Emancipating Andie

Seventeen months earlier

This was going to be weird.

There was no getting around it, and there was no one who would be able to convince her otherwise. She knew what her best friend would say if she were there. “It’s no big deal. You’re not signing away your soul in blood. Just go have fun. Don’t get all Andie.”

Don’t get all Andie was always Tracey’s closing argument, the term she would use whenever she felt someone was being too analytical, or when someone expressed anxiety or disapproval over something. But this time, Andie thought, getting all Andie was completely justified.

She leaned closer to the mirror, putting on a second coat of mascara. Tonight would only be the second time she’d be going out with Colin, and yet he was taking her to some party with all of his old friends from high school. She had agreed to go, because she liked Colin, and because she had no good reason to turn him down, but she couldn’t shake the image of being the awkward outsider at some high school reunion. Not really the ideal situation for a second date.

“Shut up and be happy you’re getting a second date,” she could almost hear Tracey say in response, and she smiled to herself as she capped the mascara and tossed it back in her makeup case. Andie had known Tracey since the third grade, providing her with a front row seat to all of her friend’s relationships, if she were being kind enough to call them that. With the exception of one long-term boyfriend in college, Tracey was the quintessential serial dater, with what she claimed was appallingly bad luck in love.

“Okay, it’s not like he’s taking you to meet his parents,” Andie said to herself, channeling her friend as she dabbed on a little bit of lip gloss.

She took a few steps back from the mirror, adjusting the V-neckline of her shirt. She liked Colin. There was no reason she couldn’t have a good time with him tonight. After all, she could think of much worse places he could be taking her. Andie smiled at her reflection, holding onto that little bit of reassurance as she walked over to the closet and stepped into her shoes.

A few minutes later, a polite knock sounded on the door, and her stomach flooded with butterflies of both excitement and trepidation as she approached it. Her hand landed on the knob, and she took one final deep breath before pulling the door open.

“Hi,” she said with a smile.

“Hey,” Colin said, looking her up and down, managing to make the gesture look appreciative rather than sleazy. “Wow. You look incredible.”

“Thanks,” she said. “So do you.”

Even though it was usually customary to return that particular compliment when someone gave it, she really did mean it. Colin was extremely attractive; there was no denying that. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a beautiful white smile that belonged in a toothpaste commercial, nice athletic build, and, as Andie had noticed the first day she met him, impeccable hands.

He smiled. “Ready?”

She nodded and he stepped to the side, allowing her out of the apartment. They walked down to his car, and he opened the door for her, placing his hand on the small of her back as he guided her into the seat.

“So,” Andie said as he slid into the driver’s seat and started up the car, “whose party is this again?”

“A good buddy of mine,” he said, glancing in his rearview before backing out of the space. “He just got engaged.”

“Oh. So it’s an engagement party?”

“Not officially. He lives in Florida with his girlfriend. Or his fiancé, I should say,” he corrected with a smile. “Anyway, he’s in back in town for the week, so he figured he’d kill two birds with one stone, you know, celebrate his engagement and see a bunch of his friends. But it’s not an official engagement party or anything.”

“Oh, okay.”

He glanced over at her. “Are you uncomfortable with this? We don’t have to go.”

“No, not at all,” she lied. “I was just wondering what the occasion was.”

“It will be fun,” he said, flashing his Colgate smile before turning his eyes back to the road. “Wait until you see this house.”

“He’s got a nice place?”

“Well, he’s staying at his parents’ place while he’s in town. That’s where the party is. Just wait. You’ll see.”

They drove the rest of the way into Connecticut, the conversation flowing easily, until they turned onto a street where the driveways were farther and farther apart and the houses were no longer visible. Instead, they passed a series of large stone pillars and imposing monogrammed gates, the houses concealed somewhere behind the long, winding drives.

He turned into one of the driveways and stopped at the gate, saying something into the intercom that Andie didn’t quite hear. She was too busy squinting out of the windshield at the image before her. In the dusk she could just see its outline at the end of the long drive; to her, it looked more like a castle than a home.

“Jesus Christ,” she said, more to herself than to Colin as they drove up the cobblestone drive that ended in an enormous roundabout with a huge fountain right in the center; in the twilight, the rippling water glittered as if a thousand twinkle lights were floating just below the surface. The house itself was made of brick and stone, sprawling out forever in both directions, with enormous bay windows adorning the entire exterior.

“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 stunned silence as she stared out the window at the impressive mansion. When she noticed a valet approaching the side of the car, she glanced at Colin in alarm.

