"And you are?…" I said to the blonde boy who had come up to me at a New Year’s party that I happened to attend. His face slightly dropped but he covered it up.
"Zac," he said to me. "You?"
"Ginger." I took a sip of my strawberry daiquiri, and looked around the room. There was music playing but no one was dancing. People stayed in their own little groups, talking and sipping drinks. "Lively party, huh?"
"Exactly. What’s wrong with these people?" I smiled.
"So, how’d you come along to this? I heard this was for normal people. You look weird." I had to admit I was really bombed. It only took about seven daiquiris and it was only the first hour of the party.
Zac took my drink and set it down. "Look, I want to get to know you, not the wasted you. This is my party, that’s how I got invited."
"Well not weird, but you’re the only guy I’ve met that has long hair," I said, gently tugging on his locks. He was also drunk, but he didn’t get wild or crazy.
"Be careful with my hair, it’s my whole identity." I raised an eyebrow, sitting down on the couch.
"Oh really?" I said. He took the liberty of sitting down next to me. "What identity?"
"I sing the song that’s playing right now." I caught the tune and recognized it as Hanson, but he didn’t look like a Hanson. Or maybe he did, I couldn’t tell.
I let my head fall in his lap, not really caring. I was drunk!
Zac really didn’t know what to do. He had only been eyeing me since the beginning of the party an hour prior, and now I was all over him.
"You know, you’re really cute," I said. He glanced around the room, not knowing how to respond.
"Uh, thanks. I think…"
"No, you are! I think I’m gonna kiss you." Before he could protest I put my lips to his. He followed my lead as I opened my mouth. He put his tongue in my mouth first.
We stayed enthralled with each other for a while. Somewhere in there he felt the drinks he had kick in and he started kissing more passionately, pulling me closer to him.
"And where is my brother?" Taylor asked himself, not caring but his mother insisted he keep tabs on him. There was a couple making out on the couch and he couldn’t really see who. He figured Zac had to be around here somewhere, he couldn’t of just left.
Taylor brought his attention back to the couple on the couch. A mass of red and blonde mixed together. Get a room, he thought.
Throughout the course of the party he’d had a soda. He had ignored all the alcohol that his brother and some of the guests had brought. There was so many people, Taylor couldn’t believe it.
He knew maybe three people—his two brothers and Zac’s best friend, Tina. And he hadn’t seen her all night.
Suddenly half of a face appeared from the couple making out. Zac.
"Zac?" Taylor asked. Zac separated from me, me still putting kisses on his neck. Zac gave him a pissed look.
"I’m busy right now, thankyouverymuch," he said. I pulled him back down, and Zac tried to ignore Taylor.
"Are you drunk or something?"
Zac got up, pulling me up with him. "We’re going upstairs," he told me, and as he passed by his brother, he gave him another pissed look.
Taylor just watched in amazement how his little brother could just forget about all that he’d been taught in his life and went upstairs with a stranger.
I woke up, and rolled over as I did every morning, and hit someone. My eyes opened, sending a gush of pain to my head. There was a guy in the bed with me.
Zac woke up when he felt someone hit him. He looked over and there was a girl in the bed with him. He realized she was also awake.
"Hi," I said. Stupid, but what are you supposed to say? You just slept with a stranger!
"Hi," he said. "I’m Zac."
"Ginger." We shook hands. An awkward silence fell in the room. "Well, nice meeting you."
"You too." We both rolled off our side of the bed and got dressed. I finished first and walked out of the room without a look back.
As I walked out the door, Tay walked in the room. He heard the front door close, so he glanced out the window.
A red-headed, tall, thin girl ran across the front yard and down the street.
Taylor smiled.
"Oh mom!"
Diana Hanson burst into Zac’s room as he was putting on his shoes. He looked over, knee bent and show three inches from his foot. Seeing her face, Zac knew he was in trouble.
