That night, I wore my favorite black dress and comfy black sandals. I had to look hot; after all it was my first college party. And my roommates agreed that I was pretty cute.
Nervousness built up in my stomach as we made our way to Kulhavi residence hall. The party was being held in the lowest level, in the study rooms. All the desks and chairs had been pushed to the side, and there was already music blasting as crazy lights flashed all around. People danced like nuts, and the room was hot and sticky.
"This is so not what I was hoping for..." I said to my roommate, Lauren.
"Tell me about it. Oh well, the dancing looks like fun! C'mon, let's go!" She grabbed my arm and dragged me to the dance floor.
People kept arriving. It had been full when we got there, but soon the room was packed. Everyone was shoulder to shoulder, no matter what way you faced. The music began to be drowned out by people laughing and talking. But I still wasn't quite satisfied, for one reason or another that I didn't know.
I wandered out from the dance floor to the sides of the party, hoping to cool off a little bit. I wasn't expecting anyone to talk to me, never the less know my name and call it out.
"TIA!!!"
I looked around, but I couldn't spot where the voice came from.
"TIA!! OVER HERE!"
I searched again, and I finally saw someone waving his or her hand in the dim light. I walked over, interested in who it could be. It didn't sound like any of my roommates, but somehow that voice was familiar.
I finally reached the spot where my mystery friend was waiting, and I nearly fainted when I saw who it was. It was Wesley! He had dressed up a bit for the party, wearing black jeans and a white top. His red sneakers looked new, and his hair was combed in a perfect swoop off to one side. His dark eyes glittered from the lights.
"Hey! I wasn't expecting to see you here!" He said.
"I wasn't either! Well this is nice!" I chuckled. "I have someone else to hang out with besides my roomies!"
"Yeah, seriously! My roommates didn't even come. They said something about a video game marathon or something... They're such dorks."
"What? You don't like video games?"
"Well..."
"I thought so!" We both laughed.
"So anyways, you look really nice. That dress is awesome!" He smiled.
"Thanks! You look pretty great yourself." I could tell I was blushing, but I hoped he wouldn't notice in the dim light.
"I'm just gonna take a chance here and ask you... Do you wanna dance?"
"Like we did today?" I giggled, and then recovered. "Sure."
So we danced. But not like we had earlier. It was simply social dancing, but somehow, our bodies connected again like they had before. We knew how to move, and it was the greatest thing.
Finally, we stopped. We were both hot and tired, and more people had come to join the party. As we walked back over to the outskirts of the room, Wes asked me:
"Do you want to go outside for a bit? I'm hot, and it's just HOT in here."
I nodded.
Outside, it was cool. The cool autumn breeze felt nice on my hot skin, and hopefully cooled down the redness that had sprung up on my cheeks. We sat in the soft grass outside the doors and just looked at the stars for a few quiet minutes. I wrestled with myself, trying to get up the courage to ask him to come back to my room so I could show him my guitar. But I didn't want him to think I was trying to do anything to him... Plus, I didn't want to sound like a creeper. I decided that if he loved guitar enough, he wouldn't take it the wrong way. So I asked.
"Well sure, Tia. That sounds like fun!" Wes said.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"And I'm on my way to believing." I sang the final line of one of my favorite songs.
"Wow, Tia. You're good!"
"No, I'm not. I just practiced that song for months. It's one of my favorites." I smiled.
He returned a smile. "I can see why."
We sat in silence for a moment, and after it was over I realized that we had one of those "moments" everyone talks about. The kinds in romantic movies when the two people finally realize they're deeply in love with one another and so they stare lovingly into each other's eyes for a minute. It was strange; realizing that you had one of those kinds of moments with a guy you just met that afternoon.
Wes cleared his throat awkwardly. "So how about I play you a song now?"
I noticed I was blushing again. No hiding it this time. "Sure." I handed him my guitar.
He played me a song I'd never heard before, but it was beautiful. His voice was so pure, but still had enough gruff in it to sound like a man. The song itself seemed so simple, but when I watched his fingers move so fast they were a blur, I realized he was playing with his heart. He looked at me when he played the last chord, and I was speechless.
His face was crestfallen. "You didn't like it?" The way he said it was more of a statement than a question.
I recovered from my speechlessness. "No! I loved it! Seriously, Wes, that song was beautiful. And wow, you can play guitar really well!"
He perked up immediately, heartened by my words. "Aw, thanks Tia. But really, I'm not that great."
"Yes you are!" I argued.
We both stared at each other in mock anger, and then burst into a fit of laughter.
At that moment, my roommates walked in to find us rolling on the floor, tears streaming down our cheeks as our breath came in spurts.
"What the heck are you two doing?" Lauren asked.
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