“No need to rush the poor dear,” said Martin charmingly to her with a smile. “I think she might be a bit overwhelmed with all of us so eager to make her acquaintance.”
Mark blushed awkwardly, but then she saw the familiar faces of Terry and Ben making their way over to her, the two of them smiling. Terry with that big grin on his broad face, Ben looking warm and affable as ever.
“There she is!” Terry declared excitedly, lightly clapping one of his big hands to her shoulder as he edged Mark out of the way. “Thought I’d have to beat these guys down to get to you,” he declared with a broad grin.
Ben came up less obtrusively.
“Hope you’re not too overwhelmed here,” he said softly. “I know you kinda grew up on the fringe of town and all, so it’s probably a bit unexpected, huh?”
“Indeed?” said Martin in his nice pressed shirt and tie, looking her over. “Oh poor girl, we must all seem quite the brutes!”
Lisa looked between the four men, and overwhelmed was definitely just how she felt. She took a sip of the fruit juice, the taste seeming a bit off, but she was grateful to just have a pause where she wasn’t expected to talk.
“I just wasn’t expecting a huge party on my first night,” she explained with that friendly smile. “I’ve never seen so many people in one place.”
“Just take your time and mingle! Get to know the guys,” Terry said as he rubbed her shoulder. “Drink up and enjoy!”
Ben gave a crooked look to Terry then smiled back to Lisa.
“He’s a bit pushy about it, but yeah, that’s the point. Have a few drinks, mingle and get to know the fellas. Make friends, that sorta thing,” he said with a warm, compassionate expression, his hands in the pockets of his khakis as he tried to be helpful with her.
She took a longer sip of her juice before letting her arm drop to her side, holding it by the rim.
“Well, I mean, you’ve all been so nice to me,” she said, genuinely, a smile upon her pinkened lips. “This has been quite the welcome, I must confess.”
The three of them — four if she counted Mark trying to peek around Terry’s bulk — all smiled at her warmly. And as the alcohol in the drink slowly loosened their inhibitions she chatted more loosely.
Ben took the considerate time to make sure she had the opportunity to speak with other men that evening too. But as they kept her drinks refreshed, and ears full of delightful conversation, she started to notice that one of the other women was gone from the room.
Her mind swam as she was surrounded by so many charming men. It was one extreme to the other, from being around only her family to talking to so many men. Every time she finished her drink, there was another in her hand, and she loved the way it made her feel. Tingly and warm.
Then she noticed the only other remaining girl in the room was leaving, some hours had passed since things started, but with her went four other men, all crowded about her. Their little group chatting and fawning about her as they made their way to the stairs with her giggling excitedly at the center.
Ben came back to her at that point out of the crowd, a warm smile on his lips.
“How you holdin’ up?” he asked.
Lisa giggled at the question, her hand resting on his arm to stabilize herself in her high heels.
“I feel like I should have worn my sneakers,” she admitted, her gaze downcast as her dark eyes flashed at him. “My feet are killing me. I’ve never stood in heels for this long,” she admitted with another laugh, the alcohol loosening her up and making her almost giddy.
The tall, handsome man reached out, putting his arm about her for some stability, resting his palm upon her opposing waist right above her hip. He was one of the few men in town with longer hair, such thick brown hair that framed his face rather well.
He was well her senior, though nowhere near as old as Martin. She reckoned Ben had to be about thirty or so.
“Well maybe it’s time you headed on up,” he said to her warmly. “Don’t wanna tire yourself out standing around all night, when the real point of it all is to head on up to one of the rooms and have some personal time with some of the guys.”
He gave her a warm smile, speaking to her quietly near her ear.
“I know you’re new to this, so don’t feel pressured to pick a bunch. One or two of us if you like. And I’d recommend no more than four, I mean… it’s your first time, right? Take it easy. We’ll look out for you.”
She didn’t know what to make of his words, too pure to understand the implications behind them. All she knew was that having a small housewarming in her apartment sounded a lot less overwhelming than remaining down in the party with all the voices surrounding her.
So she nodded, her drunken smile broadening as she held back another giggle.
“Yea, that’d be nice,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at the exit. “It’s been a long day.”
He gave her a warm, encouraging smile and rubbed her side as he watched her.