Chapter 2

A little before 7pm, Richie got ready to head over to Lori's house. His mind flashed back to their meeting earlier this afternoon. It had been short but nonetheless, it was sex and he wasn't going to say no to that. Ever.

Upstairs, in the bathroom, he checked himself out in the mirror. He hadn't done much extra, had a shower, did his hair, what else did he need? His tight jeans showed off his ass, which was exactly what he wanted them to do. His button down was half buttoned up, showing his chest, something he did for the ladies.

It was February but he was only going a few houses down the street, surely it wouldn't be that cold for the two minute walk to get to Lori's house. He'd be fine.

Deciding against anything else to keep him warm, he grabbed his keys and locked the door behind him, ready for a birthday party.

He hadn't been to any parties in a long while. Other than after parties which he wasn't counting. Those were entirely different kind of parties. He was sure there would be enough alcohol involved, but probably less drugs than during concert after parties. He could have fun without that. This was his time to relax and that's what he planned to do at this party. Say hi to Lori, have a good time and taste how his eggs turned out in a cake. Maybe after that, see how things go with Lori again. He needed a refresher on what they had done this afternoon, it'd been a while.

Lori's house was easy to spot in their dead end street, all the lights were on and loud music was playing already. The February chill made him pick up the pace as he walked over to the house.

As he approached the house, he found the front door open, taking it as an invitation, he walked into the house. The front room was packed with people, he was glad to disappear into a small crowd without being noticed. He looked around the room but didn't see Lori. He continued on to the kitchen, the table filled with drinks and snacks in the middle of the room. So far no sign of Lori, instead of continuing his search for her, he went over to the table to find himself a drink first.

When he reached his hand out to pick up one of the cold beer cans, another hand shot in front of his to grab the next can. He looked up to see who was rudely intercepting his reach but was pleasantly surprised.

"Sorry." She smiled.

"That's alright darling." He smiled back, taking his own can. Lifting the tab, he popped it open and took a quick sip.

"I don't think we've met." She said, looking up at him with a gentle smile on her face.

He surely didn't mind looking at her, she was pretty easy on the eyes. "We haven't." He assured her, considering he didn't know anybody except Lori at this party.

"Oh, well," She stammered "I'm Jackie, how do you know Sophie?"

Confused, he asked "Sophie?"

Jackie gave him her own confused look. "This is Sophie's birthday party." She clarified quickly.

"Oh, uh..." he hesitated "Lori invited me this afternoon."

Jackie's face cleared up with understanding and Richie felt relieved with that, he didn't mind being a stranger at a party but it would have been very awkward if Lori wasn't familiar with the rest of the guests either.

"So nice of Lori to throw her this party, a girl only turns thirty once."

He nodded in agreement. "They sure do baby." Most men turned thirty more than once, he knew that just like anybody else did.

"Richie, you made it!" He heard from behind, he turned around to find Lori smiling at him. Surprising himself, he felt somewhat relieved to run into someone he knew. For as little as their previous meeting counted. "Hi sweetheart." He reached in, not shy of the kiss Lori was reaching in for.

He noticed the meaningful look Jackie gave her before she walked away from them but Lori didn't say anything about it.

"I'm glad you could make it." She said excitedly. "Want to meet some of my friends?"

Happily, he followed her around the house, paying attention as Lori pointed out some of her best friends in the living room and some of the girls she didn't like as much but they were Sophie's friends so she had to invite them, she explained to him.

With each person she pointed out, he followed her finger, trying to put names to the face that he would soon forget anyway. He'd remember a face but not a name.

Lori bounced off to greet some more guests and he was left alone again, looking around the room for somebody to strike a conversation with, his cold can of beer half empty in his hand.

His eyes caught a glance across the room, a small smile followed by a little wave. He smiled back at her, watching as she returned back to her conversation with friends but his eyes lingered a little longer. Should he go over and join the conversation or find Lori again? Perhaps figure out who Sophie was before he made a fool of himself again.

Pulling his eyes away, he turned around and headed in the same direction Lori had disappeared to, he could socialize after he figured out who's birthday party this was.