Life of the Party (Wayward #1)

CHAPTER 24

I awoke with no idea when I crashed. My face was stuck to the opened pages of my math textbook; my body impossibly crumpled on the bed. I blinked at the sunlight that stung my eyes and peeled the textbook from my skin.

A knock on the door made me jump, still on guard though I had nothing to hide…now. I pushed my dark mess of hair back from my face.

“Mackenzie, you’re going to be late!” Mom’s frantic voice got louder as she opened the door. She was still dressed in her scrubs from the night before and she looked dead tired. “I woke you up half an hour ago! What have you been doing?”

“I don’t know, I fell back asleep.” I straightened myself out, my body stiff and sore from the awkward position. I yawned and stretched.

“There’s no time for that.” She checked my clock radio and the frown on her face deepened. “Get dressed. I’ll give you a ride.”

Luckily, I already had an outfit picked out from the night before. I threw on my jeans, a red tank top and some flip-flops. My hair was an absolute mess, I couldn’t do anything but twist it into a bun-type thing at the back of my head. I quickly lined my eyes with black and put on some mascara, brushed my teeth like lightning, grabbed my purse and my books and a black hoodie on the way out the door.

I stepped into the warm summer morning, shoving my things into the backseat of the car and hopping in the front. I could practically hear Mom’s teeth grinding as she backed the car out and zoomed down the street.

“I can’t believe you.” She spoke in frustration.

“So I slept in.” I shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“Tell that to your diploma exam.” She shook her head. I shrugged again. I wasn’t exactly prepared for my diploma exam anyway, ten minutes wasn’t going to change things. I gripped the door as Mom took a corner too fast. “I can’t believe you’re seventeen. You act like you’re twelve. Where’s the responsibility?”

“Ugh.” I rolled my eyes and leaned against the window. “Did you and Dad have like, a meeting or something? Are you trying to drive me crazy on purpose?”

“Your father and I,” she said curtly. “Have ignored this situation for far too long.”

I groaned. “So you did have a meeting.”

She ignored me. “It’s our fault, if there’s anyone to blame. Our schedules are just so crazy; it’s not that we haven’t noticed…we’ve been too tired to deal with it properly.”

“Are you talking to me?” I wondered.

“Things are going to change, Mackenzie,” Mom warned. “You need discipline, and rules, and boundaries.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, okay Mom. I’m graduating in three days. You’re going to start this now? Don’t you think you’re a little late?”

The expression on her face told me she’d at least considered it. She bit her lip. “No.” Mom lied. “As long as you’re living under our roof, things are going to change.”

I slumped back in my seat. There were no words to voice my frustration. I shut my eyes and wished for some cocaine. And a cigarette. And to be out of the car already.

Mom pulled furiously into the school parking lot. “You come straight home after school, you hear me?” She threatened through a yawn. “We’ll be waiting. We need to have a good talk, all three of us.”

“Oh joy,” I grumbled. I got out of the car and grabbed my things from the backseat, slamming the door as hard as I could. I waited until Mom was well down the street before I dropped all my stuff, pulling a smoke from my purse. No way could I write a major exam without a cigarette first, not with the mood I was in.

My mood was even fouler by the time I finished my math exam. I’d gone through the questions doggedly, struggling to make my brain work properly, but most often I’d gone with my best guess. The number closest to the one I came up with was the one I chose. My head pounded as I handed in my test, and I frowned at the prospect of going home for a family meeting. Dealing with my parents was the last thing on earth I wanted to do. I walked through the empty halls of the school, echoing with absent students, and headed into the bright, sunny day, totally miserable.

But then I saw him. My head was down; I didn’t notice him at first. I looked up from the grey slab sidewalk and there he was, standing there, waiting for me beside an old white motorcycle gleaming with steel. His bare, tanned arms were crossed against his chest; a sexy grin curved his lips when he noticed me. I could see my reflection in the large, dark aviator sunglasses that fit his face perfectly.

My breath caught in my throat and I just stood there, amazed.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. I hoped for the best, but braced for the worst, just in case Grey had come to deliver another “we’re still just friends, right?” speech. My heart beat nervously as I approached him, but I tried to stay positive.

“What’s up?” I wondered. I hoped I looked okay; self-consciously, I remembered my messy, bedraggled hair and lack of makeup. Grey smiled—his lips curved into the playful smirk I knew so well, and when he lifted his glasses, the way he looked at me made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. My cheeks flushed pink, and I returned his smile wholeheartedly, my heart surging with relief.

Grey shrugged and motioned to the motorcycle beside him. “I thought maybe you’d like to go for a ride.”

“Wow. And here I thought you’d forgotten all about me.” I kidded.

“I’m afraid it’s a little late for that.”

My blush deepened at his words, and I flashed him a happy, bashful smile. “I didn’t know you had a bike.” I stepped forward to admire it, running my hand down the cold steel of the handlebars. I didn’t recognize the make, but for an older model, it seemed in good condition. The steel gleamed silverly and the white paint looked pristine.

