by Raathi Chota
“Are you talking about that kid who walked up to me and said a creepy pickup line?” Tiffany asked. Ethan asked her what he said, and my eyes widened because I never thought the twelve year old was capable of such dirty things, then I remembered he had Carter as a friend.
“The kid’s gotta step up his game. He’s almost thirteen!” Carter pointed out as we looked at him.
“Oh my god. If anyone sees him, drag him to his room and shut the door,” Benny said.
“That won’t stop him,” Aidan mumbled as Miranda let out a gasp.
“Let’s dance! I love this song!” She beamed then hopped off the counter with Marcus. I stood up and pulled Benny out of his seat as we joined Miranda and Marcus. Tyler controlled the music as he jumped with the crowd. Benny and I danced in the middle of the crowd with everyone else. He placed his hands on my waist as I swayed. I laughed as we made silly dance moves with Marcus and Miranda. Everyone sang and danced as Benny pulled me closer. I spun around and swayed my hips against him, then closed my eyes. I felt his breath on my neck as I threw my head back. When I opened my eyes, I noticed someone’s gaze on me. He leaned against the wall from across the room as he sipped his beer. He looked so familiar. I felt Benny kiss my neck, and I shut my eyes and danced. The song ended, and I opened my eyes to see that the guy was gone. Weird. I spun around to face Benny, who still had his hands on my waist. He gave me a quick kiss, then dropped his hands as I stepped back.
“I need to use the bathroom quick,” I yelled over the loud music. He gave a quick nod as he pointed upstairs. I gave him the thumbs up as I walked off the dance floor and strolled to the stairs. The hallway barely had light, yet I noticed the tall blond walk into a room with a girl. I walked into the bathroom and locked the door. I sat on the toilet and took a piss as quickly as I could. I caught the movement as the bath curtain pulled open. I immediately closed my legs as I whipped my head to see Levi in the bathtub, shirtless.
“Man, you piss loud,” he stated.
“What the hell? You almost scared the shit out of me!” I yelled. The other side of the bathtub’s curtain pushed open to reveal a shirtless Blake, who laughed.
“Literally!”
“What the heck are you guys doing in the bathtub naked? Are you d—”
“No, and we have our underwear on!” Blake said as he sipped his beer.
“Are you guys drunk?”
“Not yet,” Levi said as he drank his beer.
“We lost a bet, so we have to stay in this bathtub for five minutes half-naked.” Blake pointed to their clothing beside the bathtub.
“How are you keeping time?”
“Carter’s outside,” Levi said as I bit the inside of my cheek. I remembered when Carter walked into a room with a girl. I took toilet paper and was ready to clean myself, yet I felt their eyes on me. I looked up and motioned for them to look away. Levi groaned as he pulled the curtain so they couldn’t see. I cleaned myself as quick as possible then put on my panties along with my shorts. I took out my phone, then put on my camera before I flushed the toilet. Blake pushed the curtain again as well as Levi. I quickly took a photo before they reacted.
“That’s going on Instagram.” I looked at the photo.
“Hey!” Blake said as I put my phone in my pocket, then washed my hands.
“No, no, you still got a minute left,” I lied. “Well, see you guys.” I slowly backed away. As they sipped their beer bottles, I quickly grabbed their clothes and ran out of the bathroom.
“Lana!” Blake yelled, and I heard them behind me. I quickly looked over my shoulder to see them half naked as they ran toward me. I ran into the first room that was open, and I straightaway regretted it since it was Sam’s room. Sam casually laid on his bed, surrounded by girls who looked my age and older. They were engrossed in what he said, but when I entered the room, they turned to me.
“There she is!” Sam pointed to me as I gripped the clothing.
“You’re right, she is pretty,” one of the girls said as they eyed me.
“Well, thank you.” I dramatically flipped my hair as Blake and Levi ran into the room with their shoes in their hands.
“Are you guys gay?” a girl asked, and Blake facepalmed.
“No, she just took our clothes when we were in the bathroom,” he said as the girl raised her brow.
“Dude, that came out wrong.” Levi laughed.
“We lost a bet, okay? We’re not gay, and what the heck are you girls doing in Sam’s room?”
“This cute boy was just telling us about her,” another girl cooed as she pointed at me.
“There you are, princess.” Levi smirked as he walked closer to me.
“Who you calling princess? She’s my queen,” Sam exclaimed as I furiously shook my head and tossed their clothing to them.
“What the fuck? Who gave this kid alcohol?” Blake asked as he looked at the girls, who threw their hands up in innocence. I awkwardly stood in the middle of the room and noticed Sam took a picture of me. Once Blake and Levi were dressed, a girl pointed at the three of us.
“You’re all matching!” She giggled to the leather jackets. I had the sudden urge to cringe as I looked at Blake’s outfit. He wore something like Levi, except he wore a gray tee and combat boots.
“Okay, I’m going now,” I stated, then walked out. Blake and Levi followed behind as we walked down the hallway. “Where’s Keene?”
“He’s in the basement with Jaden,” Levi replied as my eyes widened.
“Jaden’s here? How di—”
“He knows most of the bouncers in Illinois, hence his awesome parties, so I called him.”
“Wow, okay,” I stated. I continued to walk until I reached downstairs while Blake and Levi went to the basement. I glanced up and saw Tiffany by the DJ; a few feet away from her was Aidan.
“Hey, Lana!” she yelled over the music.
