“Go show your mom.”
I’m fairly certain she wants to show her outfit off to Mom, so she’ll give Becky her seal of approval. “You look really hot,” I say to Becky as we head out to the family room to find Mom sitting on Dad’s lap, kissing him. I clear my throat and Mom sheepishly looks up at us.
“Sweetheart, that’s a really pretty dress. I don’t remember buying it for you.” Mom’s still wrapped around Dad, and Dad’s arms are holding onto Mom.
“It’s mine,” Becky says.
“Great taste, Becky,” Mom says before her eyes go to Becky. “You look gorgeous. Your legs are so long. My goodness, I didn’t realize how long.”
Becky smiles widely at Mom and then at me.
Dad’s looking at us both, before he turns away and shakes his head. “Ugh,” he fusses. “I’m going to have to get two shotguns now.”
For a split second my heart beats wildly in my chest because I thought Dad was going to say we looked horrible, instead he thinks we look great. “You like?” I ask eagerly, already knowing the answer.
“I’m locking you two girls up until you’re both thirty . . .” He rubs his chin with his free hand then goes back to holding Mom. “No, make that forty.”
“Darling,” Mom says and nuzzles into him. “We can’t baby them forever.”
“Watch me,” Dad replies in a monotone. Becky has moved closer to me and she’s slung her arm over my shoulder. “What time do you want to be dropped off at this party? You know I’m going to sit in the car with my shot guns?”
Mom chuckles and Becky gasps. “He’s joking,” I say to her. “We’re going to do our make-up and be ready in about half an hour.”
Dad looks up at the clock, then back to us. “Why can’t these parties be during the day?”
“Because we’re not ten years old anymore, and neither is anyone at the party we’re going to.”
“As long as this kid’s parents are there,” Dad says.
This is the small lie Becky and I told them. If we had actually told them the truth, there’s no way they would’ve let us go. “Yeah, of course,” Becky says before I lie again. “We’ll be ready in about half an hour, Mr. B.”
“Okay.”
Becky and I take off back to my room, and I’m hit with a case of the guilts. “I hate lying to them.”
“They wouldn’t let you go if we didn’t. And besides, we’re going together and they’ll know where to pick us up from. So it’s not lying lying, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, it really is.” But I still grab my make-up bag and head into the bathroom with Becky. The gnawing guilt is sitting in the pit of my stomach, I should tell Mom and Dad but at the same time, I really want to go. I carefully apply my make-up, making sure I don’t make myself look cheap.
“Move over, you’re taking up all the mirror space.” Becky nudges me to the side.
When we’re finished, we give each other the once over and I slip on a pair of flats, grab my phone and we head out to where my parents are. Dad looks us over, sighs and helps Mom off his lap. “Okay, let’s go.” He grabs his car keys off the hook by the front door and heads out the door.
“Have fun you two. No drinking, no smoking. And remember, don’t accept a drink from anyone, and don’t leave your drink unattended. If you do, leave it and get a new drink.” She hugs Becky and gives her a kiss on the cheek, before doing the same thing to me.
“Love you, Mom.” I kiss her and start toward the front door.
“Love you, Mrs. B,” Becky calls.
“It’s Mom, Becky not Mrs. B. You know this already.”
I turn to look at Becky whose face is filled with happiness and love. She doesn’t often call Mom ‘Mom,’ because she says she feels awkward. Maybe one day soon, that’ll change.
“Love you too, Mom.” Happiness fills every part of me, because now I’m hoping she’ll stick with ‘Mom’ and not ‘Mrs. B.’
Becky links hands with me, and we head to where Dad’s waiting for us in the car. I slide in the front and Becky’s in the back. “What time do you want me to pick you up?” Dad asks. “And just to remind you, it’s Saturday night so curfew is midnight.”
“Dad,” I drawl out. “Can’t tonight be one? Please?”
“I’ll be asleep by one, and so will you,” he says sternly.
“Laurie’s coming later after he finishes his shift at the supermarket. Can he bring us back?” Becky asks.
“As long as it’s at midnight,” Dad announces.