“Am I…I mean, is this okay?” she whispered, gesturing at herself. Suddenly the skinny jeans and cute wrap shirt she had chosen for the party seemed horrifically casual.

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: dinner and a movie, followed by some playful conversation over ice-cream cones.

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 gonna believe this,” said Doug. “Justin’s parents gave him and Stella a Bentley for the engagement.”

“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.

She wanted a peek. Just a quick one. There was no way she could bring herself to ask Colin for a tour of this place; it would only make her look nosy and intrusive.

As if sneakily exploring it on her own didn’t make her look that way.

You’ll be quick, Andie assured herself. No one needs to know that’s what you’re doing.

She just wanted to see the downstairs, and then she’d come right back up, get a drink, and spend the rest of the night with Colin, behaving herself and keeping her curiosity in check.

At the bottom of the staircase was another hallway, just a bit narrower than the one upstairs. The voices and merriment were louder now, coming from a giant game room at the end of the hall; arcade games and varied gaming tables—billiards, foosball, Ping-Pong, air hockey—along with the biggest flat-screen television she’d ever seen and a tremendous sectional couch occupied the expansive room. She lingered for only a moment, attempting to appear as if she were looking for someone rather than nosing around, and she noticed the home theater across the hall, complete with tiered rows of plush recliner seats and an extremely intimidating-looking sound system.

Andie shook her head in disbelief as she turned to walk back upstairs, stopping when she spotted a third doorway at the opposite end of the hall. What the hell, she thought. She’d already given in to her shameless snooping. When would she ever get to be in a house like this again?

She realized what it was before she even crossed the threshold: a wine cellar.

“My God,” she said under her breath as she reached the doorway. It was practically the size of her apartment; the walls were floor-to-ceiling shelves full of bottles, and in the center of the room were several more independent shelves, filled to capacity. There had to be hundreds of bottles.

She stepped into the cellar in complete awe, her eyes fixed on the soaring shelves bordering the entire room, nearly tripping over something underfoot. Andie looked down to see a small wrought-iron step-ladder on the floor next to the door, and as she lifted her eyes back up to the impossibly tall shelving, she bent to grab it, dragging it over to the nearest wall of wine.

Just as she was about to climb up and take a closer look, a loud slamming sound caused her to jump, and she whipped her head around to see the cellar door closed behind her.

“Crap,” she mumbled, stepping down off the stool. She walked back toward the door and twisted the handle.

Nothing.

Andie froze, her eyes widening for a second before pulling a bit more forcefully.

“No,” she whispered, twisting the handle the other way and trying again. “No, no, no,” she begged, leaning back on her heels and grabbing the handle with both hands, yanking back with the full weight of her body. The substantial oak door didn’t budge. It didn’t even squeak. “Oh God, please no,” she whimpered to herself.

The voice came from behind her.

“Well, that sucks.”

She screamed before he’d even finished his sentence, whirling around and flattening herself up against the door.

Instead of being startled by the ear-piercing shriek that ripped from her throat, he seemed amused by it. The corners of his mouth curved up in a smile as his eyebrows lifted ever so slightly.

Andie’s instincts kicked in as she felt the panic begin to swell in her chest. Locked in a cellar with a strange man at a party where she didn’t know anyone, where practically no one would be looking for her. Weren’t there scary movies that began this way? For all she knew, the room was probably soundproof. She felt a surge of adrenalin heat her veins as she kept her eyes on him, her back against the door.

“Did you think that was down there for show?” he asked, nodding toward the iron step stool she had dragged over to the shelves.

Andie brought her hand to her still-thudding heart. “I…I didn’t know…I’m sorry,” she said, reaching behind her with her free hand and twisting the handle again. The uneasiness in her chest was beginning to mix with embarrassment. “How do we get out?”

He shrugged indifferently. “We wait. Someone will probably be down here any second now after that scream.” He smirked as he added, “Nice pipes, by the way.”

Andie couldn’t help the frown that tugged at the corners of her mouth over his words. His lack of urgency bothered her. As did his flippant response. Not to mention the look he was giving her. It was a combination of amusement and condescension, that little smile still playing at his lips.

He was dressed much more casually than anyone she’d seen so far upstairs: jeans and an open button-down over a fitted T-shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was taller than she was, and while he didn’t look particularly bulky, she could see the definition of his chest through the thin fabric of his shirt. The cellar was too dim for her to pinpoint the color of his eyes, but she could tell they were light, and his hair, a sandy brown color, looked like it was in need of a cut; it flipped away from his forehead and the tops of his ears in little curls. As if he could read her mind, he ran his hand through it, tousling it in a way that made it look stylish instead of disheveled.

