Bottoms Up

Lauren wasn't how I'd imagined her to be. She was short. Her height was reasonable compared to mine since she was maybe a couple of inches shorter. But the height difference between her and Daniel was significant. Like, Kim Kardashian to Kris Humpries significant. Her hair was long and blond with darkness creeping at it's roots. It was obvious she had naturally straight hair. There were sparse waves through out, but for the most part it was straight. She was a little chubby, but her curves are what made her look so beautiful.

Along with Lauren came, Jenna, Eli's girlfriend, Carly, Jacob's fiance, and the boy's other friends Kate, Sophie, Tom, and Ralph.

It was Friday morning; Day one of the festival. Kadie and I were still laying in our beds. She was on her cell phone catching up on what she missed on Instagram while she was asleep. I stared up at the ceiling, hands behind my head, remembering everything that had happened the night before.

Once we'd gotten to the restaurant, Daniel insisted that I sit next to him. Of course there were wide-eye signals made from Kadie, who was sitting across the table. I tried not to think about it though. But, as much as I tried to block out her comments, I couldn't help but think about what was going on between us.

Daniel was animated as he spoke. He told me all about his recent adventures as his band toured the world, his fascination for movies (I was a movie nerd myself, but Daniel gave it a whole new meaning. Needless to say, I was hardly on his level.) And of course, how he met his best friends, who were on their way over from London.

“I met Lauren and Ralph when we were thirteen.” He smiled as he remembered the moment. “I always had my nose buried in books. One day I was sitting by myself, reading, during lunch when a crowd of kids came in. They seemed to be a fun crowd. Laughing and playing. I kept peeking over my book, at first because I couldn't concentrate, and then eventually because I wanted so badly to stop being this shy kid, and be one of those kids.” Daniel's blue eyes sparkled as he spoke, adding sentiment to the story. “This little blond girl caught me looking at her mates, Ralph being one of them. So, she stood up from her seat and marched right over to me. You can imagine my head sinking deeper as she came closer.” He laughed as he reenacted the scene.“I was terrified that she was going to rip my head apart. For what? I don't know. But, she came marching over, held out her hand, and asked me to join her and her mates.”

I smiled as I sat sideways in my chair, leaning against the back, my arm hanging over. “That was sweet of her.”

“I don't know where I'd be without her.” He said as his smiled vanished. “Honestly, she's the Macklemore to my Ryan Lewis.” We both laughed at Daniel's reference to Lauren being the outgoing one.

“She seems like a really great friend.”

“She is, the best, both of them are.” He said before grabbing his drink. He quickly became embarrassed at how much time he'd spent talking and changed the subject to me.

There was the occasional “accidental” touch through out the night. The more it continued, the more I convinced myself he was attractive. Not that there was a lot of convincing to do. I began noticing his pale skin. On any one else it would look like they needed a tan, but on Daniel it suited him. His cheeks were a soft pink and there was the smallest bit of freckles sprinkled across his nose. It wasn't even noticeable because his eyes stole away any attention that his face was begging for. You could almost feel a jolt staring into his blue eyes. His dark brown-almost black-hair set the equilibrium.

“I wonder if anyone's awake yet.” Kadie rolled off her bed and began digging through her suitcase. I shook my head as I snapped out of my thoughts. She noticed the distressed look on my face and stopped what she was doing. “What's up?”

I shook my head again. “Nothing” Kadie gave me a disapproving look. I sighed as I sat up, pulling the comforter off of me. “I was just thinking about last night. You might be on to something.”

Kadie knew exactly what I was talking about. “He totally like you. No guy keeps a girl so close to him. And plus, I caught him staring at you when you weren't looking. Guys don't do that unless they really like you.”

I sat quietly and thought about what Kadie said.

There was a knock at our door causing me to jump off the bed. Kadie and I looked at each other confused. I opened the door to find Jenna, Carly, Kate, Sophie and Lauren.

“Hey girlies!” Carly greeted us with wide arms. “Hope we didn't wake you? We're still on British time, sorry.”

Carly was Jacob's fiance. She was the oldest of the girls in her mid-late twenties. We had a lot in common since Carly had also studied medicine and was starting her first year of residency. You would never think she was a doctor-in-training by looking at her. She had a very casual hipster style. Her hair was naturally dark, but dyed blond and grown out of a pixie cut. She was sweet, with the occasional dark British humor.

“No, no, no” I pleaded “Kadie and I were sitting here bored wondering if anyone else was awake. Come in!” They strolled in one by one.

“The boys are still sleeping. Did you girls want to grab brunch in the hotel garden?” Jenna asked. She was Eli's girlfriend. She was the baby of the group, in her early twenties. She had a tall thin body that was filled out in the right places, similar to Kadie. Her hair was the same as Lauren, but much blonder and darker at it's roots. The edginess of her face almost made her look like a Marc Jacob's runway model. Her style was a grungy-prep that suited her well. She looked intimidating in the same way a high school queen b looks, but despite her looks, she was just as sweet as the rest of the girls.

“Ugh, yes please!” Kadie groaned, holding her stomach. “I'm starving!”

The girls left our room, letting us know they'd meet us outside. Kadie and I quickly changed out of our pajamas and into some shorts and t shirts.

We went out into the hotel's garden, where the girl's had already gotten a table.

I sat in the empty seat next to Lauren, and Kadie sat between me and Jenna.

The waiter came by and asked for our drink orders. Kadie and I exchanged a quick glance. These girls were serious about their alcohol. They drank like fishes the night before and were starting their day off with more drinks.

“I'll have a water.” I said.

“Me too” Kadie said quietly.

“Oh come on!” Jenna's naturally loud voice roared. “Don't be a boob!” The girls all laughed.

“They'll have what we're having” Kate leaned forward on the table and informed the waiter. He smiled as he wrote down the order and then walked away.

Kate was a long time friend of Daniel and Eli. If her hair was a natural color, she'd look like a prim and proper British girl. But, it wasn't. It was dyed a maroon-red. She had the tiniest little hoop nose ring that didn't even make her look the slightest bit of punk. Not that she was. She seemed to have one of those buffer personalities. The kind where she could easily get along with anyone even if they had nothing in common.

The waiter came back with our drinks. Lauren handed me mine The girl's all cheered as we clinked our glasses.“We're here to have fun. Live a little!” She said as she shook my knee.