“Please, Dad? I don’t often ask to go out.” Of course, I don’t mention the bar Becky and I went to last week. “Please?” I beg while bringing my hands together and linking my fingers like I’m praying.
“You girls are going to put me in an early grave,” Dad says.
Smiling triumphantly at him I lean over and kiss him. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Yeah, thanks Mr. B.”
“I didn’t say yes yet.”
“Yet! Yay, thank you so much. I promise we’ll be home by one,” I say as I clap my hands together.
“If I get in trouble with your mother, I’m telling her you two conspired against me and you didn’t listen. But if your mother is okay with it, then I gave you permission to stay until one.”
I turn to look at Becky who’s smiling. “Deal,” she says.
We get to Jaydon’s and Dad parks in front and waits for us to get out while suspiciously checking the house out. “Doesn’t look like there’s anything wild going on in there.” There’s music blaring from inside the house, but no one’s drunkenly stumbling around outside; which is good because there’s no way Dad would let us go if there were. “If anything happens, call me or your mother and we’ll come get you.”
“Okay. Thanks, Dad.” I lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks for the ride, Mr. B.” Becky moves forward and gives him a kiss too.
“Yeah, yeah.” He dismissively waves. “Just remember, one o’clock. Have fun, girls.”
Becky and I are out of the car and walking up to the front door, Dad hovers for a few minutes until Jaydon opens the door and lets us in. I wave to Dad, who honks the horn once and leaves. “Your dad?” Jaydon asks as he flicks his chin out toward the car.
“Yeah,” I answer.
“Figures,” he mumbles and turns to leave.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask Becky as we follow Jaydon out the back yard.
Becky shrugs her shoulders and heads straight toward the outdoor fridge where she grabs two sodas and comes back to me. She looks around nervously, opens the drink and takes a sip. “There aren’t many people here,” Becky says still looking around her.
Music plays loudly from inside the house, which also plays on the speakers set up out in back. “It’s okay,” I say as I look around.
“Hey, want a drink?” Jett says as he stands back and eyes Becky. Jett’s a senior at school, and is probably the sleaziest guy around. “You look hot, Becca,” he announces while his scumbag gaze shows exactly what his deviant mind is thinking about.
Becky arches an eyebrow at him, and pulls her shoulders back. “It’s Rebecca to you,” she says in a low, irritated voice.
“Want a drink, Rebecca?” His tongue curls around her name, and it sends a shiver of disgust tearing through my body. He licks his lips, and gives Becky a snarky smile.
“Yuck. Not from you,” she automatically responds.
He takes a step back, and looks her over before he says, “You couldn’t handle me anyway.” He grabs his crotch and squeezes it for extra effect.
“You know, you and Hitler have something in common, you both have micro-penises. No thanks, I don’t do women.” She wiggles her pinky taunting him.
I start laughing as Becky turns away from Jett and rolls her eyes. I can see from over her shoulder how Jett’s desperately trying to think of something to say. “Bitch,” he finally says, clearly unable to think of anything clever. He goes back to a couple of his friends, and the
y’re laughing at him. He throws one more look over his shoulder toward Becky, before he grabs another beer and drinks it.
“Oh my God, that was so funny,” I say, still laughing at the whole ‘micro-penis’ joke. “How the hell do you know Hitler had a micro-penis?”
She flippantly lifts her shoulder and casually says, “Google.” She has a drink from her soda and her body shudders. “I can feel Jett’s eyes on me. Can we go inside?” she asks. “He’s creeping me out.”
I glance over her shoulder and notice his face is ashen and his eyes are glued to her. “Yeah, I need to find the bathroom.” We head inside and notice there are more people now than there were when we first arrived. “I’ll be back in a minute,” I say to Becky, who’s collapsed on the sofa and is drinking her soda.
When I get back from the bathroom, the number of bodies in the family room seems to have doubled. It’s becoming louder, and more crowded. As I make my way over to Becky, two hands grab me around the hips and pull me backward. “Hey, you’re cute,” says a voice from behind me.
