Amber laughed. “Don’t take too long.”
I rolled my eyes at her and headed back into the house.
12
Billie
I couldn’t lie, I was enjoying the attention I was getting. Even if it was from Carter. It wasn’t the same as with Pike, it wasn’t as intense, but it was still good and who didn’t like to feel like people found them sexy? Who didn’t want to feel desired?
And Carter wasn’t too bad. He came on a little strong and some of his lines were cheesy but hey, he was handsome. Maybe he could be the fling that I needed. I hadn’t had sex with anyone besides Pike and I’d barely even gone on dates. Maybe if I finally got it on with someone else, Pike would stop feeling so special and I could move on.
“Here you go, one more drink, as requested.” Carter handed me a red solo cup. “Have I mentioned I love your costume?”
“Once or twice.”
“I’d love it even more on my bedroom floor.”
I held in my gag reflex at his corny line, only to have someone grab me by the wrist. “Get out of her face, dick,” Michelle hissed at her brother, and then dragged me away. The only time Michelle got at all sassy was with Carter. It was the sibling thing.
She led me into the laundry room and then closed the door. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she asked. The alcohol had clearly loosened her tongue. “What’s gotten into you—you’ve never given Carter the time of day!”
I shrugged. “It’s Halloween, hon, weird shit happens. Don’t worry about it.”
“Nothing weirder will ever happen than you and my brother hooking up.”
“Oh, what, like you don’t want to hook up with my brother…”
“It’s not that he’s my brother!” Michelle paused. “All right so it’s a little that he’s my brother but seriously, Billie, you’ve never looked at him twice and he’s been drooling over you for years. What’s happening?”
I laughed. No way I could tell her the truth. She’d lecture me for still being so into Pike and for trying to use her brother to get over him. “Don’t worry about it. C’mon, let’s do a circuit of the party, I want to see everyone who’s here, say hi, see the costumes.”
Michelle looked skeptical, either of my motives or of my explanation that it was just a weird Halloween, but she followed me out into the party again and we started to make our way through. Just about everyone in town was here, all the college students and some high school students who were definitely too young to be here, along with all the recent college grads who were still sticking around. I observed some of the high school students and honestly wondered how I could’ve ever thought I was an adult at their age. They all looked so young! At sixteen I’d thought I’d known everything but obviously, I hadn’t. Now I knew how much I didn’t know.
Especially about my own heart.
Man, this party was getting rowdy. I was constantly dodging people trying to grope me, as people made jokes about touching my “Thing 1” and “Thing 2” aka my boobs and my ass. Real original, assholes.
“Let’s get some air in the backyard, Jesus Christ,” I said, not appreciating this kind of behavior. I smacked a pair of hands away. “Next person who tries to go for me is going to get their wrist broken and they’ll be lucky if that’s all they get.”
Michelle muttered something that sounded like same or mood or whatever, and I dragged her outside to the backyard.
Ah, yes, the cool night air was good. It relaxed me. There was something different about the air in the fall and the winter that I loved. Like the air was cleaner again, which was ironic considering this was the time of year when the plants were all dying.
I looked around to see if anyone else was out here. There were a few people, mostly what looked like some couples making out on the far side on the lawn chairs and in the hammock, and on the porch—
I froze, and Michelle bumped into me from behind. “You okay?”
On the porch was Pike, sitting with none other than his ex-girlfriend Amber Bell, laughing with her.
Jealousy flooded me so fast I felt dizzy with it.
“What’s going on?” Michelle asked.
I stepped to the side and gestured at Pike, who hadn’t noticed me yet. He probably won’t ever notice me. I hate how angry I am about that, God, what is wrong with me? I can’t seem to stop this obsession with him but I’m the one who told him that we weren’t going to be anything, I’m the one who told him it was a mistake, why can’t I get that through my own head?
“Oh, no,” Michelle said quietly. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know he was coming—I would’ve warned you, Billie… we can go, I mean, Carter must’ve invited him last minute, I’m sorry, we can…”