The Art of Life (81 page)

               
Josh rolls his eyes.
 
“My brother owns the place, so we will be
using his bathroom.”
            

               
 
“Your brother owns the place?” Sonya asks,
looking dumbfounded.

               
“Yup,” Josh retorts.
 
“But, WE have some things to go do.”

               
“Oh
my gosh
,
can I please go with you?” Jessica gasps.
 
“I really need to use the bathroom.”

               
Josh scoffs, “No.”

               
“Yeah,” I sigh.
 
“I am not going to be mean.”

               
“Thank you!” Jessica
screams.
 
Josh tilts his head and we
follow him down the hallway.
 
The noise
is almost instantly shut off when we walk into the back.
 

               
We walk through a few hallways
and then come to a huge office area.
 
“It’s right there,” Josh says, pointing to the bathroom.

               
Jessica doesn’t even say anything,
but darts into it.
 
Now, I just awkwardly
stand there with Josh.
 
He pulls me up
against him and I feel a little relieved.
 
This is just tense for me.
 
I can
practically feel Sonya staring at me.
 
“So, you two came down here together?”

               
“Obviously,” Josh retorts,
sounding annoyed.

               
“Well, I am just surprised to
see you with another guy,” Sonya says to me.

               
I shrug, “I don’t have to
explain anything to you.
 
We are just
here to use the bathroom.”

               
“
Mmmhmmm
,”
Josh says, pulling me tight against him.

               
Laughing, I push away from
him.
 
“Stop it, you
perv
.”

               
“You know I can’t help myself
when I am around you,” he quips back.

               
“So, that’s how you get the
guys,” Sonya snips.

               
Confused, I say, “HUH?”

               
“Didn’t take you one for
bouncing between guys, but why am I not surprised?
 
An easy target is an easy target,” she slyly
replies.

               
That makes me burst out
laughing.
 
“If you are suggesting what I
think you are suggesting, you are way off course, I am a virgin, you
idiot!
 
No bed hopping here.”

               
“Okay, now THAT doesn’t surprise
me at all,” Sonya retorts.
 
“Why could I
have possibly thought that someone had sex with you?”

               
“Hey!” I snap, stepping forward,
but Josh grabs me.

               
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s all
take a breath.
 
Are you implying that
being a virgin is a bad thing, that her not being with a guy is a bad
thing?
 
That’s funny.
 
Let me explain something to you, a girl that
sleeps with guys is a good time, sure.
 
A
girl that saves herself, that means something, because you know what, if she
chooses you it means something.
 
If I
were SO lucky to have Isabelle
love
me and choose me,
that would make it beautiful.
 
She is
what guys like to date, not just fool around with.”
 
Josh declares sharply.

               
Sonya stands there for a second,
just staring at us.
 
Jessica opens the
door a few seconds later.
 
“Thanks,” she
says, stepping out.
 
Jessica stops and
looks around.
 
“What’s going on?”

               
“Now that your friend has used
the restroom, I am going to escort you out of here.
 
Izzy, you can use the bathroom now,” Josh
says firmly.

               
“I haven’t gone yet,”
Daniella
chirps.

               
Getting a very angry look on his
face, Josh retorts, “I don’t care.”

               
“Just let her use it,” I
sigh.
 
“They are back here.
 
I am not going to be as shallow as them.”

               
“You are a much better person
than me,” Josh replies.

               
We all stand there silently as
Daniella
uses the bathroom.
 
Josh looks at Sonya and she shakes her head.
 
“I don’t have to go.”
 
With a pointed finger, Josh gestures down the
hallway.

               
Turning to me, he says, “I will
be right back.”

               
I go into the bathroom and shut
the door.
 
This is too much.
 
All of this is too much.
 
Maybe I should have let Cassandra bring me
down here.
 
I turn and look in the
mirror.
 
Hey, at least I still look good.

               
When I am done, I open the
door.
 
Josh is standing there.
 
“Oh
my gosh
,” he
exclaims.
 
“That is what you put up
with!?”

               
“That, oh that was nothing,” I
reply.
 
“It gets much worse than
that.
 
I get called a freak and a
loser.
 
You guys wonder why I view myself
the way that I do.”

               
“I am saying this as a dude and
not your friend.
 
Isabelle, you are
beautiful.
 
I mean, a guy would be so
lucky to have you as his girlfriend.
 
Girls like
that,
we see them for who they
are.
 
They will realize that acting like
that won’t get them anywhere with guys.
 
It is really unattractive.”

               
Wrapping my arms around him, I
say, “Thanks Josh.”

               
“Now,” he says, swinging his
hips from side to side.
 
“
Me
and you are going to hit the dance floor.
 
