Chapter 3

Cupid

“Tell me that’s your mom’s lumpia!” Robby exclaimed, his dark eyes eagerly on the big plate covered with foil in my hands.

His excitement towards my mother’s food always made me smile. “Of course!” Her Filipino eggrolls are always such a hit with my friends.

“Man, I love you!” Robby remarked cheerfully as he pecked the top of my head.

“Happy birthday!” Josh exclaimed as he flashed that bright smile and handed him a big, wrapped box.

“Thanks, bro.”

I set the big, hot plate down on the table already filled with food. Fried chicken, mash potatoes, a giant burrito…my mouth was watering. Josh had wanted to cook up a plate for this special occasion, but I told him Robby definitely would have a lot of food already. “Where are the rest of the people who are helping to set up?” I asked as I gave him a giant birthday hug right when my hands were free.

“They went to get the alcohol,” Paula answered, coming out of the kitchen along with Stephen and Kat.

“Hey babe,” I greeted my best friend, Paula, with a hug.

“How ya doin’, Nessa?” Stephen greeted. That adorable smile of his would always cheer me up.

I smiled back and threw my arms around his neck. “Awesome. And I loved the acoustic you put up,” I added.

His adorable, contagious smile grew wider. “Thanks.”

Stephen was Paula’s boyfriend and they’ve been going out for about two years already. To capture Paula’s heart, Stephen and his band, L.E.G.I.T, wrote a song about her. She was immediately sold when he played it for her at one their shows. L.E.G.I.T was blowing up huge on Myspace and was about to have a mini tour in the east side.

“Who went on alcohol patrol?” I asked Kat after I had hugged her for a brief second.

“Steve, Tones, James, and Lamar,” she replied.

A second after she answered there were loud knocks on the door and I recognized the voices even before Robby opened it. “That should be them now.”

The guys all came in each carry packs of beer in each hand. They looked like guys stocking up for a Superbowl game with all that alcohol. “Does this party really need all that?” Paula chucked as she shook her head.

“Hell yeah!” Lamar cheered.

I rolled my eyes amusingly. “Oh god. We don’t need another repeat of Kat’s twenty-first,” I teased.

We all laughed. “Good times, man!” Tony exclaimed as he set the packs of beer in his hands down near the cooler.

Alcohol wasn’t really my thing and even my friends were uneasy about it after what happened more than a year ago. I knew for a fact we’ve tried pushing it out of our minds, but it left a permanent scar on each and every one of us. But we all wanted things to be how it was before; I don’t think it ever will be the same, though.

Tony’s gorgeous blue eyes looked over towards Josh and me. “Hey man!” he greeted Josh with a fist pound as he flashed a killer grin.

“Tony! Hey.”

“Your car okay?”

“Just brought it to the shop in the morning. Should be fixed in a few days,” he replied.

Tony nodded and set his gaze on me. “When the hell are we gonna catch another game, diehard?” he questioned with a smile.

I laughed. “We just caught one last night, dude!”

He shrugged. “So? I gotta spend as much time with you while I’m here, right?”

It was my turn to flash a grin. I definitely liked the sound of that. “So where’s Trisha?” I asked curiously.

“She’s coming later on,” he replied before helping James with packing all the cans of beer into the cooler.

Josh’s hand found its way into mine and he lightly pecked me on the cheek as soon as he was done. With my heart fluttering, I smiled back at him. Why was he so amazing? I always caught myself wondering.

“James!” I called out. “Is your fiancée coming?” I questioned with a grin.

“Or soon to be wife in two weeks,” Josh added.

James looked over and he cracked a smile at the two of us. “Yeah,” he replied, his green eyes gleaming. I couldn’t decide who had the greenest eyes—James or Josh. It was tough.

Nikki and James. Another couple I had set up. Years ago James and me had a small fling. It was short lived and when I found out my friend Nikki had a major crush on him. I just had to set it up. They’ve been together for more than three years now and are tying the knot in two weeks.

Call me freakin’ Cupid.

I let go of Josh’s hand gently to help Robby and Kat set up the food table. “Robby, is it okay if I invited a friend over here? I think he’s bringing some guys, too,” I said as I took the foil off the plate and the smell of my mother’s homemade food filled the air.

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Kat shot me a questionable glance. “They’re gorgeous army men,” I informed her with a grin.

A mischievous grin shot right up her lovely face. “What?”

It was like high school all over again by her expression. “Yup, just for you and all my single ladies,” I sang out.

