14. Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Sloane
E ven though Maggie is as shy as me, if not more so, she's game to go to Jesse's party with me. She went to a different elementary school, so she doesn't know Jesse, but her rationale makes sense. "The way I look at it," she says as we walk up the steep street in my neighborhood where Kurt and Jesse live, "is this guy goes to a different school, so most of the people there won't know us and they won't have any preconceived ideas about us."
I nod my head as I think this over. "You're right. Kind of like when I went to Jacksonville with Tameka and met all her friends. When I met those kids, I was immediately accepted into their world because I was a friend of a friend." I'm getting more optimistic about this party with each step. I smile and face Maggie. "Maybe this will turn out to be a really good night for both of us for a change!"
Maggie smiles sweetly. "Let's hope so." We pick up our pace and are at Jesse's front door in no time.
I'm facing Maggie on the front porch. "How does this work? Do we ring the doorbell?"
Maggie frowns as she shrugs. "I dunno."
I decide to knock as I can't imagine how embarrassing it would be to just open someone's front door. We wait a few moments, but no one comes to the door. I can hear music inside, so I'm sure no one heard my knock.
"Should we just go in?" Maggie asks as she fidgets with her cross necklace.
This time, I shrug. "I guess we could." I really don't want to be the one to open the door.
As we debate this, three cute guys who I don't recognize walk up to the front porch. A tall, fit, blond guy wearing a burgundy and forest green rugby shirt says, "Ladies."
"Hi," Maggie says softly as her eyes light up. "We knocked but we're not sure anyone heard it."
The blond boy looks at her and smiles. "Let me help." He opens the front door and “Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot pumps through the air. He extends his hand with a flourish. "Ladies first!"
We walk into the foyer, making room for the boys to join us. "Are you friends of Jesse?" the blond boy asks.
I nod. "I went to elementary school with him and live in the neighborhood. We go to Dunwoody High."
"Nice," the blond boy says as he extends his hand. "I'm Scott." He points to the boy on his left wearing a long-sleeved Duck Head T-shirt. "This is Pete." He then points to the guy on his right wearing a hunter green button down, "this is Steve." He looks out the still open front door. After a few seconds, a fourth boy jogs through the door. "And this is-"
"Dave," I say as my stomach drops. The last time I saw him was when he invited me over a couple of weeks after our first kiss and he had another girl at his house who he was flirting with right in front of me.
"You two know each other?" Scott asks.
"We hung out over the summer," Dave says as he gives me a one shoulder hug, his heather gray St. Christopher’s wrestling sweatshirt hanging loosely on his frame. "How's it going?"
"Awesome," I say with sarcasm. Unsure what else to say to my first kiss who basically told me that he was the type of guy who wanted to play the field after we made out.
Scott seems to notice the awkwardness between us and says, "Let's go check out this party."
I'm more than happy to follow Scott through the house so we can go find Kurt and Shelly. We make our way to the kitchen and great room area and Scott and his buddies head straight out the back door. I see a pool glowing blue out back, but I want to find Kurt and Shelly, so I scan the kitchen and great room first. There are lots of kids in the great room, out on the patio, and around the pool. I pull Maggie to me and clutch her bicep. "That's the Dave I met this summer."
Maggie's blue eyes go wide and her mouth forms a circle. "Oh, wow. Your first kiss."
I nod. "Yeah, my first kiss who then told me he saw girls like shoes. He couldn't have just one pair."
"He said that to you?" Maggie's eyebrows arch high on her forehead.
I roll my eyes. "Yep. Can you believe that?"
Maggie shakes her head. "That's so lame."
"Totally," I say as I scan the great room for Kurt, but not seeing him. "Let's go outside and see if Kurt and Shelly are out there."
Maggie follows me outside, and as we stop on the patio to survey the back yard, she says quietly, "At least you've had your first kiss." She fiddles with her necklace, and I follow her gaze to the boys we just met as they grab drinks.
"Yeah," I agree. "At least I got it out of the way, even though there was nothing special about it." I stop scanning. "Ah! There they are." I point to the left side and the diving board where Kurt and Shelly are seated. "Come on, let's go."
