by Holly Hood
“Karsen!”
Karsen shook her head, refusing to feel awful about what she did. “I told you I would never let anyone treat you bad. He walked into the house with Audrey. It made me angry, and I slapped him. Sue me.”
I released a breath of air frustrated. Before I could say anything more, Karsen jumped up. “But before you go getting all upset about your so-called boyfriend, hear me out.” She started across the kitchen floor, her flip-flops slapping her heels.
I eyed her warily.
“Kidd told me to steer clear for a while seeing I didn't know how to play nice. I’m sure it will blow over after he is done defending his best bud, whatever, that’s beside the point.” She rolled her blue eyes still bitter Kidd sided with Slade over her. “While I was on the way here some surfers on the beach told me about this party, and I think we should go.” I hope she was kidding if she thought now was the time for a party.
“You can’t be serious. I am so not in the mood for partying. I am trying to figure out what to do about this whole mess.” I stood up, crossing the room and going to the refrigerator.
“What mess?”
I spun around. “Slade. Audrey, just everything.” If she only understood how deep, it all went.
“If Slade was any kind of a boyfriend or man, for that matter, he wouldn’t be hanging around with Audrey alone,” Karsen said with a shrug. I knew she was trying to be honest because she didn’t want to see me hurt, but it hurt anyways.
“There has to be a reason other than he is a lying cheating jerk, Karsen. Why are you so quick to jump to that conclusion with him every time?” I knew Karsen was angry with Slade for having such a hot and cold personality. And I knew she hated that he disappointed me the entire school year. However, she did not know Slade as if I knew Slade.
Karsen laughed finding my aggravation humorous. “He is running around with Audrey, who I know for a fact is into him. I heard those exact words escape her lips. Slade knows what Audrey wants and the fact he isn’t keeping away from her is fishy.”
I shook my head in denial. However, it all made sense. “What does Kidd say about it?”
Karsen waved a dismissive hand. “Kidd is not going to rat Slade out. Are you kidding me?”
“What has he said, Karsen?” I glared at her. “He’s your boyfriend and I am sure you guys talk about everything. So what has he said?”
“He says nothing. Every time I touch on the subject, I get my head ripped off or his tongue shoved down my throat. I don’t mind his tongue, but him bitching at me I do not like. If I wanted someone to yell at me, I would have stayed home with my parents.”
I sighed. “Where is this party?”
Karsen squealed with delight. “It’s farther down the beach, far away from Henry Park or Audrey or anyone whom we know around here. You need to let loose. See that there are other fish in the sea.” She played with my hair irking my nerves as she gushed about clothes and hairstyles and all the fun things she was so sure we were about to do.
***
“Karsen, I don’t know about this.” I told her as we headed down a rather seedy part of Cherry an hour later, a part I was not aware even existed. The farther we walked the scarier the housing became.
Tikis lined the beach, and various men clutched red solo cups. They bounced along to the music pumping.
There was about half a dozen picnic tables, most with scantily clad girls sitting on top of them.
Karsen steered me onto the sand, stripping down to her neon yellow bikini. She clapped her hands taking off into the crowd, tugging me along with her. I looked back at her discarded clothes. This was beginning to feel like a horrible idea.
The crowd thinned out the closer to the ocean we got.
“Take off your clothes, this is a bikini party,” Karsen hissed. She smiled at every guy we passed that looked like they wanted to hump her leg. What was it with her and attention?
“I’m fine in my clothes.” I told her. She took two passing solo cups from some guy who was passing out drinks. I immediately grabbed the drinks out of her hands.
“What are you doing?” She asked watching me dump the contents in the sand; the liquid absorbed at our feet and left nothing but a dark spot in the sand as a memory.
“Haven’t you learned anything?” I snapped. I grabbed the passing beers in the glass bottles with caps. I handed one over to her, and her smile returned. “You never drink from an open cup.”
I cracked the cap on my beer and swallowed half of the bitter tasting liquid before she could squeeze a pitiful excuse out. My throat thanked me for the ice-cold beverage even if it tasted gross.
Karsen did the same.
We polished off our first beer before the next song came on. Karsen danced to the music, several guys picking her out in the crowd the moment she began shaking it for the whole world to see. I gave a nod it was okay to dance with one of the horny college guys; he looked rather harmless if you asked me. He turned his baseball cap to the back, one hand wrapping around Karsen’s waist, and he tugged her close. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck enjoying the moment.
I felt guilty watching Karsen grope the guy as she danced. And bad that I was witnessing her make terrible decisions just to right a wrong she felt Kidd did.
However, I soon pushed that to the side and grabbed another beer. Soon I was feeling less agitated with everything going wrong in my life and was moving along to the music.
“I never thought I would see you here,” Hutch said, coming to stand beside me. He watched Karsen pull the guy's shirt over his head exposing his hairy chest. He wasn’t that fit, and no tattoos. However, she did not care.
I tipped the bottle back finishing off my second beer. I was feeling even better.
“I didn’t know I would be here,” I told Hutch; he took the empty beer bottle out of my hand and replaced it with a brand-new one.
“No boyfriend tonight?”