Let’s go.”
 
He grabs my hand and leads me back out into the club.

               
I am smiling because Josh made
me feel so much better about myself.
 
We
are walking past the tables downstairs, when I hear, “Isabelle!” again.
 
I groan and turn around.
 
Then I quickly smile.
 
“Hey!”

               
Holly smiles at me.
 
“We didn’t know you would be here.”

               
“I am here with Josh,” I reply,
pointing to him.
 
“Josh these are my
friends Holly, Rose, Walt and of course Jack.”

               
“Are you having fun?” Josh asks.

               
“Yeah,” Rose replies.
 
“Where’s Jeremy?”

               
Pointing, I say, “Upstairs.”

               
“Right there actually,” Josh
retorts.

               
We all look up and see Jeremy on
the dance floor with that blonde.
 
Okay,
I am going to hurl in front of my new friends.

               
There is a moment of silence and
then Rose asks, “I thought he and you were together.”

               
“What?” Josh says, looking
rather confused.

               
“Isn’t he your boyfriend?” Rose
asks.

               
Reaching behind Josh, I pinch
him really hard.
 
“I never actually said
that.
 
We aren’t exclusive.
 
He can dance with who he wants.”

               
Josh catches on.
 
“Yeah, he is preoccupying himself because I
stole Isabelle away.
 
Right
babe?”

               
“Yeah,” I laugh, feeling a
little relieved.

               
“Wow, you get to kiss Jeremy and
hang out with another cute boy, you are now my idol,” Rose sighs.

               
Suddenly, Josh pulls me against
him.
 
“Actually, since Jeremy is
preoccupied, I am going to keep us busy.”

               
“Huh?” I reply confused, turning
to him.
 
Suddenly, his lips are on
mine.
 
I am taken so off guard, I
actually freeze, but you know what, it feels good, and Jeremy is obviously
having his own fun.
 
We kiss each other
for a minute and then pull away.

               
“Wow Isabelle,” Josh
stammers.
 
“You are a phenomenal
kisser.”
 

               
Blushing, I say, “Thanks.”

               
With a grin, Josh looks at my
friends.
 
“Alright, that was fun.”

               
“Won’t Jeremy get mad?” Jack
asks slowly.
 
“Do you all just kiss each
other?”

               
“Gosh no, I do not kiss Jeremy!”
Josh exclaims, and then laughs.
 
“This
was Isabelle’s and my first kiss.
 
She is
really bashful actually, and Jeremy is probably going to chop off my manhood.”

               
I shake my head, “You are
ridiculous.”
 
Josh just grins at me.

               
The song changes and Rose yells,
“I love this song!
 
Let’s go dance.”

               
“Definitely,
let’s,” Josh replies.
 
He grabs my
hand and pulls me to the dance floor.
 
The beat is fast and a lot of fun.
 
Josh holds himself against me, which makes me just giggle
uncontrollably.

               
Cassandra and Kent are suddenly
next to us.
 
“What are you doing down
here?” I shout.

               
“We wanted to find where you
were,” she replies.
 
“I actually got Kent
out on the dance floor.”
 
I smile and
wave at him.

               
For an entire song, I forget
about Jeremy.
 
Who cares right?
 
At one point, Josh and Kent pin me between
them dancing.
 
I push one with my hands
and the other with my back trying to separate them, but it fails.
 
So, I give up and laugh.
 
Cassandra finally pulls me out and she and I
dance together.
 
It feels incredible to
be with so many people that I can actually call my friends.

               
When the next song comes on, I
feel hands wrap themselves around me.
 
I
turn around to find Jeremy standing there.
 
A little perturbed, I glare at him.
 
“What? You are no longer amused by the blonde.”

               
“I didn’t want to do that,”
Jeremy replies.

               
“Bull,” I snap, probably too
harshly.
 
“But that’s alright, I had my
own fun.
 
Josh is quite entertaining.”

               
An angry look passes over
Jeremy’s face.
 
“Yes, I saw.”
 
He looks at me for a second and then says, “I
am sorry.”

               
That takes me a little off
guard.
 
“For what?”
I ask, a little nervous.

               
He opens his mouth and then
shuts it.
 
“I only wanted to dance with
you tonight, and I let that pass by, which was just dumb of me.
 
I am sorry.
 
That meant nothing.”

               
“So did kissing Josh,” I state,
looking into his eyes.

               
Jeremy bends over and whispers
in my ear, “Dance with me.”
 
His hot
breath sends shivers down my spine.
 
I
wrap my arms around his neck and he pulls me toward him, putting our legs
between each other’s.
 
At that point, I
kind of forget about the rest of the world.