A Selfish Moment

8 - Everett - 8:30 PM

Jessica drags me from the beautiful New York City view to the lobby where a clown is packing up doves and rabbits into white boxes riddled with tiny holes. We pass a group of people with wine glasses and beer bottles and head into a kid's fair in the enclosed garden. Jessica stumbles across the stone pavement in her super high heels, pulling down on the hem of her dress with every other step. A little girl in pigtails asks me to fetch a pink balloon floating over my head with the line just out of her reach. When I hand her the balloon she smiles, her dimples covering her cheeks. She looks just like Aryana did in the photo Jubilee showed me last night. I suddenly get a sinking feeling that it might actually be Aryana. Pigtails, dimples...could it be the same puffy pink jacket in the photo? What are the chances?

Jessica pulls on my hand and she points out Kile standing at the edge of the garden wearing a white tee shirt with black graffiti on its front. The shirt is too tight for his physique. I suspect he's a body builder, club dancer, male stripper, or some other occupation where taking your shirt off is a requirement. He looks like the type to shave or wax his chest, oozing vanity. Jessica tries to wave at him but he doesn't see her.

"Holy shit," I say when I spot Jubilee standing right next to Kile. "That's her."

"Who?" Jessica asks with a sudden spark of curiosity.

"Jubilee, right there. She's wearing the gray Mets tee shirt, right next to Kile."

Jessica scans my Yankee tee shirt and smiles up at me. "She's definitely your match."

My breathing speeds up and I take a few steps back to calm myself. Jubilee seems interested in whatever the muscle head has to say. When he leans in towards her I hit him with a glare so hot that if I had heat vision he would be up in flames. Jessica grabs my hand and smirks before pulling me towards them and then whispers to me to just play along. Confused and flustered, I let Jessica lead the way.

After Jessica gives Kile a tight hug, she introduces me as her date and a jolt of electricity travels throughout my entire body. I give Jubilee a firm handshake and stare straight into those giant, soul-piercing brown eyes. Jesus Christ, she's beautiful. I can't tell whether she's happy to see me or still nervous about this morning. It doesn't matter, I feel high just from our hands touching. She whispers something to Kile and rushes off.

"Oh, she's furious," Jessica whispers in my ear as Kile speaks to another guest. "Did you see how red she got when I introduced you as my date? She's surely jealous."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Jealousy is a powerful tool - it makes people react on an emotional level. Marketing is all about making people jealous of things they didn't even know they wanted. She wants you. If she didn't care about you she wouldn't have cared that you were my date. But her face turned red and she ran off. She totally cares, which means she must remember you." Jessica lifts her eyebrows and cocks her head confidently, as if her theory was as clear as the evening sky. She tilts her head towards Jubilee's direction. Without thinking any further, I chase after Jubilee.

The old, scruffy doorman in the lobby says he spotted a pretty girl with a gray Mets tee shirt going into the ladies' room on the other side of the social area. The ladies' room doesn't seem very busy, judging by the little traffic going in and out. I lean on the wall opposite the door, cross my arms and wait.

Jubilee bursts through the door several minutes later. My heart flutters briefly before I notice her eyebrows are creased.

"Aren't you on a date?" she asks and turns away brusquely.

I grab her arm. "Jubilee, wait." How do I say anything without making her feel embarrassed about last night or this morning? I should have thought this through some more before approaching her.