“Whatever. Come find me when you’re ready to leave,” Reilly says and makes his way through the crowd. He lifts his cup to Slinsky as they pass each other, but they don’t exchange more than a what’s up.
“I was wondering if you’d show up tonight,” Slinsky says with a shit-eating grin on his pockmarked face. He moves in for our team handshake and a clap on the back. “Praise Jesus for short skirts, huh? This place is poppin’ with hotties.” As he peers around the kitchen, I can’t help noticing that for all his talk about chicks and the high life, I’ve never actually seen him with one. He appraises everything, eyes wide and indulgent. “Whose place is this, anyway?” He grins at a group of girls on the other side of the kitchen, like a hungry wolf.
“Uh, I think her name is Anna Marie something-or-other, but I don’t even know what she looks like. Just that she’s a freshman.”
“That’s what I love about being a jock. You get invited to all the parties. Even silly little freshmen want the dick.”
“Yeah, well, keep it in your pants, Casanova. That’s a horror for another night.” I laugh at myself and pop another chip into my mouth.
“You’re hilarious,” Slinsky says, and he pours himself a beer. “Where are your girls tonight, huh? Shouldn’t they be here, making the rounds, getting to know the school and the jocks?” When his eyebrows dance at the thought of Mac and Sam, I resist the urge to punch him in the throat.
I glare at him warningly instead. “They’re off limits, Rod. Don’t even think about it.” I wouldn’t let Slinsky anywhere near them, even if my life depended on it.
He studies me for a minute, looking me up and down like he’s trying to figure out how serious I am. I’m more than serious, and he seems to get the idea. His palms fly up. “Hey, I hear ya, Turner. Loud and clear. You can’t blame a guy for lookin’ though. The blonde is so sweet and—”
When I notice another familiar blonde with long hair hanging over her shoulders, standing in the mouth of the kitchen, my breath hitches unexpectedly, and it’s easy enough to ignore whatever bullshit Slinsky’s spewing.
Bethany’s here. I’ve seen her around campus a few times since school started, but I haven’t talked to her since that day in Mr. Silverman’s class a few years ago.
She’s grown up . . . a lot. I know people change, but her tight jeans and tank top make it clear just how much. I swallow thickly. She’s come a long way from the sad mystery girl she was when we were younger. She’s tall and beautiful and stands out in a crowd, and she clearly doesn’t even know it. I’ve wanted to talk to her so many times over the years, especially after I’d heard about social services. I’d wanted to apologize about what happened, but too much time had passed before I saw her again, like she’d been avoiding me. It felt weird to bring it up after so long. But now, she’s here.
She probably hates me. I tell myself I should look away, that I don’t want to be a creep in a room full of horny dudes, but when her eyes meet mine and her gaze lingers, there’s nothing I can do. My body’s on autopilot, and I make a decision.
Ignoring Slinsky, I shuffle through the crowd, my feet moving faster than my mind can process what I’m going to say when I get to her.
When I’m only a few feet away, she half-smiles. “Hey,” she says and crosses her arms over her chest. It’s a casual hello, an awkward one, even, and so soft I barely hear her over the music. But she’s talking to me, which means she doesn’t hate me, not completely.
“It’s been a while,” is all I can think to say.
Pulling her bottom lip into her mouth, she glances around the room. “Yeah, it has.”
I’ve never struggled to come up with a witty remark or something to say, but my mind draws a blank. “What are you doing here?” It’s a stupid question, one that earns me a confused expression.
“Well,” she says, eyebrows raised a little. “It’s a party, so . . .”
Laughing nervously, I shake my head. “Right. Of course.” My game is officially off tonight.
Her pink, glossy lips part and her expression softens, like she’s decided to throw me a bone and help me out a little. “My best friend is throwing the party,” she explains and drops her hands at her side, welcoming our conversation. “So, here I am.”
“Oh, that’s Anna Marie—your friend. Yeah, I’ve seen you around school with her.”
