Chapter 36
We Can Never Be Anything but Loud
“How did I let you rope me into coming here again?” I ask Elizabeth
As soon as I parked my car in her driveway, she jumped in the passenger seat and declared that we were going to a party at Fallon’s house. She starts texting him on her phone. When did she and Fallon start texting each other?
When we go up the private drive that leads to the Montgomery mansion, I have to park along the side road because there are already tons of cars and people here.
As soon as we get out of the car, thumping, screeching music blares out the wide-open double front doors of the house in a raucous melody that sounds like fingernails scraping down a chalkboard.
I take Elizabeth's hand and we walk up the driveway to the house.
Within less than a minute, I’m stopped by six people I know from the Fields wanting to talk about the next race.
Elizabeth doesn’t seem to mind, especially when I introduce her as my girlfriend.
She looks so pretty tonight in her black jeans and a red blouse that hangs off one shoulder.
She left her hair down in my favorite style of soft, messy waves.
“There’s my boy!” I hear from somewhere on the front lawn. Elizabeth finds Fallon first and waves. He's hanging out with a group of people sitting on a sofa in the middle of the yard.
He walks over and grabs Elizabeth, lifting her up and spinning her around. “And here’s my kitten!”
“Put me down, Fallon!” she tells him, but she’s laughing. I’m so confused right now.
“What’s up, Ry?” he says to me.
“Not much, man.”
“Come on,” he tells us, then he yells at the group hanging around the sofa, “John! Heading in.”
John answers by lifting his plastic red cup high.
Fallon always knew how to throw a party in high school.
This is the first one I have come to since he graduated from Highland High.
As Fallon walks with us into the house, several girls try to get his attention, but he ignores every single one of them.
His attention has been on Elizabeth, who has been chatting to him the entire time.
She’s smiling. I hear Fallon tell her something that sounds like burnt marshmallows, and she throws her head back laughing.
My confusion at their sudden camaraderie turns into wondering what burnt marshmallows could mean.
I remember Elizabeth used to hate Fallon’s parties, so I’m worried that she’s going to feel uncomfortable here tonight. I bend down to her ear. “Babe. You good?”
She turns her head and kisses my cheek. “This is my first party,” she says excitedly. I guess that’s my answer. I move her in front of me and take her hips in my hands as we follow Fallon through the house. She leans back into me and I can feel her swaying to the music as we walk.
“Preference?” Fallon asks us when we get to the kitchen.
“What do you suggest?” Elizabeth asks Fallon.
“Shots?”
I give Fallon a withering look that says over my dead body is he giving Elizabeth hard liquor.
“Water,” I tell him.
“Beer?” he counters.
Elizabeth tilts her head up at me. “Would you mind if I tried a taste? I'm curious.”
Fallon passes me a bottle of water and takes two dark beer bottles out of a large cooler sitting on the kitchen floor. He pops the top off one and hands it to Elizabeth.
She takes a sip and almost spits it back out. “Oh my God. That stuff is rancid!” She shoves the bottle back at Fallon. “I'll take a water, please.”
He hands her a chilled water. “Clowns,” he tells her.
“The color orange,” she says.
They clink their respective bottles together in a toast.
I bend down to her ear again so she can hear me over the music. “What are you and Fallon talking about?”
“Our worst fears.”
I have to admit, I'm still clueless. How are marshmallows, clowns, and the color orange someone's worst fears?
Fallon motions for us to follow him outside.
The back yard is decked out in lights strung from tree to tree and across the large, tiled patio.
There’s a swimming pool on one side of the backyard and a single tennis court on the other side.
Someone throws a football from across the yard to the swimming pool and cheers erupt when a guy catches it before diving under the water.
Fallon approaches three girls and two guys sitting on one of the deck couches. They’re passing a joint around. One of the girls, a redhead, smiles when she sees him.
Fallon snaps his fingers at the five of them. “Get off my couch.”
The guys scramble up and walk off, but the girls linger. The redhead stumbles forward and whispers something in Fallon’s ear.
“Later,” he tells her.
One of her friends, a blond, has been staring at me. Her eyes widen when I catch her, and she tries to whisper something to the third girl, but it comes out louder than I think she intended. “That’s Ryder Cutton! He’s so hot.”
I feel Elizabeth’s hands grab the back of my jeans and what sounds like a tiny growl. Fallon dismisses the redhead, and she and her two friends walk away giggling.
