Firefly Lane (Firefly Lane 1)

Shed seen him heading her way and practically fainted. On the jukebox, "Stairway to Heaven" had been playing. Talk about romantic.

"I could get in trouble just for talking to you," he said.

She tried to look mature and worldly as she said, "I like trouble. "

The smile he gave her was like nothing shed ever seen before. For the first time in her life, she felt as beautiful as people always said she was.

"You wanna come to the party with me on Friday?"

"I could make that work," she said. It was a phrase shed heard Erica Kane use on All My Children.

"Ill pick you up at ten. " He leaned closer. "Unless thats past your curfew, little girl?"

"Seventeen Firefly Lane. And I dont have a curfew. "

He smiled again. "Im Pat, by the way. "

"Im Tully. "

"Well, Tully, Ill see you at ten. "

Tully still couldnt believe it. For the past forty-eight hours shed obsessed over this first real date. All the other times shed gone out with boys it was in a group or to a school dance. This was totally different, and Pat was practically a man.

They could fall in love; she knew it. And then, with him holding her hand, shed stop feeling so alone.

She finally made her clothes choice.

Low-rise, three-button bell-bottom jeans, a pink scoop-necked knit top that showed off her cleavage, and her favorite cork platforms. She spent almost an hour on her makeup, layering more and more on until she looked foxy. She couldnt wait to show Pat how pretty she could be.

She grabbed a pack of her moms cigarettes and left her bedroom.

In the living room, Mom looked up blearily from her magazine. "Hey, iss almos ten oclock. Where are you going?"

"This guy invited me to a party. "

"Is he here?"

Right. Like Tully would invite anyone to come in. "Im meeting him on the road. "

"Oh. Cool. Dont wake me up when you get home. "

"I wont. "

Outside, it was dark and cold. The Milky Way stretched across the sky in a path of starlight.

She waited by her mailbox on the main road, moving from foot to foot to keep warm. Goose bumps pebbled her bare arms. The mood ring on her middle finger changed from green to purple. She tried to remember what that meant.

Across the street and up the hill, the pretty little farmhouse glowed against the darkness. Each window was like a pat of warm, melting butter. They were probably all at home, clustered around a big table, playing Risk. She wondered what theyd do if she just visited one day, showed up on the porch and said hey.

She heard Pats car before she saw the headlights. At the roar of the engine, she forgot all about the family across the street and stepped into the road, waving.

His green Dodge Charger came to a stop beside her; the car seemed to pulse with sound, vibrate. She slid into the passenger seat. The music was so loud she knew he couldnt hear what she said.

Grinning at her, Pat hit the gas and they were off like a rocket, blasting down the quiet country lane.

As they turned onto a gravel road, she could see the party going on below. Dozens of cars were parked in a huge circle in a pasture, with their headlights on. Bachman-Turner Overdrives "Taking Care of Business" blared from someones car radio. Pat parked over in the stand of trees along the fence line.

There were kids everywhere, gathered around the flames of the bonfire, standing beside the kegs of beer set up in the grass. Clear plastic cups littered the ground. Down by the barn, a group of guys were playing touch football. It was late in May, and summer was still a ways away, so most people were wearing coats. She wished she hadnt forgotten hers.