Condensation dripped down the cold glass in James’ hand, but he was too busy joking around with his friends to notice or care. He had that boyish look that Augustina liked in a man, and an attitude that made her want to see what was underneath. 

It was no coincidence that they had ended up in the same room at the same time. She had laid the groundwork for this to happen, and none of it was accidental. She’d carefully engineered for James and his friends to be invited to this party, and had made sure that someone’s older brother helped out by providing the liquor for their cocktails, which was important for greasing the wheels of social interactions. James needed to be at least slightly inebriated for the next stage of her plan, which was for him to truly see her for the first time. 

She knew that it was slightly odd to be scheming like a criminal to get what she wanted—James as her boyfriend. But, she also knew that all the wisest women had to do it this way. She was tired of being a pawn in every lover’s game, tired of leaving her love life up to fate. She believed that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, and she wasn’t hesitant to use whatever strategy she needed to in order to set the scene for her own love story. And so, she became an architect and drew up the plans. Now that her plan was in motion, she felt her heartbeat skipping wildly in her chest. She was so close to getting what she wanted. 

The first time that Augustina had seen James, she’d known that she wanted his body. Not only that, but she wanted to know that body like it was her own. He was the hottest guy she’d ever seen, and she knew that nothing was going to stop her from having him. 

As if in slow motion, she felt the moment approaching and watched with baited breath as all the planets and all the fates, and all the stars aligned. James glanced in her direction and she made eye contact for a long moment before glancing away with a sly grin. 

I think he knows, she thought to herself. He can tell that I want him. She had made it obvious enough with her seductive stare, and the way she was now biting her lip. She waited just long enough to be sure he was watching before flicking her gaze up to meet his again. 

She didn’t miss the flush coloring his cheeks as their eyes locked, and for a moment he looked shy before a confident smirk transformed his expression to one of confidence. He was so magnetic, it was almost obnoxious. He was flush with the currency of cool, while she felt like she was turning out her empty pockets. She was trying to “fake it till you make it” with her confidence, and worrying she wasn’t quite pulling it off. 

Despite her fears of being rejected, she forced herself to walk towards him. He flashed his blue-green eyes at her as she approached, and she tossed her hair casually, pretending not to notice. He was standing at the bar in the kitchen where the host of the party had assembled a collection of bottles—alcohol, soda, and juice—as well as cups, plates, and a smorgasbord of snacks. She glanced quickly to see what he was holding and found that he was mixing a drink, something with rum and lemon juice. She sidled up to him, feigning disinterest, and reached for a cup to pour herself something to drink. She made sure to brush her hand against his in the process, and felt a rush of satisfaction and excitement when he jolted slightly and turned to look at her. 

After that, Augustina left the party. She knew it was key to leave James wanting more, to create the intrigue needed for her to become the subject of his desires. But she herself wasn’t feeling satisfied. The waiting was a necessary part of the plan, but that didn’t make it any easier. 

She decided to reward her patience with a special indulgence. She drove her car to his street and parked at the end, many houses down from where James lived. She lived in the same neighborhood as him, but it was a very long walk from her house to his. Getting out of the car, she sighed as she began to focus on thoughts of James. He would still be at the party, since she had just left and he wouldn’t have had time to realize that, become full of despair at the knowledge that his new obsession had vanished, calm down enough to think straight, and drive home with the weight of his sadness heavy on his shoulders. 

Augustina knew that this fantasy was over-the-top and ridiculous. She knew that she hadn’t managed to make him fall in love with her with just the touch of a hand. She’d wanted that touch to light the fuse for a chain reaction of countermoves—one that would lead to the two of them together. But it wasn’t going to be an overnight project to get there. She would have to continue planting seeds and then wait for them to grow and blossom. 

For the time being, she took comfort in pacing down his block, thinking of how James had walked this same path many times before. She could almost see his footprints on the sidewalk, leading to his front door, and she couldn’t stop herself. She usually tried not to walk all the way to his house, because she needed to be discreet. But this time, she didn’t stop until she was just about to step onto the smaller path that led to his house.

Lately, she’d been going there every night. It was bad, she knew. But she couldn’t seem to quit. It was like she’d caught a fever dream of her and James being together, and now she would do anything in her power to make it real. He was a bad, bad boy—a shiny toy that she needed to have. And she would buy it, no matter what the cost. 

Months later, Augustina stood in front of the mirror, putting the finishing touches on her makeup. She looked devastatingly beautiful wearing her teal-colored ball-gown style prom dress. It was a similar color to James’ eyes, and she’d chosen it for that reason. Her makeup was tasteful yet dramatic. She carefully put on her maroon lipstick, and then smiled at her reflection. This was the night she was going to get everything that she’d been wanting. 

It had taken basically the entire school year for her to form the relationship she needed to have with James in order for this night to go as planned. She needed to be a friend to him, first, and she had accomplished that. They hung out in the same group at lunch regularly, and she’d found small moments to be alone with him as well. She’d intentionally kept her flirtations subtle enough to keep him guessing, and to get him wanting more. Despite the fact that he was dating Betty, she could tell that he liked her. 

A part of her felt bad for Betty. She didn’t want to hurt the other girl. She barely knew her, but still. But she couldn’t help it if James liked her, and if she got her way and he decided to choose her instead… well, in the end, that would be doing Betty a favor, wouldn’t it? 

