"You can drive home today?"
"What?"
"I saw your car here that night. Then I saw coach take off. I figured maybe you didn't have a ride or something. "
"Oh, yeah. No, I'm fine. I've been driving all week. "
"That's good. "
"Yeah. "
Becky continued to hang her head and I arched an eyebrow.
"So," he watched her too. "Are you guys going to the beach party tomorrow night?"
Her head snapped up and her cheeks were in flames.
Not surprised.
Then she mumbled out, "I' dlove to, butIdon't know whereit's at. "
"There's a party?" I asked with a frown at my redheaded friend.
"Yeah. " His teeth were blinding. "You could both go with me?"
Becky whirled to me. Her eyes were fervent with hope.
"I…" I wanted to say no, but a stricken look came to her eyes. I crumbled. "Sure. You can pick us up at Becky's. "
"Great. "
"Great. "
Becky breathed out, "Great!"
"I'll—uh—I'll see you then, I guess?"
I nodded. "See you then. "
He jogged after the team, but glanced back with a small wave before he got onto the field.
Becky whooshed out, "I can't believe I'm going to a party with Adam Quinn. "
My shoulder nudged her. "Maybe there's hope for you after all. "
"What do you mean?"
"Here's your big chance. " I gave her a duh look. "He's going to be drinking. You're going to be drinking. I can drive us home…"
Then she squeaked again and clamped her mouth shut. Her cheeks got big and her whole body was soon red, even her hands and fingers.
I laughed. "Now you just have to figure out what you're going to wear. "
As I headed to my car, I heard her groan behind me. Somehow, things didn't seem so bad when I had a friend to distract me. Too bad it wouldn't keep. I wanted something to keep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Becky was bouncing off the wall when I got to her house the next afternoon. I was dressed in see-through white summer dress that tied behind my neck. My black bikini was visible underneath and I had on simple black flip flops. While I was going for comfort, Becky wanted sexy.
She let out a dramatic groan and collapsed on her bed when I went to her room. One of her arms had been pulled through a black tube top, or that's what it looked like. A blinding rainbow colored bikini top had been pushed up. When she rolled over, she cried out, "I can't fit into anything. "
"What are you talking about?"
"I have nothing, nothing! I'm so fat, Sam. "
I frowned and grabbed her hand to pull her up. When she looked at me, I shrugged. "What do you want me to say? If you're trying to be a model, you need to lose weight. I think you're fine just how you are. "
"Thanks a lot," she grumbled.
"I thought friends were honest. " I flashed a grin.
She stood back up and struggled to pull the rest of her tube top over her left boob. Then she started to hop around. "Yeah, but it'd be easier to take if you didn't look how you did. "
I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest.
She paused mid-hop. "That's a compliment. "
"Oh. " I loosened my arms. "My mom's always on me about my weight. "
"You could gain some. You want mine?"
I chuckled and watched as she continued to hop around, sometimes skip around the room. After an hour, when Becky stopped to pant with beads of sweat on her forehead, I gestured to a dress in her closet. "Why don't you just wear that?"
"Ugh. " She let out another drawn-out groan. "That makes me look like a tan marshmallow. "
"It does not. You wore it to the first day of school. I thought you looked nice. "
Her eyebrows arched high. "I didn't know you knew who I was back then?"
I shrugged. "I didn't, but I still thought you looked nice. "
"Your besty Jessica called me fatso that day. "
I rolled my eyes. "If she went out of her way to call you a name that meant you looked good. And I bet some guy she wanted to flirt with was looking at you instead. "
"You think?"
"I know so. "
"It's my last option anyway. I need to lose weight, or buy new clothes and I refuse to buy new clothes. " She grimaced. "My bank account won't allow it and I can't live down the fact that I'm a size larger since last year. "
"You could go running with me. "
She shot me a dark look. "I'm not that desperate. I'll try walking first. "
When she pulled on the black dress, it fit her. It was snug in places it was supposed to be and loose in places that she was embarrassed about. After a few twirls in the mirror, I gave her the thumbs up and waited until she finished her make-up.
I called to her in the bathroom, "This is a beach party, right?"
"Hmmm mmm. " Her voice was muffled from the bathroom.
"So why are you putting make-up on?"
Then she came into the room. "Because it's waterproof and because Adam's taking us. "
I frowned at that logic. "He's picking us up?"
"Yeah, in thirty minutes. "
"Why'd you have me come over two hours earlier?"
She posed with an arm on her hip and rolled her eyes. "Are you serious? You're my girlfriend. Aren't we supposed to get ready together?"
"I'm ready. "
"Yeah, well, I needed the moral support. And besides," she flashed me a smile and a wink. "My mom has wine. I thought we could raid her cabinet. "
"Oh. " I surged upright on the bed. "Why didn't you say so in the beginning?"
