by Maya Hughes
“I am. I don’t need any shit from you guys about it. I’ll wait until you’re all safely tucked away, and then I’ll let you know. But speaking of the party, you planning on trying something with Mak?”
I couldn’t hold back my bark of laughter. “Does anyone try anything with Mak ever?”
“You do. You push her buttons all the time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were about five seconds away from pulling her pigtails and trying to get her to chase you around the playground.”
“She gives as good as she gets, and she’s not like the other girls at school. You know that, but she’s as likely to hook up with me as I am to get straight As in college. Not going to happen.”
“But you’d like it to.” The smug satisfaction in his voice made my shoulder hitch up.
“She’s cute and she’s always ready for a fight, but it’s nothing more than that. One dance at prom did not mean anything. It’s fun—sometimes. I’m looking for more than fun at this party. I’m going to be skating my ass off all summer. The least I can do is get in a bit of non-homicidal female attention; bask in the glory of our third straight victorious season; and lap it up before heading out.”
“You have fun with that. One of these days you’ll realize there’s more to it than that.”
“What, you mean like you and Avery? You’re practically joined at the hip. I’m surprised she wasn’t riding shotgun tonight.”
“Nah, she hates the thought of me getting in trouble for anything. She wouldn’t approve. I told her you and Heath were getting the booze.”
“And she believed you?”
“Of course, she trusts me and I trust her, but a little white lie never hurt anyone.” He looked sheepish as we pulled into the driveway of his parents’ house. The massive, modern glass-and-steel building was the stuff of legends around here. Lawsuits, protests, frigid upper-class scorn heaped on them for plunking this thing down in the middle of the traditional housing estate. Never mind the fact that no one could even see this house from theirs and with all the parties we’d had here over the years, there had never been a noise complaint because of the distance between the houses, but if there was one thing people with money loved to be, it was petty.
He backed into the garage, and we grabbed the kegs, unloading them.
“The taps are in the bag under the passenger seat.”
I walked around to the back passenger side and ducked my head under the seat, spotting the taps jammed in there. I grabbed the bag and tugged it out of the car. Something dropped onto the concrete garage floor.
I sucked in a sharp breath and froze as I bent to pick it up. A black velvet box, like the kind that would hold an engagement ring. It seemed to glow with the dark threat of “what the fuck” and “disaster” in the blue lighting that ran under the car.
I snatched it off the ground and crossed the space between the two of us, thrusting it out at him.
“What the hell is this?” My voice came out high and frantic. I almost needed to put my head between my knees. He snatched it from me. His massive hand completely covered the entire thing.
“It’s none of your business.” He shoved it in his pocket.
“None of my business? Are you seriously going to propose to Avery?” They were into each other, but marriage?
“And if I am?” His frame seemed to grow at least half a size, like he was gearing up for a fight.
“You’re nineteen years old. She’s eighteen years old. That seems like a recipe for fucking your life up, if you ask me.”
“Well, I’m not asking you.” The thick vein on the side of his neck stuck out.
“Calm the fuck down. Are you serious about this?” I pushed against his chest.
He squeezed his hand on the back of his neck before turning away from me and throwing his hands up in the air.
“Yes, I’m serious. Why are you asking me the same things she does?”
“Avery’s said the same thing?” I scrunched my eyebrows together. That was not a good sign.
“Yes, every time I’ve asked her to marry me.”
Record-scratch moment. What?
“You’ve asked her more than once?” My eyebrows went sky-high. I’m sure I probably looked like I was doing my best impersonation of The Scream.
“I always ask. Every night I fall asleep with her in my arms.” With his parents gone a lot, Avery had taken to sneaking out and staying at Emmett’s place when she wasn’t watching her sister. She’d been doing a lot of that lately.
I let out the breath I’d been holding.
“Okay, you’re asking her after a good hard”—I cut off my words at his glare—“intimate session.” Most guys would say just about anything after that. “But you can’t really be serious. You’re too young; she’s too young.”
