"So you're bailing on us?"Janis said with a raised brow. All three of us were laying in my bed but I was in the middle, that's something we always did.

"Your room is bigger than my place. You should totally have a sleepover next week."Richie admired my dope ass room.

"Sure but Jan, I'm not bailing on you guys! I'm just going to hang out with-"

"Darlene's dance instructor, we know."

"Like I was saying-I'm going to hang out with him first then come to the party, okay?"I said as she rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"Ugh fine! Just have fun."She nudged me.

"Aye, not too much fun...but if you do have that kinda fun with this guy, use protection."Richie laughed with Janis.

"No! I'm not going to have sex with Cotton."I giggled between them.

"She can't wait to see those Cotton balls!"Janis laughed harder while Richie snorted. So corny! Right now I am the meat between an idiot sandwich. I hate them. I hate them so much....Nah I love them.

"You guys are gross."

"But you love that. Dude, give us a tour of the place, your boss said it was cool."Richie got up off the bed first then Janis but I still didn't move a muscle. I've been doing a lot today. Such as going to my mom's house and leaving my mom's house. That's a lot of work. Richie noticed my reluctance to get up so he grabbed my ankles to drag me off. Now I'm on the floor...nice. Actually, it is nice. This is a really comfy rug. He then grabbed my arms and lifted me up to my feet.

"Yeah, you're ridiculously hot boss said it's okay."Janis teased.

"Hate you so much. C'mon."I grumbled, opening my door as we walked out. After showing them the second floor, I led them down the stairs and into the living room."This is the living room. This room is meant for...living."

Janis sucked her teeth while Richie looked at the chandelier. It's so freaking pretty. May, who was vacuuming, spotted us and waved at us.

"This beautiful young lady is May. May, these are my pals, Janis and Richie."I introduced them. Even though I've been here for about a day, May has been a complete sweetheart. She's been really nice to me.

"Hello, Janis. Hello...Richie."She giggled as she shook their hands.

"This is a really nice place. Like I've never seen anything like this."Janis laughed and I completely agree.

"I have...in Disney movies."Richie said still staring at the chandelier."I'm sorry if I seem so fixated on this chandelier...It just looks so expensive. Like I'm guessing at least...half a million."

One thing about Richie was that he loved finding out the price for really expensive things. It's because his dad used to watch The Price is Right every day while his mom watched the shopping network when he was a kid, so it stuck with him.

"530,000 to be exact, how did you know that?"May asked, giving me a look.

"Don't, May. Don't even ask. Where's George?"

"Right here. I was just dusting."He smiled as he held up the duster.

"More like eavesdropping."May giggled as George walked over to us with a smirk.

"Oh, I never do that. But if I didn't, I wouldn't ever know if I'm getting a raise or not."He winked at me as we laughed.

"Oh, you're not. He's still unsure about it."May playfully nudged his shoulder as I smiled.

"Hopefully you get one. But George these are my best friends Janis and Richie."I introduced them.

"Hello, George."They said in unison. Suddenly I heard those high heels clicking against the floor. You ever had a great day where it's warm and sunny then out of nowhere the sky just turns gray and then a fucking hurricane happens? That's how I feel whenever Rosanna walks into a room.

"I said gold ribbons, right? So why in the hell would you order champagne colored ribbons?!....No it's not the same thing, you idiot! I'm pretty sure there is a blind and deaf orangutan that can do a better job than you!"She shouted into the phone then hung up.  I feel bad for the bloke that was on the other line."Ew, who are you people?"

I looked at Janis to give her the 'she's a bitch' look while her look read 'I totally noticed'. George sucked his teeth causing May to giggle. Richie did a double take at her then continued to stare at her. Oh no. I know that look. God damn it, Richie! Why?!

"My friends. I'm sorry, that must be a foreign word to you."I said receiving a discreet high five from George.

"Tuh, I have friends! Kim Kardashian, Caitlyn Jenner, Heidi Klum, Ivanka Trump, Mariah Carey. The list goes on and on. I casually go to lunch with them at least once a month."Rosanna scoffed as she glared at me.

"Those aren't friends, man. Those are business associates...Friends are people you can rely on and genuinely care about....I feel like I should be having this conversation with the kids, not a grown woman."I crossed my arms as I glared back at her. I seriously can not stand her and I met her yesterday.

"Whatever. And who are these kids you brought in with you? Nathaniel won't be happy when he sees you brought in guests without asking."

