Eric and Terrie met at the mall where they walked around at ever store to look at what they could buy. Eric ended up buying something for his sister, brothers and parents. But he didn’t know what to get the guys and Keri. “What does she like?” he asked casually.
“Hmm….clothes but she’s very very picky.”
“How about you?”
“Me? I always wanted a silver cross necklace.”
He looked at her curiously “Like the one Chris has?”
“No, its too big, I like it more petite. I don’t like gold stuff, that’s why most of my jewelry is silver or platinum.” She showed him her silver watch.
“I see. Good, I’ve got two down.” He glanced at his watch “Oh, its getting late, we better go home.”
“Yeah, I think their closing.” She pointed at the shops closing down the bars of their store.
They drove home separately. Both were burned by their own friends. Keri asked her who the guy was while Chris and Richard gave him the third degree about dating Terrie. Eventually, Terrie gave up and told Keri “We just went shopping and no, Im not dating Eric.” She rolled her eyes “What’s the matter with you anyways, why are you so concerned?”
“Well, I just want to know who the lucky guy is.” She pouted her lips and showed her puppy eyes “Don’t be mad.”
“Im not. I can never be mad at you.” Terrie smiled. “Oh, I got a dress for the Christmas party.”
“What party?” Keri looked confused.
“I didn’t tell you? Chris invited me to his company’s Christmas party.”
“No, you didn’t tell me.” She sounded hurt.
“Im sorry…you’ve been gone for a while so I forgot if you knew or not. Anyways, its red with little sparkle designs on the dress. Very cute. But I have to pick it up in a week cause they ran out of my size.”
“Well, you’ll look good in anything.” Keri nodded. The girls chatted for a while, catching up on anything that they missed. They lived in the same apartment but both were so busy with their own lives that they often missed out on each other’s lives.
*********
The day of the party came quickly. Before Terrie new it, she was putting on her dress and fixing her hair for the party. She had half an hour to get ready before Chris came and picked her up. Her velvet red dress was spaghetti strap with a matching cardigan. The design were flowers and made out of red glitter which shines in the light. She curled her hair into tiny ringlets and let them fall onto her shoulders, she looked like she was ready for a party.
The doorbell rang and she went to the door and opened it. There stood Chris in a black suit with a red tie to match her dress. She smiled “Wow, don’t we look good today.”
He gave her a pose and flicked an eyebrow “I know.” His voice exaggerating the deep masculine tone that was normally not there.
“Come in. Im almost ready.” She ran inside barefoot to get her purse and shoes. She emerged in a few seconds with black spaghetti shoes and a black sequined purse. “Ready.” She walked to the door ready to open it when he blocked her way.
“You look ravishing my dear.” He teased.
She laughed “Thank you.” giving a slight curtsy before pushing him out of the way to open the door.
They drove to the hotel where the party was taking place. With valet parking and free drinks, the place was packed full.
Chris was a gentleman as he was careful to keep an eye for her while he got a drink. He saw a few guys approach her but she shook her head politely. The place was noisy and crowded, her two biggest pet peves. He took her around the place looking for a place to sit but it was useless because there were only a handful of tables, which were all full. Eventually, they stood in a corner and relaxed. “You’re not having fun are you?” he asked when she was extra quiet.
She nodded “I warned you.”
“Come on lets go then.” He dropped his drink on an empty tray and pulled her away.
“Wait, that’s not good.” She stopped him “I don’t want to be rude.”
“They won’t even know that Im gone, you’re not having fun. We’ll go have dinner instead.”
“Are you sure?” she persisted.
He nodded firmly “Yes. Come on.” He led her through the crowd and out to their car. He drove for another half an hour, taking her to a little restaurant overlooking the city. The host gave them a window seat as they ordered their drinks.
Terrie sighed as she looked out the window “Its beautiful.”
“Feel better?” he teased. She nodded like a little kid. “You’ve never been to a club have you?”