Bethany nods and peers around the room. “She’s really embracing the high school experience, as you can tell. Her parents are out of town, so of course she has to throw a party.”
“Of course she does.”
Her eyes shift away from mine nervously, and I’m glad it’s not just me that’s awkward, though I’m confused why it’s so impossible for me to act normal. I’m not sure if it’s the beer or all the time that’s passed since I’ve talked to Bethany last, but this is important to me. Seeing her, talking to her. This is my chance to apologize after all this time and maybe even get to know her a little better.
I lean closer. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.” If I’m not mistaken, her cheeks redden. I appreciate the way she licks her lips and that I have some sort of an affect on her. The cool, calm, collected Nick starts settling back into place.
“Do you want a beer?” I ask, holding up my cup.
She nods eagerly, and with a chuckle, I take her hand and lead her over to the keg. Someone bumps into us, quickly apologizing, but I barely notice. Her hand is soft and warm in mine, and as much as I try to understand why I’m so attracted to her, I’m just glad she’s here and that she’s talking to me.
Quickly, I pour a cup of beer and hand it to her.
“Thanks.”
We bump our beers together. “You’re welcome.”
“So,” she says. “You come to all the parties?”
I shake my head. “No, not all of them. Tonight just seemed like a good idea.”
“You didn’t want to be the only player on the team not here?”
I wink at her. “Something like that.” We talk for a few minutes about things that don’t really matter, and I try to hear her, but it’s hard to stay focused with the increasing noise within the room.
There are a few drawn-out moments of people laughing around us and bumping into us—of us pretending to look around the house and appraise the party—before I force myself to say something else.
I lean closer again, inhaling the sugary scent that clings to her. “Do you want to find somewhere to chill? It’s kinda distracting with all these people.”
Bethany nods, more quickly than I expect. “Follow me.” She turns and leads me through the crowd. I have no idea where she’s taking us, but I follow her willingly.
I’m not much of a drinker, and since I’m three beers deep, my mind starts running away from me a little, and I get inexplicably giddy. I wanted to have fun tonight, so I don’t think too much about it. I just let it be what it is.
As she leads me through the living room, I spot Reilly across the room, talking to a couple guys from the team, and a cheerleader hangs on his arm, though I can’t tell if Reilly even notices. When his eyes meet mine and he sees Bethany, he frowns a little. He knows how bad I felt after I got her in trouble in middle school and that she’s proceeded to dodge me ever since.
I flash Reilly a big, pleading smile, willing him not to kill my buzz, and he doesn’t. He smirks instead, and then I’m accosted with a scent of something potent and expensive.
“Oooh, what did you find?” Anna Marie purrs, her shoulder-length, brown hair curled and bouncing as she shimmies in place.
Bethany rolls her eyes and glances back at me. “As if you don’t already know. This is Nick.”
Anna’s cheeks lift with a simpering smile. “Hi, Nick.” She reaches out her hand. “I’m Anna Marie, your generous hostess this evening.”
Smiling, I shake her hand. She’s wearing a lot of makeup and looks good in her tight black dress. She looks older than she probably is, too, which is likely the point. “Nice to meet you.” I glance at the
crowd. “And thanks for the invite.”
She winks at me and looks to Bethany. “By all means, carry on.”
Bethany smiles and rolls her eyes again as she continues toward the hallway. A few people stop us to talk to me, and Bethany patiently waits, but I brush them off, trying not to be a complete asshole, and continue into the den.
I stop in the doorway and notice the books that line the walls, and the couch situated under a window with three girls sitting on it, happily gossiping. Bethany walks toward a love seat against the far wall, black and white landscape photos hanging in clusters around it. The music is noticeably quieter in this room, so I understand why Bethany chose it.
“Romantic,” I tease and step down into the room. “Is this where you and Anna have sleepovers and gossip into the late hours of the night?”
