Larissa’s house is even nicer than I expected. Judging from her wardrobe, I figured she had money, but nothing prepared me for her house. The entranceway alone is more than twice the size of my bedroom.
Her father answers the door, a glass of wine in his hand. “Welcome!” he booms. “Head on down to the basement. The party’s in full swing down there.” He gestures toward a door at the end of the hall, and I can hear the dull thud of music coming up through the floor.
I fight off panic as I slip down the stairs. What if I have no one to talk to? As I round the corner at the bottom of the staircase, a squeal startles me. Larissa races up and grabs onto my arm like we’re long-lost pals.
“Annie! I’m so glad you came.”
I look around the dimly lit room. There are at least forty people down here, huddled in groups.
Larissa pulls me over to a corner. “Guess who’s been asking about you tonight?”
“Um . . . I don’t know. Who?”
“Scott!”
“Scott Hutchins?”
“Of course Scott Hutchins. You know, the absolute cutest guy in our grade!”
If she’s so smitten with Scott, why’s she excited that he’s asking about me? “I don’t know. I kind of think Jonathan’s hotter.”
Larissa gives me a playful push, laughing so hard she snorts. “Well, duh, but since he’s my boyfriend, don’t get any ideas!”
“Ha. Yeah. Just kidding!” Since when are they dating? I make a mental note to befriend some people who are better at gossiping than Jess.
“Anyway, Scott is Jon’s best friend, and they were talking about hot girls in our grade and Scott totally said that he thinks you’re cute.”
My mind swerves to keep up with this. “But I thought he liked Jessie.”
Again with the snorting laughter. “Jessie? Be serious. She’s just tutoring him in science. Jessie’s hardly his type.”
I feel a swell of protectiveness for Jess before remembering that she ditched me here to fend for myself.
“So, can I tell Jon to tell Scott that you like him?”
“Huh? I mean . . . I’m not sure. Maybe let’s just wait and see what happens.”
“Come on!” She grabs me by the arm and drags me into a corner of the room. “Look who’s here!” she announces as we stumble into Jon and Scott.
I smile, staring somewhere between the two of them. It feels like everyone in the room is watching us.
“I’m glad you came, Annie,” Scott says, handing me a red plastic cup of something. “Did Jess come with you?” I knew it!
“Nah. She had other plans.”
“I’m kind of glad,” he says, leaning over so he doesn’t have to shout over the music. “That means I get you all to myself tonight.”
A little thrill snakes its way up my spine. I take a sip from the cup and sputter at the taste. His eyes are sparkly. “It’s got rum in it,” he explains. Rum? I suddenly see my dad’s disapproving face in my mind. I haven’t drunk anything since last September, when my friends and I smuggled wine coolers into school and got wasted in the girls’ bathroom. I ended up with a three-day suspension and a massive guilt trip from Dad. He made me promise I wouldn’t touch alcohol again until I’m nineteen. Rum. I grip the plastic cup hard, debating. It would be easy enough to set the cup down someplace and forget about it. Or I could just pretend to drink. I sneak another look at Scott, though, and think Fuck it.
I gulp my drink and feel it blaze a trail all the way down to my stomach. Booze and Scott Hutchins. This is going to be an interesting night.
I lose track of how many times Scott refills my drink. I’m having a moral crisis, and the rum helps take the edge off. I know Jessie likes Scott, even though she swears that she doesn’t. So the whole time I’m flirting with him, I keep a running tally of pros and cons in my head.
Basically the situation is this: Do I take Jessie at her word, or do I put my friend first and follow my instincts? I keep going back and forth. I love Jessie, but I’m pissed at her. I know she’s not being honest with me, and I’m mad that she refused to come with me tonight. She should have come just to be a good friend. She stayed home because she’s afraid of Courtney, but she won’t listen to me when I tell her that Court’s changed. And she’s mad that I won’t sacrifice my social life to join her in hiding, but I have just as much of a right to be mad that she’s not trying to overcome her fears to spend time with me.
So when Scott leads me over to a couch in the far corner of the basement and starts looking at me like I’m dessert, I think, What the hell? I like him and he likes me. So what if Jessie has a secret crush on him? She’s not here and not going after what she wants. I shouldn’t have to sacrifice what I want . . .
I close my eyes and let him kiss me. My God. His lips are so soft and my heart’s beating so fast and all I can think is, This is what it feels like to have someone care about you.
I never, ever want this feeling to end. I want to crawl inside Scott’s skin and never come out.
His hand slips under my shirt at the exact same time my cell phone buzzes in my pocket. I don’t know which makes me jump more. Scott looks somewhere between puzzled and annoyed until I pull out the phone and hold it up by way of explanation. He smiles awkwardly while I squint at the screen. “My stepsister’s outside,” I apologize. He groans.
When I get up to make my way to the door, I sway unexpectedly, and he’s