She laughed “How did you guess?”
“Would you like to go?”
“Nah, too crazy for me. But that can change in the future.”
The waitress came by and dropped off the drinks and the two ordered their entrees. When they were done eating, Chris urged her to order desert “Get the Crème Brulee, it’s the best! Excuse me, gotta go to the boys room.” He gave a little wink before disappearing.
After almost five minutes, she began to feel awkward. He was gone way too long, she thought maybe he had a little accident in the bathroom? Her worries were soon demolished when he walked back to their table with a huge lavender and blue bouquet hidden behind his back. She dropped her mouth in awe, never has she seen such a beautiful bouquet. “Oh my gosh, where did you hide it?” she didn’t see it in the car.
“The trunk.” He smiled as he handed it to her “You like it? I remember you said you liked carnations.” He pointed to the bouquet. There were six purple roses and six sprayed blue carnations that were white to begin with, all of which were individually wrapped. The baby’s breath flooded the rest of the bouquet making it look even more extravant.
She heard a few people gushing over the bouquet as she held it tightly. Most of the eyes were from envious girls as they gawked at her flowers. Some even nudged their partners. “Thank you very much.” She repeated.
“I figured I owe you something for dragging you to the party.”
“Im sorry, Im such a party pooper.” She smiled apologetically.
“No, no, I didn’t want to pressure you.”
“Hopefully tomorrow will be better.” She was talking about her company’s party. “I had a very… nice time tonight.”
They chatted for another hour before leaving the restaurant. He walked her up to her apartment and gave her a warm hug “See, I did learn something!” he chuckled before disappearing into the elevator.
She watched him go before opening her door, her bouquet was so big that it had to squeeze through the door. She placed it right next to her bed.
**********
The next day, she wore a more simple dress, navy blue with white and sky blue flowers sewn onto the dress. It was sleeveless, it dropped down to her knees with two short slits on the side. He was in slacks and light gray button up shirt, a silver tie stood out from his shirt.
The dinner party was a lot more casual, with just 40 people covering three long tables, it was more of a family like gathering. Everyone was comfortable with each other. Terrie and Chris ended up sitting with one of the owners of the firm. That was only because of Terrie’s good relationship with his personal secretary.
After that night, Chris took her home and once again dropped her off at her apartment. “Thanks for joining me.” Terrie said almost shyly.
“No problem. I kinda liked it better today. The party was more casual and quiet. I can tell you had more fun.”
She nodded happily “Yes, as a matter of fact I did. But nothing beats your bouquet.” She added.
He laughed “You keep talking about it, was it the first time you got flowers?”
She blushed lightly “Yes. It was my first dinner date with a guy too.”
He clutched his heart dramatically “Oh my gosh, I feel..so special…”
She laughed comfortably as she hit him on the arm “Stop it!”
“Well, good night.” She nodded and watched him leave.
He sat in his car with a huge grin on his face, he was extra happy that day. He felt something different from her this time around. He knew he was falling for her fast.
Chapter 11
Everyone spent Christmas Eve at Terrie’s house. It was the first time any of the guys met her parents. They were on their best behavior as they were polite and soft spoken. Terrie’s mother had a special liking to Richard, he had a special charm about him. “Mom, I don’t like him that way.” She whispered when they were cleaning up.
“Why not? Sure, he’s a little short but he’s not bad looking.”
“No.” Terrie said firmly. Her mom finally left her alone, she knew her daughter was very stubborn. When she said no, it meant no.
The next day, they were going to take a little road trip up north. Andrew was also joining them, it was actually a surprise for the girls. They thought it was just to sight see all the places in China. When the trip took more than 5 hours, Keri began to grow restless “Where are we going?”
“We’re taking you out to the woods to rape you and then murder you. We’ll dig a hole by the tree and stash your bodies.” Eric warned.
Terrie laughed nervously, something about his words just scared her “Not if we kill you first.”