Whatever this guy was willing to do, waiting was not an option for her; there was no way she was going to sit in the wine cellar with this stranger until Colin came to rescue her and she had to fumble through some feeble explanation as to why she was in the wine cellar in the first place. She turned and twisted the handle again. This time, she pulled back on the door so forcefully that a guttural grunt escaped her lips, and she heard him laugh behind her.

Andie looked over her shoulder. “A little help would be nice,” she said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

“When that door sticks, you can’t open it from the inside. Hence the doorstop that someone chose to ignore.”

“Well excuse me for assuming a house like this would have functioning doors,” she snapped, irritated that he was mocking her. He didn’t even know her, for Christ’s sake.

He grinned at her and Andie turned, balling up her fist and banging sharply on the door. The muted thudding rang through the space just as a dull ache shot up her arm, and she dropped her hand to her side, flexing her fingers.

“No one’s gonna hear that, and you’re gonna hurt your hand,” he said, the amusement prevailing over the concern in his voice. “And for the record, I have no medical training. Although there’s plenty of wine, so I guess we could just get you drunk enough that you wouldn’t feel it.”

Ignoring his taunts, she turned around and used the flat of her other hand, banging again. Andie knew he was right; it was fruitless. No one would hear her, and she probably would end up hurting her hand, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of conceding.

“If you’re in such a rush to get back to the party, why don’t you just use your phone and call someone upstairs?”

Yeah, she could just see how that conversation would go. “Hey Colin, it’s Andie. I locked myself in the wine cellar while I was snooping around your friend’s house. Can you come let me out?” Besides, her phone was in her purse. And she had checked her purse upstairs.

Stupid, pretentious coat check.

Andie turned around, folding her arms. “If I had my phone with me, do you think I’d be standing here abusing my hands on this door?”

“Well I told you to stop, didn’t I?”

She shot him a look and he laughed again. “Relax. Trust me, someone will want more wine eventually,” he said, walking toward the first shelf in the middle of the room. He sat on the floor with his back against it, his feet wide apart and flat on the floor in front of him. He rested his elbows on his knees as he looked up at her.

“I’m Chase.”

Realizing that she very well might be trapped with him for a while, she figured it was probably in her best interest to at least attempt civility, even though he seemed determined to get under her skin.

“Andie,” she said before turning back toward the door and inspecting the doorknob, praying for some magic button that would set them free.

“Andie, huh? Interesting,” he said, and then after a beat, “So, Andie, are you a friend of Justin’s? Or Stella’s?”

She turned to look at him. The confusion must have been evident in her face, because he smiled slowly.

“Justin and Stella? You know, the people who are hosting this party?”

“Oh. No, I don’t…I’m here with Colin Tate,” she added by way of explanation, turning back toward the door and examining the hinge, trying to remember anything she could about the show MacGyver.

“Colin’s here?”

Andie spun quickly to face him, her eyebrows raised. “You know him?”

“Of course I know him.”

Yes, definitely in her best interest to attempt civility.

“Oh.”

A silence fell over them, and he smiled, running his hand through his hair again. “So, you and Colin? You guys are a thing?”

With a resigned sigh she gave up, walking away from the door and over to one of the shelves against the wall, sitting cross-legged in front of it. “Not a thing. We’re dating.”

“What’s the difference?”

Andie looked down with a shrug, feeling cautious since she had no idea how close he and Colin were. “It’s…new.”

“Ah. Haven’t decided if you’re gonna bang him and bail yet?”

She whipped her head up, an offended expression on her face, and he laughed, shifting his weight as he reached in his back pocket. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tapping them against his palm and then glancing up at her from under his lashes as he held the pack out to her.

“No.”

He chuckled, shaking his head as he held the pack to his mouth and removed a cigarette. “That’s rude, you know,” he said, the unlit cigarette wagging between his lips as he spoke.

“What is?” she scoffed. “Declining a cigarette?”

“No, that face you just made,” he said, pulling a lighter out of his pocket. “It’s like grimacing at someone’s food while they’re eating it.”

“Well, if the food in question killed the person eating it, or anyone within breathing distance of it for that matter, then I’d say it’s perfectly acceptable to grimace.”

