Did I like to party?
It was a loaded question. I liked to get drunk or high, and forget, yeah. But something told me these kids partied on a whole other level. One I wasn’t sure I was ready for.
“No, I like to stay home and study.” I flashed Devon an amused smirk, disguising the ball of nerves knotted in my stomach.
“Touché, Stone, Touché. Well, there'll be a thing at the Bay tonight. A bonfire, barbecue, that kind of thing. The annual back to school gathering. You should come. Everyone will be there.”
Everyone?
I remembered the Bay, the local beach. As if I could forget. It was a popular summer hangout. But if Maverick and Macey would be there, I wasn't sure I wanted to go.
Something snapped.
What the hell was I saying? Screw them and their shitty attitudes. I hadn't done anything to deserve their hostility, and just because they wanted nothing to do with me, didn't mean I had to sit and fester in the pool house. Besides, maybe it was better this way.
“Sounds good,” I said earning me a little shriek of approval from Laurie as she looped her arm through mine. “This will be so much fun. Oh, you should totally come to my house first and we can get ready together.”
That was how I found myself sitting in her bedroom, six hours later. Dad wasn't home by the time I’d left. I'd texted him to let him know I would be hanging out with a new friend. He seemed pleased, or relieved. Either way, he wanted me to embrace my new life and told me to be home by eleven. He'd already programmed the house's number into my new phone along with Rebecca, Gentry and Kyle's numbers. Speaking of Kyle, my phone vibrated. As soon as he found out I was going to the party with Laurie, he'd been giving me shit.
* * *
Kyle: Traitor.
* * *
Lo: You love me really.
* * *
Kyle: Yeah, I do, Cous. See you at the Bay.
* * *
It bleeped again.
* * *
Kyle: And behave.
* * *
I frowned. What the hell did that mean? Had Dad asked him to look out for me? Was this some kind of father-cousin tag team?
“Let me guess, Kyle?” Laurie eyed me through the free-standing mirror and I nodded.
“Geez, he's so overprotective. It's why I called it off, you know? I felt like I couldn't breathe. You're going to have your hands full with them.”
Didn't I know it?
“Summer is cool,” Laurie went on. “She's quiet and doesn't like the limelight. Kyle thrives on it. He’s even worse since he made the varsity football team. Macey is the same bitch she’s always been, and in case you hadn't already noticed, Maverick is … well, let's just say no one knows what has gotten into that guy over the last year.”
So, I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed his mood change.
“Do you...” I hesitated. Did I really want to understand him? He sure as hell didn't deserve it. “Know him?”
She shrugged, dragging the straightening iron through her honey-blonde hair. “Not really. I mean, I dated Kyle throughout tenth grade and I hung out at the house occasionally, but Maverick keeps his group small. No outsiders. And I don't know if you noticed, but there's some major tension between them and your uncle.”
“Oh, I've noticed. What is that?”
“Nobody really knows. I figured it was because Mrs. Prince left their dad, married your uncle, and they had a baby together, but that was years ago. This is something recent, it has to be. Or maybe it’s stuff with his dad. I’ve heard he can be pretty intense.”
She wasn't wrong. Surely, they didn't resent Gentry for something that happened over fifteen years ago? They were just children themselves.
“Macey is a grade A bitch. Watch your back with her.” Laurie switched off the iron and added some gloss to her lips, smacking them together before pouting into the mirror. “I think Devon likes you.”
“He's a guy, I bet he likes anything with a vagina.”
She sniggered and spun around to face me. “I knew we'd hit it off. Welcome to Wicked Bay, Eloise Stone. Time to show you how we party.”
The beach swarmed with people. Some I recognised from school. Most, I didn't. I stuck close to Laurie as she guided us through the chaos, the familiar rush of panic threatening to consume me. But, surprisingly, the feel of the sea air brushing my skin grounded me. Autumn waved us over from where she stood with Devon and another guy. “You made it,” she beamed, hugging Laurie while I stood awkwardly taking in the scene before me.
There was a huge bonfire in the middle of the small horseshoe bay. Flames flickered high in the dusky sky, throwing out more heat than necessary given the temperature was still well into the eighties. Glad I'd left my cardigan back at the pool house, I wore a sleeveless t-shirt and a pair of cut-off jeans. People stared at my tattoo openly, but so what? It was a part of me. A permanent reminder. I wouldn't hide it away like some dirty secret.
Someone came up beside me and I turned to find Devon grinning down at me. “Drink?”
“Sure.” I replied. One wouldn't hurt. Maybe two would take the edge off and help me relax, but I wouldn't have any more. I'd been there one too many times and promised Dad I’d not slip back into old habits. Even I knew getting wasted and making a fool of myself on the first day of school wasn’t the greatest idea. No matter how tempting the idea was.
Devon disappeared into the crowd with his friend, and I moved closer to Laurie and Autumn while they chatted about things that meant nothing to me. Until Autumn said, “Kyle, two o’clock.”
“I don't care,” Laurie huffed in an overdramatic sigh, silently telling us she cared probably a little too much.
“Yeah, right.” Autumn glanced at me and we shared a knowing look.
“You won't care he's talking to Melissa Tanske then?”
Laurie's head whipped around only to elicit a grumble of disapproval when she realised Autumn was baiting her.
“Just admit it, you still want him.”
“Do not.” She folded her arms over her chest defiantly.
“Is it always this crazy?” I changed the subject. Kyle only took me to one party last summer, but it had been nothing like this. I quickly pushed the thought out of my head, not wanting to go there.
“Not always. First party back is something else, but after tonight people do their own thing unless it's game night.”
“Game night?”
“Yeah football season kicks off soon and then come winter, it'll all be about the Wicked Bay Wreckers.”
I stared at them blankly, earning me a sigh. “You do know who your cousins are, right?” Laurie said.
When I didn’t answer, she blew out an exasperated breath. “You are far too cool for your own good. Wicked Bay thrives on two games: football and basketball. See those guys.” Laurie pointed to a group of boys over by the bonfire, all big and ripped. “That's the football team. Kyle is tipped to captain the team next year.”
“Football, got it.”