She slipped her phone into Cassie’s pocket and headed back to the living room-slash-dance floor.
Cassie would not be joining. She’d never been one for rhythm, saw more grace in fuel injectors than in the way people in the living room were writhing against each other. Everyone was pressed together. Cassie did not need that many people touching her, thank you. Parker, meanwhile, had already disappeared in the crowd, back to Acacia’s side, likely; Kaysh had loved dances since her mom stopped homeschooling her and she’d finally been allowed to go. Cassie slid her hand into her pocket next to Parker’s phone and went looking for a bit of quiet.
The thumping bass was muffled in the backyard, at least, though there were still plenty of people around. Cassie slipped to the corner of the porch, as secluded as she could get. She kept her hand on Parker’s phone the whole time. Parker was trying to break her habit of drunk texting, so instead she’d picked up a habit of handing her phone off to Cassie or Acacia. For all the self-control that girl had while sober, get her drunk and she lost every ounce of it. Last week, playing king’s cup in Parker and Acacia’s room, Cassie hadn’t paid enough attention. Parker had pickpocketed the phone back, shot off a text to Seth before Cassie could stop her. She knew to be vigilant now.
Then Cassie had a really stupid idea.
It was a hideously stupid idea; she knew it was. There was absolutely no good reason to get Erin’s number out of Parker’s phone. She would never be able to explain to Parker why she had it if she ever found out. There was no way she would ever even use it.
That rationalized it for her, though. She wasn’t actually going to text Erin or anything. But wouldn’t it be funny if she had her number? There was nothing wrong with having it if she didn’t use it.
She saved it under MILF first, because she was drunk and that was hilarious, but it also kind of seemed like she was asking to get caught. So she switched it to Aaron, spelled wrong so if Parker saw it she wouldn’t get suspicious. Yeah, drunk Cassie could scheme with the best of them.
So now she had Erin’s phone number. Not that it mattered, because she wasn’t going to do anything with it. She totally wasn’t. That’d be ridiculous.
She headed back inside before she could come up with any other really stupid ideas.
On the way to the living room, some people she’d never met before offered her shots in the kitchen. It’s not like she was going to say no.
Her new friends poured her a tequila shot and someone procured lime slices and salt. Acacia swore tequila made Cassie do dumb things, but Cassie was pretty sure it was more the amount of tequila. A shot or two couldn’t hurt. They toasted to the basketball team that had apparently won, then threw the shots back and bit quickly into the slices of lime. It was cheap tequila—cheaper than Cassie’d had in a while, but she still liked it, liked the burn of the alcohol and the lime both. Everyone poured another, and they started arguing over what they should toast to next. Cassie lasted through maybe thirty seconds of that before taking her shot alone, to a chorus of groans.
“C’mon, dude, that’s no fun,” one of them said.
She waved them off and continued toward the living room. She’d take their booze but she wasn’t going to hang around with people who would rather fight about what to cheers to than take their fucking shots.
She was pretty drunk now, a little wobbly. She wondered where Parker and Acacia—
Well, okay.
Cassie had totally done her job, Parker’s phone still clenched in her fist. There was no way Parker had texted Sam any inappropriate things she wanted to do to her. And yet there the two were, doing some pretty inappropriate things against the wall in the living room. Cassie shook her head. They were disgusting. But, like—also kind of hot, Parker’s hips pushing hard into Sam’s and Sam’s hand on Parker’s neck. They were going to be so embarrassed tomorrow. Cassie was embarrassed for them already, even though no one seemed to be paying any attention. Cassie went back outside to avoid looking at how much tongue was involved in their kisses.
She stumbled out the front door, narrowly avoiding tripping over some kids making out on the stoop. Apparently everyone but her was getting some tonight.
She shot off a text to Acacia.
Cassie [Today 12:43 AM]
If Parker starts having sex in the living room, you’re in charge of putting a stop to it
There. Responsibility passed on.
She leaned against a car parked at the edge of the driveway. You’d never know the size of the party from here—she couldn’t see the kids on the stoop, and the music wasn’t loud enough to even tell what song was playing.
Cassie looked up at the stars, her eyes finding the W of Cassiopeia in the northern sky, like always. A matching pattern was tattooed on her right shoulder. She followed the line of one of the Ws to a small star above it. For Acacia’s sixteenth birthday, Cassie had bought it and named it after her, so they could be by each other’s sides forever. Acacia had called her a sap, but she had also teared up, so who was really the sap?
Cassie could stare at the night sky for hours. Parker joked about her becoming an astronaut, but she thought about it sometimes—what it’d be like to be up there, closer to the stars and yet still so far away. Space might as well be endless. It made her feel inconsequential, in a good way. Like all the ways she fucked up down here didn’t matter. The stars wouldn’t mind. She could get hammered and get Parker’s mom’s number and the universe wouldn’t ever stop expanding.
She didn’t share Parker’s habit of drunk texting. Never had. Tonight, though, she was looking at the stars and thinking about Erin and feeling reckless. And so what if she was feeling a little turned on, too? You try drunkenly watching hot girls make out.
Erin didn’t even have her number, so it wasn’t like she’d know it was Cassie texting. It wouldn’t be a big fuckup. Just something fun to do instead of wondering if Acacia had separated Parker and Sam yet.
(336) 555-0157 [Today 12:55 AM]
I can’t stop thinking about your tits
As soon as she sent it, she was overcome with the giggles. She’d drunk texted Parker’s mom. She was just leaning against this car, cracking up to herself. Her night could not have gotten more ridiculous.
Aaron [12:56 AM]
Excuse me?
Shit. She texted back?
Cassie stared at her phone, felt like the text stared right back at her. She could imagine Erin glaring at her. She could imagine the look in her eye, angry, but not uninterested. Cassie’s fingers moved before her brain could catch up.
(336) 555-0157 [12:57 AM]
They’re so fucking nice. You’re so fucking hot