“Okay dude, but don’t be creepy about it, yeah? You look a little ‘my precious’ right now.” I forgot how good Jake’s Gollum impression is, and it snaps me back to reality.
“Come with me, I need to talk to her.”
“And you need a wingman?” he says, preening.
“Yeah,” I sigh, frustrated at the truth of it.
“Not afraid she’ll like me more?” he asks teasingly.
I look him up and down with distaste. “Not in that get-up.”
Jake rolls his eyes but pulls the fabric away from his neck to let in—what I’m assuming is—some much-needed fresh air. “Come on then, let’s go meet the pretty girl.”
“Yeah, okay,” I breathe, trying to shake out some nerves. “But just so we’re clear, I’m meeting the pretty girl, you’re there for back up.”
“You want to come up with a signal for me to give you if you start talking shit or just smack you upside the head?”
I glare at my best friend. “Just be polite but not too charming and be prepared to distract Abby and the other one if I get talking to her.”
He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “It’s sometimes hard to be your friend, you know that?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I scoff.
We make our way over to the girls who are all laughing at some joke we’ve missed. The object of my mission catches us coming first, beaming brightly at me as we approach. My steps nearly falter and I swallow, probably looking like a deer in headlights under the glow of her smile.
“You good, brother?” Jake mumbles out the corner of his mouth to avoid being overheard, clearly noticing the complete malfunction I’m having right now.
“Yeah,” I croak and clear my throat as we reach the women. “Hey.” Not my finest work.
“Hi,” Abby, my sweet housemate with a dark bob and a Mrs Clause dress that is anything but wholesome, says with a perky smile. She darts her eyes to Jake and her smile turns from friendly to sultry. “Hi, Jake.”
“Abigail,” Jake purrs with a smirk, causing her to blush and my eyes to nearly roll out their sockets.
“Um,” Abby flusters. “This is my friend Tia.” She gestures to a girl dressed as an elf. Unlike her two friends who have gone for sexy versions of their costumes, she’s buttoned up to her neck and wearing comically large elf shoes with curled toes and bells on. She gives me an awkward wave, looking distinctly uncomfortable with my lack of clothes, her cheeks pinking when her eyes dart over my chest before dropping to her own shoes. “And this is Tia’s friend Lisa,” Abby continues, holding a hand out toward the vision in white.
Lisa. She is literally the most beautiful creature I have ever seen and there’s a chorus of angels singing in my ears as I just stare at her…like an absolute creeper. A smirk starts to take shape from a perfect pout as she draws her eyes up to look at me, completewith her seductivehooded lids painted with just the right amountof shimmer. She silently shares that she’s amused by my lack of words and knows she’s melting my brain. Rescuing me from gaping like a loon any further, she takes over the introductions from Abby.
“You’d think after half an hour of baring my soul and providing stellar entertainment, Abby would have had the decency to introduce me as her friend, or even just Lisa but I’m going to have to work harder to get out of the friend of a friend zone.” She sounds as perfect as she looks. Her melodic voice has a slight huskiness and I can’t help but imagine her moaning my name but quickly avert my thoughts because a boner in these shorts would be anything but subtle. Poor Tia might have a coronary.
Abby smirks. “Sorry Lis, you’re right. Harry, Jake, this is Tia’s andmyfriend, Lisa. She’s on the same course as Tia and although I’ve only met her tonight, she is already one of my dearest friends.”
Lisa bows her head reverently. “Better,” she says with an amused smile.
Then there’s silence. Obviously, it’s up to Jake and me to now say something. Jake is being a good friend and letting me take the lead but I’m still gaping at Lisa like a boy seeing a dirty magazine for the first time. It’s awkward and I feel I’ve already blown my shot, but I don’t want to give up, so I blurt the first thing that comes to my head.
“Gloves.”
Four sets of eyes look at me in varying degrees of shock and confusion, I can feel Jake boring ‘what the fuck?’ vibes into the side of my head, but I stay fixated on the angel.
“Gloves?” Lisa asks.
I clear my throat and blink hoping the momentary lack of having her in my sight will be enough to make way for some sense to penetrate my brain. “Uh, your gloves.” I gesture at the long satin gloves pulled all the way up to her elbow. “They’re purple.”
It looks like she’s trying admirably to hold in her laugh at my idiotic babbling. “Yeah, they are.”
“Do all angels wear purple gloves or do different colours have different ranks?” I’ve found my voice, now I just have to make sure it doesn’t make me sound any more stupid than it already has.
Lisa smiles wide, perfectly straight white teeth appearing between those plush pink lips. “Well, purple is the colour of royalty, so maybe I’m Queen of Angels.”
