PITD 5: Smitten

The house where the party was hosted was a huge contemporary mansion that stood out proudly among the neighboring houses and flanked by the tall heads of Oak trees. The blaring music which could be heard from several miles away had Leigh sympathizing with the many eardrums in the process of being damaged and preparing her own eardrums too to be damaged.

Willis turned around the circular driveway several times before finding a spot in between two poorly parked cars. Then led the girls up and into the party proper.

It was barely past seven and the place was already packed with practically everyone from school. One could barely take two steps without colliding with someone walking sloppily or being pressed against bodies of people who were either making out or dancing. Most people were already in the large outdoor pool, not caring that they were splashing water everywhere. Others were hanging around in groups, drinking a liquid substance from a red cup which Leigh suspected was booze and talking loudly.

 They came across a particular group playing the game of passing the cup. A cup was set in the center of a round table, then each player was required to throw a small tennis ball into the cup. If it didn't go in, the player was required to drink a cup of booze. It was at this table, that Leigh noticed Jer and the rest of the basketball team. Touché she thought. The game would be extremely easy for a bunch of guys who thrived on throwing balls into a basket.

"Willis! My man." Jer greeted upon sighting Willis. Though Leigh had read his lips rather than heard his voice over the damning music blaring over invisible speakers. "How you doing Jer?"

Jer barked out a laugh and gestured widely with his red cup. 'Rock and rolllll," he slurred.

"Okay buddy. I’ll see you later. Come on Leigh, let's go get a drink in the house." He grabbed her hand and led her up the white steps and into the house. His best friend was well on his way to drunk.

Inside, the noise was mercifully not as loud as it was outside leading Leigh to think that the speakers had to have been stationed outside the house. It was also less filled up than outside. In fact, there were quite a few people inside the massive living room they had just stepped into.

"Whoa!" Exclaimed Leigh. "This place is lit." She looked around, trying to take in the expensive décor all at once.

"I know right? It’s freaking awesome." Thea awed after her.

"You girls stay here. I’ll go get the drinks from the kitchen." Willis told them and disappeared into a corner.

"Hey, do you think I might land that hot guy over there?" Thea asked, thrusting her chin in the direction of a small group of guy playing pool. "Which one of them?" Leigh asked, unable to pinpoint the exact guy that had caught her best friend's attention.

"Pretty boy, blonde hair, currently laughing at five o'clock." Thea whispered urgently like the guys who were all the way across the room could hear her voice. "Cool your tits mamacita. Blonde hair..." Leigh trailed off as she searched for the guy with Thea's description "Aha!" She exclaimed when she saw him. "Oh no,"

"What?"

"That's Cole. One of the basketball players and he has sighted us. He is heading towards us right now."

"I know that. I can see him."

"Hi Leigh," Cole greeted, smiling brightly. "Hi pretty lady," he turned to Thea. "And you will be..."

"T-Theaa." Thea, obviously smitten, stammered. Leigh could not blame her best friend though, Cole was a hot guy, one with blonde hair and smoky grey eyes. A combination that proved to be Thea's weakness.

"Thea, beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Cole commented, taking her hands in his and kissing them. Leigh watched her best friend almost swoon.

'How are you enjoying the party?" Cole asked, once again shifting his attention to Leigh but not letting go of Thea's hand.

"We just got here. Willis went to get us drinks." Leigh explained.

"I guess I would just have to borrow your friend here for the night." He winked at Thea, sending her into fit of giggles.

"I'll see you later Leigh," Thea said just as Cole began leading her back to where he had come from. "Have fun!" she even had the guts to wriggle her eyebrows at Leigh who felt the jab of betrayal deep in her chest.

She was just wondering what took Willis so long to get drinks when he showed up from the same curve he had disappeared into. "Hey, where is Thea?"

"She ditched me for Cole," Leigh mumbled, unable to keep the whine out of her voice as she accepted a drink from Willis. "Is this booze?" she asked, taking a careful sniff of the drink.

"Nah, I figured you might not be an alcohol person so I got you a fruit punch instead." He explained. "I could get you booze if you want though," he took a sip of his own drink.

"N-No this is good." Leigh consented, and eyed the drink before taking a cautious sip.

"This means I have you all to myself," Willis said as he watched her sip her drink. Her face was more open to him than it had been all week when she had simply worn hoodie after hoodie. He took a second to appreciate her beauty as she tried to hide her face with her hair and sip her drink at the same time. When he had picked her and her friend up earlier, it was all he could do from stopping himself from touching her face as she had looked up at him with bewilderment, completely forgetting to not meet his eyes.

She was stunning.