"Sloane!" Kurt says as he and Shelly stand to greet us. Kurt wobbles a little, then pulls me into a hug. "I'm so glad you came." He looks at Shelly. "Isn't it great that they came?"
Shelly smiles sweetly and gives me and Maggie hugs. "Yes, it's nice to have some friendly faces here."
Kurt nods to the other side of the pool. "Your favorite person is here."
I recognize the sarcasm my friend is known for and look to the other side of the pool. "Ugh, why the heck does she have to be here?" Amber Gates and her crew of cheerleader friends are sitting around the hot tub's edge, dangling their legs into the hot, steamy water. Since it's too cold for the pool, no one is swimming, but the hot tub is full of jocks. "Of course, the football players are with them. Do they go everywhere together?"
I make my friends laugh as Jesse walks up with a red plastic cup in his hand, his eyes are a bit glassy. "Sloane! Oh my gosh, I'm so glad to see you!"
I hug Jesse and smell the alcohol on him. “How’s Saint Christopher’s?” I ask, referring to the private, Catholic school he went to after seventh grade.
"It's cool," he says. "I miss a lot of the kids we went to Vanderwood with, though. Those were great times."
"Yeah," I say. "I get that, but there are a few I wouldn't miss." I look over at Amber and her friends.
Jesse follows my gaze. "Oh yeah? Does Amber give you a hard time?"
I scoff. "She's pretty much insufferable. I guess when you're shy, everything's just harder."
"You're like the nicest person in the world!" Jesse says. "No one should give you trouble."
"Thanks, Jess," I smile at his exuberance that is definitely a result of his beverage of choice. There's that adjective again. Nice. Ugh. "Oh, sorry, this is my friend, Maggie."
"Hey, nice to meet you," Jesse says.
"You, too. Thanks for having us," Maggie replies softly.
"I'll go grab you some drinks," Jesse smiles. "You've gotta try my punch."
“Oh, um. Do you have a Coke or something?” I ask. “I don’t really drink.”
“Yeah, sure,” Jesse says then looks at Maggie. “What about you?”
Maggie thinks for a second. “A Coke would be great, thanks.”
“Awesome, be right back!” Jesse says as he heads back inside.
He returns shortly with two red cups. “Here you go.” He hands us each a red cup filled with ice and brown liquid. “There’s more in the fridge, and if you want to try my punch,” he holds up his own cup, “it’s spiked, so go slow.” He winks at us then notices a group of people walking out the back door. "Oh, I've gotta go say hi. It's so good to see you. And meet you," he looks at Maggie. "I'm glad y'all came," he says sincerely before rushing off.
"I kinda wish he would have stayed in school with us." I say to Kurt. "It's so cool that you two have stayed friends."
Kurt nods. "When you live next door to your best friend since fourth grade, it's hard not to."
I think about Miranda who moved to my street when I was five, and she was four. I hate that we don't hang out a ton anymore. We get together from time to time, but it's not like it used to be. Her parents got divorced when we were in junior high and that really affected her a lot. Plus, she had to move which sucked. We kind of drifted after that. I feel a tugging at my elbow and snap out of my thoughts.
"Look who just got here," Maggie whispers as she nods over to where the cheerleaders and jocks are.
I look that way and see the most beautiful boy in school. Tyler Finlay is here. My pulse quickens as I watch him greet his fellow football players. I take a sip of soda out of nervousness. My eyes are fixed on Tyler and that darn smile.
"I didn't even think he would be here," I say to Maggie, "But, I guess it makes sense since he went to St. Christopher's." I watch as Tyler laughs at something his best friend, Brian, says. His smile makes my heart flutter. "At least I'll get to admire him from afar."
"Hey guys," Kurt says, "We're gonna go inside for a bit. Wanna come?"
Of course, I don't want to leave the area where I can ogle Tyler from a distance. "Um, I think we'll stay out here a little longer. We'll come find you in a bit."
After Kurt and Shelly amble off toward the house, Maggie offers a knowing smile. She turns to face me so I can adjust my position and have a clear view of Tyler and his friends, without being totally conspicuous. With her back to the hot tub, I can talk to her and steal glances at Tyler.
