4 - Queen of Party

"How about me, Sir?" Darren looked down again. Even if he raised his face, he tended to avoid the gaze of everyone in the room.

His principle of restraint had been defeated by the person closest to him.

His fists in his lap unraveled, moving to grip his knees and speak up.

"Look, I already have someone else to introduce to Mom and Dad. I have also talked to Mother about my future."

"Uncle never told me!" protested the occupant of the seat next to Darren.

The shrill voice hurts the ears. If I had to choose, Maureen's breath is much more melodious when it comes to her.

Darren felt even more guilty for remembering it again.

Maureen threw a sofa cushion at Darren's face. Her face was already bright red as she stomped away from the men.

The plan in the big map that Darren had designed since long ago had to be put forward.

"Well, it turns out Darren himself already has a choice." Abra, Maureen's father chose to lean back, much more relaxed than before.

It wasn't that he didn't appreciate his daughter's first moment or wasn't worried about the future of a woman who no longer had her virginity, but there could be much more important things in Maureen's future that required a lot of preparation.

"It's not an official event yet. If it doesn't happen, it will be embarrassing," Darren explains, voicing his thoughts.

A proposal that hasn't been made yet isn't something that should be made a big deal about. It's different from a wedding invitation that has to be distributed.

"So, how do we proceed?" asked Randy, who was still surprised by Darren's answer.

He himself had only just heard Darren's wish regarding his interest in marriage without going through the courtship process. Surprisingly.

"Maureen chose to leave." Abra raised her hand, indicating her resignation to her eldest son's decision. "Well, I can't say anything, Darren. I hope the plan goes well."

A tap on Darren's shoulder ended the conversation. The rest of Maureen's family chose to say goodbye without discussing their mistake again.

All that was left was Darren, who was still at a loss to digest what had happened in such a short span of time.

"Like a dream."

***

Six years have passed since the humiliating rejection Maureen received for dropping her self-esteem.

Usually guys who are given a precious moment the first time can hold on, at least out of guilt. Those were the words of Maureen's friend from high school.

But not Maureen. She felt she had failed to conquer the man who could keep her hope alive.

She hasn't seen Darren since the incident. To be more precise, they both avoided each other.

"Are you coming to the party?"

The question came from Aletta, a fellow lecturer with Maureen in the final semester of college, when the thesis session on that day was completed.

The announcement was final, no one had to repeat the trial again in the next semester for the list of students that day. This meant that they had certainly earned their bachelor's degree in management and were just waiting for graduation.

"See you later!"

Maureen could not promise. Her mind was already too tired of the logic of the distribution scheme spun by the senior lecturers in the courtroom.

She just wanted to lie down, continue to enjoy the days without revisions and scribbles. All that was left was the final touches for printing as a graduation requirement, and then Maureen could officially become unemployed.

"Make sure you come! Your boyfriend already said you would." Aletta's next statement stopped Maureen's movement of gathering the pile of papers in her large folder.

"Really?" It was only Maureen's hesitation because the man who had been her partner for the past few months had not informed her about any party.

Aletta showed her group message before excusing herself. Private Party On Private Pool was listed there, but Maureen knew for sure that the pool they had booked was in the open air of the hotel, one of her step-grandfather's properties.

A pool party, definitely a bikini show with lots of pretty girls. How could the men miss it?

Just imagining it, Maureen was already anxious and couldn't wait to call her boyfriend. However, to no avail. No one answered the call from her cell phone at that number. Not connected, not even out of range.

"Are you tired of your laundry?" scolded Serena, the girl who opened the window when her car stopped right in front of Maureen. "Hurry up and get in!"

"Are you going to the party tonight?" asked Maureen after making sure her butt was in a comfortable place, then pointed at the four-wheeled master. "Lend me your cell phone!"

Serena's eye-tail directed Maureen to take the object attached to the cordless charger on the dashboard facility. "Aren't you leaving?" She asked back.

Maureen threw her overflowing bags onto the back seat and removed the suit and shirt that had been suffocating her for the past few hours, leaving only a thin, sweaty camisole that made the presence of her black underwear clear.

"I was told by Letta just now." She snatched Serena's foldable square object from the charger and began dialing a series of numbers that were also listed from her cell phone screen. "What about Reval? I can't reach him with my number either."

Maureen continued to complain about her messages in the chat room not being delivered. Meanwhile, Serena's phone was just processing.

"What's wrong, Babe?" asked Serena, who was focused on turning the steering wheel onto the city's main highway.

"I can't reach Reval." However, the call she made from Serena's number was immediately connected. "Come in with your number."

Not Maureen's number. She wondered if there was something wrong with her number and tried dialing the numbers of her other friends. Only Reval.

"No need to continue." Serena hung up Maureen's call to Reval on both of their cell phone screens.

"Why?" Maureen asked innocently.

"Do you realize that you're blocked?" It was hard for Serena to hold her tongue if that was the case.

Once again, Maureen felt dumped.

The daughter of a prominent doctor sometimes questioned her own worth, as her relationships had never been smooth and long-lasting.

Beauty? Wealth? She had everything.

The body men wanted?

Maureen was silent on the last stigma that crossed her mind. She remembers the last time she refused Reval's touch, when they were so ready.

The romantic hotel room, the warm dim lights, stripping each other down to their bare bones, the searing kiss.

Maureen shook off the image of her refusal that time. Her mistake in kicking away the evidence of Reval's already hard-on. Reflexively, Maureen's body did not want anyone inside her at all.

"You just need a new guy, Babe!" suggested Serena.

[Another guy, and a repeat of the same incident.]

Maureen rejected the 'need' part. Guys weren't everything when Maureen already had so much in life in her twenties.

She just wanted to entertain herself, thinking that 'drinking' a lot might unleash her wild side towards the opposite sex and give her one chance.

Still in hand, Maureen's cell phone sent a voice message to the party host. "Let! I'm coming! Get your best entertainment ready!"

With the turn of a minute, Maureen's message was returned.

"Ready, Queen!"

Aletta's short voice message was enough to describe the atmosphere behind her. Loud music and a strong gust of wind in between conversations. They were still on their way.

"Maureen..., do you know what kind of party Letta's throwing?" protested Serena, disagreeing with her friend's thoughtless decision.

Security at private parties among students was usually not guaranteed. They were not blind to the bullying case of one of the female students on campus who became the target of irresponsible youths because of an immoral video.

"Let's just say we'll have fun." Maureen was not in the mood to be contradicted. "I want to break up with Reval and celebrate it as well."