“I’m trying to show her I’m not kidding about us being together. This is it, man. She’s it for me.” He got that dreamy look in his eye, and I almost felt bad for him. They’d been together for three years, and in that time, I’d never even seen him look at anyone else, let alone be tempted to stray. I guessed it was working out for him.
“So why the ring, though? You can just stay together like you are now. Dating. Figure out your lives and save that for down the line.” I pointed to the box-shaped time bomb in his pants pocket where he’d shoved his hand. He tugged his hand out, bringing the box with it, and glanced down at it. Opening it, he stared at the ring inside. I still couldn’t see it from where I stood, but I shuddered to think of how much someone like Emmett would have spent.
“She thinks we should take a break through college. She doesn’t want to hold me back or some shit. Fuck that. I’m not sure about a lot, but I’m sure about her.” He turned the box in my direction. “What do you think?”
If it had been a sunny day, I’m pretty sure I would have been blinded by that thing. “Jesus, man.” I glanced behind me like someone was going to roll up on us, knock me unconscious and steal it. I snapped the box shut in his hand. “How in the fuck did you afford that?”
He shrugged again like he wasn’t holding something that probably cost as much as some people’s mortgages in his hand.
“I got access to part of my trust fund when I turned eighteen.” Confirming it for sure: some people had way more money than sense. “Do you think she’ll like it?”
“I think she’ll like it, but I have no idea if she’s got the muscle mass to be able to wear it.” I cracked a smile, and he punched me in the arm…hard.
“Fuck!” I rubbed the spot where I was ninety percent sure I’d have a bruise in the morning.
“Good. I’m going to do it at the party.”
I shook my head, but I knew once Em got an idea stuck in his head, there was no undoing it. I could only hope for the best.
4
Makenna
The thump of the bass shook my car as I drove along the winding driveway to Emmett’s house. From the quiet and pristine street, no one would ever know the party of the century was going down, but once I made it halfway down the driveway, it was easy to tell why everyone at school had been talking about this party for weeks.
Throwing the car into park behind a short row of Mercedes, BMWs and Audis, I tightened my hands around the steering wheel and banged my head against the headrest. One night. Just one night of being like everyone else. Go in there and have some fun.
“It’s just fun,” I said out loud to no one in the car. I’d snuck out of the house as my parents were closed in their room. It seemed like that was all they did. The prospect of me heading off to college wasn’t making it any easier.
The financial aid package hadn’t come through yet. Getting the letter telling me I’d gotten into Stanford had been the best moment of my life. All my hard work, every time I turned down an invitation to a party, took on another leadership role, or stayed in on a Saturday night was worth it. But then came the crushing pressure of knowing we had to pay for it.
Their joint BA/MD program was one of the
best in the country. I’d be able to keep the promise I’d made to myself after letting everyone down. Becoming a doctor was the singular goal I’d had since that cold day we all stood in the cemetery.
But that wasn’t why I was there. Not tonight. Tonight was for being a little reckless and leaving behind everything weighing me down. Sometimes it felt like I was walking through mud, never moving as fast as I should be. Something was always working against me.
I climbed out of my car, and the lyrics and pop melodies flooded around me as I took some tentative steps toward the party. A few people ran down the driveway, laughing and screaming, wearing their bikinis or trunks.
I glanced down at my black skirt that skimmed my legs midthigh and my purple off-the-shoulder top. My hair was draped over one shoulder in a loose braid. I fiddled with the end and bit my lip. Maybe this was a bad idea.
My phone buzzed in my bag, and I grabbed it.
“Where are you?” Kaitlin, my only other friend at school, said with her words slightly slurred. I covered the end, hoping she wouldn’t realize where I was. If she caught me there’d be no way to back out.
“I was thinking about coming, but then I realized that I have a lot going on and it would probably be a big mistake, so I think I’m going to give it miss.” I backed toward my car.
