Everything You Want by Macyn Like

keys off
the end table by the couch.  “Kiera, I’ll be out late.  Lock the door
behind me, okay?”
    “Okay.  Have fun!” she called back.
    I followed Marissa down the stairs, walking
ahead of her in the parking lot to unlock my car.  I opened the door for
her and she slid in.
    “Do you know the band?” Marissa asked
when I got in the car.
    “No.  My friend Alisha knows them,”
I said, turning the key and shifting into gear.  “I’ve seen them play a
couple of times.  They’re decent.” 
    She nodded.  “Thanks for inviting
me.”
    I turned and smiled at her.  “No
problem.”
    It didn’t take long to get to the club
where Alisha’s friends were playing.  I lucked out and found a parking spot
fairly close to the building.
    Ollie was waiting for us beside the door. 
He had a girl with him I hadn’t seen before.  He always had a different
girl, every weekend.  You could say he had commitment issues, kind of like
myself.  This girl was tall and super skinny, and had shoulder-length
jet-black hair with thick, blunt bangs.  She was wearing a sleeveless
purple shirt, which revealed the flowery tattoo that snaked up her left arm
from her wrist to her shoulder.  She was a far cry from the blonde in the
light blue Polo shirt he’d introduced us to last weekend.  He’d met that
one in the campus bookstore.  I wondered where he met this one.
    Ollie smiled as we approached and slipped
an arm around the girl’s waist.  “Kieran, the is Vivienne.  She’s in
my contemporary poetry class.”
    Ollie was a perpetual student.  He’d
graduated a semester earlier than me with a BA in Art history.  He was
currently working on his second degree in English lit, or Drama, or Philosophy,
or maybe all three.  He told us that he wanted more enrichment in his
life, but I was fairly certain he was just in it to pick up girls and live off
of student loans.
    “Vivi, this is Kieran and…” he trailed
off, gesturing to my date.
    “Marissa,” I filled in for him.
    “Marissa.”  He squeezed her hand
gently.  “Nice to meet you.  I’m Ollie.  Kieran’s probably told
you about me.  I’m pretty awesome.”
    Marissa laughed.
    “Where are Shannon and Alisha?” I asked.
    “Already inside.  Come on.” 
Ollie took Vivienne by the hand and we followed them inside. 
    I did not like this particular
club.  It was too small and always crowded.  I only agreed to come
tonight so that I’d have somewhere to invite Marissa.  We cut our way
through the crowd to where Alisha and Shannon were standing close to the stage.
    Shannon’s eyes widened a little as we
approached.  When I was standing right next to him he nudged me, leaned in
and whispered, “That her?”
    I nodded once.  “Marissa, this is
Shannon, and his fiancée, Alisha.”
    Shannon smiled brightly and said hi to
her, but Alisha just frowned and looked at me.  “I didn’t know you were
bringing someone, Kieran.”
    “Is that okay?” I asked, confused. 
I’d brought girls to these things before.  Alisha was never friendly to
them, or Ollie’s girls for that matter, but she at least acknowledged them,
usually.  I figured she must’ve been in a worse mood than usual. 
    “Of course,” Alisha said in a clipped
tone, and turned back to the stage.
    Two seconds later the lights dimmed and
the crowd began to push forward, causing my chest to collide with Marissa’s
back.  I was instantly reminded of the storm, and how good it felt to have
her so close to me.  To my surprise, instead of moving forward, she
settled against me, leaning her head back against my shoulder.  I couldn’t
stop my arms as they rose up and wrapped loosely around her waist. She tilted
her head to look up at me and smile.  I looked down and her lips were
inches from mine.  Longing washed over me.
    Too fast, too fast.
    I looked into her bright, smiling eyes
and remembered that she wasn’t just some girl I could toss away.  If I
kissed her, that was it.  I