"You mean Mr. Kane? We met him. He's pretty cool. Real chill guy. Take notes."Janis said with a slight smirk."I'm Janis by the way."

"I'm Richard Gretzky Jr. And you are?"He held out his hand with the widest smile known to man. Rosanna looked at me then back at Richie.

"Rosanna E. Cockburn."She said while Janis stifled a laugh.

"That's a lovely name. Not as lovely as yourself."Richie cooed.

"Okay, ew. Your friends are weird."She cringed as she began to leave the room.

"That woman is a goddess."Richie drooled.

"And you are an idiot."Jan rolled her eyes. While Rosanna was stunningly beautiful, her personality made her ugly. But I'm guessing Richie sees something in her that the rest of us don't.

"Don't let her beauty fool you. That woman is cold blooded. Like a snake....but worse."George said causing all of us to laugh.

"Now, George, there's good in everyone. She's just misunderstood and a little bitter."May defended her.

"May, when I fell down the stairs a few years ago instead of helping me up, she laughed and walked over me."George said as May pressed her lips together into a fine line finally getting George's point."Well, I have to clean the downstairs area. It was nice meeting you two."

He smiled leaving the room with May who waved goodbye. Janis took her phone out and looked at it.

"Sweetheart, it is 5:10. You have twenty minutes to get ready."

"Don't worry. I already picked out an outfit."I smirked devilishly.

***

"That was......wow. Was not expecting that. At all."Cotton said as we exited the theater. That movie was fucking amazing. I'm so glad he called me.

"So amazing," I whispered. He chuckled as we walked together. I'm not gonna ruin it for anyone but damn. Damn."It was soooo good. Thank you for taking me."

"It's no problem. Even though you were scared."He smirked.

"Me? Scared? HA! I'm not scared of anything."I scoffed at him. It's true though, I'm not scared of anything...okay I'm scared of one thing: Unicorns. I know they aren't even real but they're fucking creepy. Especially the horn.

"Ohhh that is a lie! Everyone is scared of something."He held the door open for me and I thanked him.

"Oh really? What are you afraid of?"I teased while we walked down the street together. It wasn't really hot out tonight which I thought was perfect. Summer is ending soon so I don't mind nights like this.

"There's a short list; Dying, Bulls because their horns freak me out, and clowns after a traumatizing moment when I was 6."He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Please tell me what this moment was."This was important. I needed to know what the story was because I'm just nosy.

"Okay...when I was 6, my parents took me, my brother and sisters to the circus. We all had front row seats, it was awesome! The animals, the acrobats, all of it. So there was this famous clown named Kobo. Everyone knew Kobo. Kobo used to go on the acrobatic thing...that string thing in the air? Yeah, that, he would usually pretend to fall but this time he came in a little drunk. While pretending, he slipped and he fell aaaaall the way down. He looked up at me and smiled. I was traumatized because he broke his nose and multiple teeth came out and some were just cracked. Seeing a clown with a bloody smile messes with you."

"Oh my god, Jesus Christ! That-that is horrifying. What happened to Kobo after that?"I asked with a hand over my mouth. I actually pictured missing my front teeth and a chill ran down my back actually thinking about the pain. Oh god, get out of my head! That's a horrible thing to picture.

"Well, that didn't stop him from performing. Last I heard he was doing a disappearing teeth trick with his dentures."Cotton laughed as did I. He continued to smile at me as I was still laughing.

"That's really funny...Soooo, Cotton, tell me a little more about yourself. I know you have four older sisters but one brother, that you're from New York, and that you're scared of clowns. I wanna knooow....how you became a dancer."

"Well mostly because I was a football player and they said ballet actually helped us perform better on the field. Which was true but even after, I loved doing it because I was really good so I ended up doing both. But I guess dancing stuck with me. Let's go there."He pointed to the bar at the end of the block. I nodded and followed him."What about you? Tell me about you!"

"Well I told you I moved to Cali from my hometown in Seattle when I was seven, I'm the oldest of three, uhhh I'm a nanny, I play 32 instruments, I ate 13 slices of pizza in te-"

"Woah, did you just say you can play 32 instruments?!"His green eyes widen with amusement as we took our seat. It was a small cozy place. I liked the atmosphere, it was comfortable in here. The music wasn't too loud but I could still hear Cheap Trills faintly playing.