"He's so gorgeous. It should be criminal to be that good looking," I tell Maggie as I unconsciously sip from my red plastic cup.
"You should go say hi," she suggests.
"No way! In front of all those people? Forget it." It makes me uneasy just thinking about that. Everyone would be staring at me, and I hate that feeling.
"I get it," Maggie says.
I raise my cup to my mouth, then stop abruptly. "Oh my gosh, I think he's about to take his shirt off." Maggie turns to look.
Tyler pulls his T-shirt over his head exposing his abs and chest. "Oh, dear God," I swoon. "It's like I've died and gone to heaven."
As we watch, Tyler tosses his shirt onto a nearby lounge chair and adjusts his swim trunks before stepping down into the hot tub. As he braces his hand on the edge, he looks right at us and grins. Maggie turns, quickly facing me and trying to play it cool, but probably not succeeding.
"Oh my gosh, do you think he saw us?" I ask, raising my cup to my mouth.
"I hope not," Maggie says, fingering her cross necklace and looking serious. "But we did look totally obvious."
"Did you see those abs?" I ask her quietly.
Maggie nods quickly, her eyes bright. "How does he not have a girlfriend?"
"I have no idea, but I'm not complaining." I take another sip of my Coke.
“I guess he knew there would be a hot tub and came prepared,” Maggie says.
“Yeah,” I reply as I realize that some of the kids here were prepared for a pool party even though it’s cool out. “I’m so glad he did.” Maggie and I giggle.
I glance back and see Tyler chatting with a few of the football players in the hot tub. "I swear the number of cheerleaders around the hot tub just doubled," I lament. "I'm sure any one of them would love to date him."
Maggie says, "Maybe he wants a nice girl?"
"If he wants a nice girl, sign me up!" I joke, but we both know it's not a joke at all. However, in my experience, the nice girl doesn't get the guy, ever. But I hold out hope that maybe Tyler is different. Maybe he wants someone who isn't just a popular cheerleader.
"Okay," I say to Maggie, "we can't stand here and ogle Tyler all night. Let's go inside for a bit."
As we walk beside the pool, I keep glancing over to the hot tub. Tyler is smiling as he talks with his buddies, and I'm surprised I haven't turned into a puddle next to the pool. His smile lights up his whole face and my insides. Suddenly, I feel arms wrap around my shoulders, and I let out an involuntary squeal. My body is swung over the edge of the pool. My legs swing out over the water. The remaining Coke from my cup, which was at least half full, is now all over the front of my sweater. Mercifully, I'm set down on the pool deck and not thrown into the water. I whirl around to see who the culprit is and find Dave grinning at me.
"I thought you might want to go for a swim," he says as he chomps on a piece of gum.
I swat his arm. "Oh my gosh, you're crazy!" My back is to the pool, and he pushes me back then grabs my forearm so I can't fall. I move away from the side of the pool with my back to the house and some distance between me and Dave. He's still grinning at me like this is fun, and still annoyingly chomping his gum. I pull at my sweater as the cold fabric sticks to me and glance around and see that everyone is staring at us, including Tyler and his friends. I feel my face heat up. While the jocks and cheerleaders are laughing, and Brian Applequist is capturing this on his camcorder, Tyler's captivating grin is gone, and there's a hint of concern in his eyes.
"I'm just playing with you," Dave says. "You're lucky it's not warm out, because if it was, you would be in that pool."
"Ha-ha," I say. "It's a good thing it's cold, then." Speaking of cold, I shiver as my soda-soaked sweater clings to my chest. I look at the dark stain on my pretty sweater. “I can’t believe you spilled my drink all over me.”
“Here,” Dave says with a grin, holding out his hand, “take it off, I’ll go wash it for you.”
“Ugh,” I groan. “You’re so gross.” Dave laughs and luckily heads back over to his friends.
I look around and thankfully, everyone has gone back to whatever else they were doing and not watching me and Dave, everyone except Tyler. Is he worried about me? I think to myself, wishfully.
Maggie's hand wraps around my wrist. "Come on, let's go inside."