The Art of Life (93 page)

               
“Alright,”
he replies.
 
I stand up and he stands up
with me.

               
Sonya
laughs, “What, she can’t go to the bathroom on her own?”

               
“No,
strict etiquette, a man always stands when a lady leaves or returns to the
table,” Jeremy replies.

               
“I
have seen that on movies,” Ashley sighs.
 
“That’s so romantic.”

               
Jeremy
bends down and kisses me on the cheek.
 
“Don’t get into trouble.”

               
“I
will be right back,” I laugh.
 
The hotel is
gorgeous and I kind of get awe struck by its beauty.
 
When I leave the bathroom, I walk into
Sonya.
 
Ugh, shoot me.

               
“Well,
isn’t Jeremy a catch,” she remarks snidely.

               
Crossing
my arms, I say, “He is the kindest person I know, and I love him for that.”

               
“I
would love him too if he gave me a car and a necklace more expensive than said
car.”

               
“None
of that matters to me,” I reply.
 
“This
could be glass and it would mean the same.”

               
Practically
snarling, Sonya asks, “Where does he get all this money from anyway?
 
Does he deal drugs?”

               
“Yes,”
I groan sarcastically.
 
“He is a drug
lord.
 
Has anyone told you, you are an
idiot?”

               
Her
jaw drops.
 
“How dare you!?”

               
“I
am going to go back to my fine,
droolable
hot date,”
I whisper as I walk past her.

               
“Yeah,
but I bet it irks you I am here with Eric,” Sonya calls after me.
 
I just keep walking, even though I want to
tear her to shreds.
 

               
When
I get back to the table, Jeremy stands up, and the rest of the guys follow
suit.
 
He pulls my chair out for me.
 
“Thanks,” I say.

               
As
we sit back down, Jeremy leans over to me.
 
“Are you alright?
 
Sonya got up
and I was going to come after you, but I thought that was a little obvious.”

               
“I
am fine,” I whisper back.

               
Jeremy
snorts, “She got up to leave the table and part of me wanted to not stand
up.
 
If she would have made a deal about
it, I would say that it would help if she was a lady.”

               
That
makes me giggle and retort, “You are awful.”

               
“I
know,” he murmurs, before sitting up.
 
Sonya comes back a little while later, and you can tell Jeremy
reluctantly stands up.
 
Dinner is plated
and really nice.
 
We all talk and
laugh.
 
It is a lot of fun.
 
Jeremy is the center of attention and keeps
the conversation going the whole time.
 
He holds my hand a lot.
 
It
actually makes me stop and pause a little.
 
For some reason, it feels a little different.

               
As
we sit after we eat, it gets quiet for a second.
 
Sonya obviously has to talk.
 
“I can’t wait for the after party,” she
sighs.

               
“After party?”
Jeremy inquires.

               
“Yup,”
Sonya replies.
 
“My dad got us a hotel
room.”

               
Raising
his eyebrows, Jeremy says, “How nice.”

               
“Yeah,”
she snottily adds, “No parents, it will be awesome.”
 
Both Jeremy and I start to laugh and I have
to look away.
 
“What?” She snaps.

               
With
a huge grin, Jeremy chuckles, “Nothing, it’s just cute…..we don’t have to EVER
worry about parents, we have my apartment, with two spacious bedrooms, a living
room, dining room, kitchen and…..the bathroom.
 
Lots of room to get mischievous in, but…..” He turns to me, “If you want
to get a hotel room, I say we get the honeymoon suite.”

               
“Why
darling, we didn’t bring a change of clothes,” I reply.

               
“I
don’t see why that would be a problem,” Jeremy chimes.

               
I
burst out into giggles, “You wish.”

               
 
“Always,” he remarks.
 
We sit there and stare at each other for a
minute.

               
“That’s
not the point,” Sonya retorts.
 
“We are
all staying the room together, Eric included.”

               
Jeremy
laughs again, and looks at me.
 
“Isabelle, would you like to have a sleep over?”

               
“Since
we live together, I say that is a given,” I state.
 
“So whose bed this time, yours or mine?”

               
There
is just sudden deafening silence at the table.
 
“You live together?” Sonya asks.

               
“
Mmhmm
,” Jeremy answers.
 
“Why?
 
Is that a problem?”

               
“No,
I am jealous.
 
I would love to live away
from my parents,” Jack says.

               
Ashley
chimes in, “Me too.”

               
“So....you
sleep in the same bed?” Eric asks, looking at me.

               
I
open my mouth and then answer, “Sometimes, I have nightmares and it’s actually
really comforting to have someone next to you.”

