The music's tempo rose to a techno-beat and some wise-ass near the lightswitch began flickering it on and off to create a lame strobe effect. Great. It wasn't enough that my ex was here, but now I was going to get a headache, too. Still, it wasn't that bad; maybe after all these months, Doug had finally gotten a clue...
"Yeah," I thought to myself, "and maybe he's gotten straight, had kids and wants to donate a million bucks to Greenpeace."
Still, there was no point in putting it off any longer. Sooner or later, I'd run into him and I'd rather do it on my own terms than by accident. So, I set off through the dancing crush of people, avoided getting vodka spilled on me and gradually wound my way through the party. He had to admit, Bob's house was fantastic ... probably far more than he could afford, but given Bob's luck (and skill) playing day-trader now and then, the whole thing would probably work out for the best in the end.
Making my way into the quieter, rear kitchen, I nodded politely to a couple guys making out by the pantry and tried to clear my head. That's when I saw him. Doug. Getting ice for his drink.
At that moment, I almost turned around and left Bob's party. I probably should have. But Matthew had always said "control your own destiny, or your destiny will be controlled." Backwards Confusious sayings. Gotta love 'em.
Plastering a smile on my face, I walked up and put my hand on Doug's shoulder. "Hey there; long time..."
Doug turned around, a look of surprise slowly replaced by a thin smile. "Danny... Hey, nice to see you..."
Ok, he was allright, so far... "So, Doug; what's up? I didn't know you knew Bob..."
Doug rolled his eyes. "Who do you think I've been sleeping with for the past month?" He grinned and spread his hands out to an unbelievable span. "*This* big..." he said in an innuendo-laced voice.
"Uh-huh. Ok, right. Uh, nice seeing you again, Doug..." I didn't think Doug was telling the truth for a minute, and I didn't appreciate an ex making comments aimed at my size-fetish. "Maybe I'll see you around..."
Doug's hand fell onto my shoulder. "Hey, don't go... Party's just gettin' started..." I felt something small and hard press into my back and my feet stopped in their tracks. "I've got something to show you..." Doug whispered in my ear, menacingly. "I know Matt stole you from me, but to show there's no hard feelings, I won't hurt you ... just steal you back and let Matt know how it feels..."
There was a small clicking sound behind me, as if someone were typing. I blinked, confused by all this. Doug may have been a sleeze, but he wasn't a killer ... was he? Swallowing, I glanced to see if the couple by the pantry was still there. They'd gone. Great.
"Uh, Doug, whatever you've got there, I don't think..."
"No. You don't," he replied, cutting me off. "Here, this will put you in your place..."
With that, I felt a sudden jolt run through my back and race down every nerve in my body...