With a toss of her curly hair, she put Betty out of her mind and went to get in the car. It was time to go to prom. 

A few hours later, Augustina stood in the 1950’s style gymnasium of her school. It was in desperate need of a remodel, along with the broken cobblestone courtyard outside. It was clear that the prom committee had put in a lot of effort to make the place look glamorous. 

The crowd of students who were currently filling the space were dancing and chattering and laughing. It was loud and chaotic, and Augustina took a few minutes to pick James out from the sea of bodies and faces. He was standing at the far side of the gym, and she wasn’t surprised since she knew he hated crowds. She also noticed Betty on the dance floor, and was momentarily surprised to see her dancing with a guy from their home economics class. 

Well, it was all for the better, she thought. Betty clearly wasn’t too broken up about James missing out on the dance. James, however, seemed quite broken up about seeing Betty dancing with another boy. She also noticed him swaying slightly on his feet, and understood almost immediately that he was drunk. That was all for the better, if she was being honest. Lower inhibitions meant it was more likely that he would go along with her plan. 

When he started making his way toward the exit, she followed, but kept her distance. She didn’t want him to see her just yet. While he was distracted by his own clumsiness, she slipped past him and headed quickly to the parking lot.

Jumping into the front seat, she turned the key and then drove toward the drop-off area where she’d last seen James. He wasn’t there, and for a moment she was worried that he’d driven off in his own car. But she trailed her gaze around the courtyard and down the path towards the end of campus. It didn’t take long to find him stumbling along the sidewalk. He had barely made it past the end of the cobblestones.

She grinned with anticipation. This was the moment she’d been building up to for the entire school year. 

She pulled up alongside him, rolled down her window, and said, “get in the car.” They were still close enough to the front of the school to see the flashing lights of the event photographer taking posed photos of students. Augustina noticed Betty’s friend, Inez, standing with a small group of girls nearby. 

James looked at her in confusion for a moment, then smiled when he registered that it was her. “Oh, hey Augustina,” he slurred. “What’s going on?” 

“Get in the car,” she said again, in a friendly but firm tone. She wanted him to get in quickly before anyone noticed. Rumors going around the school would only make a budding relationship struggle, and she wanted her relationship with James to start off strong. “You need a ride,” she added. 

He shrugged and walked around the front of the car, pulling the passenger door open and half climbing, half tumbling into the seat. He shut the door and Augustina pulled away from the sidewalk. Then she headed off campus and straight for the coast. 

It took James a fair amount of time to realize that they had taken a wrong turn and weren’t going towards their neighborhood. 

“Where are we going?” He asked. He sounded curious, but not alarmed. 

“My family’s beach house. It will be a good place for you to sober up a little,” she chuckled. Then she reached a hand over and touched his hair playfully before returning her hand to the steering wheel. She was gauging his reaction to her touch, and noticed with satisfaction that he didn’t seem to mind. She thought she even saw the hint of a grin. 

He had a smile that could be described as lyrical. It was beautiful in a way that made her want to sing. And his eyes, usually a lovely shade of blue-green, looked indigo in the fading light of the evening. She glanced at him and noticed that he was looking at her in a way that made her spine tingle with anticipation. 

He reached over and casually laid his hand on her thigh. She continued driving, trying to focus on the road rather than the sparks she was feeling igniting in her belly. She felt like she was falling down a rabbit hole; a part of her deep down knew that this relationship could easily wreck her, but she wanted to jump in anyway. 

When they arrived at the beach house, Augustina got out of the car and gestured for James to follow her. They went inside and she let out a sigh of relief. She had made it through the first parts of her plan, and now she had gotten him all alone. Like clockwork, the dominoes had cascaded in a line in just the way she’d intended. She was still assessing the equation of James to determine next steps, but she felt that she was through the trickiest parts. She had him in checkmate and she couldn’t lose. 

She started making herself at home, and told James to do the same. Although it was her family’s beach house, she hadn’t spent much time there, so she had some settling in to do.  

She excused herself to change out of her prom dress into something more comfortable, and grabbed him some of her dad’s clothes from the closet to change into. They would be a bit baggy, but it should be better than staying in his tux. 

After they were both more comfortable, she sat down beside him on the couch. It had gotten dark outside, and the lighting in the room was dim. She looked at him and waited to see if he would make the first move. 

He was slightly less drunk at this point, which she thought was good. She didn’t want him to not remember this night, after all. 

“So, what would you like to do?” She said, trying to sound seductive. 

James’s glance darted to her mouth before moving back up to her eyes. He looked like he knew exactly what he wanted to do, but he was still trying to decide if he should do it. He cleared his throat. 

“Augustina… we’re friends, so I hope you don’t mind me saying this. You look incredibly beautiful tonight.” His eyes were sincere as he looked at her with unmistakeable desire. 

She couldn’t take it anymore. She leaned in and kissed him. For a moment, he didn’t react, but that passed quickly and before she could pull away he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back, passionately. In fact, James kissed her in a way that she knew was going to screw her up forever. But for the time being, at least, she reveled in the feeling of being in his arms. As he was holding her, he was also holding her together and chasing away the fears and “what if”s. He held on tight to her as they spun out of control, together. 

Songs Used:

• Wonderland
• Suburban Legends
• Cruel Summer
• I Think He Knows
• August
• Mastermind
• Paris
• Betty
• Is It Over Now?