"Oh sorry, 33. I always forget that the triangle counts."I chuckled. I seriously always forget about that stupid little thing.

"That is freaking amazing. And that gives me an idea of where we're going next. But I am fascinated by the fact you can play over 30 instruments. Wow, you're so cool."He sighed with that perfect smile and I felt myself blushing.

"What would you guys like?"The bartender asked us. While I got a Screaming Pink Lady, Cotton just got a Perrier water.

"A screaming pink lady? Bad ass name for a drink."He nodded in my direction.

"I know right. Sounds like the name of a band...If I ever form a band that will be our name."I joked taking a sip of the sour drink. Okay, was not expecting it to be sour but it's still good. Cotton looked at me with a smile then back at his hands. I could tell he was hiding the fact that he was blushing. He's really cute...and sweet...and perfect. So damn perfect.

"Speaking of bands, you ever been in one?"He sipped his water while looking into my eyes.

"Nope, I liked doing things on my own. Plus, I used to have to practice for my recitals so I couldn't be in one."

"Oh my god, I used to love recitals! It was just exciting to be up there on the stage and do what you love in front of a bunch of people. Do you still play?"

"Sometimes. I play the electric guitar a lot. Mostly because I had these loud and horny neighbors. Me and my roommates used to play my instruments to drown them out."I gulped my drink as Cotton laughed. If only he heard them."It was like deaf animals mating or a porno with the sound on full blast."

"That is terrible, man. But hey you wanna get out of here? I kinda wanna show you something. Promise it's gonna be cool."He smiled as he stood up from his seat. Cotton was really tall so he towered over me while I was sitting. With a smirk, I stood up and left the bar with him.

I'm gonna fast forward to the part where we reached our destination. We were still outside as I waited for him to unlock the door into the place. The place had large tinted windows and was between two boutiques. I walked into the dark place-goddamn it's dark in here. Suddenly the lights flickered on and I was able to see.

"Let there be light....that was so corny."He blushed with a wild smile.

"Corny is good, especially with butter...wait no, that's corn on the cob."I joked making him chuckle. I didn't want him to feel embarrassed so I made a joke. I tend to do that a lot. Whenever someone is embarrassed, I try to make a joke so they'll feel better. I then realized that we were surrounded by various instruments. Some of the instruments here I haven't played in years. Turning to Cotton, who was now sitting on the futon in the corner, I laughed."Dude, no way. I don't even think I could remember how to play some of these."

"I bet you'll be fine. This is my best friend's studio that he rented out, he uses it for band practice. And you can play any song of your choice on each instrument."He crossed his arms with a devious smile. Well...there is one song I know how to play on any instrument. I stared him in his eyes as I picked up the most complicated contraption known to man."Ohhhh this is gonna be good."

I licked my lips thoroughly then placed my lips on the mouthpiece of the instrument while I kept my hands steady. As I began to play, I could tell Cotton was amused.

"I never thought I'd ever hear New Edition's 'If It Isn't Love' being played on the bagpipes."He laughed while I stopped playing to laugh with him.

"How was that?"I asked placing it on the floor.

"Pretty good. Hmm, I think I want to hear it played on the......organ."He pointed to the corner. I smirked and started to play. I played almost every instrument in the room and even sang but stopped when I got to the triangle. We both laughed idiotically on the red futon, side by side. The corner of his eyes crinkled as he laughed.

"Gotta admit; that was pretty amazing and you played one of my all-time favorite songs."He said to me causing me to look at him with wide eyes.

"No way, that's one of my favorites too! You're awesome."I playfully nudged his shoulder.

"No, you're awesome."He pushed my shoulder to which I pushed him back which led to a playful shoving match.....which then led to us making out. It was just so unexpected and....wow he's sucking my tongue. Holy shit, he's good. I began to tug at his shirt while he removed the plaid shirt I was wearing. We both kicked off our shoes as we began to remove each other's clothing. Okay, I know I shouldn't be doing this but he's so sweet and hot! And funny and hot! He's on top of me and kissing me all over, it's hard to say no.

"Wait, wait, wait...are you sure you want to do this? Because I-I-I understand if you don't! Because we just met and everything and I'm Dar-"I kissed him to stop him from talking. This guy is a real sweetheart! Usually, a guy wouldn't even stop and ask me that but he's so different.

"I'm fine with it."I stared into his eyes as he stared back at me. With that smirk, he leaned back down to kiss me again. I'm so glad I decided to go to the movies.