“We’re taking you to see snow.” Chris spoke up. “You said you’ve never seen it before right?”
She smiled “We are?” the excitement in her voice couldn’t be concealed as she sat up in her seat “Where?”
“It’s a little further up there.” Richard said as he pointed to a close mountain, the snow looked like it covered the whole tip of the mountain.
“Wow…” Terrie said in awe.
The rest of the ride was a rowdy one. Terrie had a sudden urge to sing along with the music. She sat in the back seat of the rented van so she leaned forward at the seat in front of her, which happened to be Eric. She looked out the window and continued to sing. Eric looked at her with a bit of admiration “You really have a great voice.” He commented.
She smiled and at the same time, she felt a hand tug her back into her seat “Sit back! I can’t see anything.” Keri said. She sensed the hostility in her voice but didn’t know why. She glanced at Andrew and he was looking out the other window. She guessed maybe they were fighting?
The van finally stopped as everyone charged out the car to take a deep of fresh air, 6 hours in a car was very tiring. Especially for Chris who drove most of the way while Richard switched off when he got tired. They were bundled up in turtlenecks, scarves and gloves but the cold air was still whipping through the skin. They had to hike up for a mile until they saw snow. Terrie was in complete awe, like a kid who just got her first taste of candy. The white sheets of blanketed snow covered all sides of the mountain. She saw some people skiing and snowboarding from afar. “You wanna try that?” Chris asked.
She shook her head “No, it looks too scary.” Suddenly she felt a snowball splash against her jacket on the back. She spun around and found Richard making another snowball.
She glanced at Chris and gave him a little nod, they were both thinking of the same thing. Reaching into the snow as they made two perfect balls and aimed it directly at Richard. One smacked him on the arm causing him to drop the snowball he was making and the other one hit his leg. Keri was holding a video camera as she captured it on tape “Do it again!!” she yelled excitedly. “Ah!!” she turned off the camera and spun around, she was hit by Eric. “Hold this.” She handed it to Andrew who happily took it over, he didn’t want to get involved in the little snowball fight.
Eric was quicker as he made another snowball and threw it at Keri, she immediately dropped the crumpled snow that she picked up. The impact was not painful but it tickled her as she giggled like a little girl and blocked herself from being attacked. Soon all the guys were picking on her as they threw little snowballs at her. Terrie felt the need to protect her friend as she made three snowballs and aimed them all at the guys. It was a perfect hit each time. The guys turned to her with mischievous grins. She giggled as she backed away slowly “Nice aim.” Andrew commented.
“Thanks, I was a pitcher for my softball team in high school.” Her eyes darted back to the three guys approaching her. Each began to ball up a snowball as the looked at her ready to attack. She spotted her friend in the back making more snow balls, she saw Keri give her a little wink as she picked up the snow ball and threw it at Eric’s back, then Chris and finally Richard.
Andrew laughed as he watched the scene that was going on, they were having fun as the girls went against the guys. After the snowball fight, Chris and Eric made snow stars on the snow. Keri snapped a few pictures of them lying on their backs against the snow as their hands and legs were spread out making a star shape.
The day was over quick for the group as they had a late lunch at a nearby deli shop by the parking lot. The drive home was tiring for everyone. Chris again, was chosen to drive. Terrie was still giddy from seeing the snow while everyone else was tired. She sat in the front seat with Chris to keep him company. After an hour into the drive she turned around and found everyone sleeping. Richard was sprawl out on one whole row by himself, while Keri sat between Eric and Andrew, her head tilting on Eric’s shoulder. ‘At least Andrew isn’t awake to see that.’ She thought to herself.
“Their sleeping?” Chris asked.
She nodded “Yeah, thanks for driving.”
“Oh, Im always the one that drives. So did you have fun?” He didn’t need to ask, the grin on her face told him the answer.
Her grin grew wider “Yes, that was very fun. Thank you so much.”
“How about you tell me what else you haven’t done? I’ll make them all come true.”