She let out a small, excited shriek. “What the hell would I do without you, Cupid?” she questioned playfully.

I laughed. “Did I just hear gorgeous army men come out of your mouth?” Josh questioned with his lips pursed into an amused smile, coming from behind me.

“Uh…I mean the gorgeous service they provide for our country. Duh,” I said sheepishly with a mild chuckle as I spun around to face him.

“Horrible save,” he snickered before giving me a quick peck on the lips.

Josh casually played with the necklace around my neck as I waited curiously for him to say something.

“Robby, how do you turn this thing on?” Lamar questioned as he fiddled with the buttons on Robby’s sound system.

“Aw, dude! Don’t break that shit!” Robby groaned as he left the table to help. He turned back to us. “Kat, could you go upstairs and grab some CDs?”

“Sure,” she replied. I watched as Robby went over and playfully smacked Lamar on the side of his head.

When Josh’s green eyes looked back up at me, he flashed a sexy smile and leaned in closer. His mild cologne always made my head spin when he lingered closely. “So how do you like the idea of you showing me what you bought today at the lingerie store when we get home from the party?” he suggested in a low, quiet tone with a naughty grin.

I bit my lip; I knew where he was getting at and I was definitely getting excited just thinking about it. Ever since he started his history teacher job, he has been very busy and our steamy nights together occurred less often. “What if I’m wearing it now?” I asked quietly, my voice seductive.

His smile grew and he set his hands gently on my waist. “Even better,” he whispered.

Now I couldn’t wait to get home.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

By eight o’clock there were about thirty people placed inside and around Robby’s house. It wasn’t one of those college frat parties we’ve been going to our first three years of college with drunk people everywhere. It was one of those eat god food, play video games dance a little, and sing karaoke horribly kind of parties with a few drunks.

Everyone would agree that whenever Steve and Lamar sang karaoke it was hilarious. But when they were drunk it was even more hysterical.

I spotted Josh standing near the round table alone and swiftly took the beer bottle out of his hand before he took another gulp of it. “I thought you were driving us home after,” I reminded him in his ear with a light tone.

“It’s my first and last one tonight, babe,” Josh assured me with a soft smile. “I promise.”

Josh never consumed a lot of alcohol in one night and I’ve only seen him drunk once. I’ve never taken more than five shots in my life. Ever since a year and a half ago, I promised myself I never would drink alcohol at all.

“I’ll drive then, anyway,” I said before handing him the bottle back.

“Well, it’ll still be my last one tonight,” he said.

I smiled and nodded, appreciating his effort to make me happy. He knew I wasn’t a big fan of beer breath.

“Hey.”

I spun around to see Shane along with two other guys on either side of him. “Hey!” I felt myself light up a few notches. “You made it!” I exclaimed with a smile. For some reason I was even more stoked to have Shane here.

“Yeah, what else can I do during weekends?” Shane questioned with that crooked grin.

My eyes went towards the two guys next to him. “These are my roommates. This is Molina,” he said as he nodded towards the tan Latin guy to his left.

The guy winked and flashed a stunning smile. I’ll admit it blew me away. He had the nicest, most adorable smile I’ve ever seen.

Shane patted the guy to his right hard on the back. “And this is Summers.”

Summers took a timid step forward. “Logan Summers, actually, ma’am,” he said shyly with a mild Southern drawl that I found very adorable. The hair on his cleanly shaved head was a dirty blonde color and he had dark brown eyes. The guy must’ve been no older than twenty.

“Nice to meet you, Logan. I’m Nessa.”

We exchanged polite smiles and nods. “Alex Molina,” the tan one said as he took my hand. I could’ve sworn he was flexing. “You can call me Molina though.”

He led my hand up to his full lips and kissed it ever so lightly. “Oh well…” I muttered sheepishly as I gently pulled my hand away.

Shane quickly nudged Molina before shooting him a warning glance. “And her boyfriend,” he added.

Molina took one look at Josh and that amazing smile faded. “Oh,” he mumbled under his breath, slightly embarrassed. Logan covered his mouth in his attempt to muffle his chuckle, but Shane just laughed out loud. Even Josh seemed amused.

“How about I introduce you to some of my friends?” I suggested with a smile.

“Single ones, right?” Molina asked in a hopeful voice.

I flashed a wider grin and nodded. “Single beautiful ones.”

It seemed as if all three guys lit up at those words. “Hell yeah. Lead the way, Nessa,” Shane said as his lips curled upwards.

