No sooner had the door closed behind me than I heard a knock at the bathroom door and Emily popped her head in through the doorway.
“Hey!” she said. “Hope I’m not bothering you.”
I smiled and waved her into my room.
“I just wanted to let you know that most Sunday nights the girls on the floor get together in the commons and watch movies. We’re getting ready to start; come on along if you want to join us.”
“Yeah, that would be great. Thanks.”
A feeling of relief came over me as I realized that I wouldn’t be stuck in my room all night with my own crazy thoughts. Emily was already in her pajamas and had her hair pulled back in a curly ponytail. I threw on an old Cubs shirt I like to lounge in and a pair of girly boxers, then followed her out the door. Four other girls were waiting for us on the overstuffed couches in front of the TV.
Pillows and blankets were piled up on the floor and the couches. Big bowls of popcorn were on the end tables. I thought the movie idea was a nice one; the darkened room and bright TV, snacks at hand and quiet conversations going on reminded me of my friendship with Mia and I instantly began to miss her. Emily introduced me to Skylar, Keri, Viola, and Sophie. Sophie and Viola were friendly, welcomed me to the group, and asked me a couple of questions. Skylar and Keri, on the other hand, seemed to ignore my existence. Skylar quickly and, I thought, pointedly, pushed the “play” button, cutting the rest of our conversation short.
The movie was a sappy love story that I had a very hard time paying attention to. About half way through the movie, the elevator dinged. All six of us turned our heads toward the end of the hallway in time to see the doors slide open and the most incredibly handsome guy I had ever seen walk out into the commons. My heart instantly stuck in my throat and my pulse quickened. He had dark brown hair that stuck up in that messy-but-not-too-messy way guys do now. He had a scruffy five o’clock shadow that looked incredible against his creamy white skin and his eyes were a never-ending, clear, deep brown. But none of these features compared to his perfect, white, radiating smile. Just seeing him gave me butterflies in the pit of my stomach. The girls all gave a tiny sigh as he walked in and someone pushed “pause” on the movie.
“Hey, Ari,” Emily said cheerfully, “how was your trip?”
He ran his hand through his thick, messy hair. I felt my cheeks warming. I want to touch that hair. I shook my head, dismissing the thought. Clearly, I needed some sleep.
“Ladies,” he nodded to everyone in the room, and when I heard his voice I gave an involuntary but (I hope) inaudible gasp. I quickly shifted my gaze and noticed that he had had the same effect on all of us.
“Trip was . . . fine,” his eyes crinkled in the corners as he spoke. He took a step towards his room and then he noticed me. Our eyes locked for what felt like an eternity and I felt my cheeks grow even pinker.
“Hello,” he said, and smiled at me.
I smiled back and then immediately looked down, feeling incredibly foolish and responded with a tiny “hi.”
“I’m Ari,” he said, introducing himself.
Thankfully, Emily spoke up.
“Oh, yeah, Ari, this is Ava your new neighbor,” she gave a little wink.
He smiled one last time before retreating to his room. As soon as his door shut, I could hear all six of us let out the breath we had been holding since the moment the elevator doors opened.
Emily turned to me with a huge grin on her face.
“That was Ari Alexander. He is totally gorgeous and incredibly nice. He is everyone’s friend and I’m pretty sure that we all have major crushes on him.”
She giggled, and then went on giving me all the details of his life. He was eighteen, as was everyone else on the floor, except for me. He lived in some colossal home on the beach and sounded like the stereotypical California rich kid. I tried to look polite but disinterested when truthfully I wanted to know everything about the “gorgeous and incredibly nice” Ari who caused weird things to happen in my tummy.
Once the movie was over, I had no choice but to go to my room. I climbed onto the bed, without even getting under the blankets and quickly fell asleep, not realizing how exhausted I actually had been.