Man, was I wrong! She is not a mean person. She's just a class "A" ditz! I mean, she was all over Brian, but the worst part is that when she finally figured out that we were "going steady" (or whatever you want to call it), she threw a hissy-fit in the middle of the restaurant. After that, we fixed her attitude quickly. Very quickly.
"Hey, guys," I said to Nick and AJ as they came down he dock. Rachel and I were lounging on the back of my boat. I had on a short, black skirt, knee-high boots, and a silver tank top while Rachel had on a long, black skirt and a white boat-neck top. Nick was wearing a dark-blue Polo shirt and khaki pants. AJ had on black pants and a bright, wildly patterned collard shirt.
"Hey, ladies," Nick said while AJ wolf-whistled at us.
"AJ . . ." I said threateningly.
'Okay, okay," he said. "No more wolf-whistling." He followed Nick onto the boat, who sat next to Rachel, giving her a light kiss on the lips. AJ sat next to me.
"Where are the other three?" I asked.
"You know them," AJ said. "They take longer than you guys do. It does take a while for Kevin to make his hair stand on end."
"Then I guess I'll just have to lean on you for the time being," I said, putting my head on his shoulder.
"Fine with me. I don't mind having two girls," AJ said. "More fun that way."
"Okay, never mind, then," I said, sitting up quickly. Just then, Maribeth came out of the boat wearing a long, gray skirt and a three-quarter sleeve black shirt. AJ looked at me, his eyes pleading. "Yes, now you may wolf-whistle." He looked at Maribeth and wolf-whistled, then went up and kissed her on the cheek. Then, Jamie came out wearing black Capri pants and a dark purple shirt, followed by Joanne in khakis and a black top.
"I'll go get the rest of the guys," I said, stepping off the boat. I walked down the dock and climbed onto their boat. I was about to open the door and walk in, but then I thought better of it. The curtain was closed. (What if they're naked or something? That would be awkward . . . though extremely funny.) So, I knocked.
"Come on in," came Howie's voice. I opened the door, slid the curtain to one side, and stepped in.
"Are you guys almost ready?" I asked. "It's almost 6:40 and it takes about twenty minutes to get there."
"I'm ready," Kevin said, coming up the steps in a green button down shirt and black pants.
"Me, too," Howie said, following him. He was dressed in khaki pants and a red Polo shirt.
"You guys look great," I said.
"So do you," Kevin responded politely.
"Yeah, I like the ensemble," Howie agreed, nodding slightly.
"Thanks," I said. "Where's Brian?"
"He's still getting ready," Kevin said.
"Go ahead down to my boat. We'll be there in a second," I said.
"Okay," Howie said. He and Kevin walked out the door and off the boat.
"Brian?" I called after they had left.
"Over here," he called from the front room. I walked down the steps and into the front room. He was standing in front of the mirror, wearing black pants and a royal blue collard shirt.
"Almost ready?" I asked.
"Yep, I'm ready," he said, turning around to face me. He looked me up an down, then slid his hands around my waist. "Of course, we could always stay here," he said slyly. He kissed me passionately on the lips. After a minute, I pulled away reluctantly and smiled softly.
"C'mon," I said. "We've gotta go."
"Do we have to?" he whined.
"Yes," I said firmly. Then I slid my arms around his neck and moved my mouth next to his ear. "We can continue this when we get back," I whispered.
"Ooh, fun," he said.
"C'mon," I said, kissing him softly, then taking his hand. "Let's go."
"I'm right behind you," he said. We walked out of the boat and joined the others, who were waiting on the dock.
"You have a little bit of, ahem, lipstick on your face, B-rok," AJ said to Brian, who hit him and whipped his mouth. "That's better," AJ said. We walked around the harbor (which is huge! It in the center of the city), around the Sylvan Learning Center, down few blocks, then into Little Italy. Two blocks into Little Italy, we reached Chipparelli's. Rachel looked at her watch.
"So," she said, "where are they?"
"Don't worry," I said. "We're a few minutes early." Each of the guys, in turn, went up to their girlfriends (who were standing in a circle talking) from behind and wrapped their arms around our waists. We stood outside talking for a few minutes before we heard a shrill voice call out Brian's name
"Brian!" It screeched. All I saw was a flash of blond hair as eighteen year old Mandy Moore ran past me and practically jumped onto Brian's back. He wriggled out of her embrace immediately, not letting go of me.
"Hi, Mandy," Brian said politely to her. Then he bent down and put his mouth up to my ear. "If I let go of you, it's only because I have to get her claws out of my back," he whispered, only half-joking. I laughed quietly and so did Joanne, who had heard what he had said. Donna, Trey, Dave, and Daemon walked up and everyone said hi.
"Should we go in?" Donna asked.
"Yeah," I said. "We can all introduce ourselves when we get seated." We walked I the restaurant and were greeted by a huge crowd of people waiting to be seated. While everyone else sat down to wait, I walked up to the counter. "Emerichian, party of fifteen is here," I told the lady.