I shrugged, struggling to crack the cap. He took it back and with one swift movement, it was open and sailing through the air. It landed in the sand.
“Does that mean no?” He grinned, taking a drink of his other beer.
“It means I don’t want to talk about it.” I kept my eyes on Karsen.
“Well, what else can we talk about,” Hutch asked, tipping his head back and draining the entire contents of his beer. I looked over at him; he too was nursing some undisclosed problem. I knew a problem drinker when I saw one.
“How have you been, Hutch?” I asked feeling almost sad for him.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said back, he headed for the trash dropping both the bottles in it. He grabbed a shot off the passing tray and downed it. And as the next girl made her way through the crowd, he took two more off the tray and offered me one.
“What is it?”
“Vodka?” He dropped his head back swallowing another one. He wiped the corner of his mouth and gave a more confident nod. “Yes, it’s vodka alright.” He kept his eyes on my drink, waiting for me to throw caution to the wind and drink with him. I looked at Karsen and said what the hell. It was true what they said, drinking made people stupid.
I cringed and almost puked trying to keep the nasty liquor down. My insides warmed, and my chest burned. I closed my eyes waiting for the sensation to pass.
“Good girl,” Hutch said, pleased I was willing to humor him. “What do you say to one more?”
I bit my lip. “I don’t know.”
He elbowed me. “Come on, another drink and I swear the rest will be by your own accord.” He smiled when I shook my head and stopped the petite blonde heading past. He dropped his new shot inside his old one and clutched the plastic. He shot me a look that told me he was ready and we both threw our heads back at the same time.
I cringed, handing the cup back to Hutch. He tossed them in the trash. “That was brilliant.”
I followed him along the sands. The heat and noise united made me feel a bit strange. Heat nipped at my cheeks, i
t felt like someone turned a furnace on. I was not a drinker.
“I’m not a drinker,” I said aloud, my pulse quickened and echoed in my ears. “The last time I drank was when I was fifteen and Karsen snuck her dad’s coconut rum from his stash at her house.”
Hutch’s was grinning ear to ear now.
“It could be I don’t like drinking. My dad has a lot of issues with Jack Daniels.” I was rambling like an idiot. I also lost sight of Karsen that was until she was tugging at my arm and in my face, just as smashed as I felt.
“This might be the greatest party ever.” She pulled her gaze away from me long enough to stare at Hutch. “You’re huge. Is everything massive?"
I giggled, embarrassed Karsen was so unladylike, but when was she not? Hutch wasn’t offended. He offered us the only picnic table that was free of half-naked girls. I sat down with a thud, misjudging my landing.
Karsen sat down beside me. Her bare legs pressed against mine. I nudged her over and offered Hutch the space on the other side of me.
“So?” Karsen pressed. “Is everything huge? Are you gifted in the trousers?”
I rolled my eyes at Hutch. “You don’t have to answer her.”
He smiled. “I believe some things should be left to the imagination.”
Karsen snorted breaking into laughter. She actually snorted; I shot her a disturbed look wondering how much she drank while I wasn’t looking. “That’s the most boring thing I have ever heard someone say. My boyfriend, Kidd, he isn’t afraid to say anything.” She drifted off into a daydream about Kidd, leaving me to fend for myself on the conversation front.
I leaned forward, staring down at my toes.
“What about Hope, what's so great about her boyfriend?” Hutch asked, Karsen came back to life. She hiccupped.
“I don’t know if there is anything all that great about him. Do not let her fool you. She’s unhappy. And that reminds me,” she said, tugging my phone from my pocket before I could object. “I have a loving, caring, boyfriend at home who would love to hear my voice right now. I am going to call him, and you are going to sit here and tell Hutch why you need to think about dumping Slade.”
I shook my head.
“And try to get him to tell you about the package,” Karsen whispered the last part to the both of us as if Hutch wasn’t in earshot. She stumbled toward the boardwalk.
“She is drunk.” I pointed out the obvious.
“She is also ditching you,” he said as Karsen headed down the boardwalk, back the way we came.
I jumped up on legs I knew were never going to get me home in one piece. What had I done? I plopped back down beside Hutch and sighed.
“I live just down the beach,” he said in my ear. “A few glasses of water or a coffee and you will be good as new.”
“You live in this neighborhood?”
He nodded. “Not to your standards?”
“No…I didn’t mean anything by it.” I slapped myself in the forehead, pushing my hair behind my ear. “Look at my house. It’s nothing spectacular. I’m drunk.” I frowned.
Hutch smirked standing up. “I will keep that in mind and not take offense to anything you say from here on out.” He offered his hand. I stood on shaky legs like Bambi about to take his first steps in the woods.
We started across the sand. “This is more like quick sand than sand,” I grumbled, searching for my missing flip-flop.
“I don’t think we are going to get anywhere at this pace.” Hutch told me, picking up my flip-flop. H heaved me over his shoulder like a light jacket, his large hand resting on my backside.
I closed my eyes; the rhythmic beat of his feet was making me sleepy. Suddenly, he stopped walking and set me upright on the boardwalk.
“Is this better?” he asked, dropping my flip-flop.