"Your father and I leave for one night, to go to a nice party. I knew you three were going to throw one, and I knew most of the people who were to come. I didn’t know any girls were coming, I didn’t know there was going to be any alcohol, and I sure the hell didn’t know you were going to knock up some girl you don’t even know!"
"I didn’t sleep with her! I think…"
"Did you have any drinks?" Zac nodded. "How many?"
"Five."
"Did she have anything to drink?" Zac nodded. "At least she was bombed too. How many did she have?"
"Seven."
"What’s her name?"
"Ginger."
"Last name?"
"I don’t know."
"What kind of person are you? You sleep with her and you don’t even get her last name? Did you get any other information on her? Wait, don’t answer that." Zac shook his head and put it in his hands.
"I don’t remember anything, mom."
"Good." He took his head out of his ands and eyed his mother suspiciously. "What did you do this morning after you found out?"
"Why am I discussing this with you, mom? This is something I should talk to Tay or Ike about, if they talked to me. This is insane."
"And so are you. I can’t believe this, Zac. We’re here another two days. I want you to find this girl and apologize. Then I want you to call Tina. She’s your best friend and you haven’t talked to her in weeks."
"Tini was at the party last night. I talked to her for a little while and then she kinda disappeared." Zac put on his shoe and walked out of the room.
A blonde blur ran past him, and he recognized it as Tina. A horrible thought came into his mind just then as he looked to his right.
There stood Ike, a sly smile on his face. Zac shook his head, and saw Tina race out the door.
He turned to Ike. "You bastard!" he screamed and ran down the stairs. Ike kept his smile and went back into his room.
"Tina!" Zac yelled as he ran across the lawn. She kept walking at a quick pace. He ran after her until he was in front of her.
He noticed his blonde haired, blue eyed best friend of 13 years was crying. "Oh God, you too?"
"What do you mean?" Even covered by sobs, her voice was sweet.
"Did you sleep with Ike?" She nodded, more tears falling out of her eyes as she did so. "I slept with someone too."
"Let’s just tell everyone," she said. He laughed. She had the power to do that to him.
"I think Tay’s the only one who didn’t get laid last night, Tina. It happened to me, so don’t feel so bad."
"Yeah, but I was drunk. He wasn’t." Zac’s eyes grew huge.
"How do you know he wasn’t?"
"He told me. And he remembered everything. I hate him so much, Zac." Zac took her in his arms.
"I’m going to kill him when I get home for fucking my girl." Tina laughed.
"You just need an excuse."
"You know me too well. So, are you gonna be alright?" he asked. She pulled away and nodded. "Good because if I don’t find this girl I slept with my mom’s going to kill me before I get a chance at Ike."
She smiled to him and walked off.
He figured that finding me would be easy, but what he would say when he found me was something he’d have to work on.
Sighing, Zac stuck his hands in his pockets. Something was stuck in his left pocket. With a weird look on his face, he took it out and read it.
248-9286 Call me, Ginger.
Figuring I was still drunk at the time, he decided it would be best if he didn’t call. So he went to a phone, realizing it was just too simple in this world to find somebody’s address.
He called the operator, gave her the number and got an address. 1947 Angel Terrace Dr. All he needed to do was find out exactly where Angel Terrace Dr. was.
"Did you find her?" Diana asked Zac, seeing him rummage through some papers.
"No, but I got her address. I have to find out wherever Angel Terrace Dr. is. Why am I looking for a map? I can use the computer, duh." He ran upstairs and found Ike clicking away on Taylor’s laptop. Considering how much they hate each other and then they go around using each other’s stuff.
"Get off you asshole," Zac said, pushing his brother off the chair and brought up MapSearch. "You’re lucky I didn’t beat the living shit out of you for what you did to Tina."
"She brought it on herself," Ike said. Zac looked over to him, suddenly ignoring what he’d been doing.
"She was drunk, you weren’t. She’s my best friend, I hate you. You’re really lucky I’m not about to kill you!"
