Deconstructing the Nerd Ch. 06

"And miss seeing you work it like that?! Of course, Ree Ree!!"

After hitting the bar for more libations, the girls found themselves sitting at a different table. Cassie clinked glasses with Reema. The bleary-eyed journalism student sat with her feet pointing off to the side. She smiled, looking at nothing in particular -- conspicuously thinking about the dance floor.

"I can't believe how wicked those shoes look on you!!" Cassie commented, staring at her extra lengthy heels. "And you're killing it in them!"

Reema wiggled her toes in the fancy new stilettos. They weren't the most comfortable shoes, but Cassie said you had to sacrifice comfort for style, sometimes. "I...it feels weird on the sidewalk...you know, outside..." she pointed in a random direction, "...but I like them...in here..."

"Totally!" Cassie humoured her. "I'm gonna borrow them some time, OK?"

"Yeah! We live pretty much in the same house anyway, right?!" Reema tittered. She was going to say something else, but before she could finish her thought, a tall guy standing next to them spoke up.

"Sorry to interrupt..." He wore a black V-neck shirt with a thin silver chain hanging over his tank top. He held a tiny glass.

Reema mentally tried to inventory the tattoos on his forearms, but they all seemed to morph together. Another tattoo spread across his neck, snaking down under his shirt. He had a semi-shaved head, and gold rings hanging from his earlobe and bottom lip.

"This is for Mini Minaj over there," he said brashly, passing the shot to Reema. He glanced at Cassie, who gave him a serious look, warning him to be careful. She then nodded at Reema, giving permission to finish the shot.

Reema was hit by the pungent smell of the liquor before she could even taste it. Sliding over her lips, then her tongue, then her throat -- the dark liquid burned all the way down. She took gradual sips, trying to minimize the potent taste. Cassie and the guy with the piercings exchanged further look. When she finally downed shot, she tried desperately to mask her grimace.

"Good stuff?" the guy winked, politely taking her glass. "I'm Dylan."

Reema concentrated on getting rid of her sour expression. "Yeah, great. Thank you." She proceeded to tell him her name.

Dylan crouched down, motioning for her to slide over and make room on the couch. "Have you been here before?"

"Nope! First time," she yelled over the music.

"You picked a great time," he observed. "This place is cool."

"Yeah! I really like, all the lights... they're so fun!"

He leaned in, grazing her shoulder. "So you like to have fun?"

"Totally!" Reema shouted. She explained her current taste in music, raving about Lady Gaga in particular. Then she laughed, circling back to his original question. "That's a weird question by the way! Who doesn't like to have fun?!"

Dylan grinned. "Maybe you're right... I mean, you are wearing this," he said, putting his finger under her necklace. "If this isn't fun, I don't know what is?"

"I know, right?!"

Dylan inspected the individual beads, asking whether she found it at Walmart or Dollarama. "My money's on Dollarama," he guessed. Reema didn't notice him peer down at her cleavage. "Does it even matter?!" She laughed, touching her hair.

"It might, it just might."

Reema playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine, I think it was Walmart," she said, purely for the sake of giving him an answer.

He waved a finger. "Uh-uh. Nope. I think you're wrong... and I know my thrift shops," he ironically challenged her.

Reema giggled at the thought of somebody being an expert on dollar stores. She nudged his tattooed forearm. "Suuuure you do!"

"What about my bling?" he asked, pointing to his silver necklace.

She looked at the chain, shaking her head adamantly. "No. That must be reaaaal!!"

"Really? I couldn't tell. Here, feel it," he instructed.

Reema ran her finger over the silver chain. "That's definitely real," she nodded, trying to convince him. "I'm... good at observing stuff."

"Oh well, in that case. I guess you're right!"

At that moment, the catchy grooves of 'Bad Romance' starting permeating the club's sound system. Reema got a chill when she recognized the melody. Scanning the dance floor and noticing all the eager participants, she hummed along to the intro of the song.

"Hey, Miss 'I loooove Gaga soooo much'... why aren't you out there? You're supposed to be having fun, aren't you?" Dylan teased.

At first, Reema felt intimated by the remark. Eventually that turned to taking offense. She resolved to show Dylan that she was capable of having fun... more than capable! She abruptly walked off, a move that even left Cassie wondering what had happened.

