Lily White Lies(47)

“What kind of friends would we be if we let you drown in your lo mien. But, don’t thank us yet. The best is yet to come.”

Cory’s last remark sent an unexplainable chill up my spine. Charlotte leaned in to give us each a hug, and said, “C’mon, let’s go join the party.”

Charlotte and I exchanged how-have-you-beens with several women I hadn’t seen in ages as we made our way to our seats, while Cory stood next to the bar in the middle of the gazebos.

“Ladies...” She turned as she waited for their attention.

“Ladies, ears up here... I would like to introduce you to your waiter’s for the evening...” She motioned toward the hanger and we watched as one of the scantily clad men emerged from inside.

“Meet Philippe, born in Rio, aspires to be the leading man in your romance novel.”

Hoots and hollers bellowed among the crowd of women.

“Next, please welcome Santiago, born in Mexico and looking to linger on the border.”

Philippe approached me, leaning over the table to place a kiss on my cheek, as Santiago followed closely behind. Cory waited for the buzz between women to die down, before continuing.

“Next, I’d like you to meet Antonio...”

I watched as the women around us went wild, and silently wondered just how long it had been since they’d seen a man. I felt like I was sitting in the middle of Fluvanna on a conjugal visit day. I spotted a once shy girl from college in the gazebo directly across from me and she was making lewd gestures like the ones I’d seen Brian and his friends make at different women on television.

I turned to Charlotte and said, “You may have to hose them down before the nights over.”

She patted my hand, and said, “Enjoy yourself. Just remember, we wouldn’t have done what we did if we didn’t love you.”

I gave her hand a squeeze and turned my attention back to Cory who was trying to shout above the racket the women were making.

“Meet Pierre, if you say jump—he’ll ask who.”

I heard, “Me! Jump me!” coming from someone on the other side of the gazebos, followed by more laughter.

One by one, each man approached me, and placed a kiss on my cheek. Some ran a hand through my hair and others caressed my face. They were all so handsome and muscular and each one smelled like the men’s counter at Neiman Marcus. When the last one had kissed me, they spread out and began taking drink orders while Cory began to introduce the men in black G-strings.

“I am pleased to announce that we will enjoy live entertainment this evening. Put your hands together for Rocco, Diesel, Jacko, Bronco and Roy, original members of Roy Boy and the G-Notes!”

The first round of drinks had yet to be delivered, and already these women were acting as if they had had too many. They were waving dollar bills in the air and screaming come-ons like, ‘Can I play your instrument’.

Cory re-joined us at the table and looking me square in the eyes, said, “Meg, I hope this isn’t too over the top for you. Coming out of this thing with Brian... well, I just hope this isn’t too much.”

“This is just what I needed.”

The waiter in the neon blue G-string began to set our drinks in front of us. Running a hand down his back, Cory winked and whispered, ‘Don’t get too attached to this one’ before returning to her position by the bar.

“Ladies, if I can have your attention again... if you’ll notice, you each have an index card with the colors of the waiters G-strings listed. While the waiters are serving your drinks, I’d like you to write their names next to their corresponding colors. This is to test whether or not you even looked at their faces as they were being introduced.”

“If I knew there was going to be a test, I would have studied the material harder,” yelled an unfamiliar woman in the gazebo to my right.

Offering a smile but ignoring the remark, Cory continued, “The one who lists the most correct names, wins a date with the color of her choice...” Her tone became very flirty, as she added, “As long as it’s not blue—he’s mine.”

Seriousness came over the faces of most of the women as they eyed each waiter and made their guesses. Cory collected the cards as they were completed, placing them at her seat. She leaned over once, and whispered, “Like, where can you find a party with better door prizes? You tell me.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Movement by the hanger caught my eye and left my open mouth at a loss for words. The sun, half buried behind a far-off hill, didn’t shed enough light on the person for me to see any detail, but there was something vaguely familiar drawing me in. As I studied the male form, Cory and Charlotte followed my stare.