THE TROUBLE WITH PAPER PLANES(20)

I grinned, my first real smile of the evening. “You can stand down. She’s not even your type. She’s a brunette.”

He sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging. “Ah well. The search continues.”

Marlow’s obsession with busty blondes was legendary. He drained his beer and belched loudly.

“I need another drink,” he announced. “Want one?”

I raised my half-empty beer bottle at him and jiggled it. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Suit yourself,” he wandered off, and I saw him detour to the buffet table. “Whoa, are those what I think they are?”

I smiled, taking another sip of beer. I could always rely on Marlow to lighten the mood. I spotted Joel on the other side of the room, deep in conversation. He glanced over and I raised my beer at him in greeting. He returned the gesture and went back to his story. Everyone seemed to have somewhere to be, someone to talk to. I should be sociable, make an effort, but I wasn’t feeling it.

What I was feeling was annoyed. I wiggled my toes inside my shiny black loafers. Shoes had been a mistake. I should’ve come barefoot, costume be damned. I glanced around the room, searching out Bridget. Finally, I found her, talking to Maia in the doorway to the kitchen.

Bridget wore a long, flowing dress and had a guitar strapped to her back. Maia was the only one at the party not dressed in costume. She wore a long white, tiered cotton skirt and white lace-trimmed singlet. In this light, she looked ethereal, like something out of a dream, and I couldn’t help but stare at her, although I’d been actively avoiding her until now.

I didn’t know what to make of her. Her obvious physical similarity to Em disturbed me, but watching her from a distance, that was where the similarity ended. Em had been confident, sure of herself, the life and soul of the party. By comparison, Maia seemed kind of lost, just as Bridget had said yesterday. As if she wasn’t sure she should be here. I found myself feeling sorry for her.

Jas floated over to join their conversation. She rubbed her pregnant belly, rolled her eyes and they all laughed. I couldn’t hear what was being said above the music, but I could see that Maia was beginning to unwind and relax a bit more. After a few minutes, Jas flitted away and it was just the two of them again.

Bridget caught my eye, then beckoned to me. Maia smiled, and my stomach suddenly nosedived. Any sympathy I’d been feeling for her went out the window. I snapped instantly back into self-preservation mode as I slowly made my way through the crowd, behind the counter and into the kitchen. I was suddenly acutely aware of my costume choice.

“Come on, Agent Kay,” Bridget laughed, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer.

“It’s Jay – Kay was Tommy Lee Jones. Jay was Will Smith,” I said, as they openly studied my ‘costume.’

I was wearing my so-called ‘funeral suit’ – black and far too hot for this time of year – with a white shirt and black tie. Perfect ‘Men in Black’ attire, complete with a toy gun tucked into my jacket pocket. It was an easy costume, but not a particularly inspired one. Regardless, I had thought it showed commitment to the party, and to Vinnie.

Under scrutiny like that, though, I felt like an idiot. I also felt gipped. Jas had insisted I make an effort, yet Vinnie had somehow gotten away with black jeans, a plastic mask and a Batman t-shirt? Lucky bastard.

“So, you wanted to work for a fictitious government agency, saving the world from aliens?” Bridget chuckled. “That was your life’s goal?”

“What proof do you have that it was fictitious?” I rallied, mentally praising myself for my quick wit.

“Ah. Touché.”

Maia smiled and my heart skipped a beat. I took a sip of my beer, trying hard to recover. It was unnerving, staring at a stranger with Emily’s face.

“How old were you when you saw that movie?” Bridget asked, thankfully, so I didn’t have to think of something else clever to say. I didn’t think I was capable of it.

“Ten, I think. Or eleven. I’m not sure, I can’t remember. I just liked the alien stuff. It was cool.”

I felt like that ten-year-old boy again, over-heating thanks to the outrageously hot suit. Maia took a sip of her drink and I found myself staring as her lips enclosed the straw. Full and rose-red, with just a hint of gloss.

The collar on my white shirt suddenly seemed far too tight, and I reached in to loosen it with my fingers.

“Anyway, moving on from alien-hunting,” Bridget said, winking, “We were just talking about surfing. Have you given any more thought to giving Maia some lessons?”