Becky giggled as she led me downstairs and we both had a glass. We'd had our second when her phone vibrated and she continued to giggle as she knocked over her mother's lamp. "Adam's outside. "
When she stood, her knees buckled and I caught her arm. "Are you okay?"
She gave me a weak wave. "Oh, no worries. This has more to do with Adam than the wine, but I didn't eat all day. Oops. " She giggled again and her face was lobster red.
When we got outside, the silliness was gone and her limbs became rigid. Her back was stiff, her chin down, and she walked like a robot. Adam gave her a small frown, but shook his head slightly. When we climbed in, he asked, "Are you guys ready?"
Becky giggled into her lap.
I sighed from the back. "What party is this?"
"It's a Public party. Is that okay?"
Her head popped back up. "They're only the best kind. "
Adam chuckled and rested an arm on the back of their front seat. His fingers scraped her shoulder before they fell against the headrest. I saw her almost faint.
"I guess so. More people, right?"
"And the Kades. "
My scowl was back.
Adam mimicked my reaction.
Becky was clueless as she bobbed her head up and down. "I heard it's their party. They're actually inviting people at our school. "
"Wait, what?" I shot forward and clasped onto their seat.
"Yeah. " She was a grinning idiot. "They're usually so exclusive. I mean, I heard no one's allowed in their house, but I guess they live on the beach. It's in front of their home. "
Every tendon in me wanted to snap. By the time we got to my house, the tension suffocated me and was weighing me down. Becky hot-footed it out of the car, but my legs couldn't move.
A party. At my house. By my soon-to-be-stepbrothers.
Adam had grown silent too as he glanced back. "You okay?"
Becky shoved her head next to his. "Yeah, you look pale, really pale. "
"I'm fine. " My voice was calm, but my body trembled. My knees buckled an inch when I got out of the car, but Adam caught me and held me upright. I flashed him a smile in thanks and then turned to see Becky's grin falter a bit.
My stomach dr
opped. That wasn't good.
A crowd of people had congregated at the bottom of the driveway, but they started to head around the hill and down to the beach. I let out a small breath in relief. I remembered their other party. No one had entered the house then and I hoped no one would this time.
When we bypassed the gate around the pool, Becky grabbed one of the bars. "Look at that. They have their own pool and a hot tub. " Her eyes were wide as she took the rest in, the sand volleyball and basketball courts.
Adam touched her shoulder. "I think they have a bonfire started down here. "
"Oh, wow…" Becky was lost in stardust as she followed the line downwards.
I breathed another sigh of relief when I saw the divider door was still closed, not to mention locked.
Then we were on the beach and there were three bonfires. A keg had been hidden in some bushes towards the back of the beach with coolers placed all over. When people quickly congregated to them, I figured they had alcohol inside.
"Oh, look!" Becky pointed to the farthest bonfire.
Logan and their friend were there with others grilling over the fire. Soon music blared from speakers placed by the pool.
Adam suggested we sit around one of the smaller bonfires and after we snagged some lawn chairs, Becky jumped back up. She was all smiles. "I'm going to get something more to drink. You guys want?"
She hotfooted it away before we could answer and Adam looked over with a hesitant smile. "More?"
"We got into her mom's wine. "
"Ah, I see. Nancy. She does love her Moscato. "
I grinned. "My mom's decided she loves tea, not the coffee she's been drinking since I was born, but tea now. "
The small smile disappeared. "Yeah, uh…I heard your dad that night…" He seemed to be choosing his words.
"No one knows. Please don't say anything. "
He nodded quickly. "I won't. I wouldn't—I mean—I know what that's like, to have your personal life on display, you know?"
I nodded. "Yeah…"
"So," he sat forward and leaned closer. "You and Sallaway, huh? You two were together for awhile. "
"We were. "
His eyes seemed to be watching me intently. "And you don't think there's any chance…?"
It took a moment before I realized what he was asking and my eyes went wide. "He cheated on me for two years with my best friend. Some girls might tolerate that, but I have self-esteem. "
His shoulders loosened and he grinned. "That's good, I mean, you deserve better. "
"Any girl deserves better. "
"You're right. No one deserves a cheater. "
From the dark look on his face, something relaxed inside of me. He understood. "I heard DeCortts cheated on you?"
He looked startled for a moment and then cleared his throat. "Yeah, uh, she did. "
I lifted a shoulder. "It was all over school. "
"I know, I just…hearing it from a stranger is different, you know…"
"I was informed the two of you were the 'hottest couple ever'. " I thought those were Lydia's exact words.
He stiffened in his chair. "I guess so. She's—she threw herself at one of the Kades, of all people. " He laughed and gestured around.
"Which one?"
"Logan, I think. " He frowned, and then shook his head. "It doesn't matter. She said he turned her down, but I still knew what she'd done. I heard the whole thing at some stupid party. Then Peter told me she'd been sleeping around for the last six months. "
"Peter Glasburg?" His best friend.