Reema was drunk, but also focused on her task. She arched her back and rotated her hips in a rhythmic way, pushing out her sizable breasts. The dancers around her quickly noticed. A few of them slowed down to watch. Others approached to investigate at close range, then drifted away. As Reema bent forward and wiggled her butt, a guy danced over to appreciate the sight from behind. When she stood up and turned to face him, he put a hand on her hip, moving in synch with her dancing. Reema was unfazed by his touch.

She threw back her head and looked over her shoulder. Cassie was totally amused by the scene on the dance floor. If Reema had a vengeful side, it was surfacing now. Her sexy display wasn't impressing Dylan, though. He wore a stony expression. Reema's effort to show him up was succeeding. She reached behind her, wrapping an arm around the hipster guy. Leaning back, she dangled off him, doing a bit of playful grinding. He pressed her hip with his hand, in order to feel her gyration more directly.

As their movements intensified, the song suddenly stopped. Reema's performance came to an end. She left her new friend on the dance floor, returning to Cassie and Dylan. Upon reaching their table, she had somehow lost the purple sunglasses that were such a key part of her outfit.

She yelled to Cassie, "You're so right! These shoes are great to dance in! We should take hip hop lessons or something! Does the gym offer those?"

Cassie smiled. "I think there are some studios that have them on weekends... downtown?"

"Ooo, we should go! I wanna learn!"

"You'd be amazing," Dylan complimented her.

Reema gave him a sarcastic look. "You don't think I wouldn't be 'fun' enough?" she kidded.

"You proved me wrong, man. Fun and Reema? Same thing."

Feeling validated, she smiled. Dylan gestured for her to sit on his lap. Reema shifted her body and rested on his thigh. As he put a hand on her back to steady her, she chatted to Cassie. "You think we can sign up with like, no experience?"

"After that performance tonight, I'd say you had some experience, Reem," Cassie remarked. She also passed her a cocktail. It wasn't the same one she had previously been drinking, but Reema took it nonetheless. Turning to Dylan, she asked, "What do you think?"

"Definitely experienced," he affirmed. "You know your way around the floor, for sure."

"Think so?" Reema was fishing for approval.

"Hell yeah!"

She adjusted the straw and took a sip from her peach-watermelon cocktail. "Mmhm. I know."

"She's as savvy with her brain as she is with her feet!" Cassie randomly chimed in. Dylan asked her if it was true.

"Well you know. Kinda," Reema demured. "I might have read a book or two, or something."

"A book, what's that?" Dylan played along.

She giggled, for about the millionth time that night. "You're really funny," she observed, not realizing that he might actually be telling the truth about the low number of books he'd read.

She looked hard into his eyes while fiddling with her long, silky hair. She'd done quite a bit of that tonight, too. Dylan gazed straight back. He rubbed her knee and thigh softly, trying to get her to share more information about herself.

"Oh, you don't wanna hear about me. I'm just a boring old smarty pants, you know." Reema joked, even though the words weren't totally inaccurate. At that moment, Reema's old dance partner showed up out of nowhere, holding a purple object in his hand. Even as Dylan stroked her back, Reema was startled by the other's guy's sudden reappearance. He actually brought back her sunglasses!

"Hey. You were dancing so well, you dropped these," the hipster said, handing over her glasses. Reema had to pause. This thoughtful gesture was beyond anything she expected. As she sat on the lap of one boy -- who seemed genuinely riveted by what she was saying -- another guy had come up and done something really chivalrous. It was a lot to comprehend!

Privately, Reema thought about the feelings this attention was giving her. The dopamine rush felt similar to situations where people had seen her accomplish really cool things, like at public speaking contests, or big track and field events. It triggered the same kind of I-can-do-anything buzz as drinking about four cups of coffee.

Reema was also starting to correlate this buzz (at least subconsciously) with the visual impression she made on other people. Little compliments she got from Cassie every day reminded her that -- on some level -- she was getting positive attention because of how much people loved seeing her in certain outfits, with certain hairstyles, wearing certain types of accessories. Fortunately, she wasn't processing any of these thoughts critically enough to make her wonder if she was also being 'too superficial'.

"Wouldn't want you to lose those wicked glasses," Aaron said, offering a gallant smile. He turned to the bald guy with the lip piercing. "Mind if I borrow her for a minute?" Dylan could only muster a stern look. Reema chose to stand up and link arms with him, anyway. They then strode off together, as Dylan and Cassie looked on. More precisely, Aaron led the way, while Reema stumbled behind.

