“What was that for?” he says, holding his arm.
I look away because I don’t want to cry.
“That’s for being such a nice guy.”
26
BLYTHE
Lights twinkle through the trees at Cate’s house. Dev kisses me, and we walk in. Cate’s mother passes out champagne on trays in the back under a tent. Everyone’s here. Dev. Sean. Suki. Plus Ray Pilcher, Chase Goldberg, and Harrison Cohen. I jump up and down in the grass, fist pumping. The guys follow because who can deny fist pumping. Me in my blush-pink, practically see-through dress and the boys in jackets and ties.
One by one, the boys form their own circle. The girls form another. I wobble in the lawn, my red heels. Cate in that purple dress. Big white sunglasses even though there’s no sun. Suki in this ice-blue maxi dress.
Donnie makes an entrance. She’s wearing this black flowy thing from the 1970s. The neckline plunges down her nonexistent chest and the back is open almost to her ass. Her arms are draped in sheer black wings that drip down to the floor. She looks like a cigarette with wings. Her curly hair long, the wildest I’ve seen it. The blue faded out. She covers her chest with the wings, like they have their own life.
“Let’s see what you have on under here, princess. Give us a show.”
She spins like Stevie Nicks, raising her arms in the air. The side of the dress exposes what I don’t want to see: her ribs. She’s so thin. She spins and spins and then stumbles. I ignore it. Go with moment. Twirl her again and we’re revved up. Bouncing up and down in the grass while our parents take photos. My pink dress in the breeze.
Sean, Dev, and Chase hop up on this long wooden bench and start dancing. Sean’s body bolder than I’ve seen it. The way he’s moving his hips. His shoulders. The way he stands on that bench, like he owns it.
Rewind it all. Get back to Dev. Make it up to Ali. The buzz over my skin from the champagne. I can shift perceptions, can’t I? Wasn’t that the core of this whole plan in befriending Ali? To get her to forgive Sean and show her who he really is? Can’t I do that? Aren’t I built for that? I bring people together. Yes. Of course I do.
Maybe it’s the champagne getting to me, but I could make that happen. Maybe I could make it happen tonight.
Someone passes me a second glass of champagne, and I guzzle it because it’s pink like my dress and not too sweet. I close my eyes. Think of Sean. His eyes all over me that day shopping. The way he led me between all those gowns. How he had to run to my house after I saw him that day and how he kissed me like he’d never let go. It rushes at me.
Dev comes up from behind me and swipes my hair to the side. Kisses my neck.
“Hey, beautiful.”
I collapse into him.
I climb into the limo after Dev. He pulls my legs out from under my dress, sliding me next to him, kissing my neck. I let him do it, just run his hands up and down my body the way he wants. I’m so buzzed it doesn’t matter.
Sean looks up at me as he ducks in the limo. I drift off, imagine sitting on his lap. Curling up with him. I have to look away, so I turn to Dev. “You,” I say, tracing his lips. He smiles. “You too, B. You too.” I have to keep it this way. It’s just a fleeting desire that I can push down. I know I can.
Donnie crawls in and slides next to me. She’s super messy, pressing all the buttons and dancing in her seat with her eyes closed. We’re all messy. Champagne on an empty stomach will do that.
Suki’s parents and Cate’s parents, Dev’s mother, Sean’s parents—they all wave as the limo pulls away from Cate’s house.
I hear someone scream, “Be safe!”
* * *
We scream at the driver to open the sunroof. I want to fly away in the wind. Take my hair down and throw it around.
Passing around a bottle of rosé. “It matches B’s dress,” Donnie screams, and the driver yells that he’s going to pull over if we don’t calm the fuck down.
He’s screaming at us like that. This big sweaty white dude. “CALM THE FUCK DOWN.”
We all start chanting: “Calm the fuck down, calm the fuck down. Big man who’s driving says calm the fuck down.”
Every time he says, “I’m not fucking kidding, you spoiled brats,” we scream back, repeating him.
“This guy is like the villain in Scooby-Doo,” Suki says.
“If it hadn’t been for you meddling kids!” I yell.
Cate and Chase go at it. Nothing matters anymore. Everyone chants. “Tongue, tongue, tongue.” And she still hasn’t taken off those white sunglasses.
Sean crawls over, next to Dev, and he leans over him to talk to me. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. I shake my head. My heart pounding. This isn’t the time. Not here. Not now.
“This is about Ali.”
“Oh,” I say. “What about her? She’s great. She’s awesome. Everything’s fine.”
“Nessel, you gotta chill about this girl, man,” Dev says.
“She glares at me in the hallway,” he says, slurring.
“Nessel. You’re paranoid. She’s not going to do anything,” Dev keeps saying. It’s like we’re talking to a wall.
I reach over and stroke my hand on his cheek. “I’m going to make everything better. You watch. Everything is going to be all better. We’ll find her when we get to the dance. You’ll see her tonight, and it’ll all go away. It’s going to be great. I promise