I shoved my foot in it, missing where my toes went. I fumbled with my shoe, trying to raise my leg off the ground and fell over into Hutch’s waiting arms. He shook his head, and slung me back over his shoulder. His hand found that same position on my rear.
“This could make me puke,” I informed him.
“Let’s not think about puking. Let’s just think about getting to my house.”
“What about my house? Maybe we should go there,” I offered, my body dangling like a piece of meat over his shoulder. He was like a caveman carrying his woman home.
“That would be smart if I knew you could make it in one piece, and what about your father?” He reminded me.
I pushed my hair from my eyes, watching our swift stroll across the boardwalk. “Your right, my dad would kill me.”
“A couple hours, you sober up and you’re good to go,” Hutch said. He set me upright and unlocked a gate leaving me propped against the chain-link fence of the house he lived in.
He held out his hand, helping me to the steps. I carefully climbed them one by one taking hold of the white pillar on the porch while he unlocked the front door.
“Where are your brothers?” I asked.
“Sleeping or out.” He allowed me past him into the dark room. I didn’t know what was before me. Or which way I could move without bumping into something, so I stayed still.
He dropped his keys by the front door and snapped on a table lamp. I dropped down on the navy blue couch before he offered me a seat, running a hand through my hair. Hutch disappeared and returned with a bottle of water.
“Drink up, the sooner you drink the faster you can get home.” He sat down across from me.
I unscrewed the cap and took a sip, licking my lips. I set the bottle on the floor. “Hutch, why were you upset back there?”
He raised an eyebrow, “Never upset, doll.”
I smiled. “Nobody has called me doll before.”
“Do you like when I call you doll?”
I nodded, lying back on the couch. I stared at the ceiling. “So why were you upset?”
Hutch sighed from where he sat on the love seat. “I suppose everyone gets down on occasion, nothing to worry about, nothing to discuss.”
“Well, I’m for sure one of those people.” I laughed. “I am totally that person who gets down on occasion. I have been down for a long time, actually waiting to be happy again.”
“When do you think that will be?” Hutch sprawled out on the love seat, his long legs hanging over the side, his arms behind his head as he listened to my stupid rant.
“I have no idea,” I sat up. “I don’t think anyone knows the answer. However, I’m sure they know it when they feel it.”
“You haven’t felt it yet?” Hutch asked.
I shook my head. “I thought I did. Have you ever felt it?”
He looked away and then back to me, his eyes connecting with mine, a sheepish smirk on his face. “I’d say there was a time or two or three.”
“Wow, big man. What I would give for just one time that was more than fleeting.”
Hutch smiled a handsome smile from his spot on the love seat. It drew me to him. Suddenly, I found myself beside him on the love seat, his legs behind me, still in the same relaxed pose not overstepping any bounds.
“You’ll know them when you feel them.” He licked his lips, bringing my gaze to his mouth.
Kiss me. My mind screamed, but he wasn’t budging. He wasn’t going to give in unless he knew I wanted to. He wasn’t that kind of guy. He was going to wait until I made the first move since I rejected him before.
Eagerness played on his lips. I leaned in, my hair falling against his chest. It’s just a kiss.
His arms slipped around me, his thumb grazing my waist. I grinned.
“You’re a very big tease, Hutch,” I said, Hutch nodded, his head in the perfect position for our lips to meet when I was ready.
“Remember, I said I like to leave those things to the imagination,” he said, making my insides melt.
I trailed a hand down his red t-shirt. “I’m drunk. It would be very bad if anything happened between us right now.” My fingers trailed further, egging him on.
It was me making the moves. He was right. And, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stop. I looked at him. “There is just something about you.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. But, it’s there.” I pulled away, trying to control the urge to touch him again.
“Why the doubt?” Hutch sat up, close enough to make my heart pound in my chest, but still he didn’t make a move. “Why are you so afraid to give into your natural urges?”
I scoffed. “We know the answer to that.”
Hutch raked his hand through his hair. “Because you have a boyfriend.”
I nodded. It was the reason why being around Hutch was so difficult. You weren’t supposed to be attracted to other people. Slade doesn’t care about you if he did he wouldn’t hang around with Audrey. I told myself.
“So you admit there is something you want from me.” Hutch sat back satisfied, dropping his legs across my lap getting comfortable. “It would imply maybe your feelings for your boyfriend aren’t as sincere as you think.”
I rolled my eyes, him and his words, although fancy, they were only words. “You just want to get in my pants.”
“I’m a guy, of course getting into your pants sounds like a good time. Nevertheless, that’s not it,” he sat up, planting his feet on the floor.
I didn’t know how to respond. He was cocky and confident, but also honest. And not afraid to open up to me, he expressed his feelings a whole lot more than Slade that was for sure.
“So if you don’t just want in my pants, what do you want?” I raised an eyebrow, studying my hands waiting for an answer from Hutch. Maybe I was being foolish to ask such a thing.
“I want to help you. Show you that being capable of unexpected things isn’t all-bad. I want to teach you how to embrace it, because I can tell you’re special.” Hutch stood. He slipped a stone from his pocket and put it in my palm.
I rubbed my fingers across it not sure why I was even holding it and what he was trying to show me.
“What is it?” I asked confused.