When we take the seats they just vacated, Elizabeth sits down in my lap, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.
I rest my hand on the side of her hip. She starts running her fingers through the short hair at the back of my head.
Such an innocent touch but one that’s monumentally significant.
It’s a touch of familiarity. A touch that couples who are comfortable with one another do.
I settle back with my girl in my arms, and for the first time since the night at the hospital, I relax.
“Where were you last week?” Fallon asks me. I guess Elizabeth hasn’t said anything to him about what happened.
“Around.”
“You’re a jerk. Nice split lip by the way,” he chuckles, and I take a swallow of my water.
“So, kitten. What do you think?” he says, spreading his arms wide and looking around as if he’s showing off his kingdom.
More cheers go up from the pool area. I crane my neck to see what the ruckus is all about.
“It’s not too shabby. Where are your parents?”
“Out of town on business. The usual.”
“Do they know you throw parties like this while they’re away?”
He grins at Elizabeth and finishes his beer. A guy passes by us heading inside. “Chris! Get me another beer,” Fallon shouts.
Chris runs inside and comes back out, beer in hand like he’s offering it as a tribute to a god.
“Anything else?” he asks Fallon.
“Nope.”
Elizabeth bursts out laughing. “Is one of your talents ordering people around? You’re really good at it.”
“Nah. He’s a freshman at Highland,” he replies as if that explains everything.
A voice interrupts us. “Hey, Fallon.”
A tall girl with long brown curly hair sits down at Fallon’s feet. Fallon introduces her to us. Her name is Becca, and from the way she has positioned herself at his feet, she must be one of Fallon’s groupies.
Several guys walk over, and soon we are surrounded by a group of people.
Becca and Elizabeth start chatting, and a few of the new guys ask me about racing.
It seems that word has spread that I’m here, so all the racing fanboys are making their way over.
Suddenly, a piercingly loud squeal erupts behind us and Meredith pops up next to Elizabeth.
“Hey!” Elizabeth says to her friend.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming here tonight?”
“Why didn’t you?
“Touché.”
“Is Trevor here with you?” Elizabeth asks her.
“Yeah. He’s inside.”
At that moment, Trevor walks out of the house and stops short when his gaze lands on Elizabeth. I look over at Fallon. He's watching Trevor closely. The two of them seem to get more antagonistic toward one another every time they’re in the same proximity.
“Fallon!” Elizabeth calls over to him. I don’t know what kind of voodoo magic she has over him, but his scowl turns into a grin. He gives her a small salute and relaxes back into the couch.
Trevor watches this play out and cautiously walks over. “Hey, Ace.”
“Hey, Trevor. This is actually really cool. All of us together at a party,” Liz says. "Where's Darrel?”
The music from the house changes from hard rock to pop. It’s still awful, but Meredith seems to like it because she’s now dancing around the sofa.
“Family thing he couldn't get out of. I'm going inside to find someone to dance with.”
Trevor looks at Elizabeth like he's about to ask her if she wants to dance too, and my inner caveman comes out.
“Fal, I’m taking my girl inside to dance,” I tell him, and because I feel like it, I pick Elizabeth up in my arms. She giggles as I practically carry her inside to where everyone is dancing in the living room. I don’t look to see if Trevor and Meredith follow us.
The beat of a Top 40 song is pounding and colored lights from a projector are flashing around the room giving off a strobe effect. I set Elizabeth down and she turns around in my arms. There’s not much room to move, let alone dance, but that doesn’t stop us.
I hear Meredith somewhere, but she’s so tiny, I can’t make out where she is among the gyrating bodies. I do, however, spot Trevor. He's leaning back against the wall, apparently keeping an eye on his sister.
Elizabeth loops her arms around my neck. “Thanks for coming with me. I’m having a great time.”
I answer her with a kiss. Our dance quickly devolves into twenty minutes of groping and heavy kissing.
Eventually, Elizabeth pulls back and goes up on tiptoe. “I wish we were alone,” she says above the music.
“Want to get out of here?”
“Yes, please.”
She doesn’t have to ask me twice. I grab her hand and rush her outside so I can tell Fallon we’re leaving.
If I thought the animosity was bad between Fallon and Trevor, that’s nothing compared to the dread that hits me when Elizabeth and I emerge to see Maria, Jacinda, and Samantha walking up the steps of the back patio.
They’re wearing bikinis even though it’s October, so they must have been in the pool when we arrived. I’m going to kill Fallon.