Gem City

Chapter 3-1

“Summer Girls” – LFO

“Raise Your Glass” – Pink

“Call Me Maybe” – Carly Rae Jepsen

“Geronimo” – Sheppard

“Everything to Everyone” – Everclear

Courtney ran quickly down the stairs, but pulled back as she looked up and realized she"d just walked in on Vanessa and Luke in a rather tangled-up moment. Seeing them revived a familiar twisting sensation in her stomach that appeared whenever she thought about the lack of romantic interests in her life.

“Inappropriate!” Courtney yelled as she lightheartedly covered her face with her hands. I would even take interests of a non-romantic nature. Nerdy mathlete interests. She tried to picture the guys on the academic decathlon team, but it wasn"t helping. The two broke apart slowly, and Courtney reached out her hand. “Luke, I presume?” Unexpectedly, Luke bypassed her hand and picked her up in a bear hug.

I would even take interests of a non-romantic nature. Nerdy mathlete interests.“Save your handshake for somebody else,” Luke said as he put her down, grinning. “I listen to Vanessa go on about you all the time, so we are already friends. And we hug.”

Courtney laughed. “Well, aren"t you friendly?” She finally had a second to take in the sight of him, and was in awe of her best friend"s taste. Tall, with a body out of an Abercrombie ad, but a sweet face with an easy smile that made her immediately feel comfortable. He had soft brown hair that curled just right at the ends to make him look like he did it on purpose, with striking green eyes and impossibly perfect teeth. She suddenly realized she"d probably been staring at him and tried to cover by looking around the room.

“Yeah, I know I"m a catch, stare all you want,” Luke declared, totally calling her out and playfully showing off his six pack in lifting up his shirt. Courtney immediately turned red and looked to Vanessa for help, but Luke cut her off. “Dude, you gotta lighten up, I"m just messing with you. Come, eat, be merry. It"s almost party time.” He busted out a surprisingly good interpretation of the Roger Rabbit, at which point Vanessa joined in.

“Nice moves,” Courtney complimented, feeling relieved. “I will take you up on the "eat" part, though. All I"ve had today is plane food.” The three went upstairs to grab some snacks before anyone else arrived. Courtney felt Luke"s eyes on her while she was eating some goldfish and glanced up. “Yes?”

Luke just smiled and looked at Vanessa. “You"re totally right, Fisher is gonna flip over her.” Vanessa immediately shot daggers at him with her eyes. “Umm, I mean, what? Like, these crackers are amazing, agreed? Who would have thought to make crackers look like fish? Am I right?” His eyes were looking anywhere but at Courtney or Vanessa now.

“Ummmm, say what? What is a Fisher?” Her heart started pounding in its usual anxious way.

“Okay, girl, chill. I know where your head"s at, and it doesn"t need to be. His name is Ethan Fisher, and I just casually mentioned how awesome you are. He seemed interested. That"s it. It is not the crisis you are imagining in your warped little mind right now. You do not need to access the nuclear codes. Breathe,” Vanessa explained, “and try to tell me you don"t feel just a little bit excited about our boy Ethan. And his washboard abs. In case I didn"t mention that part before.” She finished that sentence with a gleam in her eye.

casually“Yeah, V, I"m standing right here,” Luke responded.

“Oh shut up, you know I like yours better,” she chastised, lovingly patting his midsection.

Courtney glared at Vanessa suspiciously. “ "Casually," huh?” she asked in an unbelieving tone. There was a moment where Courtney contemplated whether there was any possible scenario in which she would not give in to Vanessa in the end. There wasn"t. “Whatever, you win. I will wear this crazy outfit, and I will be cool about this "Fisher" situation.” She knew there was no use in arguing with Vanessa anyway. Courtney was determined to at least fake the confidence she wanted to portray until it actually showed up.

“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” Vanessa replied with a deadpan expression. Courtney stuck her tongue out and Vanessa winked at her. “Very mature,” she said as they busied themselves with last minute party preparations.

“Okay, Courtney. Can"t I call you Court? Maybe Little C?” Courtney narrowed her eyes at him slightly. No one will be calling me "Little C." “Okay, then, Courtney it is. I know that we just met and all, but I am telling you, as your newfound friend, you need to have one Jell-O-shot before everyone gets here. If you don"t want one, it"s fine, this isn"t like an after-school-special on peer pressure, but I am telling you that you need to chillax,” Luke said as if he were giving her a pep talk before the big game. Were her nerves that obvious? She had thought she was playing it cool. Dammit.

No one will be calling me "Little C."Dammit“Chillax is not a word. But all right, one, let"s go.” He didn"t hesitate and put the small cup in her hand. “Bottoms up,” she toasted more confidently than she felt and downed the jiggly green elixir.

“Woot!” Luke shouted. “Now we"re gonna have ourselves a good time!” As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and Courtney suddenly felt glad she had listened to him.