With a grin, I took Shane’s hand and led the guys into the kitchen where I spotted Holly, Kat, and some other girl talking on the couch.

“Girls,” I sang. “Let me introduce you to my friends.” The guys looked more than pleased already as they stared back at the lovely ladies on the couch. “Logan, Shane, and Alex,” I said, going down the line.

The girls had the same mischievous look in their eyes. “And this is Holly, Kat, and….” I looked questionably at the cute girl with jet-black hair.

“Nina,” she responded, not taking her eyes off Shane. I could tell he was definitely noticing it by that idiotic grin on his face I’ve seen many times before.

With all three girls and all three guys looking very satisfied with what was in front of them, I knew it was a win.

“I’ve seen you before,” Kat commented as she looked at Shane with curious eyes.

“In your dreams?” I suggested quickly, not wanting to explain it to her just now. “Fantasies?” I teased.
Shane’s dark eyes looked amusingly into mine and I shrugged before flashing a sheepish grin. “Have fun,” I sang out before leaving the kitchen.

“Nessa!”

A familiar voice called out. When I turned around, I saw that it was Trisha, looking gorgeous as usual. I felt sorry for every female at this party now—including myself. Nobody would look good next to her. Why’d she always have to look like a freakin’ goddess all the time?

“Hey!” I exclaimed as I managed a smile.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like Trisha; she was a great girl and Tony was undeniably in love with her. The only problem I had with her was that she had hurt him too many times. They broke up a lot mainly because she didn’t like the fact that he was always away for baseball games while he was in playing double A ball in Kansas. Trisha, her cousin Kayla, Paula, Robby, and me frequently flew there to stay with him for a few weeks, but it didn’t seem to be enough for Trisha at that time.

I saw that it hurt Tony every time she broke it off with him, but she needed to realize that it was his job. His dream. Although Trisha finally accepted the fact that Tony has to travel and be away a lot for his baseball games, I still couldn’t fully forgive her for all the times she broke his heart.

I watched as Tony snuck up from behind her and surprised her with a peck on a cheek and a hug. “Tones. I’m playing Cupid again,” I informed him with a grin. “Look over at the couch.”

Tony and Trisha both turned around to see three men flirting with our friends like crazy. I saw that Molina already had his hand casually on Holly’s thigh.

Trisha’s stunning blue eyes met mine before Tony’s did. There was only one pair of eyes as amazing as hers, and that belonged to the person next to her. “Wow, you are Cupid,” she chuckled.

I chuckled lightly and her gaze suddenly dropped down at the small diamond cross necklace around my neck. “That’s beautiful,” she commented as she put a gentle finger on it.

My hands went up and touched it. “Oh. Yeah. Josh gave it to me for Valentine’s Day this year,” I explained sheepishly. “I told him I’d be happy with just flowers or chocolate, but…” I shrugged. I actually preferred flowers or chocolate over expensive gifts. It was so embarrassing accepting them, but Josh loved to spoil me sometimes.

“Or Ninja Turtles valentine cards,” Tony muttered amusingly and we couldn’t help but exchange secret grins.

Anonymous Ninja Turtle valentine cards were Tony’s way to a girls heart during grade school. It seemed as if messages on baseball JumboTrons gave him better results, though.

“You don’t wear it a lot,” Trisha observed, obviously not hearing what he said.

I nodded slowly as I touched the necklace once again. “Only sometimes.” It was the most expensive piece of jewelry I’ve ever owned, so I was afraid to wear it because I didn’t want to lose it.

She lightly put her hand on the thin, silver bracelet around my right wrist. “I always see you wear this one,” she commented with a laugh.

My eyes flickered up at Tony, who quickly looked down. “Yeah,” I replied in a soft tone. “It’s my favorite.”

His lovely blue eyes darted back up into mine in surprise and he flashed a small, crooked grin my direction.

“Looks like Cupid’s arrow is working,” Trisha remarked amusingly, her eyes elsewhere.

I looked over and saw Nina and Shane already making out in the corner of the kitchen.

We burst into laughter.

- - - - - -

As soon as we were home from the party, Josh’s mouth was immediately on mine and we stumbled hurriedly onto our bed.

A/N: Again, no changes to this chapter. Please review! :)

Thoughts on their friends?

I've decided to split this story up in 3 parts (which is why I deleted the chapters I had up before). The first part will be in Nessa's POV, the second part will be in Shane's POV, and the third will be back into Nessa's POV.