"It will be awhile," she told me.
"Can I please see the manager," I asked. She must have thought I had a complaint because she got a nervous look on her face. "No, no, you didn't do anything wrong, he's just an old friend of mine," I explained. She seemed to relax and sent someone in the back to get him.
"Alexandria, is that you?" Said a voice behind me. I turned around to see Alejandro Camaranio coming up behind me.
"Hi," I said, giving him a quick hug.
"Yeah, and I just thought I'd say hi while I wait. I'm here with a bunch of friends," I said.
"Why wait?" He said, shrugging his shoulders. He looked at the list and said, "Emerichian, party of fifteen, right?"
"Yep, that's us."
"Go get your friends and then follow me upstairs." I went and got the group, telling them to follow me upstairs. As we walked up the steps, Brian came up next to me and grabbed my hand.
"How'd we get seated so quickly?" He asked.
"I know the manager," I explained. "College buddy."
"Oh, cool," he said.
"Here is your table, mademoiselle," Alejandro said as we walked into the dining room upstairs. It was a long table with the candles already lit and a few small vases, each holding a single rose, scattered around the table.
"Thank you so much, Alejandro," I said. As we sat down, the seating arrangement went like this. Donna at the head, to her left was Mandy (who, to her disappointment, was not next to Brian), then Kevin (who was the only one who would sit next to Mandy), Joanne, Brian, me, Maribeth, AJ. On Donna's right was Dave, Daemon, Trey, Nick, Rachel, Jamie, then Howie. I Everyone but Mandy was happy with the seating arrangements (Dave did not like the fact that he had to sit across from her, but he did not complain too much).
"Can I sit next to Brian?" She whined.
"We're already seated," Maribeth said. "There's no point in changing them now."
"Yes there is," Mandy pouted. "I wanna sit next to my Bri-Bri."
"Huh?" I said, thinking I had not heard her right. "What did you say?"
"I said," she repeated snobbishly, "I wanna sit next to my Bri."
"I think it's time we introduce them," AJ said. "Properly. This is my girlfriend, Maribeth."
"This is my girlfriend, Rachel," Nick said.
"This lovely lady on my right is my girlfriend, Jamie," Howie said.
"She's got him whipped already," I whispered to Maribeth. Jamie overheard us and nodded, reaching across the table, we high-fived.
"This is Joanne," Kevin said. "My girlfriend."
"And this beautiful lady on my right," Brian said, dragging it out for the fun of it, "is Alexandria."
"Gosh, for a minute there, I thought you'd forgotten all about me and was gonna say she was your girlfriend," Mandy said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"I forgot to mention that?" He said, mockingly surprised with himself. "I'm sorry, Alex."
"That's okay," I said, following along. "I forgive you. Just don't do it again," I scolded playfully.
"Wait, you mean she is your girlfriend?" Mandy said.
"Yep, and I'm damn proud of it," Brian said. Everyone, but Mandy, laughed at his peppy attitude. Mandy just sat there, rage taking over her face.
"How could you do this to me?" she cried. She got up from her seat and ran out of the room. We heard her run down the steps as we sat there in silence.
"I'll go get her," Brian said, pushing his chair back from the table. I put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"Don't," I said. "It's my fault, I'll get her."
"But . . ." he started to protest.
"Don't even start," I interrupted him. I pushed my chair back from the table and stood up. I walked around the table and out the door. Then I paused, peeking back around the doorway and found everyone looking at me. "Now, I'm going down there to get everything straightened out and try to make peace. If she comes in throwing a hissy-fit, it is not my fault." As I walked down the steps, I heard everyone laughing at my comment. Good, I thought. At least some of the tension's out of the room. I walked out the door and found Mandy leaning against the wall.
As I came near her, she looked up and I saw the venom in her eyes. "Whoa, down girl," I said, holding my hands up to show they were empty. "I come in peace."
"How could you do this to me?" She said angrily. "He was mine and you stole him. You know I'm not going to perform until he's mine, and that's all thanks to you."
"Okay, lets get s few things straight: One, he was not yours to begin with; two, I didn't steal him from anybody; and three, it's not my fault that he chose me," I said defensively. She looked at me, her eyes growing even more vicious.
"Number one, he was mine until you stole him from me and number two, it is your fault that he chose you. You probably paid him off or something," she snapped.
"Y'know, you've got a real attitude problem," I said. I looked up at the sky, trying to calm myself down. Then I got an idea. I looked at Mandy. "I've got an idea," I told her. She looked at me, her eyes looking at me with anticipation, yet they still had the venomous look.
"What?" She asked.
"We go upstairs, like the adults that we are, and give him an ultimatum," I said.
'What would the terms be?" She asked, obviously intrigued.
"Either he dumps me and you perform or he stays with me and you don't perform. If you don't perform, I'm sure we can think of something," I said.
"I don't think I have to worry about that," she said. "I just hope you know your way home."
"Don't you worry about it," I said. "I'm covered. Oh, and one more thing."
