2. Maggie
2
maggie
“Tony and his friends are on their way down.” My best friend, Makenzie, announces as we’re all jumping around dancing because it’s our first day in Paris. Her dark bobbed hair swings when she turns her head.
“Who’s Tony?” I ask.
“We shall see.”
“What do you mean there are people coming? Mak! Answer me.” I put my hands on my hips.
“Relax your crack and put on some lipstick. See, being in room 666 turned out to be lucky.” I roll my eyes and she tosses a lipstick to our new friend Lizzie. She and Kris are from California and we’re from Nevada. Kris licks her lips and rubs her hands together while Lizzie looks as freaked as I am. I run around the room tidying up.
“You’re not wearing pants. We were having a dance party. I’m sweaty. Girls, there are people coming.”
I finish the last of my beer because I think I might need it. She’s always getting me into situations where I feel slightly uncomfortable. That’s who Mak is, but she’s had my back since kindergarten.
I change my sweater several times and then sit in three different positions around the room. Mak puts on leggings. That’s it. Lipstick and leggings and she’s ready. I, on the other hand, want to make sure to put my best foot forward for these other students. I’m so buzzed from the plane and the beer. There’s a knock on the door and I answer it.
Someone barrels into the room, looking for Makenzie no doubt. She puts her hands on her hips and says in her throaty voice, “Tony?”
“Makenzie?”
I shake my head and say, “Maggie.”
He nods and looks beyond me. Then the hot tall blond guy raises an umbrella like a sword, and Mak comes to the door and whisks him inside.
The dark-haired guy passing by me puts his hand out and says, “Danny,” then points to another in a cowboy hat, “Tex.” I giggle a little.
Danny, locks eyes with my new friend Lizzie and then quickly looks away. I hold the door open as they enter, and say again, “Maggie.”
I watch the cowboy sidle up to Kris. I’m so confused as we pair off instantly. Come on, girls, we were having a fun girl party. I sigh then look at the last boy walking up and dammit if he doesn’t hit me right between my eyes. His green hazel eyes have a blondish bang over one. He pushes it up with his palm like he’s in a commercial for Maggie’s dream date. Who is this? He holds the door open for me to turn back into the room.
He pauses as if he’s stuck too, and we don’t know how to start speaking so we say a lot of things with our eyes. Can eyes talk? He is screaming that he might like me. And I hope my eyes are yelling back that I like the way he looks too. I smile and don’t know what to do. I kind of shimmy and flick my long blond highlighted hair behind me. I lick my lips, and he watches. Then he smiles and looks down at his feet.
“You know I saw that,” I say.
Again, that yummy bang falls over his face a little. “Colton.”
I panic. “What? Was that French?” I’m still struggling to keep up my language tapes because we’re in France, duh. But I’m behind. I lean slightly toward him. Also, I’m kind of lost in his eyes and not hearing things correctly. My mind focuses on one thing at a time. Occasionally, that thing takes me to an odd place where I’m not sure how I got there. I respond to him with what I want him to know.
“Maggie. And I’m not sure if you spoke French or said something else.” He says my name, and my stomach decides to bottom out. Damn, that was dreamy coming from his full, rosy lips. I want to press on them and see if they bounce back like a gummy bear when you try to flatten it.
He laughs but I’m serious. I say, “I don’t know, I’m sorry.”
“No, my name. My name is Colton.”
“Oh! I’m so stupid. Of course, that’s a name. Sorry.” I shake my head and pretend I’m not so embarrassing.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maggie.” I’m about to respond, but I’m breathless as I figure out that manners are quite the turn-on.
“You! Sir Colton of Boston Commons, close the fucking door,” Tony, who seems to be a bit of a ringleader, yells at him while pointing his long umbrella like a sword or a stick or something. Colton groans at the name. Then puts his hand on my back to lead me into the room and lets the door close behind us. And those might be the greatest seconds of my life. A hot high school boy put his hand on my back like we’re adults or something. Like a smooth move kind of thing, you see in movies. He touched me and it wasn’t sexual, but my brain does not know the difference.
Suddenly, I never want him to remove his hand. He guides me to the banquette in the corner. He sits in the open seat. The universe assumes I’ll sit next to him. I stand and try to act casual by holding my hands in front of me because I’m not sure he wants to sit next to me. I’ve got to get myself under control, so I don’t giggle and come off like a ditz. He looks smart and really athletic. I lean on a hip as if I’m comfortable standing in front of him. This is so awkward I want to die. I look around the room to see what everyone else is standing like. I’ll just mirror how they look and then we’ll all be normal.
He outstretches his hand to take mine. “Maggie.”