Cassie could perceive Dylan seething. He'd worked so hard to get in Reema's good books. Suddenly, an overdressed 'Prince Charming' had come along with a phony act of kindness and ruined his chances. Cassie hadn't reached an opinion about the other guy yet, but liked the boldness of his approach. It was pretty incredible that two men were now vying for vying for Reema's attention. The experiment was moving ahead quicker than planned. Reema had definitely surprised her with the lack of self-consciousness she demonstrated on the dance floor.

After a while, Dylan tried making small talk, possibly trying to get a consolation prize for his efforts that evening. Cassie understood his plight, but was not sympathetic. She excused herself, lithely hopped out of the booth, and left him sitting at a table that wasn't even his.

Searching for Reema and her new friend proved unexpectedly difficult. At first, Cassie thought they might return to the dance floor, but exploring that area only resulted in a couple of guys trying to hit on her. She was sure Reema wouldn't have left the club yet. She wouldn't just take off without her 'BFF'... hopefully.

After a little searching, Cassie found them getting cozy against a pillar in the lounge area. Watching from a distance, she saw Reema's new suitor lay a hand on her back and gamely chat her up. He grinned, hovering his face next to her ear. Reema was laughing. Cassie wasn't religious, but hoped to God that she wouldn't snort right then. Raising a surprised eyebrow, she instead watched as Reema grazed the guy's arm with her hand.

As she walked closer, Cassie locked eyes with the guy. They sized each other up. Giving him a nonplussed look, Cassie epitomized 'no bullshit'. She was sober, calculating and -- most of all -- experienced. She knew how to handle men, especially ones with sketchy personalities. Clearly, Reema wasn't so savvy. The priority tonight was get her acquainted with attention, but under careful supervision.

"There you are, Reem! Practicing your disappearing act again?" she joked, striding toward the pair of chatty new pals. Reema couldn't think of a clever response. She stared at Cassie with glassy eyes, clinging onto her new male friend.

"Sorry about that," Aaron smiled, "Reema is so soft spoken, I wanted to get away from the crowd... so I could hear her better. I wouldn't want her to lose her voice, from yelling at me."

Cassie smirked, "Is that true, Reem?"

Reem giggled. "Yeah, I was just telling Aaron about that weird professor we have... the weird, TV Studies... oh, what's his name? Oh. I forget..." She finished with a spaced out laugh.

"I love that Reema's a writer!" Aaron enthused, directing his words to Cassie. The blonde socialite nodded, liking his attempt to gain her approval. Beyond that, she also laughed at Reema's ambitions as a 'journalist'. Once the top of her cohort, she'd experienced a precipitous drop in grades lately. She even gave up being the editor-in-chief the journalism department's newspaper, citing different priorities.

"That's my girl," Cassie winked, simultaneously shooting Aaron a stern look. "Wanna get out of here or something?"

Reema lacked a clear opinion. She looked to Aaron, more or less prepared to do what he deemed fit. "Cool," he agreed, "where to next?"

"How 'bout our turf? Reema can show you a couple of her textbooks, since you're sooo interested'," Cassie jabbed.

Aaron shrugged, unbothered by the quip. "Works for me. Just let me tell a couple people I'm leaving."

He grabbed his phone and started texting with one hand, supporting Reema with the other. As they exited the club, he fist-bumped a few more friends. Cassie said goodbye to her own friends on the way out. She pointed at a very intoxicated Reema, causing one of her friends to chuckle and say 'good luck'.

Reema leaned back into his arm as he guided them out of the club. Her glasses fell again. Cassie saw, but let them sit on the ground and meet whatever lay in store.

A long line up of taxis waited outside. The trio hailed one, directing it back to Montgomery. Aaron kept his arm around Reema, but didn't get more physical than that during the ride.

Reem lolled in her seat, resting between Cassie and her stylish new friend. Staring down at her shoes, she suddenly realized how badly they hurt. "Oh my god guys, my feet are going to fall off!" she giggled.

"No kidding," Aaron agreed, joining in the unnecessary laughter, "you're such a star tonight, after all."

"Hey, Cass," she spontaneously exclaimed.

"Yeah Reem?"

"Do we have any trail mix at home? You know with the M&Ms inside?"

Truthfully, Cassie couldn't even tell which of their dorm rooms Reema was referring to. She was sure neither of them bought any 'trail mix', though. "Yeah, I think so! You might have to look around when we get home, kay baby?"