Over the next half hour or so, she felt surrounded by a blur of faces and names. She was happy to see a few familiar ones, but truth be told, Vanessa was the only person she had stayed close to after having left Gem. She said a lot of “hellos” and maybe snuck another Jell-O shooter. Or three.

Finally feeling okay walking around in her best-friend-approved outfit, she saw V across the room talking to someone. When Vanessa caught her eye and smiled knowingly, Courtney knew she was chatting with this Ethan character. She was out of his eye-line for the moment, so she took advantage of the opportunity to size him up. Tall, dark, and freaking hot? Yes. He had perfectly messy dark hair and sun-kissed skin. What is with all of these Ohioans being darker than me? I live in an actual desert, she thought. The fitted off-white shirt made his dark good looks that much more inviting. So far, so good. She noticed a wide silver ring on his finger, which drew her attention to his hands, which happened to be holding a guitar. Oh, I. Am. In. Trouble, she knew instantly. She was feeling some liquid courage, so her stomach only did a small flip when Vanessa motioned for her to come over.

What is with all of these Ohioans being darker than me? I live in an actual desert,So far, so good.Oh, I. Am. In. Trouble,As she paraded up, Ethan turned to make room for her. Courtney"s eyes glanced up at him. Be cool, be cool, be cool, she repeated the mantra in her head.

Be cool, be cool, be cool“Ethan Fisher, this is my very best friend Courtney Ross. Court, this is Ethan. He just moved to Gem last year,” Vanessa said, introducing them.

“Hey!” Courtney said, maybe just a tad too loudly. “Nice to meet you. I"ve heard a lot about you. Well, you and your abs,” she blurted out. OHMYGOD, did I just say that!? She mentally upbraided herself. Ethan looked unsure for just a moment, but broke out into a smirk, the kind that made him look like he knew something he shouldn"t, and let out a genuine laugh.

OHMYGOD, did I just say that!?“My abs, huh? Well, glad to know I"m appreciated for something,” he joked as he patted his stomach. He looked at Courtney as if he was trying to make up his mind about her. “Speaking of my stomach- V, can I stash my guitar somewhere until later? I"m starving. Courtney, you wanna show me where the good food is?” He smiled effortlessly, and she started to swim in his deep brown eyes, forgetting to only look at the middle of his nose. Vanessa answered for her, thankfully saving her from another staring incident.

“She would be happy to. I"ll take your guitar in the other room, love, thanks for bringing it.” Vanessa was then pushing Courtney along. She followed after Ethan, but turned around to Vanessa and mouthed “OH MY GOD” before resuming her composure. She thought she heard Vanessa murmur something to the effect of “told you so,” but the party was too loud to be sure.

They made it to the food set-up outside, and Courtney looked around. It appeared that Luke and Vanessa were quite adept at stocking beverages, but the food situation was lacking. A couple of sad-looking bowls of chips and veggie trays weren"t super appetizing. “So, Courtney Ross, are you going to tell me where she keeps the real refreshments around here? Or are we going to dine on Doritos?” He gave her that dangerous smile again.

“I, um, yeah. Let"s explore the kitchen, shall we?” Slowly regaining her focus, she led him upstairs. She was acutely aware of how short her skirt was with him walking behind her on the steps, but forgot all about her worries as she felt his hand on the small of her back when they came to the main floor.

“Lead the way.” He glanced around the kitchen for a moment. “Where are V"s parents tonight, anyhow? Don"t they usually put the kibosh on this type of thing?”

“Ah, yeah. They had a weekend planned in Historical Gatlinburg, but I kind of ruined the family trip. I couldn"t get a flight in later this week for the same price, so they let V stay home to play hostess to me,” she answered. “You"re welcome.” She liked the way he looked at her when she teased him. Even if it made her feel like vomiting. Do not throw up, or so help me I will… do nothing. Be humiliated. Stop talking to yourself already. “So, tell me something,” she said as she hopped up on the counter to reach the high cabinet, “how do you feel about chocolate chip cookies and pizza rolls? That"s totally classy, right?” Amidst her self-congratulations about her nonchalant and witty banter, she had forgotten about the hastily taken shots and lack of real food. And she almost fell off the counter. She attempted to catch her balance, but felt Ethan"s hands at her hips, steadying her.

Do not throw up, or so help me I will… do nothing. Be humiliated. Stop talking to yourself already.“Okay, girly, maybe we let me handle the high shelves, all right?” He helped her down and she landed lightly on the floor. “You"re like a hobbit,” he said, marveling at her five-foot frame. She forgot to be nervous about her short skirt and if her top looked acceptable after almost falling. Her skin tingled where his hands had touched her.

“I think that"s a fairly decent idea,” she answered, breathing heavier than the circumstances called for. And then what he had just said dawned on her. “Waaaaiiiiit a minute. Did you seriously just refer to me as a hobbit? Like a small hairy-footed creature from the Shire? That"s the first tiny fantastical being to come to mind… you couldn"t have gone with, like, a fairy or a pixie or something else that sparkles?!” she demanded.