               
“Totally
not sexual whatsoever,” Jeremy interjects.
 
“Well, maybe in my dreams.”

               
“Jeremy!”
I hiss.
 
He grins and laughs.
 
I roll my eyes, and he leans over to kiss me
on the cheek.

               
Sonya
stares at us.
 
“So, why do you live
together?”

               
“Because
she is the best roommate on the planet,” Jeremy replies.
 
“Cooks like a mad woman.
 
So babe, rent a hotel room or to not rent a
hotel room?”

               
“They
do have room service,” I point out.

               
Jeremy
brings his finger up.
 
“I can make you
breakfast in bed.”

               
My
head turns and I look at him.
 
“You are
going to cook?
 
Should I write out my
will first?”

               
“It
may be cereal and coffee, but I will bring it to you in bed,” he chimes.

               
“
Aww
, that’s sweet,” I say.
 
“No, I would rather sleep in my own bed tonight.”

               
“I
would rather sleep in your bed tonight, too,” he retorts.

               
I
narrow my eyes.
 
“You will sleep in your
own bed tonight.”

               
“We
shall see,” Jeremy sighs.
 
Everyone
starts to talk about what they would do if they lived on their own.
 
It is actually pretty funny.

               
Finally,
it’s the dance portion of the evening.
 
We all walk to the ballroom, with me on Jeremy’s arm.
 
The room has giant chandeliers and marble
floors.
 
It would be fairy tale like, but
there is a DJ set up in the corner.
 
Kind
of takes away the effects.
 
We congregate
in the corner and stand there as awkward teenagers do.
 
Not Jeremy though, he seems totally at home.

               
We
talk for a bit, and then the DJ starts to play music.
 
Now, I have never been to a dance before, but
there is no one actually dancing.
 
Jeremy
sees me eyeing the dance floor, and he grins, “Come on.”
 
He grabs my hands and starts to pull me.

               
“No,
no, no,” I gasp.
 
“There is no one else
out there!”

               
“Nothing
like getting the party started,” Jeremy quips back.

               
Giggling,
I pull back, “Jeremy!”
 
He is obviously
much stronger than me, and instead of making a spectacle, I follow him out
there.

               
He
spins me around and then pulls me against him.
 
“Nothing outrageous,” he whispers, and then grins, “Yet.”
 
I laugh and shake my head.
 
“We keep it nice and simple, until there are
other people out here and then it’s on.”

               
“Are
you going to embarrass me?” I inquire.

               
“Maybe……just
a little,” he replies.
 
Jeremy spins me
out and back again.
 
I just laugh.
 
We literally dance for two songs before
people come out onto the dance floor.
 
That makes it feel a little less awkward.
 
When there is a good amount of people out
here with us, I finally loosen up a bit.
 
It’s like Jeremy and I are in our own little world.
 
We laugh a lot.
 

               
After
a while, I gasp, “We need to stop.
 
I am
dying of thirst.”

               
“Okay,”
he replies, grabbing my hand.
 
He pulls
me against him and we walk over by the drinks.
 
Jack and everyone are standing there.

               
Jack
smiles.
 
“You guys are really tearing it
up out there.”

               
“I
owed her many dances,” Jeremy replies.
 
“We
aren’t done yet either.”

               
“I
needed to breathe and get something to drink,” I say, grabbing some water.

               
Eric
says, “You looked good out there.”

               
“Thanks,”
I say.

               
“Eric
has promised me so many dances,” Sonya states, grabbing ahold of his arm.
 
The look Eric gives her is priceless.
 
I try to not laugh.

               
Ashley
sighs, “I wish I had brought a date.”
 

               
Jeremy
looks at me, and I nod.
 
He sticks out
his hand, “Let me take you for a spin then.”

               
“Really?”
She chirps, looking at me.
 
I nod enthusiastically.
 
She grabs his hand and they go out to dance.

               
“She
could have asked me to dance,” Jack grumbles.

               
“Why
Jack, do you want to dance?” I ask.

               
He
grins broadly.
 
“Why yes I do.”

               
“Then
let’s dance,” I declare, sticking out my hand this time.

               
We
go out onto the dance floor, and he isn’t as good of a dancer, but it’s still
fun.
 
Everyone kind of gathers in a
group, and it’s a lot of craziness.
 
I
keep an eye for Eric, but he stands on the outskirts with people.
 
Sonya drags him out for a few dances, but for
some reason he doesn’t look that amused.
 
Our eyes meet a couple of times.

               
Jeremy
suddenly pulls me to the side and against him.
 
“I want you to myself.”

               
“Are
you having fun?” I ask.
 
A love song
comes on, so we slow down.