Emancipating Andie

“I know,” she heard Colin say, and she looked over to see him smiling at her. Andie realized her chin was practically in her lap, and she quickly closed her mouth, glancing back toward the house.

“Your friend grew up here?” she asked in awe.

“Yeah,” Colin said. “We all did, in a way. Justin’s house was sort of a second home to a bunch of us. We spent most of our time here.”

Andie sat in stu

“Am I…I mean, is this okay?” she whispered, gesturing at herself. Suddenly the ski

He shook his head. “You look great. I know this looks pretentious, but the people inside are totally unassuming. I promise.”

“Okay,” she said, feeling extremely unconvinced as the valet opened her door and offered her his hand, helping her out of the car. She looked him over, his bowtie and vest and pressed pants, before glancing back down at herself. As if she needed another reason to feel uneasy tonight. Andie stood there, completely frozen, suddenly lamenting her choice in footwear; there was no way she would be able to scale the wall and make a run for it in her heels.

Colin came around to her, placing his hand on the small of her back again.

“If it’s uncomfortable, we leave,” he whispered in her ear. “I know a great little diner near here. No valets,” he added with a wink, and Andie finally laughed, feeling a bit of the anxiety leave her body.

They started walking up the wide steps that led to the front doors, and she shook her head. “I couldn’t imagine having access to a place like this when I was in high school.”

Colin laughed, a guilty look on his face. “Yeah, I’m not proud of all the stuff we did here.” He looked up at the house fondly. “But it makes for some good stories. I’m sure you’ll hear some tonight,” he said with a smile, opening the door and gesturing for her to enter.

The foyer was exactly what she should have expected, considering what she’d already seen of the house, but still, Andie was flabbergasted. Gorgeous marble floor, high ceiling, a double staircase that seemed to embrace the expansive space, each side curling in toward the other until they met at the huge loft overlooking the entryway.

A man dressed in a suit stood in the doorway, smiling at them as he directed them toward the great room. Colin nodded his thanks as they turned down the hallway, and Andie glanced around inconspicuously as they walked, trying with all her might not to look like some awestruck tourist at a museum. She wasn’t sure how anyone who owned a house like this could be unassuming.

The great room was, of course, enormous; floor-to-ceiling windows covered one entire side, and tables and strings of lights were set up outside, shimmering through the glass, setting a soft and classy ambiance in the room teeming with people.

“Colin!” said one of the men as they stepped down into the sunken room. “Good to see you!” He walked over with a woman at his side, and both gave Colin an enthusiastic hug.

The man turned to look at Andie. “Is this your girlfriend?”

She opened and closed her mouth, glancing at Colin before smiling at the man. “I’m Andie,” she said, reaching out to shake his hand.

She didn’t care what Tracey would have said; this was what would make it awkward. She and Colin were clearly more than friends; there had been an instant attraction when she met him at a coworker’s barbecue a few weeks earlier. He happened to be the brother of a friend of the hostess and had just intended to stop by to say hello; instead, he ended up staying the entire evening, sitting with Andie as they dipped their feet in the pool, talking about everything and nothing. And then, of course, he had asked her out. Their first date was cliché, but fun and sweet: di

And an extremely hot make-out session.

But was she his girlfriend? She couldn’t quite say that yet. She didn’t even know if she wanted to say that yet. Or if he did, for that matter. And they would undoubtedly have to field that question all night. Andie hoped this guy, whoever he was, would just drop it.

“Hi, Andie. I’m Doug,” he said. “It’s great to meet you. This is my girlfriend Sara.”

“Hi,” the woman said, reaching forward to shake her hand. She was adorable, Andie thought, a tiny little thing with big blue eyes and a short brown bob.

“So you’re not go

“Of course they did,” Colin said with a laugh. “Jesus.”

“Come see this thing. It’s incredible,” Doug said, already walking toward the glass doors that would take them outside.

Colin looked down at Andie just as Sara said, “You boys go. We’ll stay here and have girl talk.” She turned to Andie. “Unless you want to go see a car that looks just like any other car but costs more than my house?”

Andie laughed, feeling a little more at ease. “Yeah, it’s okay. I’ll stay here while you go check it out.”

“You sure?” Colin asked.

She nodded reassuringly.

“Okay,” he said, leaning down and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Get yourself a drink. I’ll be right back, okay? Two minutes.”

As the boys walked through the great room to the double doors leading outside, Sara turned to her. “He’s sweet. Always was. How long have you been together?”

“Um, we’re not officially…this is only the second time we’ve been out.”

“Oh?” she said, looking surprised before she quickly righted her expression.

“May I take your coat and purse, miss?”

Andie turned to see another man in a suit, one hand extended toward her, the other primly behind his back.

“Oh. I, um…yeah okay,” she said, tentatively handing him her jacket and bag and reaching for the numbered slip he handed her.

As he walked away, Andie glanced at Sara, who had an amused expression on her face. “Friggin’ coat check at your house. Can you imagine?”

She laughed again just as the sound of a phone ringing filled the space between them. Sara reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone, glancing at the screen.

“Shit. Sorry, I have to take this. If you want to grab yourself that drink, the bar is just around the corner,” she said, pointing toward the hallway.

“Okay, thanks,” Andie said, and Sara smiled before bringing the phone to her ear, using her hand to plug her other ear from the party noise. “Sara Daley,” she said as she walked in the other direction.

Andie took a breath and glanced around the room. Colin was right; for the most part, everyone was dressed the way she was, talking and laughing and seeming very approachable. This might not end in disaster after all, she thought as she exited the great room in search of the bar.

The hallway was huge, as wide as her living room, with tremendous arching doorways leading off into various other rooms. She tried not to look like she was snooping, but her eyes kept wandering of their own accord as she made her way toward the bar. Just before Andie reached it, a large, winding staircase came up on her right, leading somewhere downstairs. She could hear muffled voices and laughter and music, and she paused for a second, glancing down the stairs as several people walked back up with drinks in their hands.

Andie looked around for a moment before she turned to the right, starting down the wide staircase.

She was horrified at her own brazen behavior; she knew she should just turn around, go back the way she came, and wait for Colin. But her curiosity was uncharacteristically in the driver’s seat, overriding her conscience as her legs continued to carry her down the steps.