Rebecca nodded, and then glanced at me. “Glad you could make it. Ya’ll grab a beer if you didn’t bring any of your own. There’s plenty to go around.”
Brian Henry stumbled forward, two bottles in his hand. “It ain’t a party if you haven’t popped a top.” He laughed at his own joke, the beer shoved in our direction. Heathcliff accepted his. I did, too, but more slowly.
“I don’t think we’ve ever seen you at one of these,” Jessica said suddenly, her gaze on my face. Like Rebecca, she wore a long shirt but hers wasn’t belted, and it hung over a pair of skinny jeans, her boots resting against her knees. My black long sleeve shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes suddenly felt inadequate. Couple that with Heathcliff’s bulky work jacket, and I felt less somehow.
The tops had already been removed from the beers, and I took a steadying swallow. “I’ve actually never been out here,” I responded. “Not this creek anyway.”
Rebecca giggled, and for the first time I noticed how red her eyes were. It was obvious she’d had more than just beer. She kept glancing at her feet as if she wasn’t sure the sand was still there. “You should totally come here more.” She tried pointing at me, but her finger poked at Heathcliff instead. “I bet you look utterly awesome under all of those clothes,” she told me. “I know I do, but I’m totally all enhanced.” She giggled louder. “I know you know my mom. Pageant director and all around perfect Southern Belle. I’ve been under the knife three times already, and that’s not counting the boob job I have lined up when I turn eighteen in a few months.”
She turned up her beer, and Brian leaned in to support her as she stumbled.
Jessica laughed. “If ya’ll want something more than beer, we’ve got that, too. Obviously.”
“We’re okay,” Heathcliff said. “The beer is plenty.”
A slow country song came on, and Rebecca gasped. “I love this one! Come on, Brian, let’s dance!”
She jerked him into the middle of the circle of pickups, her body undulating with the beat, her arms coming up to encompass Brian’s neck. He stood behind her, his eyes bright as she clung to him, her movements bringing them indecently close. For a moment, conversation lulled as people watched them dance, pulses quickening. More beer cans hit the fire. Other couples joined Brian and Rebecca, most of them immodest, their lips melded or their hips grinding.
I swallowed more alcohol.
“Is that your first beer?” Heathcliff asked.
He took a long swig of his, and I watched as he sighed, his gaze going to the couples on the sand.
“No,” I answered abruptly.
Surprised, he glanced at me. “No?”
I grinned. “It’s true that my uncle and I haven’t spent a whole lot of time in town, but I’m not that sheltered. Gregor has always had an adventurous spirit. He likes science, and does some consulting work for a company near New Orleans. He’s taken me with him occasionally. I’ve been in bars, and I’ve had beers. Plus, my uncle has a liquor cabinet in his office. He likes adding a splash to his coffee or a coke sometimes, and I’ll usually have a little with him.”
“Well, you’re full of surprises.” He snorted. “So if I can’t have that first, how about a dance?”
Grabbing my beer and setting it on the ground with his, he nodded at the sand, his hand tugging me gently. I followed because I couldn’t think of a reason not to.
“I don’t really know how to dance,” I admitted.
He smiled down at me. “You don’t have to know how. Just follow me.”
He pulled me into his embrace, the gesture more like a hug than a dance, my body flush with his.
My blood filled with fire as his hands slid inside the work jacket, his fingers splaying against my back.
He bent, his head lowering, his lips finding my ear. “I won’t lie. I was kind of hopin’ this was your first beer.” He laughed, his breath fanning my neck, and I shivered. “Better yet, I would love to see you smashed.”
His head lifted, and my eyes met his. “I think I’m drunk now,” I whispered.
There were other ways to be inebriated other than alcohol. I certainly felt unsteady.
“Oh, God,” Heathcliff groaned. “Don’t look at me that way, Hawthorne.”
We were so close now that I could feel his heart beating against me. His hands slid beneath the hem of my shirt, his chilly fingers caressing my back.
The slow song ended, a faster one replacing it, but instead of quickening his pace, Heathcliff pulled me aside, tugging me into the darkness just beyond the circle of headlights. My back was suddenly touching someone’s truck, Heathcliff’s hands falling to seize my hips.