"What?"
"No matter what the outcome, we both sit at the table like civil people and enjoy the meal, or at least pretend to," I said.
"Deal," she said. She stuck out her hand and I shook it. We walked back into the restaurant and up the steps. When we walked into the room, everyone turned silent.
"So?" Joanne asked, eager to hear the "gory" details.
"We've made a deal," I said, then I looked at Brian. "It involves you."
"Uh, oh," he said. "What is it?"
"Well, Mandy said that she won't perform until you've dumped me and are going out with her, so we came to terms," I said. Mandy jumped in, eager to finish the statement.
"So it's either you dump her, come to me, and I perform or you stay with her and you lose the best singer you've got," she said excitedly. She looked as though she knew she was going to win.
"So?" I asked. "What's it gonna be?" Brian got up and walked around the table. He came up to Mandy and took her hand.
"Mandy, I don't know what to say," he said. "I never knew you cared about me that much."
"Oh, I do, Brian, I do," she said. She threw a wining smile at me. I only listened to them speak.
"Well, then," Brian cleared his throat. "I guess the only other thing I have to say is good-bye." He turned to me and took my hand, looking at me as if he was about to dump me, but I knew what he was going to do. I'm not stupid. He looked into my eyes for a moment, then, still holding my hand, turned to Mandy. "Bye."
"What?" She said, surprised. "Huh?"
"I said 'good-bye,'" he said. "I don't love you, Mandy. I love Alex." He turned to me and kissed me lightly on the lips. "C'mon, lets go sit down." I followed him to our seats. he pulled out the chair for me.
"Thanks," I said.
"You're welcome," he said, sitting in his own seat. I looked at Mandy, who was still standing there stunned.
"Mandy, remember our deal," I warned. "Now, go back to your seat and sit down." She did as she was told and a few moment s later, our food came (they had ordered for us when we were outside. The service here is quick.). The rest of dinner was pretty uneventful. We ate and talked. When the check came, we all reached for it at once. Donna got to it first.
"To thank you guys for a wonderful evening, it's on me," she said.
"But . . ." Rachel, Maribeth, and I started to protest.
"No, buts," she said. the three of us shut up as she handed the bill and her credit card to the waiter. When she got her card back, we got up from the table and walked out of the restaurant.
"Thank you for dinner," I said
"Yeah, thanks," everyone said.
"You're welcome," she said. "Now, everyone go back and get some sleep. You're gonna need energy for the concert tomorrow night."
"I don't need sleep because I'm not performing," Mandy pouted defiantly.
"We'll think of something," Donna whispered to the guys.
"Well, what about Galaxy?" Nick suggested.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Trey said.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Rachel said, holding her hands up for them to pause for a second. "I don't know about that."
"C'mon, it'll be fun," Jamie coaxed.
"I'll do it," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Yeah, me too," Joanne agreed.
"You can count me in," Maribeth said.
"I guess that automatically counts me in, then," Rachel said, shrugging her shoulders. "Oh, well."
"Great," Donna said. "We'll make arrangements and go over everything tomorrow. Goodnight!"
"Night!" We all said. We said goodnight to Trey, Daemon, Dave, and Mandy, though Mandy did not respond.
The ten of us started on our way back to the marina. The five of us girls went into a conversation about the next nights concert. My guess was that we were supposed to do maybe three or four songs, so we were deciding which ones. We did not notice the guys stop for a second and talk to someone on the street. We were almost back to the marina when the guys came up to us and dragged us apart. Rachel was taken in the direction of the carousel, Jamie to the ledge near the marina office, Joanne to the paddle boat dock, and Maribeth to the bench where you could see the entire inner harbor.
Brian took me on a long walk to Fort McHenry. We sat on the hill that overlooked the entire harbor. When we got to the middle of the hill, I just stood there, looking out onto the harbor. With the sky was black and the stars were shining, it looked incredible. All the entertainment centers (like the Hard Rock Cafe and ESPN Zone) had huge signs that were lit-up, making the sight even more spectacular. Brian came up and wrapped one arm around my waist from behind. He brought his other arm in front of me. In it was a single red rose. I took the rose delicately from his hand and put it up to my nose, breathing in its sweet aroma. I turned around to face Brian, who had a heart-melting smile on his face. I stood on my toes and kissed him softly on the lips.
"Thank you," I said quietly.
"Your welcome," he said. "I love you, you know."
"I know," I said, blushing slightly. "I love you, too." He saw me blush and brought his head down to mine so our foreheads touched. I looked into his eyes as he looked back into mine. After a few moments of silence, he kissed me deeply. When we broke apart, I laid my head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of it and laid his head on top of mine. We stood there and watched the harbor. The water was sparkling and the city was lit up. I could see the lights of the Baltimore Orioles Stadium, the huge guitar of the Hard Rock Cafe, and neon blue waves on the side of the aquarium, the lights of the ESPN Zone, but the only thing I cared about was being there in Brian's arms.