"I love M&Ms," Reema tangentially confirmed, after somewhat processing Cassie's words. "They might be the best part of it. Next to cashews, maybe. Or the little Cheetos," she began chuckling. "Wait, what are the Cheetos in trail mix?"

"Whatever you want them to be, Superstar," Aaron suggested. He and Cassie shared a look, then proceeded to keep humouring Reema the rest of the way home.

As first year students, the girls were required to sign in their overnight guests. As Reema tried to write Aaron's name in the ledger, she surprised the night clerk -- a student herself -- who had probably seen hundreds of college kids stumble through the foyer. With her revealing dress, alluring makeup, and spaced out behaviour, Reema still provided a striking sight.

Arriving at Cassie's place, the trio immediately headed for the couch. Before Reema could take her seat, Cassie stopped her. "Think we should get some beverages for our guest?"

"Oh," Reem laughed at her faux pas, "yeah, of course!"

"Why don't you go in the kitchen and fix something to drink with whatever ingredients you can find? Something sweet and fruity, OK. Like I showed you."

Reema nodded, making an awkward run for the kitchen. At one point, her ankle buckled in her unwieldy high heels. Aaron looked on appreciatively. He mused to himself that luck was a funny thing. Not every night at the club could be successful. Tonight had panned out exceptionally well, though.

He didn't get to ponder this for long before Cassie bluntly interrupted him. "You will tell me if you have any STDs, right?"

Surprised, Aaron turned to face the stern-looking blonde girl. "Uh. Huh?"

Cassie folded her arms, intent on having a discrete, serious conversation. "Communicable diseases. Do you have any?"

They heard Reema drop a plastic cup on the counter in the kitchen. Aaron shook his head. "No man, what? I'm clean... All clean."

"Good, because if you hurt my friend, you'll have a lot of people mad at you," she drilled her eyes into him to reinforce the point. Then she switched to a different line of inquiry. "How good are you at going down?"

Aaron was caught off guard -- again -- but strung together a response. "Um, pretty good. I mean, I've had good feedback. I, I don't know?"

"I'll let you in on something," Cassie levelled. "As cute as she is, my friend doesn't have much experience. I want you to show her a good time tonight. I mean, really good."

Aaron seemingly understood.

"We're talking slow, attentive, thorough. Got it?"

He nodded again. Reema stumbled back from the kitchen. She bent at the waist to pass Aaron and Cassie their drinks. Aaron nodded as he received his cocktail, motioning for Reema to sit down beside him.

Cassie smiled too, holding the brown girl's drink to reduce the chances of spillage. "Hey Reem," she enthused, "Guess what Aar just told me?!"

Reema nestled onto the couch and retrieved her glass from Cassie. "Uh, I don't know," she giggled, sampling the fruity concoction she'd prepared a few minutes earlier. Her brown eyes brightened as she judged it a success.

"He told me he's a pro at giving back rubs!" She gripped Reema's thigh to stress her excitement about this fact.

Turning to Aaron, Reema emulated Cassie's sense of giddiness, "Hey! Is that true, Aar?"

"Uh..." he looked at Cassie, whose raised eyebrow told him to go along with the act (and more importantly, not fuck it up). "Hell yeah, I am." He placed Reema's drink on the table and invited her to lean back against him.

He pressed his fingers into her shoulders, briefly pinching the flesh before moving to down her back. Reema exhaled, a pleasant expression crossing her face. Cassie replaced Reema's drink in her hand. "Feels good, eh... Aaron is doing a great job."

"Mmm, yeah," she mumbled. Cassie lightly pressed her elbow, prompting Reema to consume more of her drink.

"You were such a star, with all those moves in the club... no wonder your back hurts."

With Aaron kneading her back muscles, Reema sighed in agreement, "Yeahhh, it did hurt." The young hipster put his chin against her shoulder, leaning in closer. The scent of her moisturizer and shampoo tickled his senses. He kept one eye on Cassie, who he regarded as Reema's 'gatekeeper'... without realizing that she was really the 'puppet master', too.

Cassie swiped Reema's drink and returned it to the table. "Reema, hun, why don't you put that Wiz Khalifa album on? My iPod is still in the dock."

In her semi-lucid state, Reema didn't question Cassie's idea. Sober, she might have wondered why she had to fiddle with the music at that exact moment. Severely inebriated, however, she happily complied with the suggestion. She walked over to the entertainment center and lowered her curvy body to adjust the mp3 player, much to Aaron's delight. He got a memorable view of her ass and shapely hips while she wiggled around, trying to maintain her balance.