Before & After
      Mystery
 

The party was in full gear. There were kegs of beer, an expensive looking crystal punch bowl was filled with a fruit drink and vodka, a table was set up in one corner piled high with all kinds of food. There was shrimp and pate, for those with less discerning tastes the host had filled bowls with Dorito's and Tortilla chips. The music was loud, blaring from speakers that could not be seen and a band was setting up on one side of the room. Bill Lewis knew how to throw a party. Especially when his mother was out of town.

He walked through the front door and surveyed the room. There were people lounging around on the furniture and the floor. A couple sat on the sofa making out. The guys hand was making it's way up underneath the girls skirt. She pushed his hand away and got up. Three girls were performing a dance number. Moving in unison they rotated their hips. In front of the fireplace there was a group of people sitting around the coffee table playing "quarters". One of the boys made a feeble attempt at landing the quarter in the glass of beer and everyone groaned when it landed on the table without a bounce.

A girl came running up to him. She was wearing a tight black mini-skirt and a red halter top that made her breasts pop out. Her long black hair was teased to look messy. He couldn't remember her name. Handing him a beer she said, "I didn't expect to see you here."

He removed the cap from the bottle and drank.

The lack of response from him made her nervous. She tried again. "It's the biggest party of the year. The band is going to play soon. Bill sure went all out." She said excitedly.

He remained silent. Looking down at her he wondered why girls like her tried so hard to look sexy. She reminded him of the girls you saw in "B" movies on cable late at night.

"Do you want to dance?" She asked eagerly. From the look on his face she wished she could have taken back the question. She knew he would say no immediately.

"Nah." he said walking away from her disappointed face.

Entering the dining room he stopped in his tracks. He watched as the beautiful girl sitting at the head of the table laughed before swallowing a shot of Tequila and proceeded to suck on a slice of lemon. The guys sitting with her clapped.

He loved her laugh instantly. Her whole face lit up. She was tanned and wore no makeup. It looked like she hadn't combed her long, curly hair, but it fell beautifully to frame her face.

He stood there, drinking his beer, appreciating her. After another round, she flipped back the mass of blonde curls, grabbed the bottle and left the table to the loud protests of her audience.

He put his empty beer bottle down. Walking to the table he grabbed some of the lemon wedges and followed her out to the patio. He found her standing at the verandah taking a swig from the bottle. As the liquor made it's way down her throat she grimaced.

He laughed at her screwed up face.

She was startled, but recovered quickly enough to say, "Enjoying the show?". Her mouth was on fire. Using the back of her hand she wiped her lips.

"Yeah. It's a pretty good show too." He opened his hand to reveal the lemon. "I've got the lemon. Here." He handed her a slice.

"Do you normally stand in the shadows spying on people?", she asked as she took the lemon from his hand and began to suck on it.

He studied her mouth. Her lips were pouty and full.

"No. Only when I find the subject interesting." he liked her cockiness. It suited her and it matched his own.

She laughed and began walking across the lawn towards a gazebo. He watched her leave.

"Aren't you coming?", she called back to him. Her voice carried in the breeze.

"Why not?", he thought as he ran to catch up to her. Her hips swung in a rhythm accented by her white shorts and tanned legs.

It was a beautiful night. The moon was full and the stars lit up the night sky. There were flowers beginning to bloom all over the garden. The gazebo was decorated with perfectly rounded ficus trees. They sat in huge terra-cotta planters illuminated with white lights.

She sat down on the floor in the middle of the gazebo and offered him the bottle.

"So why'd you come out here?" he asked nonchalantly as he accepted the bottle from her. Their hands brushed against each other for a brief moment. He pulled away quickly. Drinking from the bottle, in his mind, he saw her lips covering the rim. The tequila burned as it went down. He walked around stopping directly behind her and began to play with the leaves on the tree.

"You never feel like being alone?", she asked, sliding around to face him.

He nodded his head. "Actually, I do. It seemed like you were having a good time inside." He sat down Indian style in front of her placing the bottle on the floor between them.

"Ahh! Seemed...that's the word." She said it sarcastically, but to him she sounded sad. He was even more intrigued by her. He waited to see if she would tell him more..

"It's so easy to fool people. Everyone assumes I should be happy. I mean--Why shouldn't I be?, she laughed at her thought, "I've been accepted at Stanford. "Ha!", she finished off with another laugh. Her eyes didn't shine like they had before.

He felt like reaching out to touch her lips and quiet her. For some reason it bothered him to hear her laugh and know she wasn't laughing on the inside. This girl deserved to laugh only when she meant it.

At the look on his face she went silent. "Yelp! Stan--FOOORD." She exaggerated the ending. The liquor was having its effect on her.

He wasn't sure what to say. "And that's NOT good?" he asked. "Who is she?", he wondered.

"It's good. It's good." She was trying to convince herself. "I just hate that everyone expects me to go. She looked at him her face off to the side, "Does anyone expect anything from you?"

He considered her question. He wasn't used to talking about himself and he was more comfortable listening to her. He wanted to know more about her. She sat there waiting for his answer. He got up and walked to one of the pillars. He leaned his arm against it and looked out at the garden.

"Well?" She was intrigued. What was he waiting for? Who is he?

He understood her then. He knew what she was talking about.

"Yeah. I guess you could say that."

She realized he wasn't going to continue. Something in the way he answered made her feel like he was in tune with her. She wondered what everyone expected of him.

He had an interesting face. She was captivated by his intensity. The way he looked right at her when he spoke. No one had ever looked at her like that. His stare was disconcerting. She felt exposed to him. A chill ran up her spine.

"A man of mystery.", she smiled trying to compose herself and stood up in front of him.

"Mystery...", he repeated. Her hair blew in the wind. He wondered what it would feel like to run his hands through it. He couldn't see her face, she was standing in his shadow. He remembered her smile and made himself believe she was smiling at him.

She moved and her face was bathed in the moonlight.

 She was smiling.

He shivered.

"Michelle? MICHELLE?, a voice broke through the darkness interrupting them.

She turned towards the house and looked for the person calling her name. It was Bill. "Yeah?", she answered back.

"What are you doing? Come back to the party! COME ON!"

"Okay. I'll be right there."

She turned back to him, "I gue..."

He was gone.

"Mystery..." she whispered.

She stood in the gazebo alone staring out into the night. His face forever etched in her memory.