Get the Guy Box Set

A-dork-able-7

The night of the party at Jaiden’s house, Anderson dressed me in a long-sleeved pin-striped shirt with black leather pants that were a bit snug. When I complained about this, he ignored me.

As for my roommate, his shirt was shimmery and pants just as shiny. The guy he’d met when we’d gone clothes shopping—Albert—was at our apartment a lot, and he would be coming to the party tonight. He was dressed similarly to Anderson, and he wore eyeliner, which Anderson demanded he wore as well. Whatever was going on with the two men, they seemed to be having fun.

I was nervous when we arrived at Jaiden’s home using Lyft. The house was a two-story deal and it had shutters on the upstairs windows. I’d love to see it in daylight. It appeared huge to me, compared to my modest apartment.

The music and voices coming from inside were overwhelming, but then, I didn’t get invited to things like this, unless it was an office party of some sort. And I’d like to put the Wookie incident behind me, thank you very much.

Since the front door was unlocked, we let ourselves in and were immediately engulfed by a sea of people, most of whom I recognized from work. I lost Anderson and Albert to the makeshift dancefloor and disco ball overhead, which left me to find something to drink and a corner to hide in to keep from embarrassing myself, inevitably.

Before I could make it to one of the bars, however, a firm hand grabbed my arm and pulled me through the crowd to a relatively quiet corner near the stairs. When we stopped, I lost my footing and slammed into…Jaiden.

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I stepped away, willing myself not to sink to the floor. He looked hot and handsome in his snug designer jeans and dark purple fitted turtleneck, which molded to every muscle I hadn’t even guessed had been hidden beneath those fancy suits of his. God, he was so out of my league.

I knew my mouth was hanging open and I was likely drooling like an i***t, but I said, “You…uh…you clean up well.” Jesus, really? And I hadn’t even had alcohol yet. Maybe I should just sew my mouth shut.

Thankfully, Jaiden thought it was funny. “Thanks, I guess. You look good, too.” And the way his eyes smoldered—smoldered, I tell you—was enough to keep my fantasies going for a long time.

“Uh, thanks,” was the best I could come up with.

He smiled again and said, “You don’t take compliments well, do you?”

“I don’t get them often enough to practice, I guess.” I looked away briefly, not wanting to see pity in his eyes. “I brought my roommate, Anderson, and his friend along. Thanks for the invitation. Great party, by the way. Everyone looks like they’re having fun and—”

“There you are!” a familiar female voice shrieked, and I wanted to slap myself for thinking that Jaiden was treating me special by inviting me to this party. He’d invited everyone, including Heather. I was such an i***t.

Heather hung onto Jaiden’s arm like a lifeline, already swaying slightly on her ridiculously clad feet. “I couldn’t find you, Jaid. I thought you were hiding from me.” She smiled up into his face and I could smell the alcohol fumes from where I stood.

“Oh, hey, Alister. Not dressed like a Wookie, I see.” She laughed herself silly. “You should have seen it, Jaid. Our last office party, Alister threw up all over the boss. It was the funniest thing ever. Someone made a meme about it…wait. She fumbled with her phone and almost dropped it twice before she brought up the meme and showed Jaiden. At least for his part, he didn’t seem amused.

I felt my temper rising. I’d been having an okay evening, and had Jaiden’s attention, and now…I was pissed. I clenched my fists and took deep breaths, but nothing helped to calm me. Finally, I just snapped.

“You are such a b***h!” I yelled, causing Heather to startle and actually drop her phone this time.

Conversation nearby hushed, though the music still blared, and Jaiden was looking at me like I had two heads, but concerned. Way to impress the dude, man. I was beyond caring, though.

“You make fun of me and other people like none of us have feelings. You act like you’re so superior all the time, putting people down so you can look better. Is that what it takes for you to feel good about yourself?”

Heather swallowed, her face white with shock. “Al, it was just a joke. I—”

“It’s not f*****g funny! It never is! I’m sick and tired of your bullshit. You think every man wants you because you wear a short skirt and push your breasts in his face. Could you be any more of a skank w***e?” Okay, maybe that was a little too far.

She gasped and became furious. Stepping away from Jaiden, she got up in my face and poked my chest with a pointy fingernail. “How would you know, you f*****g faggot? You moon over Jaiden like some lovesick i***t, hoping he’ll see you as the only one for him. A guy like you could never get a guy like him. Go back to wearing your f*****g ugly blazers and crooked bowties, you little cunt. Nobody cares about your new wardrobe. It doesn’t change anything. You’re a loser. You’ll always be a loser.”

I shoved her back hard, causing her to stumble against Jaiden and squeal in outrage. Jaiden had remained silent the whole time. His expression had become unreadable, but I had no illusions about our “relationship.” We’d worked together for a short time, it was over now, and I would go back to working in HR. Life would go on.

My anger deflated right then and left me hollow. Was that how Heather had really felt about me? How everyone felt? I couldn’t…

I excused myself quickly and sought out Anderson and Albert. But they were currently holding court with a bunch of people on the other side of the room and looked to be having too much fun to deal with my non-issues. I sent a text to Anderson and headed outside to wait for Lyft to pick me up after I scheduled a ride.

It was time to get out of my dream world and back to reality.