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 dropped. 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.
Adam nodded. "Yeah, I don't know who with, but I trust him. Peter doesn't say much and if he said it, then it's worse than he let on."
I grew silent and turned to watch for Becky. She'd been gone awhile, but I couldn't squash an inklin of jealousy. He had a friend who looked out for him and that friend wasn't the one to sleep with his girlfriend. My mouth clamped shut and my chest grew tight as something burned inside of me.
But then Mason and Logan's friend walked towards us from the beach. He had gone past at some point and he was now going back to the other bonfire. A couple of beers were in his hands and as he started to bypass us, he stopped, backed up, and frowned at us.
Adam lifted a hand. "Hey, man."
The friend shot him a look and glanced at my hands. The gauze I had used to wrap my fingers was gone. I scowled up at him, waiting for what he was going to say, but then he held out a beer to me.
"Thanks." The word felt awkward on my lips.
He rolled his eyes and kept going.
Adam twisted around to watch him. "Do you know him?"
I shrugged.
"That was…odd. Do you know who that was?"
Again, I shrugged.
"That was Nate Monson. He's best friends with Mason Kade. He moved away last year, but I guess he comes back to visit." Adam continued to look at me strangely. "I have never seen him do something like that. That was weird."
"Do something like what?"
His eyes seemed to be inspecting me. "Be nice to a random girl that he or his buddies aren't sleeping with."
I shifted in my seat. "I'm not sleeping with anybody, if that's what you're getting at."
His hands shot in the air in surrender. "I didn't mean that. I've just—do you know him?"
I sneered at him. "His name's Nate?"
"Yeah." Adam leaned forward and rested his elbows on his legs. "He's bad news, like really bad news. I heard him and Kade are not a good team together."
I snorted, "Which Kade?"
"Mason." He frowned at me. "What'd you mean by that?"
I fought the urge to roll my eyes and popped open the beer. "I just meant that the Kade brothers seem close, it'd made sense if he was friends with both."
"Oh." Adam leaned back again and stretched out his legs. "I don't know about that, but I heard when he and Mason Kade get together, it's not good."
"You're scared of them?"
"No, but they played football together against me last year. I'm happy that I only get sacked by Kade this year and not both. Anyway, whatever. I'm sounding stupid, aren't I?" He gave me a grin.
I sipped the beer, but it tasted flat.
"Maybe I should go find Becky and get something to drink?" His blues sparked in good humor and another knot in my stomach unraveled.
When he left, I watched him go. My hands were curled into my chair and I jerked a hand up to finish my beer. Another was handed to me and I looked up. This one was from Logan. He had a sober look on his face, but he wasn't watching me. I shifted and saw that he was staring in the direction Adam had just gone.
When I took the cold can from him, it slipped from my hold. He caught it and sat in Adam's seat as he held it to me again.
I held my breath, but I didn't say a word. Something in me wouldn't allow it, but I opened the beer and put it in the chair's cup holder.
He stretched out his legs and lounged back for a moment.
Then he sighed.
I heard the small sound escape his lips and was confused. It was a sound that I'd make.
Laughter rang clear not far from us. I realized that Adam and I had picked seats farther away from the party. I didn't know if it for privacy or because of the loud music, but I was suddenly aware of the looks we were getting now.
Had Adam and I gotten the same interest?
"They went to the city this weekend." Logan's voice sounded rough.
I glanced over and he lifted his head up.
"Mase went to go see our mom tonight."
We had both been watching the crowd and when two figures separated themselves from the rest and were headed towards us, he grimaced before he stood.
He didn't look at me. I didn't look at him, but he held out a second beer. I took it and then he sauntered away. The party-boy air was back with him when Logan neared the crowd. Some girls eyed him with sultry poses and his friends made way for his arrival.
When Adam and Becky stopped by the chairs, neither sat nor said a word.
Then Becky said in a rush, "Was that Logan Kade?"
I gripped the beer tighter and kept my voice neutral. "I wanted to ask about Jessica, if he was going to date her or not."
Something flashed in her eyes and she clipped out, "I heard that he told her to get lost. She's back to rubbing herself all over my cousin again. I just walked past them."
My hand gripped the can tight and I chugged the rest of it.
Adam shot her a look.
Becky's mouth opened and hung there. "I mean…she's not good enough for Kade. That's what I think. And my cousin's a loser, a first class loser."
Adam grunted.
She bit her lip and pulled a chair over. "Are you okay, Sam?"
I finished the beer and put it away. It was the last bit of alcohol that I'd consume that night or heaven help me, I would do something I'd regret later. I almost hit my mom once, I wouldn't be held back a second time with Jessica.