Starlee's Turn (The Wayward Sons 2)
There are girls in short skirts and, inexplicably, boys running around without shirts. The mean girls, with Christina holding court, stand in a huddle near the fireplace looking like they spent hours getting ready. I pretend not to notice them pretending not to notice me. See? I can do this.
The house is nice, really nice, a big cabin by the side of the lake. A wide expanse of windows overlooks the water and I see a nice-sized dock below framed in white Christmas lights. Flames burn in the firepit down in the yard and a group of people hang out around it. I actually do see a few people I recognize from class—none that I know very well—although Margaret stands near the back door, talking loudly and moving her hands. I spot Claire talking to some kids in the kitchen. She notices me and her expression turns surprised before she smiles and waves.
Jake walks up to me and hands me my very own red cup. He’s holding a bottle of water for himself. “Here you go, party girl. Drink up.”
I sniff and wrinkle my nose. “Smells like rubbing alcohol.”
“Yeah,” he says. “Don’t go crazy. That shit may blind you.”
I take one small, tentative sip. A stream of fire runs down my throat. “Oh my God.”
“Yeah, it’s nasty, but technically it falls under things you do at a party.”
I leave the cup on the nearest table.
“So how are we going to handle this?” I ask, curious about how to navigate the party with four boyfriends.
“Well, normally how this works is that Charlie will park himself in front of the TV with the video game console.” He points to the den on the other side of the kitchen. Sure enough, he’s sitting in an armchair, biding his time to jump in. “By now, George would normally be hanging from the roof or taking some kind of crazy dare, but due to his head injury everyone wants to talk to him, so retelling his story should keep him occupied.”
“And Dex?”
“Oh, Dex will stand in the corner scowling at everyone for at least thirty minutes. Then he’ll join in the card game and kick everyone’s ass.”
“I didn’t realize he was so competitive.”
He laughs. “You have no idea.”
“And what about you?”
“Well since you’ve agreed to be my date for homecoming, it seems natural that we’d spend the night flirting with one another.”
“Whatever, they totally left you to babysit me.”
He looks affronted. “I’m not babysitting you. I’m hanging out with you and hoping that maybe later you’ll go down to the lake with me.”
“What happens at the lake?”
He raises an eyebrow and gives me a sly look. He hooks his finger in my belt loop and tugs me close. I’m about to push for more details when his eyes widen at something over my shoulder and he mutters, “Shit.”
“What?” I glance back. But I see the issue. Christina.
She’s dressed her part in this cliché. Short skirt. Top—sparkly, low, and revealing. Mega high heels. Hair and makeup just so. I have a flicker of jealousy for how easy all this seems to come to her. I feel childish next to her in my leggings and sweater. My hair certainly isn’t sexy in two pig tails hanging just below my ears.
“Jake.” Her eyes flick down to where he’s touching me. On instinct, I pull away. We’ve agreed not to show affection at school or in public. His jaw tenses.
“Yes, Christina?”
“I thought I’d come over and see how George is doing.”
“He’s okay. Here somewhere. You should go check on him.” He takes a sip of water.
“Sure. I’ll do that.” She gives me a tight, dismissive smile. “So, I’ve passed the word around that we’re going to homecoming together, which will hopefully move us up on the list for King and Queen. You know people love a good fairy tale.”
“Fairy tale?”
“You know, boy and girl meet. Date. Break up. Boy goes through some troubles. Girl waits for him to get his act together. They reunite. Blah blah blah, happily ever after.”
I stare blankly at her. Jake isn’t quite so passive.