putting me through. Her obsession with me was borderline messed up and very freaky. It was a minor thing, of course, but that didn't mean she didn't scare the shit out of me sometimes.

"She's obsessed with me, Eoin! You just don't get it," I sighed. He would never understand. Nobody understood it.

"I'm sure she just thinks you're beautiful or something. I do too." He was really good at making me forget my silly predicaments and just feel all weird inside.

"Oh, I see what you did there. You're good. You should be proud of yourself," I said sarcastically, smiling to myself on the sidewalk.

"Oh, I know I am." I missed that smirk, that silly Eoin smirk he always had on his face, always so sure of his ridiculously beautiful self.

He'd told me about this gallery thing he was in town for, a fundraiser for one of his good friend's organisations. I wasn't directly invited; however, I knew he wouldn't mind if I just dropped by with Min. I mean, it wasn't like I was obsessed with him.

I pulled Min out of the cafe, hailing the first cab I laid my eyes on and jumping in it before Alayla could handle me again. I had enough invasion of my personal space and my privacy for the day. I was also afraid she'd ask for my number, which Min would most likely gift her.

"I really don't know how you do it," Min laughed. "I mean, who doesn't want to sleep with you right now?" I could think of only one name.

...

We encountered a few of my work acquaintances, including a guy I'd met through Joss when she threw a celebration for something or the other, in typical Joss fashion.

I introduced Min to one Connor before leaving the two of them alone to get to know each other. I was going to casually bump into Eoin and everything else would fall into place.

Not many people were in attendance - I figured there was a guest list for this kind of thing. We had clearly bypassed it though, not surprising since I was with Min. Guest list for what?

I found myself at the refreshments table, picking at some hors-d'oeuvres, amazing ones at that. I made conversation with a teenager named Paige helping cater the event with her mother. She too had Eoin on her mind, although she had no idea where he'd disappeared to.

"I read his interview by chance at a spa and I told my mom we were going to get married. She thinks I'm joking, of course," she divulged, plating me all the good food. I was enjoying our talk, the way she blushed when she said his name and how much she was genuinely crushing on him.

"I'd like you to meet my good friend, Zoe," I heard someone behind me say. It was a very good friend of mine I'd been searching for for the past hour.

I felt his hand on the small of my back seizing hold over me while he whispered oh- so-seductively into my hair, "You're so cute when you stalk me, you know?"