pull teeth

Jess checked the clock. Ok, she had half an hour to cancel the whole thing. To be honest, she didn't even know how to get her into this party. Her gaze wandered back to the mirror, where it wasn't herself standing, but Daenerys Targaryen - her costume for tonight. Annoyed, she sighed, tugged and draped on her dress and cursed inwardly.
It had all been a little too much for her lately. She had broken up with her longtime boyfriend, Henry, and the stress made her work a bit difficult. She kept thinking about him, couldn't concentrate properly, and made mistakes. Somehow, she philosophized, the whole thing is like a visit to the dentist. You had a tooth that always caused you problems, that caused you pain. And when you were ready to pull it, in the end something was missing when you ran your tongue along the row of teeth. You began to miss the tooth and no longer thought about the pain it had caused you. Jess missed her tooth. Missed him very much, she had to admit. But somehow the gap had to be filled, right?
She found courage, left the rejection message unsent and instead picked up her make-up bag. Distraction, that was what she needed now and that was what she would get today.
At the agreed time, Mary and Ella arrived in their costumes to pre-drink. Mary in the Pikachu costume was already busy filling the bottle when, ten minutes late, Clara, Wilma Feuerstein, entered the apartment.
"I brought you your kite.", She said with a laugh and handed Jess a helium balloon in the shape of a kite.
Now her costume was perfect! "Where did you get that from?"
Clara came closer with a grin and said softly: "You don't reveal your helium sources."
Ella shouted disguised as a Jedi and handed out the first shots of the evening.

The girls' evening had started well. They were well toddled and made their way to the rock factory that was having a costume party today. When they found a table in a corner that was decorated like a beach with folding chairs and umbrellas, Ella took the first round of more shots. They were all a different color.
"What is that?", Marry asked and held the stamp at eye level to examine it closely. The blue colored alcohol swayed with every movement.
"The bartender said that's the action of the evening: five 'confetti shots' for 3 euros."
Jess did one more count. "There are only four shots.", She stated, "Where is the fifth?"
Ella just grinned and held her green mini drink in the middle. "Have a good evening!"
The girls joined in and overturned the short one.
"Oh, God.", Clara said and grimaced. "It's really cute!"
Mary nodded in agreement. "At least that's not how you taste the alcohol."
Suddenly Ella's face brightened up and she gestured for the others to be quiet for a moment. "Do you hear that?" She asked.
Volbeat was started by the DJ, and the four of them stormed onto the dance floor without worrying about the table at all.They danced exuberantly between jumping Snow White, pirates, vampires and countless disguised grouches. They laughed at costumes, were happy about certain songs and Jess had her hands full to be a good 'Mother of Dragons', as her little floating protégé was very popular with the other dancers. At some point Mary's face twisted in pain and she called over the music to the group that Henry was here. Jess's gaze flicked through the crowd until he caught on a Superman scrap. Your tooth.
Well, she thought, the right reaction would be to go to him now, greet him nicely, go back to the group and stay calm. If she hadn't had a little too much alcohol, she might have reacted the same way, but instead she immediately turned back on her heel and mumbled she had to go to the bathroom. Her friends looked after her puzzled. Jess just marched past the women's restrooms because the girls would have been the first to find them, and ran outside. She needed rest now to get the chaos that was raging inside her under control. She turned the corner and leaned her back against the wall. What was HE doing here? Just as she was finally able to let herself fall, Henry appeared. Did she never get the chance to come down at all? Jess put her hands on her face and just tried to concentrate on getting enough air into her lungs.
"Are you vomiting?" Someone asked.
She looked surprised next to her. A young man in a polar bear costume stood and eyed her appraisingly.
"Um ... no, I'm g-", she corrected herself, because if she was somehow not feeling at the moment, then that was good. "I don't have to throw up," she replied instead.
He nodded with a smile. "You wouldn't be the first tonight to get sick from the confetti shots. My buddy is puking over there." The polar bear pointed to a crouching figure between two parked cars.
"Don't you have to be with him now?" Jess wanted to know.
"No. I think he can do it on his own, at least he got it all on his own. What's your name?"
She had to smile. Only now did she take a closer look at him, even if it was quite difficult because of his full-body polar bear suit and the twilight. To be honest, all she could say for sure was that he was at least a head taller than her, he had a three-day beard and a beautiful face. A few dark curls peeked out from under the hood.
"Jess. You?"
"Finn.", He replied and held out his hand in greeting. Of course she accepted. "So if you don't have to throw up. What are you doing out here by yourself?"
She thought for a moment what to say. Because she certainly didn't want to talk to a wild stranger about Henry. She didn't want to talk to anyone about it right now. "I was looking for a friend, but apparently she's not out here," she lied and shrugged."I can help you find it," he offered.
Jess nodded. “I'd be happy.” He led her towards the entrance when she stopped and looked back. "What's with your friend?"
"I'll tell his girlfriend downstairs that she should take him home."

