Agony by Yolanda Olson Page B

back down.
    “Yeah. She’s a good woman,” he replied.
    I stepped away from the picture and looked around the opulent room. It really wasn’t what I expected. There was no sex paraphernalia anywhere and there were no signs that he was anything other than an ordinary guy. Pictures of his family and friends were scattered all over the living room.
    Arsen left me in the room to look around. I noticed Addie was sitting on the obviously expensive leather couch smiling at me.
    “I’m proud of you kid. You’ve been out here for four months, and you’re already growing up on me.”
    I blushed at her praise. I knew what she meant. My answer to being Arsen’s girl was a big decision for me and she was probably expecting me to say no which is why she answered for me.
    “I like him,” I finally admitted.
    “I knew that already. You wouldn’t have had a “pajama party” with him if you hadn’t,” she said grinning and making air quotes. “You just need a push, is all.”
    “Thanks Addie,” I said softly.
    “Hey, that’s what I’m here for!” she said with a laugh.
    “You guys ready to hit the liquor store?” Arsen asked reappearing.
    “Let’s do it!” Addie said.
    We walked out of the house after I pulled on my denim shorts. We piled into Arsen’s car and he backed out of the driveway.
    “I told everyone to start showing up around seven so we’ve got two hours,” he said as he put the car in drive and made his way toward the liquor store.
    “Perfect, I told the boys eight,” Addie said from the backseat.
    I reached into my purse and grabbed my phone. I sent Matt a message, giving him Arsen’s address and telling him to bring Drew.
    He replied with a “hell yes” and I smiled.
    “Matt’s in. And he’s bringing Drew,” I said to Arsen.
    “Cool! I hope they have a good time,” he replied with a grin.
    We pulled into the liquor store parking lot and got out of the car. Addie was walking around in her two piece bathing suit and I stuck close to her, feeling completely protective. Eventually we all found our way back to the front of the store and at the cash register. Arsen picked up the three hundred dollar bill and we all walked back out to the car.
    “Mind dropping me off at home? I wanna change,” I said to him.
    “Yeah, let me just take this stuff home first,” he replied.
    I waited in the car while him and Addie unloaded the car and took everything into the house.
    They came back out and we were off to my place. I climbed out of the car when we arrived and was suddenly struck with the realization of how small my place really was. After being in Arsen’s living room, I was sure it was bigger than my entire damn apartment.
    I unlocked the door and the three of us went in.
    “I’m gonna take a shower quick,” I called back to them as I disappeared into the bedroom.
    I grabbed a sundress that I had specially made when I lived in New York. It was lightweight and had vertical white strips toward the bottom. The rest of it was black with a giant white skull in front. I knew what Addie was going to say. Don’t you wear anything besides black and white skulls?
    I turned on the water, hopped in, and washed myself up in record timing. I blow dried my hair and reached for some mouse. I had been thinking about flat ironing my hair but decided I’d rather accentuate the natural waves.
    When I was done, I gave myself one last look over in the full length mirror on the door and blew a kiss.  The dress hugged me in all the right places without being too tight.
    Hopefully he thought I looked as hot as I felt.
    “I’m ready!” I said cheerfully walking into the living room.
    “ Wow ,” Arsen said appreciatively.
    “Not bad, Neve!” Addie agreed with a nod.
    Arsen stood up and came over to where I was standing. He took one of my hands and raised my arm, looking me up and down.
    “ Very nice ,” he said with a grin.
    “Let’s get going guys! We’ve got a party to host!” Arsen said leading the