Bethany plops down on the couch, careful not to slosh her half-full cup of beer. “Well, while we do giggly, girl things and have half-naked pillow fights until all hours of the night,” she says with a hint of a smile, “we don’t do it in here, where her father works. We do that in her bedroom.” She winks at me, and I like this frisky side of her. I wonder if the beer is starting to get to her or if this is just the Bethany I don’t know.
“Now there’s a spectacular image,” I say playfully. “You shouldn’t have told me that. I won’t get any sleep tonight.” I sit down beside her on the love seat, not too close, even though I wouldn’t mind it. Despite barely knowing each other, it feels like Fate has once again thrown us together, and it feels right this time. Like I’m getting a second chance.
“In case you couldn’t tell,” I say before taking a quick gulp of my beer, “I’m surprised to see you here.”
Her lips draw up in a cocky grin. “Really? Well, seeing how Anna is my friend and a freshman, I’m surprised to see you here.”
“Yeah, well, what can I say? I’m a sucker for free beer.” I waggle my eyebrows and take the final swig from my cup.
“Well, if that’s all it takes . . .” She hands me her cup with a smirk, but I shake my head.
“Nah, I’m good . . . now that you’re here.”
She nearly bursts out laughing. “Wow. That’s so cheesy. Of all the guys at this party, you are the last person I thought would try to smirk his way into my pants.”
She’s right, and I sober a little. She’s not just some chick I want to make out with. She’s different, fragile, even if that was who she was a long time ago. It’s how I know her.
Bethany Fairchild isn’t just some girl, she’s the girl—the first girl I ever looked at differently and wanted to get to know. Even if it was because she was so sad at the time.
“I was just kidding,” she says, bumping her shoulder against mine, but I shake my head.
“No, you’re right.” I straighten. “That was stupid.”
“And flattering,” she adds, coming to my rescue. She smiles again and it’s sort of hypnotizing, like I’ve never noticed it until tonight. Or maybe I’ve never seen her smile before.
“So,” I start, unable to continue without addressing the elephant in the room. “You don’t hate me anymore?”
She frowns and leans back into the couch cushion, putting distance between us that feels almost cold. “Hate you?”
“You know,” I say, wishing she wouldn’t make me actually say it. “For what happened. I know my mom told someone, she’s a psychologist, she has to do certain things when—”
“No, I don’t hate you,” she says quickly. “I shouldn’t have said anything to you that day. It was my fault.”
“Your fault? Because your parents traumatized you? Who sends their kid to school that freaked out? I don’t blame you for being upset. I don’t even have a brother and I would’ve been a mess too.”
Her eyes shimmer, and right when I’m about to apologize for bringing it up, her lips part. “And you were the only person to ask me what was wrong,” she says, like she’s dumbfounded.
That comes as a surprise, and her eyes fill with the sadness I’ve seen in them before.
Shit.
Bethany blinks and clears her throat. “I don’t want to talk about it, though, okay?”
I nod. “Yeah, sure.” It’s silent for a few seconds, and I scratch the back of my head, wondering why I had to open my stupid mouth. Now the silence isn’t just awkward, it’s charged with everything I want her to forget. “So, what have you been up to,” I finally ask. “I mean, I feel like it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen you around. You avoid me at school and this is the first time I’ve seen you off campus . . . ever.”
“I don’t avoid you,” she starts, then rubs her hand over her jeans. “I’ve been busy with life . . . and school. What about you?” She smiles. “You’re a big baseball star, I hear. MVP last year, even.”
Flattered, I tilt my head. “How’d you know that?”
“I’m on your turf now. I hear a lot of things.”
“Too much, probably,” I say, and I think of how crazy the past couple years have been, how different high school is than I’d expected. The games, the hangouts, the parties. I like to have fun, but high school is the rumor mill, and the stuff I hear, even about myself, is mystifying sometimes.
“Maybe, but it sounds like you’re pretty popular.”
My smile grows into a full-ass grin. “So, you’ve been asking around about me, huh?”
Her cheeks turn red, and she rolls her eyes. “No.”