“Man, you promised. You said you were going to come. Please, just get in your car or a better yet a taxi—” Someone’s sharp scream cut her off. I could hear it outside and through the phone, and I knew she could too.
“Are you here?” I could hear the playful accusation in her voice.
“Maybe…”
“Where are you?” The wind blew on her end, and I could tell she was walking. She came around the bend at the end of the ridiculously long driveway and ended the call the second our eyes met. Hers were filled with bemusement and mine were probably filled with the kind of horror you feel when you wave to someone and it’s not the person you thought it was and you have to continue walking toward them. Yeah, kind of like that.
Kaitlin stood there with one hand on her hip and the other wrapped around a red plastic cup. Busted. I walked to her like an inmate on the way to my execution.
“Stop looking like you’re about to walk into the mouth of hell. It’s a party. The party of the year and we’re both here to enjoy it!” She looped her arm through mine and smiled at me with a slightly buzzed expression, the kind that made her extra touchy-feely when she’d sleep off her buzz at my place instead of going home.
“It’s going to be so much fun. Heath and Declan already have their shirts off. Yum!” She licked her lips. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Those two were the kings of showing off, which was fitting since they all wore that Kings moniker like they had actually been crowned by the queen herself.
But I couldn’t help my smile at how happy Kaitlin was. We walked up the steps to the house as people spilled out of the front door and along the sides.
There were people in bathing suits chasing each other with water guns, red plastic cups stacked on every surface, and the thumping bass hit me right in the stomach as a mix of pop and rap blasted over all the noise.
We stepped into the house, and it was bedlam. With a house that nice, I was amazed Emmett wasn’t freaked out about people breaking anything. There was so much glass everywhere. It was like a museum had been taken over by a frat party.
“How in the hell are Emmett’s parents okay with this?” I shouted, sticking my finger in ear.
“They aren’t here. They’re never here.” There were Ping-Pong tables around the pool in the back, and people ran in and out of the house, dripping water everywhere. Tile floors plus wet running people was an accident waiting to happen. I tamped down my urge to go find some safety cones or towels to throw down on the floor.
Giant columns of water rained down on the people sitting along the edges of the expansive slate ledge as someone cannonballed or belly flopped into the pool. There was a collective “ohhh” from everyone outside. A few people even held up cards with numbers on them: 8, 7, 9. Apparently it was a pretty good maneuver.
“Let’s get a drink.” Glancing down at her cup like she’d just realized it was empty, she tugged me toward the back of the house.
“I’m okay.” This wasn’t where I should be. The people here were having way too much fun, and it made my stomach flop and my skin tingle. Fight or flight was kicking in. Walking into the place held a lens up to show me exactly what kind of person I wasn’t—and I’d never be. A part of me longed for it, wanted a few hours to not feel like me.
“One drink and then I’ll stop bothering you about it. At least this beer is cold. Emmett knows how to throw a party.” She let out the telltale drunk girl “wooo” before guiding me toward one of the kegs outside.
“We need a beer for Mak,” she yelled to Ford, who was manning the keg, over the three people ahead of us. He towered over almost everyone there and had the perfect blend of don’t fuck with me and I’m a teddy bear that made most people love him.
Definitely a change from freshman Ford who’d almost been expelled twice for fighting. If he hadn’t been one of the best goalies in state history, he might not have made it. His head snapped up, and his eyes got wide when he saw me. And I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
“Emmett and Avery invited me,” I blurted, convinced he'd take one look at me, turn me around, and boot me from the party.
“It’s all good, Mak. I just wasn’t expecting to see you here. Glad you could make it.” He handed me a cup full to the brim, and some sloshed out onto my hand.
“Have fun. Be good.” He winked at Kaitlin, refilling her cup, and moving on to the next people in line.
I took a sip of the beer and grimaced. The hoppy carbonated taste hit me tight on the back of my tongue, and my throat convulsed as if to say, Are you stupid? What the hell are you doing?
