when you know, you know. ya know? part 3

His car stopped and then slowly turned the corner as I stood at the doorstep. Did he really think I wouldn’t recognize the LeBaron? Maybe he was subtlety reminding me that he had his eye on me. My roommate (also a Barcelona alum) and I quickly went in and I peeked out the window to see his car pass by one more time. Would he come in, crash the party and escort me home? Well, I didn’t have time to worry about that. There was a room to work. I quickly scanned the scene—lots of great friends, lots of familiar faces, and a few promising possibilities. I spotted the areas I needed to be in to casually make myself seen having a good time, and then get eye contact. You know how that game works.

Things seemed to be working well when three guys across the room caught my eye. They were surrounded by plenty of girls talking and laughing. Hmmm… I don’t remember them. They must have served before my time. I turned to my roomie and asked if she knew the unfamiliar faces.
“Oh, that’s President Mask’s son and some friends of his,” she informed me.
Interesting. Wonder why they’re here? I thought. Then it was back to work. Not much time left to get noticed.

I’m not sure how it happened but a few minutes later I wound up talking with the two unknown friends. Small talk ensued. They seemed friendly. Although maybe a bit too friendly. I couldn’t be sure of their motives. I was secretly praying that neither of them were looking to ask me out. I wouldn’t have the heart to explain that I am one of those shallow girls who can’t be taller than the man. It’s a whole Amazon Queen complex I’ve got going. Extremely complicated.

“Yeah, we’re just here with Jeff Mask,” they explained. “He roped us into coming to keep him company.”
Sigh. Okay so they’re not on the prowl.
“That’s nice of you.” I remarked. “I’ve never met him.”
“You don’t know, Jeff?” They acted surprised.
“Well, hey, Jeff! Come on over here,” they motioned, pulling him into our circle and then conveniently disappearing into the crowd.

“Hi.” I said politely.
“Hey.” He replied. “Nice to meet you.”
His charismatic smile engulfed me. He's cute, I thought. Ah good, and he’s taller. Amazon complex repressed.
Then an echo whispered in my mind, You should look up my son…
“Oh, yes.” I recalled. “Your dad told me about you over in Spain.”
His green eyes sparkled. “Funny,” he grinned. “He told me about you too.”
My insides tingled as I felt my smile growing wider.      
He intrigued me. I wanted to know more about him. Much more.

We kept talking. I kept smiling. Something about him fascinated me. I felt overwhelmingly happy in his presence.
“We should get together sometime,” he said.
“Definitely.” I nodded.
This feels good, I thought. I can’t wait.
“Let me get your number,” he said as he pulled a small piece of torn paper out of his pocket. Fumbling, he turned it over and quickly scrawled my number on it.
“Is that it?” He reached out to show me. My fingers moved forward and brushed his.
"Mmm hmm." I tingled again.

Leaving the party, I felt victorious. Things were looking up. I was breaking away and thrilled to have options. And what’s more, good options.

The next morning Home Teacher called early. “How was your party?” he interrogated.
“Fun.” I replied.
“Are we still on for the dance tonight?” he asked.

I hoped the night would fly by. Dance after dance, I watched the clock. Another slow song came on and we moved to the middle of the floor. I looked over and saw a group of guys wearing funky shirts, ties and bell-bottoms. I giggled inside. That’s so BYU, I thought. Crashing a semi-formal in disco. I love it! Wish it were me. Suddenly I saw Jeff’s face clearly in the middle of the group. Mortified, I ducked my head into Home Teacher’s shoulder.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, fine.” I squirmed.

This can’t be happening! I thought, panicking. If he sees me here wrapped around this guy, it's over. Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! I need to hide. Somewhere. Anywhere to stay out of view of the blue bell-bottomed clan.

I spent the rest of the night sweating profusely, dodging between couples and burrowing my face into Home Teacher. This only fueled his fire, I’m sure. He took my hand in his as the lights went up and we walked off the dance floor. Undoubtedly Jeff must have seen me with what appeared to be a very significant other. He'd be crazy to still call. But, oh please, say that he will.