“As long as he doesn’t turn around to look, it’s all right,” Kent fired back.
It made me blush. Bobbi grabbed my arm, and we went off to the bathroom together to talk.
“Don’t listen to those idiots,” she told me. Then she smiled and said, “Noel says Kent is head over heels in love with you. He’s going to ask you to go steady with him. Nothing as corny as giving you a school ring or something, but, you know, promise to be only with each other. What will you do?”
“I don’t know.” I really didn’t, but she mistook my hesitation for something more.
“That’s good. Play hard to get. Boys say they hate it, but they really don’t. It makes you more … more of a catch when you do give in.”
“My sister says it’s not good to move too quickly with any boy.”
“She’s right. Though who am I to agree? I lost my brake pads a while ago.”
I suspected what she meant, and I suppose the look on my face caused her to laugh. After she repaired her lipstick, we returned to the living room and the dancing.
“I hope none of that joking bothered you,” Kent said.
“No, of course not,” I said as strongly as I could. I didn’t want him or anyone to think I was so dainty. I had enough of that with Cassie constantly reminding me how fragile I was. I knew almost everyone thought I was overprotected because we were so wealthy. I suppose we were. I wouldn’t doubt that I was the most innocent and unsophisticated of all the girls in my class.
An hour or so into the party, one of the varsity basketball players, Martin McDermott, arrived, and that created a new wave of excitement. He started to describe the game from the team’s perspective, and the music was turned down. Everyone listened, and then Martin, who was treated like a returning war hero by everyone, especially Eddie, started to dance with one of the girls from the eleventh grade who had already consumed a lot of alcohol.
We could see how all those who had started slipping liquor into their sodas were acting a bit wilder. The dance floor became more and more crowded, and the music got even louder.
“There are definitely more than thirty people here now!” Kent shouted.
“I know!” I shouted back. My throat started to ache from shouting to be heard.
“This is a wild party!” Kent said.
“Yes.”
We tried to keep dancing, but everyone was beginning to bump into everyone else, especially the girls who had drunk too much liquor.
?
?Let’s take a little walk,” Kent said to me when someone had offered him liquor to mix into his soda and he refused. “It might get ugly here soon. I’ve been drunk only once in my life.” He led me away quickly. “And it wasn’t pretty. I think I threw up my insides and had to grow new organs.”
“I’ve only had a little wine,” I admitted. I didn’t want to sound so protected, but he was being truthful, so I thought I should be.
He looked at his watch. “My father will be here in less than an hour,” he said. “C’mon.” He tugged me along faster.
“Where are we going? How do you know where to go?”
“I’ve been to Eddie’s house many times. We’ve been friends since fourth grade. Let’s go look at his horses. We ride them sometimes.”
He led me through the kitchen to a back entrance. We went down a small stairway and turned right to the barn. Even this far away from the living room, we could hear the music and the laughter. We heard what sounded like something falling, too.
“Eddie’s parents will kill him if anyone breaks anything,” Kent said.
He opened the barn door and flipped a light switch to give us more illumination. The two horses in their stalls turned with interest.
“He calls this one Chesterfield, and the other is Comet. Chesterfield was his grandfather’s name,” Kent explained.
“They’re both beautiful.”
“American quarter horses. Well trained, too. I’m not much of a rider, but on Chesterfield, I look like a real cowboy.”
He walked down to a little area toward the rear of the barn, where there was equipment, saddles, and a small, well-worn leather sofa. He sat and looked up at me.