"He always overestimates himself," said Finn, sipping his cocktail. "We always say he should hold back, but you know us men. We always have to prove ourselves."
After Finn had handed over supervision to Svenja, the puke's girlfriend, and Jess had started a half-hearted search for her girls, which was unsuccessful, they sat at a table near the bar and sipped cocktails from coconut shells that Finn had bought them. He had pulled off the hood during the conversation, revealing a head full of dark curls. He was 25, a computer science student and was born in Leipzig.
"What drew you to Bavaria?", Jess asked and tied her helium balloon to the table so that it didn't always float between them.
"Of course the good beer!" He said with a laugh. She agreed. The last half hour had been funnier than anything she'd been through lately. Jess was always there when she was out with friends. And even when he wasn't there, he haunted her head and pulled her down. But Finn was funny and made her laugh, but most importantly, he pushed Henry out of her thoughts. For the first time in a long time, she felt as if she could emerge from the deep, dark water in which she sank and gasp for air.
In the background Jess saw something yellow jumping. She leaned past Finn and recognized the Pikachu. "Get down!" She called and slid off the chair under the table. Oh God! , she thought as she crouched down there, now he thinks I'm very stupid ... But Finn also appeared and looked at her with a broad grin.
"What are we doing here?" He asked.
Yes ... what were they doing here anyway? Jess couldn't really answer the question either. Basically, she just didn't want the girls to find her and break up time with the polar bear, but she couldn't tell him that.
"Submarine diving.", She said quickly, "It's a carnival game. Whoever is last under the table pays the next round."
"Jess," he said, sliding closer under the table. "You are pretty crazy."
"Oh." She managed to get out. So he really thought she was stupid. Class.
He smiled again and revealed two dimples. "And that's exactly what I like about women."
He approached again and was about to kiss her, but she blocked him with her hand, "We don't even know each other properly." As soon as it was outspoken, she hated herself for it. Why couldn't she just enjoy this situation?
But Finn surprised her. "You're right. I have a few more questions for you."
Jess raised her eyebrows. "And what would they be?"
"What is your favorite cake, for example."
It didn't take long to think about it! "Cheesecake!" She replied.
"Mine is Black Forest cherry.So now we know our deepest, darkest secrets. "His laughter rang out again.
A paw went to her cheek and this time she let it. The fingers underneath led her face to his and so they sat under a table in the sofa and kissed ...

Her cell phone rang and she was about to hit the wall, but decided at short notice to just answer it.
Jess was a morning grouch of the worst kind, which is why there was only a questioning hum.
"What's his name?" Asked Ella. "How long were you on the road yesterday?"
She was immediately awake and straightened up in bed. “How do you know that?” She hadn't seen the girls yesterday.
"We saw your balloon floating and you snogging under the table."
"Oh."
"We wanted to tell you that we were leaving because Clara had a couple of confetti shots too many, but we didn't bother you anymore." Ella laughed. "It's interesting. You see Henry disappearing and later we'll find you under a table. But not drunk as I suspected ... Although. You were already a little drunk with love."
Whom? she almost wanted to ask. Oh yes, Henry, your ex. Your tooth. Somehow she wasn't quite up to scratch. "Listen. I'll call you later, ok? It was late yesterday."
Jess knew Ella was grinning up and down right now. "Ok.", She replied. "See you later."
She hung up and looked at her cell phone. Yes, it was late yesterday. Finn and she had talked to each other until the end of the Rofa and then ...?
Well, she thought, nobody but