“I keep telling you. There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Grey winked, slyly. He grasped the handlebars, straddled the machine and flipped the kickstand, his black boots planted firmly to keep the bike from tipping.

“Hop on, sugar.” He grinned, his blue eyes shining. His jeans were tight over his bent knees; his white t-shirt hugging his hard torso beneath. He put his glasses back on, and I smiled eagerly. Studying was going to have to wait.

As I grasped the hard muscle of his arm and threw my leg over the seat behind him, fleetingly I imagined my parents—their arms crossed, their feet tapping impatiently as they watched the front door for my arrival. They would have to wait as well. No way would I give up an afternoon with Grey just because they suddenly gave a damn.

As if reading my thoughts, Grey turned to me over his shoulder. “Are you going to get in trouble for this?” He wondered.

“No.” I lied. “Who cares?”

He chuckled. “Ever been on a bike before?”

“No. Well, like, a pedal bike. Does that count? ”

“No. This is easy though. Just lean when I lean.”

“Okay.”

“And Mackenzie?”

“Yeah?”

“Hold on tight.”

I laughed and obliged him willingly, wrapping my arms around his waist, resting my hands on his hard abdomen. I could smell the delicious warmth of his skin and his cologne, very subtle, just enough to make me want more. I smiled happily to myself as a surge of excitement and anticipation thrilled through me.

The bike roared to life then, making me jump. I could feel Grey laughing as he slowly walked the motorbike backwards, away from the curb.

He shouted to be heard. “Ready?”

I nodded. One moment we were sitting there, the next we were moving smoothly out of the parking lot. We sped up when we reached the street and I clutched Grey tighter. It was a totally foreign feeling to me; I wasn’t used to being so exposed, so weightless. There was nothing to keep me in, nothing to protect me but him.

It didn’t take long before I loved it. The wind floated over us, carrying with it the scent of Grey’s cologne on the warm summer breeze. He was young, and strong, and gorgeous, sitting just before me, switching gears expertly, in total control of his vehicle. I had never been prouder to know someone, to be with someone, to have others see me with someone. I tipped my head back and let the wind brush over my face and my neck, a smile curving my lips.

The soft, gentle breeze was caressing as we rode, and as it stroked my arms and my skin I caught the promise of adventure, the desire for total exhilaration that only more speed and wind could bring.

I wanted more. I pressed myself against Grey’s back, my hands hugging his hard body closer to me. My lips found his ear.

“Faster.” I requested. Grey didn’t answer me, but the corner of his mouth curved slightly. I knew he was smiling. “I want to go faster.”

“Of course you do.” Was all he said.

The bike roared onto the highway. Grey went through the gears like butter, one right after the other, revving the motorcycle until the engine growled in response. The countryside whizzed past on either side, a blur of shapes and shadows I couldn’t discern. The sun shone golden down on us but its warmth was whipped away by the wind rushing by, cutting through my clothes as if I were wearing nothing at all. Its bitter fingers pierced the very core of me, stealing my breath away, making my heart hammer with adrenaline. My skin erupted in icy shivers.

A smile curved my lips. This was exactly what I wanted. There was nothing around me. Nothing but the deafening wind. My hair tore free from its elastic and fell, caught by the currents, streaming behind me, whipping and tearing around my face.

My smile deepened.

Thoughtlessly, I took my hands from the safety of Grey’s waist. I stretched them in the air beside me and then threw my head back, embracing the cold, letting it pour through me until it burned all the heat away. I felt alive.

I felt like I was flying. Like Kate Winslet in Titanic . At that moment, I was free. I let the wind take from me all my worries, all my cares, all my troubles. It swept them far, far away. My parents, my exams, Riley…none of it mattered.

Nothing but the total freedom I felt.

I loved it. I loved him. I hugged myself around Grey again, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. He laughed beneath my hands. The engine revved, and we went even faster. I clung to him until there was no space between us and my heart felt like it might burst with happiness. I never wanted it to end.

Eventually, we had to slow, re-entering the town limits as the sun swung lazily over the horizon. Its warmth could be felt again on my frigid skin due to our leisurely pace, present in the soft, languid breeze that swept lightly over us. I was chilled to my marrow, my frozen fingers stiff and numb.

I smiled delightfully, renewed somehow by the invigorating ride.

As we paused at a stop sign, Grey glanced over his shoulder at me.

“Where to now?” He asked, yelling to be heard.

I bit my lip. The sky was dimming around us, and there was a small part of me—the quiet, easily mollified part—that knew I should go home. Knew I should deal with the inevitably already pissed-off parents. But the other part of me—the louder, more dominant part—wanted fun and adventure at any cost. She wanted to stay with Grey for as long as she possibly could. Who cared how much trouble she’d be in?

I grinned. “I’ll go anywhere you want to go.”

“Anywhere?”

“Anywhere.”