I nudge her a little and lean closer. “Come on, you can tell me. It’s flattering, really. Is it my eyes that you like? I’ve been told they can see into a girl’s soul.” I bat them at her, too buzzed and high on her smile to care how ridiculous I’m being. “Or is it my rugged exterior—I work out, you know? This throwing arm doesn’t just happen on its own.” I flex my bicep, laughing when I earn another eye roll.
“You’re so full of yourself and ridiculous,” she says through her laughter. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Yeah, but making you laugh is worth it.”
Her eyes shift up from her hands to my face, and I hold her dusty gaze. I like the way she looks at me. I like the curiosity and the uncertainty. It mirrors mine. My mom always told me there’s a lot to learn about someone by looking into their eyes, and Bethany’s eyes are like storm clouds that are bursting with emotions I can’t even grasp.
“I wanted tonight to be epic,” she whispers, like she’s confessing or maybe reminding herself. I don’t know what she’s talking about, but her eyes don’t leave mine. Her chest is heaving. She licks her lips. Everything is charged between us.
Then suddenly, her lips are on mine, and I freeze.
They’re soft and glossy, and they taste like beer and berries as I inhale her. I hadn’t expected this, but I welcome it. She kisses me more deeply, and in a blissful blur, I reach for her side, wanting to pull her closer to me, to feel her warmth, when she grabs hold of my hand and breaks away.
“I’m—uh,” she says, breathing heavily against my mouth.
I lick my lips and my eyes shift over her, taking in her every look and movement. I have no idea what just happened.
She stands up. “I’m—uh—going to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
“Yeah,” I say, nodding. “Sure.” But she’s already walking out the doorway and disappears around the corner. Did I do something wrong?
Taking a deep breath, I glance around the room. Whatever that was, it was strangely liberating and horrifying at the same time. The girls are still huddled on the couch across the room. They glance over at me but when I catch their eyes they glance away again, like the little gossip queens that they are.
Leaning back against the couch, I let out a deep breath and hope to God I didn’t just fuck everything up somehow. Bethany barely knows me, and whatever that was that just happened, I’d like it to happen again sometime.
“There he is!” Slinsky appears in the doorway. I groan inwardly. He looks around the room, totally overlooking the girls
on the couch to my annoyance. Something to keep him occupied would be nice right about now. “Where’s that cute blonde you disappeared with? She was smokin’.”
“She’s in the bathroom,” I say, wondering if I should make sure she’s okay.
“Dude, you’re the mac! First Brenda and Rachel, now the hot freshman? And those are only the girls I know about. My man gets around.” Slinsky laughs, but I stop listening to him. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Rachel is Mac’s friend, and I was doing her a solid by posing as her date at the beach. Brenda’s cool, but we only made out a couple times before I found out she likes Reilly, and he’s not even into her.
“ . . . can tell The Rodster all about it.”
“Yeah, sure, later,” I tell him, standing up. “I’m busy.” I walk past Slinsky and head for the door. The last thing I want is to be is trapped in a room with him while Bethany’s having a panic attack or whatever.
I glance down the hall in search of the bathroom, and find the door’s open. Knowing there’s probably a private one somewhere else, I head back toward the living room so that Anna Marie might point me in the right direction. That’s when I spot Bethany’s purple tank top and long blonde hair among a group of people. At first, I think she’s been pulled into an unwanted conversation, but then she pulls some guy’s mouth down onto hers. Her kiss is more needy, more eager than the kiss I shared with her only minutes ago, and my blood burns in my chest.
What. The. Fuck.
When she finally pulls away, she licks her lips. The moment she sees me, I swear, a glint of something shimmers in her eyes, and her mouth sets in a firm line. She said she wanted tonight to be epic, maybe mind-fucking me and making out with multiple dudes is what she meant.
She takes the dude by the hand and I stand there dumbly, watching as they disappear into the throng of people.
I’m not sure I’ve ever felt used by a girl before, but I think I just got played.
Crushing my empty cup in my hand, I head for the keg.
Fuck this.
Told You So_A Saratoga Falls Love Story Page 3