Page 30 of Curtain Call
Mac and Colin whoop and holler, before Colin and Riley clink their glasses against her beer bottle.
“Mac, you have outdone yourself,” Colin says adding to the compliment. “It’s probably your best design yet.”
Mac takes a little bow and Riley’s cheeks blush. Colin looks over and notices that anyone looking in Mac’s direction can see straight down her blouse. He blushes too before making eye contact with Riley. They both laugh into their drinks so as not to embarrass her. Colin’s not sure if it’s the cocktails, or that he is here with his two oldest friends, but he is having the best night. He doesn’t care why, he just knows that Riley is having a good time too, and he is happy to be part of Riley’s life again.
A night of not worrying about the theater or Riley’s upcoming audition. A night of uninhibited fun. Riley has been stressed over the performance with the kids that takes place in a few nights, but tonight, he clearly isn’t feeling any pain as the sound of slurping makes its way out of the glass when Riley’s straw starts to suck in air.
Just as Riley finished his 4thcocktail, and the ice was clinking against the bottom of his glass, a familiar voice echoes through their little circle.
“Mind if I crash the party?”
“JAX,” Riley screams and wraps his arms around their neck as if surprised to see them.
“Sorry I’m-,” they start and stop that sentence because Jax just got caught off guard by a beautiful creature.
“Well, hello there,” they say looking in Mac’s direction.
“Jax, this is my dearest friend Mac,” Riley motions toward Mac but the room is a little wobbly, and his hand rests on her left boob. He turns a nice shade of crimson.
“Actually,” Mac interrupts, “Iam Mac, andtheseare my boobs.”
Wow. This group is feeling no pain right now.
They all laugh, but mostly at Riley’s expense.
“I’d ask to buy you a drink, but clearly you already have one.”
“I’ve had several actually andyouneed to catch up, so letmebuy you a drink.”
Mac squeezes Jax’s forearm and escorts them over to the bar leaving Riley and Colin to their own devices. Actually, just Colin because at some point in the odd flirtation of Jax and Mac, Riley vanished.
Colin stands sipping his cosmo while scanning the bar to find Riley. After a few minutes, he’s found leaning over a table chatting it up with a blonde girl as if they were best friends. Colin knows that Riley has no problem making friends and loves the spotlight, and since he’s drunk, God only knows what kind of trouble he is getting himself into. Wait. He’s Riley’s best friend and suddenly feels a tinge of jealousy when the girl puts her hand in his back pocket. Riley stumbles to the left and Colin is there by his side to hold him up before offering him a bottle of water that is quickly rejected.
“I’m –,” the blonde girl begins but gets interrupted by Riley.
“Ga-linda,” Riley slurs out. “This is Ga-linda.”
“Nice to meet you,” Colin tries to put on his best smile but can hardly hear over the noise.
“It’s actually Tiffany.”
Looking confused, Colin grins as if he was supposed to know what was happening.
“I play Glinda in the touring company of Wicked with Riley,” she adds.
The pieces begin to fall together. That’s how Riley knew her. The ache disappears in Colin’s chest along with her hand from Riley’s pocket.
“This one’s feeling no pain, huh,” she asks Colin before flipping her hair and smiling at him.
“It’s been a long stressful week for him.”
Tiffany soon notices Colin’s arm around Riley’s waist and turns back toward her table to grab her own beverage. Plain cranberry juice. Who drinks plane cranberry juice in a bar?
Colin tries to find different ways to pull Riley back to his group until they are met by Jax and Mac, who have apparently purchased the next round of drinks.
“What is this? A Wicked reunion,” Tiffany asks in a voice that is two octaves above the one she was just using with Colin.
Colin recognizes the stage smile Jax uses in her direction, “apparently.”