"At least she was good." Zac ignored him. The last thing he needed was to go to my house with a bruise or something. Ike walked out of the room,
Zac finally found out where Angel Terrace Dr. was, and set out to find it. He took the Dale Mabry cutoff onto Northdale. From Northdale he walked twenty minutes to Casey. From Casey he walked a half an hour to Winding Willow.
"Do I really need to apologize this much?" Zac asked himself. He headed down Winding Willow. His feet started to hurt from walking do much. He passed four street signs before getting to Angel Terrace.
Finally! Zac thought. He looked at the first house’s address. "7534!" he exclaimed. "My God this is insane!" he yelled.
It took him forever before he came to 1947. But when he got there, he stopped. "What am I doing here? What the hell am I going to say?"
Zac stood there a long time debating in his head whether or not to ignore his feet screaming and just leave, or to stay. Figuring his feet wouldn’t take him anywhere but 100 feet in front of him, he walked up to the house, ringing the bell once.
He absently glanced at his watch. One o’clock. Three and a half hours since he last saw me.
I opened up the door, glanced at Zac and jumped back. "What do you want?" I sternly asked, then regretted my tone.
"Um, I kinda came over to apologize for everything…"
"There’s nothing to be sorry for, we were both drunk," I said, in a nicer tone. "Did you walk here?"
"Yeah," Zac said. "I found out it’s longer than I thought it would be." I laughed. "What?"
"You took the long way, I gather. Look down there, it’s about a half a mile back," Zac turned around, and looked through a very open trail. I was right, about a half a mile down was his house. "I feel bad for you now. Come on inside."
Zac embarrassingly laughed, and walked inside. I took his coat and put it on the rack, and we went into the living room.
"What are you watching?" Zac asked.
"The Man in the Iron Mask. You hungry, thirsty?" I asked.
"No. DiCaprio fan?" he mused. I gave him a ghastly look, walking into an open kitchen.
"Hell no! If you actually watch the movie, you’ll realize how much he sucks and how good Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, and Gabriel Bryne are."
"O.K…"
"Sorry, I get a little emotional." He nodded. You know, She’s really pretty. He looked me over, not really realizing it. Red hair, violet eyes, freckles. "I’m getting something to drink, you sure you don’t want anything?"
"You know, you’re really beautiful." Zac said. I smiled.
"O.K., I ask if you want something to drink and you give me a compliment. I like that. Now are you saying that because you slept with me or do you really mean it?"
"I mean it."
"Thanks, I haven’t gotten that in a very long time."
"I’m surprised," Zac said, walking into the kitchen. I went over to the fridge, and got something to drink.
I turned around, popping open a soda. "So, since you’re in my house, you can tell me your last name." Zac waited for me to take a sip of my soda.
"Hanson.." I almost dropped the can and spit out the soda, shocked.
"Did you do that on purpose, Zac? My God, that should have been the first thing you told me!"
"Really? Why?"
"So if I get pregnant I can know how much money to sue for."
"You’re kidding, right?" Zac asked. I shrugged.
"All up to my agent, and if I’ll lose my job if I do get pregnant."
"Agent? What do you do that acquires an agent?"
"I’m a model. Mostly Victoria’s Secret. That’s why getting pregnant would ruin my job. You can’t walk down a catwalk with your stomach 52 inches around, even though it’s been done before."
"I thought you were a model. Do you have a CK billboard in Times Square across from MTV?"
I nodded. "Yeah. You’ve seen it?"
"I knew that’s where I had seen you before. We’re going there once we leave here."
"Well don’t point it out to anyone. I don’t need people knowing about this."
"Too late. Half my family knows." I groaned.
"Just don’t let them know it’s me. That’s the last thing I need. And that reminds me, I’m doing a show in Venice tomorrow."
"We’re doing a tour in the summer. We’re doing a show here sometime in July, I guess I’ll see you then, if not sooner."
"Yeah." He kissed me on the cheek and headed out the door. I watched him leave. Seemed like saying goodbye to a boyfriend or something.
"Weird."