And then I remembered how much I hated beer. Everyone said you just had to power through the taste, and most of the people there looked like they were having a hell of a lot more fun than me. Taking a deep breath, I stared into the swirling foam on top of the amber liquid underneath. Better seize the day.
“Bottom’s up.”
“Huh?” Kaitlin turned to me with her eyebrows scrunched. I tipped the cup back and turned off my taste buds, gulping down the beer as quickly as I could. Some of it spilled out the sides of my mouth as I gulped it down and drained the whole thing. The sharp, hoppy bubbles from the carbonated drink tickled my nose. With the bottom of my cup in sight, I came up for air with a gasp. A laugh bubbled up and escaped my mouth before I could feel self-conscious enough to wrestle it to the ground.
Kaitlin stared at me with her eyes wide. “Did you just down that whole thing?”
“Sure did.” I turned my empty cup upside down and watched the last drips fall into the grass below.
“Oh shit.” Kaitlin stared at me like that person in a movie who’s been sliced in half, but they don’t know it yet until they try to move and then they fall to pieces. What was her problem? A warm flush traveled through my body and went straight to my head. I closed my eyes and smacked my lips together. Maybe beer wasn’t so bad.
We stood there, leaning against the side of the house while she drank her beer. People passed by and waved once they got over their wide-eyed shock at seeing me there.
I smiled at Kaitlin until my cheeks hurt and looked at the party again. People playing beer pong, jumping into the pool, chasing each other. I wanted that. A giddy laugh bubbled up from deep inside me somewhere, and I didn’t even want to slap my hand over my mouth.
“Let’s get another one.”
“Oh no! I’m going to go with a firm ‘hell no’ on that one.” Kaitlin looped her arms through mine when I took a step toward the keg. “How about we let that one settle and wear off a bit first before we go anywhere near the keg or the liquor?”
“There’s liquor?” I whipped my head around, and everything in front of me swayed. “I probab
ly should have eaten something before I came.” Nervousness had gotten the best of me, and I hadn’t been able to stomach anything more than a croissant at the cafe.
“That’s a definitely should have.” Now Kaitlin wore my usual worried expression.
“It will be fine, Kaitlin. Stop worrying so much.” I kicked off my flip-flops and sank my toes into the soft, cool grass. It helped me feel grounded as the rest of the party tilted. Kaitlin threw her arm around my shoulder and guided me toward the deck chairs lining the pool.
“Why don’t we sit down for a bit and relax?”
“I’m fine,” I said, trying to brush her off but managing to topple over onto one of the chairs. “See. Totally fine.”
Running a hand over her face, she shook her head. “You’re the lightest lightweight I’ve ever seen. It’s like you just injected the booze into your bloodstream.”
“I’m not a lightweight. I haven’t had very many opportunities.” I laid back onto the chair, letting the warmth of the metal frame stretched over water-resistant fabric seep into my skin. Crossing my legs at the ankle, I closed my eyes and for the first time in a long time felt like every knot in my muscles was gone.
The party sounds around me faded away, and there was nothing but this chair, the buzz I had going on, and Kaitlin’s hand on my leg. Maybe she was afraid if she let go of me, I’d float away. It’s what I wanted sometimes. To be anyone, anywhere, except for me. Perfect match.
Those words slammed straight into my chest and wouldn’t let go. My eyes snapped open, and I gripped the chair, the metal biting into my fingers.
“Kait, I think I’m drunk.”
“I know, hon.” She looked at me like she was delivering some grave news.
“What if someone finds out?” And then it all came crashing back into me. The hundred or so people around me jumping around and playing. Having fun, that’s all it was, but it was so much more.
“What if someone finds out that you had a drink? It’s fine, Mak. Pretty much everyone here is drunk or buzzed, except for me now because I have the feeling I’m going to need to keep a close eye on you.”