3.
Vodka Shots And The Friend Zone
Lenley
ONE YEAR AGO, LATERthat night.
He parks the car outside one of the houses toward the end of the hill where the biggest mansions in Star Cove are dotted, well far away from one another; each house has access to a private stretch of beach.
It’s a ten minute ride from my house and I spend the entire time babbling away about some book I just read and throwing Darrius the occasional glance. I always do it, when I’m nervous, I always talk because silence makes me uncomfortable.
He’s hot, the classic dark and handsome heartthrob; a perfect physique on the slender side of athletic, wavy dark hair and intense brown eyes.
He smiles at me as he pulls the handbrake and, for the millionth time in my life, I wonder if his lips are as soft as they look.
Kiara says that his mouth is too big for the rest of the features on his face, but to me, Darrius is perfect.
“We’re here, birthday girl,” he says, exiting the car and coming around to open my door for me.
I take a deep breath before getting out of the car; I’ve seen Darrius act like this, all gentlemanly, with his dates, but he’s never done it with me.
Maybe he really broke up with Lisa and this is really a date?
Maybe he finally noticed how much I love him?
He wraps one arm around my shoulders, ushering me toward the house.
“Who lives here?” I ask. “I don’t think I’ve ever been here.”
His eyes stay fixed ahead of him as he answers. “The house belongs to the owner of the new skydiving team in town. The Cove Devils. This is their party. They throw one most weekends, as if they had anything to celebrate since so far I’ve won every event they’ve participated in. They weren’t great in Texas, but if they think they’ll have an easier life here placing for Nationals they’re in for a rude awakening.”
Loud music invades our senses as soon as he pushes the front door open and we enter the house.
There are people everywhere; some are grinding against each other in the middle of the dark living room, others are talking and sipping on drinks.
I look outside through the open full-length patio doors and spot a circle of people around a keg in the backyard.
“Let’s get my favorite birthday girl a drink, right? Let’s toast you being eighteen. An official adult from today.”
Darrius has just turned twenty, so neither of us are of legal drinking age but I don’t point it out. I doubt everyone who’s partying and drinking in this house is twenty-one.
“What would you like?” he asks, as we find a table laden with every kind of booze one could think of.
“I don’t know. You know I don’t drink much. Maybe a wine cooler?”
Darrius beams at me; it’s his mischievous smile, the smile that got us in trouble with my mom countless times when we were kids. No matter what crazy idea he proposes, I can never say no to that smile. “Wine cooler coming right up for the lady,” he says, opening the bottle before offering it to me. “And vodka chasers for the both of us.” He opens a brand new bottle of a top shelf vodka and pours shots in two red solo cups, putting one in my free hand. “Come on, Lenley, let’s have some fun tonight. At my three, are you ready?”
I’ve done shots just once before with Sarah and Kiara, but I’ve watched him doing them with his dates or his teammates and I know he’s going to think I’m a party pooper if I don’t join him.
I tip the plastic cup at his three and I’m surprised that the clear liquid doesn’t burn on the way down, it just causes a pleasant warmth to spread from my stomach into the rest of my body.
Maybe it’s because this is expensive stuff. The bottle Sarah had gotten her older brother to buy for us was really cheap and burned so much when I drank it that I only could do two shots.
Darrius smiles, pulling me close and circling my shoulders with his arm again. “Come on, let’s go see who’s outside.” He takes the bottle with him and guides me through the patio door, walking through the huge backyard.
There are people gathered around the keg, taking turns doing keg stands; further down there’s a pool table and some guys are playing pool, surrounded by girls.
My attention is attracted by one tall guy with blond hair who has his arms around two girls and has a third one on his lap.
He looks really confident and in his element while he’s watching his opponent shoot and waiting for his turn. I envy that kind of confidence and I keep watching him as he laughs, throwing his head back and then nuzzling one of the girls’ necks while grabbing a handful of the ass of the one that’s perched on his lap.
Darrius follows my gaze and narrows his eyes. “That guy is fucking bad news, Len.”
I turn to look at him, surprised by the venom in his tone. “I don’t have a clue who he is,” I appease him. “I just think he looks like he’s having a great time.”
His tone becomes even lower, definitely laced with anger. “Oh, yeah. That’s all the motherfucker seems to be interested in, that’s why he doesn’t stand a fucking chance in hell of beating me. He spends all his fucking time chasing pussy rather than training and working hard.”
Now it makes sense. “Ah, is he one of the Cove Devils?”
Darrius nods. “Yeah, he’s the fucking team captain and our host tonight. Lenley,” he says, suddenly serious, “take a good look at him and stay the fuck away from him and his two friends and teammates.”
He looks toward the Olympic size pool on the further side of the yard. “See the two guys in the hot tub with all those chicks?”
I follow his solo cup as he uses it to indicate in that direction.
“The Devils are bad news,” he bites out, grinding his jaw. “They’ve been in town for barely six months and they aren’t known for their diving or BASE jumping. The only thing they’ve managed to make a name for themselves is sleeping around with anything that breathes. People in our circles call them ‘The Heartbreakers.’”
“The Heartbreakers?” I ask, my curiosity piqued.
Darrius nods. “Yeah. All they fucking care about is getting laid. They’re never seen with the same girl twice. And now it looks like one woman each isn’t even enough anymore. Like I said, they’re fucking bad news, Len. They dump ‘em before the sheets even have the chance to get cold.”