Swinging around to see who it is, I smile and nod awkwardly while trying to get away from him. Him, being someone I don’t recognize. “Thanks. I better get back to my friends,” I say, wiggling out of his grip and stepping backward.
“No need, you can hang out with me,” he says as he takes a step forward. He’s older, his stubble and speech an obvious give-away. He’s got dark circles under his eyes, and he’s quite tall. He’s wearing a gray t-shirt and jeans with a college baseball cap hiding his longish hair beneath it.
“My friends are waiting for me.” I smile again.
“How about I get you a drink, maybe we can hang out?” he shouts over the music.
Red flags immediately shoot up in front of me. No way, Mister. I have no idea who you are, and you’re not getting me a drink. “My friend’s got my drink. Thanks though.” I step away from him, and I seem to successfully blend into the crowded family room.
I head over to where Becky is, who’s now joined by Jacki and Amelia. Jacki is sitting on Jaydon’s lap while Amelia is making eyes at Zeke, who’s in our grade at school. “Hey everyone,” I greet as I sit opposite Becky. Becky’s lost in thought and not adding to the conversation the others are having. I tap her on the leg, and she turns to look at me, offering me a weak smile. Leaning into her, I ask, “You okay?”
“Yeah, you know just thinking.”
“What about?”
She shrugs and screws her mouth up. “Stuff.”
“Wanna elaborate?”
“Nah. I’m good.” The heaviness inside Becky is completely transparent to me. Maybe not to everyone else, but to me, she’s screaming in pain. “Wanna dance?” she asks, noticing how I’m scrutinizing her saddened appearance.
I look around and notice there’s a few people moving to the beat of the music, but I don’t want to get up there until more get into it. I wriggle my nose and shake my head.
Becky rolls her eyes and stands, grabbing my hand. “Too bad, ‘cause I do.” She lightly pushes me backward a few steps and starts moving her body to the deep, hypnotic sound of the music. I can’t help but let the rhythm take my body over. The song playing is sensual and sexy. My eyes close and my hips move while I sway to the carnal beat. My sensors overload, heightening every sensation. The deep voice of the male singer is heaven to my ears. The soft touch of bodies brushing against mine makes my skin pebble with excitement. I catch the slightly sweet smell of an aftershave, and suddenly my heart rate spikes. Large, soft hands gently grab onto my hips. I know it’s Elijah, I can just tell.
His body is behind mine, his front to my back. I take a small step backward, closer to him. I hear him rumble, and feel the vibration as it leaves his chest. Tilting my head to the side, I relax back into the protective arms of Elijah and keep moving.
Slight wetness touches my neck, and his warm breath flutters over my exposed skin. “God, you’re beautiful,” he says in a small voice. His words are only barely loud enough for me to hear.
His fingers tighten on my hips, his body closer to mine.
My heart beat spikes, my pulse quickens as blood frantically pumps around my body. The music is now forgotten, instead I’m caught in a moment of pure bliss. I feel as if his mouth is caressing me, his hands worshiping me. He’s being gentle, caring, and protective. Elijah’s warm hands inch forward and he splays his fingers wide across my belly, silently telling anyone who might be looking to back off.
I love the feel of his warmth on me, I don’t want to open my eyes and see anyone but us alone in this room. The abrupt end of the song drags me out of my cocoon and I open my eyes to find Becky about two feet away from me, smiling. Her eyes are locked on me, but I can tell she’s also looking at Elijah. Suddenly, I feel embarrassed by the way I was swaying my hips against Elijah.
As I step away from him, he tightens his hands around me. The reality of the situation is I was dancing, very closely, with Elijah and because of this, I could certainly feel his attraction toward me. “Sorry,” I say as I move at lightning speed to get away from him.
“Don’t go,” I hear Elijah call after me. Instead, I head back to the bathroom, where now there’s a line of people waiting to use it. Great, I can’t lock myself away and hide from him.
There are six girls ahead of me, all of them from different grades. Some younger, trying to look older, and some older, trying to look sluttier.
“You were dancing with Elijah Turner,” one of the older girls says.