She shrugged her shoulders “I don’t know. There are too many things. If I think of it, I’ll let you know.” He nodded as he concentrated on the road. “If you get sleepy let me know, I’ll drive.”
He shook his head “Im good. You’re probably tired, why don’t you sleep?”
“Maybe a little later, I’ll stay up to keep you company.” He smiled at her thankfully.
They chatted for a few more hours until Terrie began to nod off. Eventually, her eyes closed and her head relaxed against the seat. Every once in a while Chris would glance at her and smile. She looked so peaceful and angelic when she sleeps.
Chapter 12
A week later was New Year’s Eve, all five of them had the day off. Andrew couldn’t make it to their little gathering and Keri didn’t seemed bothered that her boyfriend wasn’t there. It was raining outside and the weather was getting a lot colder. They gathered at the girls’ apartment and had a nice dinner together. Richard wanted to go out to party but Terrie refused. She was a home body and didn’t like to go out with large crowds of drunk people hanging around.
They were watching news, it was showing the fun spots to go to on that night. Suddenly the electricity went out, turning down every light in the apartment. Chris opened the window, letting the moonlight shine through but it was still dark. The other apartments building lights were all shut off too. He looked down the road “It looks like just our block is out.”
Keri and Eric got up to look for the flashlight and candles. They returned after a few minutes of searching in the kitchen. Keri lit up all the candles they found and spread them all around the living room. “This is kinda nice.” Terrie commented.
“Oh, what a New Year’s Eve. I could be out right now.” Richard sighed. “But I guess its time for a change.” He said quickly when he saw Chris’s face scowling.
“Is it getting cold or is it just me?” Keri commented as she hugged herself to keep warm.
“Well, the furnace could be out since the electricity shut down.” Chris said knowingly.
“I’ll go get some blankets.” She picked up a candle and later returned with blankets. She gave the bigger one to Terrie who was sharing the long couch with Chris and Richard. She returned to the two seat sofa and sat next to Eric. “How about a game of truth or dare?” she was always into games.
Richard quickly sat up, finally interested “I’ll go first.”
Terrie snickered “Really? The party guy?” she teased.
He shrugged his shoulders “I’ve never played this before.” He smiled slyly “Since you were the first to comment, the first question goes to you.”
She smiled “Sure, I have nothing to hide.”
“Have you ever liked me?” he asked straightforwardly, throwing her off guard.
She thought about the right words to say “Hmm…I might have had a crush on you, but I’ve never liked you.” She was honest as can be, he didn’t seemed bothered as he slowly nodded. “My turn.” She said brightly as she turned to her friend “Keri, I’ve been pretty curious about you. You remember when we were in high school and we both said we would wait until marriage?” Keri nodded “Well, are you going to?”
Keri moved her eyes away from her friend. Her answered was already said, she was in a way embarrassed since she remember her exact words to her friend back then. “Andrew was my first.” She glanced at Eric next to her and whispered to him “She’s mad at me now.”
“No, she’s not.” He looked back at Terrie who looked calm and almost uncomfortable, but surely she didn’t look mad. “Its no big deal is it?” He asked out loud. “I mean, Richard lost his and I don’t think I’ll wait til marriage.”
Terrie sighed “I guess. Things change in relationships, I guess I have no right to be upset. I’ve never had a boyfriend so I wouldn’t know if I would wait. Although I would like to.”
“Why is it so important to you?” Richard spoke up. He was curious about her again.
“Its really a stupid reason. I don’t really think losing your virginity before marriage is a big deal, everyone is entitled to their own decisions. But for me, I just want to be able to wear my white dress and walk down the altar of the church knowing that I’am a virgin and the white stands for purity.” She shrugged her shoulders carelessly “I know its stupid.”
“No, its not. Everyone has their own reasons, like you say. For me, I just think if you follow with God’s rules then he will reward you with greater things in the future.” Chris was more religious than she thought.