“I like when you say my name. That’s weird.” Shit. Sometimes I can’t stop filling the space around me and babble. It happens a lot when I’m nervous. “It’s weird right? Sorry. I can be a weirdo.” That wasn’t too bad. I have it under control except that I just confessed to being a weirdo. That’s totally normal and cool.
But he’s smiling with an outstretched hand, waiting for mine. I take it and he guides me to the seat next to him. In the last moments before I sit, I almost sit on his lap. But like, who does that? ‘Oh, hi Mr. Stranger boy man with the cute, short, Wheat Thin-colored haircut. I’m going to sit in your lap like a little dog and wait for you to take care of me.’ I look at his gummy bear lips again and smile.
He grins at me and moves a piece of hair out of my lip gloss and behind my ear. “I like weirdo.”
“Then you’re going to love me.” I slap my hand over my mouth as he grins.
“Time will tell.”
I toss my head back and roll my eyes. “Are you always this charming and cute?”
“You think I’m cute?”
“I have to stop saying things.”
My left eyebrow twitches, and a blush creeps up my neck. I don’t say things like that. There’s a lot of noise and laughing and introductions happening in the room. There’s music and lights, and Mak and Tony are already grinding on each other. But all that seems to be happening behind a sheet of glass. We’re alone in our moment, and the rest of the world falls away. I might not know him for the rest of my life, but in this moment, he knows me. I mean I’m only seventeen, but I’ll always remember the moment when a boy’s smile made the world stop. Who wouldn’t remember that moment? I’m saying the word moment too many times in my head.
He moves his face closer to mine, leaning into my ear. His breath tickles my skin as he speaks. My body feels like it might combust into sexy flames.
“Maggie.”
“How did you do it?” I ask.
“What?” His eyebrow lifts a little.
“Make the world stop?”
He exhales and it’s shaky. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“I feel you’ve had a more adult life than me.” There’s a sad look in his eyes and I want to bring back the sparkle. “Never mind. Go back to being cute!” He laughs and takes my hand.
“I’ve had to be 30 since I was three years old.”
“Why?” I cock my head, trying to ignore the feel of his thumb rubbing the top of my hand.
“Politics.”
“Are you running for something?” He laughs loudly, but I really don’t know what he means. I smile and go with it.
“Weirdo.”
I stick my tongue out and say, “Adult.”
“Damn. You are adorable.” Then he looks at me from under his eyelashes and says, “Ce n’est pas moi qui suis mignon, c’est toi qui est adorable. Comment vas-tu si magnifique et si douce et je te connais déjà. Cela fait près de cinq minutes et j’ai hate de t’embrasser. Puis-je?” Fucking French. I know I signed up for a trip to France, but it was sold as an English and French experience. And then Mak had to go and study her ass off and perfect the damn language. I wish I had taken more French before I came here.
I don’t say anything, and he pulls his face back just enough, so our eyes lock again. “Well, don’t leave me dangling, sweet Maggie. You’re already igniting this room like a sparkler. Please.”
“I have no idea what you said except the word please.” I breathe out. His hand inches closer to my leg and pauses. “Can you say it in English?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” He’s slick without being slick. Is that a thing?
“Mak! Tell me what he said.”
Colt looks up at his friends and shrugs. Mackenzie walks over and says, “Spill it, new boy. Colt, is it?”
He nods and straightens his spine. So far, he seems to be the kind of person who will always be honest and forthright. He’ll always take responsibility for his own actions. We have the attention of the room now and he flips off his friends. Then he nods to Mak and repeats himself.
Danny smacks his knee and Lizzie’s eyes get big. Kris shrieks from the corner. Tony yells, “Like taking candy from a baby.” I don’t know what that means but Danny is laughing really hard.
I look to Mak. “What?”
Mak pops her hip and shakes her head. “Mags, what he said is, you’re screwed.”
I turn back to him, and he smiles at me and says to the room, “Yeah. Yeah. Just email me your assignments and tell the assholes at college I’ll mail them cash.” Then he looks at me when he says the next thing. “And tell them it’s all going to be worth it.”
Lizzie waves at me. I don’t know her well, but I like her so far. She seems a bit shy, and Danny can’t stop looking at her.
Lizzie clears her throat and leans toward me. “He said, ‘I’m not the cute one. You are the adorable one. How are you this gorgeous and sweet and I know you already? It’s been close to fifteen minutes and I’m desperate to kiss you. May I?’”
And there goes the eyebrow flipping up and down as fast as it can in time with my heart and stomach. I’m all flutter flies and firewhips. I look down as he takes my hand and kisses it. I look up at him from beneath my eyelashes and say, “Oui.”
There’s a crash in the corner and I jump up to see Kris has knocked over a bunch of beer cans and I scramble to help her pick them up.