Absolutely stunning and graceful. She reminded him of a delicate flower in spring, just beginning to blossom. Her skin—what little he could see of it—glowed under the bright lights of the room, her rich brown hair cascaded down her slender shoulders and pooled around her face. Willis felt like he could get lost in her beauty forever and not find his way back home. He was not even sure he would want to find his way back. He could be content to stay lost in her forever.

Lost.

He jerked out of his thoughts, startling her and making her spill her drink over her black sweater. Lost was not a word to think of when associated with a girl with whom all you wanted to do was get into bed with. It was in fact a dangerous word for guys like him to think about.

"I’m sorry about that," He apologized quickly.

"No, It’s okay," Leigh said as she desperately tried to get the drink off her sweater, not that the spill was visible but she could already feel the liquid on her skin underneath. "You know what, I could really use a bathroom right now."

"Yeah, bathroom. This way," he led her through the room, off a curve that led to a spiral stairwell that had Leigh in awe and into an elaborate hallway. The hallways were lit brightly with white florescent lights that trailed on and on for as far as she could see. Willis stopped in front of one of the doors and pushed it open. This one led to an even smaller living room lit dimly with soft cloud lights. Leigh could hear music playing faintly. It looked like a scene out of a romance movie where the boy would go lengths to woo the girl he was in love with. Only in this case, she didn't think it was Willis who had set the scene and even if it was him, he wasn't in love with her. Yet. Leigh reminded herself. She had seen the way he had looked at her before spilling her drink. Willis Reeler might not know it yet but he was smitten and it was only a matter of time before he was falling head over hee...

"Bathroom is through that door." Willis announced as they once again came to a stop in front of another door, jolting Leigh out of her thoughts.

"Um, thanks." She said in a small voice and hurried in through the door.

Willis waited just outside the door for her to finish her lady business. He had deliberately brought her up to this room which he had set up hours earlier and simply for this purpose. He had however, not planned to spill her drink all over her in other to get her upstairs with him. For that, he had planned to woo her with sweet talks, words of praise and a surprise though he couldn't really complain about how things had happened. If anything, it meant he didn't have to go through so much trouble like he had originally planned.

"All done?" he asked once she emerged from the doors and she nodded slightly in response.

"Good, I want to show you something." He had changed the song, Leigh thought as he led her though the sweetly scented room and to the glass doors of the balcony. Or maybe it was just the playlist he had put in before they came in as she was now sure that the room was all his doing. Had he spilled her drink so he could get her here? The thought made Leigh flare up in annoyance.

No. the little voice inside of reasoning her head told her that him spilling the drink was purely accidental. Willis Reeler did not look like the kind of guy who would use such cheap moves on a girl especially one he had placed a bet on. He was more of the sweet-talk-sweet-show kind of guy. Her suspicions were confirmed when he slid open the double doors and revealed a breathtaking view beyond.

Leigh had not counted how many flight of steps they had gone up what with it being spiral but they had to have been very high up to have this amazing view of the city.

Wild Oaks shone proudly beneath the moonlight. The silvery beams of the moon bounced off the high rooftops and filtered through the wide branches of Oak trees that stood regally in their midst. The city lights glittered like a million stars in the galaxy painting the city with an ethereal glow. Leigh did not think she had seen anything so beautiful or breathtaking and she intended to enjoy it.

She stepped into the balcony and was immediately washed with the milky beams of the moon. High up here, she didn't hear the loud noise of the party or smell the stink of sweaty bodies or feel the heat of a full room. Here, Leigh heard the many sounds that carried on the night’s air. Here, she could turn her face into the moon and simply breathe its vibrancy in. Here, she could be free as a bird and let go of all her worries, her dark past, her bleak future in a single breath. Here, under the power and beauty of the full moon, she could feel alive.

Willis watched her lift her face to the moon, her eyes closed and her hair falling off to bare her glorious face to the radiance of the moonlight. When he had brought her out here, his thought had been to awe her into kissing him. He had thought she would love the scene, he would lean in to her and then things would get heated from there but instead, she had done what he had not even anticipated or expected.

She had adored it.

She looked like a moon goddess worshipping the moon with her now outstretched hands curved up as if she could cup the moon's glory in her palms. Maybe she could, Willis thought. Here, she had let go of all the insecurities she felt around him and simply let herself feel.

She looked so perfect. So ethereal, so alive.

Willis could feel it in the air, hear it on the breeze, sense it in his gut. The night was pregnant with miracles, heavy with secrets.

Just then, she opened her eyes and locked them on his, as if silently urging him to join in her worship. In that moment, as Willis stepped into the moonlight, he knew deep in his heart that he wanted to share every miracle, unravel every secret with the goddess that called to him underneath the moon.