“Well, come on, we’ll keep on playing. Its my turn.” Keri said. She turned back to her friend “Terrie, I want to ask you. Who do you like more Chris or Paul?”
“Why don’t you give someone else a chance?” she tried to diverge the attention that seemed to be shining on her. Since she was young, she never liked being the center of attention.
“We don’t mind.” Richard and Eric said in unison. Chris was quiet because he too wanted to know the truth but didn’t dare ask.
Terrie knew she was beaten, she sighed as she prepared to reply “I don’t know, its hard to say. Paul is charming and funny, but I can’t like a person without ever meeting them. I don’t care what he looks like but when you meet a person, it makes it more real. Right now, its more like a fantasy like situation with Paul. Chris? He’s definitely a great guy, full of suprises. But to be honest, I have no special feelings for him.” She glanced at him to see his reaction. But he looked still and calm.
“Why not?” Richard pressed.
She looked at him confused “Why not? Do you ask yourself why you don’t like a person? I don’t have control over my heart and who it likes. There are some things that you just know, without question. I have asked myself that a lot but in the end, the feelings are just not there.”
Everyone looked at Chris to see his response but he was still quiet as can be. Richard knew he was thinking about her reply. The silence was interrupted by a cell phone ring, it turned out to be Chris’s mother. After he hung up, he looked apologetically at everyone “Sorry guys, my mother’s sick. I’ve got to go home.”
They all mumbled their good byes. It was five minutes til New Year’s day. Richard abruptly turned to Terrie and asked her “Have you ever kissed a guy?”
She widened her eyes “Why do you ask?”
He laughed “Im just curious.”
“No, never kissed a guy before.”
“How about on the cheek?”
“Nope, not even on the cheek.”
“Can I be the first?” he had a grin on his face that made her laugh.
She leered her eyes at him “Let me think about it.”
“Well, you have two minutes to think.” He pointed at his watch.
“Its just on the cheek, Ter. We’ll switch off.” Keri said “Come on, its New Year’s Eve.”
Terrie nodded slowly. “I guess, its gotta go some time.” They counted down the seconds as they heard the crowd outside getting louder. ‘Five, four, three, two, one….Happy New Year!!!’ the sound seemed to explode through the windows. Eventhough it was raining, a large crowd had already gathered outside.
Keri reached over and kissed Eric on the cheek, while Terrie gave Richard a kiss on his cheek. The guys returned the kiss and then they switched partners. “That wasn’t too bad was it?” Richard asked teasingly.
“I guess not.” Terrie smiled.
Keri laughed “Too bad Chris wasn’t here, Im sure he would have liked it.” She said it directly at Terrie, who’s evil glare shut her up. “Well, thanks for dropping by guys, its getting late and Im tired.” She practically pushed the guys out the door.
When Eric and Richard was gone, she turned to her friend. How about we do something nice for Chris tomorrow?”
“What?” Terrie was almost afraid to ask.
“Well, since he wasn’t here tonight for the kissing ceremony, we’ll both kiss him at the same time? So he won’t get any ideas?” she winked at her friend knowingly.
Terrie shrugged, “I guess.”
***********
The next day, they met at a café for lunch. When they met each other in the parking lot and began walking to the restaurant, Keri tugged at Terrie’s arm as she nodded towards Chris. Her friend reluctantly nodded in agreement. Both girls were on each side of Chris as they stopped him in his tracks and leaned in simultaneously to kiss him on both sides of the cheek.
His face turned red as he looked away shyly, Eric and Richard looked envious “What was that for?”
“We just wanted to be fair, since we gave the other two a kiss.” Keri said as she began to walk ahead with the other two leaving Chris and Terrie in an awkward situation.
“Come on.” Terrie said softly as she motioned to follow the other three.
They had a comfortable lunch, each time they saw each other it was like learning something new about one another. Eventhough its only been a few months since the five met, they felt like its been years. They practically know everything about each others lives.
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