He chuckled again as he held the lighter to the end of his cigarette, taking a long pull until the flame caught and the tip glowed orange. He put the lighter back in his pocket as he lithely pulled the cigarette from his lips with his thumb and forefinger, locking eyes with her as he blew the smoke out the side of his mouth, sending it away from her. “Just don’t breathe over there and I’m pretty sure you’ll survive.”

Attempting civility was getting more and more difficult by the second.

Andie began neurotically tapping her foot against the cemented floor. This guy was playing on her last nerve. Colin was probably back by now. He’d be looking for her. How would she ever explain this without looking like a complete idiot?

“Is that your natural hair color?” Chase asked suddenly, and her eyes flashed to his as an incredulous laugh fell from her lips.

“You’re gonna lecture me about being rude and then follow it up with that?”

He shrugged, taking another drag of his cigarette. “It’s just an unusual combo. The blonde hair with the brown eyes,” he clarified, exhaling the smoke away from her again.

He wasn’t the first person to say that to her, but he was definitely the first to preface it by questioning its authenticity. Andie looked up to see him watching her, waiting for an answer.

She shifted her weight on the hard floor. “My dad’s German and my mom’s Greek.”

“Good to know,” he said, “but that doesn’t answer my question.”

Andie rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. “Yes, it’s my natural color, okay? My mom has black hair and brown eyes, and my dad is the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Nordic poster boy. Put them together and you get me,” she said, gesturing toward herself. “Anything else you want to know?”

He laughed, and it annoyed her more than it should have that she couldn’t deter him. “Since you’re offering,” he said, “what are you doing down here?”

“Huh?”

He smiled. “I said, what are you doing down here? Why’d you come down to the wine cellar by yourself? The bar’s upstairs.”

“I was just…” She trailed off, looking back at the door, willing it to open with her mind.

“Just snooping around?”

“What? No!” she said as she looked back at him, horrified. He was smirking at her, the cigarette dangling between his lips.

“Why are you down here?” she challenged.

He removed the cigarette from his mouth and held it up by way of explanation.

“You came down here to smoke? Shouldn’t you go outside for that? I’m sure the owners of the house wouldn’t appreciate what you’re doing.”

“Me and the owner of this house—whose name is Mitch, by the way—used to sneak down here all the time for a smoke when I was in high school, since he was hiding it from his wife at the time. So yeah, I think he’d be fine with me grabbing a quick smoke down here. But I’m sure he’d appreciate your concern for his house.”

Andie grit her teeth together, looking away from him. She hated feeling stupid, and it seemed like, for whatever reason, it was his goal to make her feel that way. She couldn’t understand how this guy was a friend of Colin’s. Granted, she hadn’t known Colin long at all, but it just didn’t seem to fit.

“How do you know Colin?” she asked, trying to sound conversational instead of accusatory.

“We went to high school together. Played soccer together. We ran in the same circles.” He shrugged, blowing smoke out the side of his mouth. “You?”

“Me? Me what?”

“How do you know Colin?”

“Oh. I met him at a friend’s barbecue,” she said.

“And won him over with your easygoing charm?”

Andie glared at him as she stood, pacing in front of the shelf. She needed to get back upstairs. Now.

“God, how long has it been?” she asked, running both hands through her hair.

“Relax,” he said through a laugh. “Here.” He shifted, reaching in his back pocket again.

“I said I didn’t want a cigarette.”

“I’m not giving you a cigarette, sweetheart.”

Andie whirled on him. Sweetheart? Before she could even react, he tossed something at her, and she brought her hands up quickly, fumbling with it for a second before she looked down and realized what it was.

A cell phone.

She should have been happy, but instead, she was furious. “You’ve had this the whole time?” she asked, completely appalled. “Why the hell didn’t you give it to me before?”

He shrugged, flicking the ashes off his cigarette before he lifted his eyes to hers. “You were entertaining me.”

She felt heat curling in her belly as her fist clenched around the phone, and just as she opened her mouth, two muffled bangs sounded outside the door before it flew open, nearly slamming into the wall with the force. A couple stood in the doorway, and the woman immediately looked contrite, holding her hand up.

“Oh my God, we’re so sorry…we didn’t mean to interrupt…”

“Not at all.” Andie cut her off before she turned to throw the phone back to Chase, using a bit more force than was necessary. He caught it easily in one hand, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as he looked back up at her.

“Nice to meet you, Andie,” he called as she turned to walk out the door.

“You too,” she forced out as she passed the couple, giving them an amiable smile. As she turned the corner, Andie added under her breath, “A*shole.”