Pursing my lips together, I nod and avoid her eyes.
“You two should definitely get a room,” she adds in a snarky tone. “God knows, I would.”
I cringe at the reminder of how Elijah Turner has been with a lot of girls. There’s constant evidence of his past indiscretions everywhere I go. “Yeah, right,” I say as I look away from her. Great, now everyone’s going to think I’m going to be his new conquest for tonight. Ugh.
I step away from the bathroom line, not really needing to go, and try to find Becky in the wave of bodies rubbing up against each other while the music roars through the house. I can’t see her, and a small panic settles in the pit of my stomach. I’m trying to keep my anxiety at bay, but the more I look, the less I see.
“Have you seen Becky?” I ask Mandy, a girl in our grade who’s dancing with her boyfriend.
“Nah, sorry.” She dismisses me easily and goes back to grinding against her boyfriend.
The music volume increases, and a sea of bodies flock in here. The sickly smell of cheap beer has overtaken every other aroma and I can tell someone’s spilled it somewhere. I head into the kitchen, where there’s a bunch of guys doing body shots off one of the senior girls who’s apparently quite happy to have six guys licking her scantly clothed body.
“Hey, you again,” I hear the same guy from earlier who wanted to get me a drink. He pushes away from the kitchen counter he’s leaning against and slowly approaches me. “Saw you dancing with that other guy before. You’re hot.”
“Thank you,” I say as I back away from him to go searching for Becky.
“Where are you going?” He takes a few huge strides toward me and wraps his cool fingers around my upper arm. “Let’s dance,” he says leading me—or should I say, pulling me—out into the family room.
In the short time I’ve been looking for Becky, the sofa has been pushed up against the wall, and even more people are in here, making it difficult to get around. “I’ve gotta find my friend,” I say trying to get away from him, again.
“She’ll be fine. Come on, dance with me. I promise I’ll behave.” He flashes me a cute smile, and I drop my guard for a moment.
“One dance,” I say holding up a finger at him. “Just one.”
He places his red cup on a small table before he makes his way through the crowded dance floor. He grabs onto me, his hands on my lower back and starts moving his body. His feel is so different to Elijah, he’s more rigid, though he’s trying not to be.
&n
bsp; “Who’s the guy you were dancing with before? Is he your boyfriend?”
“What? No.”
“Good.” His hands move further down on my butt. I move them up and away from my ass. “Come on, baby, loosen up.”
When he says ‘baby’ it comes out dirty and wrong.
“I’m not your baby, and this is just one dance.”
The corners of his lips turn up in a smile as he winks at me. He pulls me in closer to him, and I try to step back. But the more I try to step away, the more he’s moving us across the floor toward the front door. He lets go of my lower back, slides his hand down my arm and tightly links our fingers together. He starts pulling me toward the front door.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I yell at him, trying to be heard over the loud music. He turns his head toward me, then quickly looks forward again dragging me with him. His grip is so tight it’s starting to hurt. “Hey!” I yell. But with the music blaring loudly, and everyone consumed in their own small circle, no one can hear me or see what this dick is trying to do. “HEY!” I scream at the top of my voice just as he reaches the front door.
Next thing I know, I’m being yanked backward with so much force I fall on my butt. The crowd parts as Elijah steps forward and pushes the guy who was dragging me out the front door. “Did you not hear her, she said no!” Elijah barks as he stands protectively over me. “You okay?” He leans back, offering me his hand to help me up. I take his hand, and pull myself up. Elijah links our fingers together and holds me close to his body, but he’s still possessively standing in front of me.
“She was the one who said for us to go outside where the music’s not so loud,” the guy lies to my face.
“I did not! I was telling you to let me go.”
By this stage the music’s been reduced to nothing more than white noise in the background. “Whatever, dude. She’s a slut anyway, you can have her.”
Elijah lets go of my hand, takes a menacing step forward and brings his elbow up to smash against the dick’s nose. The result is a sickening crack, and the guy quickly cups his hand to his nose, blood dripping between his fingers. “You broke my fucking nose, you asshole.”
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