Chapter 2
“Lucky, come to this party with us tonight.” Leeza begged me as I walked into the kitchen, yawning on Saturday morning.
“I’m working tonight.”
“Come after work.”
“I’ll be too tired.”
“Come on Lucky.” She pleaded. “You haven’t hung out in ages.”
“Leeza, you know that I’m not in the mood for partying.” I sighed.
“It’s not a frat party,” She whined. “This girl I met in Econ is dating a DJ and he has a hookup on Star Island, and some hot shot actor is holding a party to celebrate his new movie being number one or something.”
“What actor?” I asked curiously.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure there will be lots of hot guys there.”
“I don’t care about hot guys.” I sighed.
“You may be a nun now Lucky, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on every piece of fun in the universe.” Leeza flung her long blonde hair over her shoulders and shook her head. “We’re only young once, so let’s have some fun.”
“I’m not going to meet the guy I’m looking for at a snooty party.”
“You might.”
“In between the potheads and the cokeheads?”
“Since when did you become so judgmental?”
“Since I decided I wanted a good guy who was going to value me.”
“Yawn.” Leeza drank some freshly-squeezed orange juice and rolled her eyes. “Just try and come, please Lucky. You know you, me, and Shannon haven’t hung out in ages.”
“It’s a girls’ night?” I squinted at her suspiciously.
“Yes!” She beamed at me innocently, and I sighed knowing that if I saw her alone for five minutes, I would be shocked.
“Okay, I will try.” It will help to stop my dreams of Zane Beaumont, at least. That guy was seriously doing a number on my head. He intrigued me and I was starting to have too many naughty dreams of him doing things to me that I’d only seen in movies.
“Wear something cute tonight, Lucky.” She grinned at me and ran out of the kitchen. “Have fun at work today, I’m going to the beach to get my tan on.”
“Lucky.” I called out to her enviously, and she laughed.
“No need to say your name girl.”
“Haha.” I opened the fridge as she ran to her room and looked for something to eat. I wanted to make sure I ate something hardy before I got ready for work. Lou’s Burger Joint gave us a 50% discount on all of our purchases, but I knew that I had no money to spare until after I got my car fixed. I looked at the rotting head of lettuce and the hard looking chicken br**sts I had cooked a few days before, and sighed. I wrinkled my nose and opened the freezer and grabbed the hot pockets quickly. I knew they weren’t mine, but I also knew that Leeza wouldn’t mind if I ate one. As soon as the microwave beeped, I grabbed the hot pocket in a tissue and ran back up to my room to count my cash. I nearly had enough to get my car fixed now. I had thought about applying for a credit card to pay for it until I got the cash. But then I remembered how easy it was for people to get themselves into credit card debt. I watched Suze Orman on TV religiously; I knew what bad news credit cards could be to someone my age. I already had enough financial issues; I didn’t need to add any more to the mix.
I lay back on my bed and stretched out. It seemed as if nothing was going right in my life. Or at least, nothing that I wanted to go right. I hated being single. I needed to take proactive measures to find a new guy—one that would fit what I was looking for. I turned on my clock radio and sang along to the latest Britney song, and wondered how it was so easy for some people to find a guy to settle down with, and why it was so hard for me. I was starting to feel like a bit of a loser. I knew I was pretty and smart, but that didn’t really seem to be getting me anywhere.
I jumped up as I realized the time. I had to be at work in about 30 minutes, and I wasn’t even nearly ready. I felt like my life was already too monotonous. All I ever seemed to do was work and school. It was starting to feel tedious and boring, and I was glad that I had decided to attend the party with Leeza this evening. I needed something to take me out of my normal routine; I just needed to remember that I wasn’t there to partake in the craziness, but to have a little fun.
***
I was tired when I got out of work and I drove home feeling depressed. I had barely made any money and didn’t feel like going to the party anymore, but I knew Leeza and Shannon would be disappointed if I didn’t show up. Leeza had called me on my break to make sure I was coming. She had sounded so excited that I was finally going to be spending an evening out with them like we had in the past, and I had felt too guilty to say no. I knew that I definitely had to go when I saw an emerald green dress on my bed with a note from Leeza saying she had bought it for me as a gift.
I sighed as I walked into the door at the party. I was overwhelmed at the amount of people and cars and I briefly considered leaving and going back home. The house was packed with a lot of people I didn’t know, and a lot of people I couldn’t afford to know. I had pulled up the driveway in between a Rolls Royce and a Bentley, and I had felt out-of-place before I had even gotten out of my car. I looked around to see if I could spot Leeza and I gasped when I saw Zane Beaumont talking animatedly to a guy who looked very familiar. I continued to stare at them, trying to figure out who the other guy was when Zane turned around. He must have felt my eyes boring into him because he looked directly at me. His expression changed quickly and ran the gamut of surprised, happy, and upset. I turned around when I saw him frown and walked away quickly, with my heart beating fast. What was Zane doing here? I quickly grabbed a Champagne chute from one of the waiters’ trays and gulped the liquid down, hoping it would give me some liquid courage for the night. I couldn’t believe Zane was at the party. My whole body felt alive when we made eye contact and I was glad that it was so dark that he wouldn’t have seen my face flushing.
“Lucky?” I heard his voice and tried not to flinch as he touched me on the shoulder.
“Hi.” I turned around slowly and tried to avoid his eyes as I smiled quickly.
“I thought that was you.” He frowned, as he looked me up and down. “You look different.”
“Yeah. I’m in a dress.” I quipped. “And I have on makeup that hasn’t melted off yet.”