“Hey, you enjoying the party?” I asked. She nodded, then awkwardly turned to Aidan. A table was nearby, so I grabbed a quick drink. “Are you guys a thing?”
“No, no, we’re just friends. Taking it slow.” She smiled.
“Cool, but you guys are cu—” I cut off when Benny appeared next to me with a cup in his hand. When I glanced up, I noticed how his jaw was tightened. “What’s wrong?”
“Ethan and I just kicked a guy out from Park Town High. It was not easy since he was drunk as fuck,” he muttered then took a swing of his drink. When I looked over his shoulder, I saw the guy from earlier. He danced with a girl, yet his eyes were on me. I shifted uncomfortably, and Tiffany must’ve noticed.
“Girl, you okay?”
“Yeah, err…that guy keeps on staring at me, yet he looks so familiar,” I said, then sipped my drink. Benny spun around and squinted his eyes at the guy. His face went blank as he pulled me closer to him.
“He’s on Park Town High’s basketball team,” Benny stated as we looked at him.
“W-we never saw him that night of the game,” I said.
“Yeah, well, he sat out because he loves to play dirty. I think his name is Quinton,” Benny said as my eyes widened. That’s why he looked familiar; he’s from the other party.
“He’s gonna cause trouble,” Tiffany stated as Benny grunted.
“Yeah, well, I don’t want him looking at my girl and ruining the party,” he said, then walked toward Quinton.
“Benny, wait,” I called out, but it was too late since he gripped Quinton’s arm.
“Look, I don’t wanna start a fight, but I saw you looking at my girlfriend, and you’re that Quinton guy who sat out by the game, so I suggest you leave before I fuck you up,” Benny said as I stood behind him.
“You’re a real sourpuss, Nielson. Hey, there’s beer pong, babe,” he said, then waved at me. Benny was about to punch Quinton, but Liam appeared and held him back. I noticed a crowd formed around us, and half were from Park Town High.
“What’s goi—Hey, aren’t you that school we beat a few weeks ago?” Liam asked as he poin
ted at Quinton.
“Unfortunately, and who knew that you of all people would score?” another guy said as he stood next to Quinton.
“Look who I found flirting with my boyfriend,” Melissa sang as she shoved a girl from Park Town High into the circle.
“You don’t belong here, so just go and crash someone else’s New Year’s party,” Marcus piped up.
“We’re not going without a fight,” Quinton stated as he glared at Benny.
“Instead of a fight, why don’t we make things fun?” Liam asked with a grin. Benny threw his head back and groaned while Liam placed a hand on Benny’s and Quinton’s shoulders. He spoke to Tyler, who turned the music down. “Yo, Ty, give us a fast beat.” People backed away as I knitted my brows. Tiffany grabbed my hand and pulled me back closer to Tyler, where we got a full view of the crowd.
“All right.” Quinton nodded as he took off his jacket and threw it across the room. I drank the rest of the cold liquid as a hip-hop song played. Quinton and his friend danced as everyone watched. I tilted my head at their unusual moves, then again Liam always wanted peace. Quinton was good, and he was built for it since he’s quite buff and tall. The crowd went crazy, and my eyes widened as Benny and Liam danced. They were ten times better, and I wasn’t saying that because he’s my boyfriend, but the breakdancing was incredible.
“Shit, I’m getting some of this!” Aidan cheered as he walked past us and joined Benny and Liam, which only made Park Town High nervous. I cheered as Benny went on the ground and did a hand glide. Marcus joined, which surprised Tiffany and me as he did a backspin. The girls from Park Town High stepped forward as they swayed their hips. I laughed as Miranda and Melissa stepped forward and joined them.
“Is this some kind of Step Up scene?” Tiffany asked as Park Town High backed away.
“Better than fighting at a party.” I laughed as we looked at our friends. They looked like they had fun. Liam and Aidan literally danced the people out of the house, and the rest of the people applauded. Tiffany went to Aidan while Miranda approached me. “You got moves, Stevens.”
“They come in handy,” she said, then refilled our drinks.
“Didn’t know you could dance like that,” someone said as I spun around. Jaden stood in front of us with a smirk molded onto his face as he looked at us.
“What are you doing here, Jaden?” Miranda asked.
“Well, hello to you too, ladies,” he said then turned to Miranda. “Just helping a friend out. I ditched my own party to come here, which is way better. You two remember my party, right?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled and turned to Miranda, whose eye twitched.
“And how you and Keene got so fucking drunk that you just decided to jump in my pool from the roof.” He looked at Miranda, then smirked. “Then comes the fun part.”
“Stop,” Miranda demanded as I raised a brow.
“Right, Lana?” He turned to me.
“What?” I asked as I looked at Jaden and Miranda.
“Oh, she doesn’t know,” Jaden stated, then let out a dry laugh. “It’s quite funny that you lost your virginity to Levi at my party yet you don’t know that she lost hers too.”
My eyes widened as I stared at Miranda, who looked at the ground. Jaden disappeared into the crowd, which left tension between us.
“Miranda, what happened?”
“We were drunk, okay? You were off with Levi, and Keene just wanted to keep me company since we were at a big party. I let him take my virginity.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked as my jaw dropped.
“Well, things were rough after we left the party, then Levi left, so I didn’t think it was important.” Miranda pouted as she ran a hand through her blonde hair.
“I feel like a such a bad friend for hanging out with Keene now,” I mumbled.
“It’s okay. He asked me so many times before we did it, and I said yes. He’s not that bad, Lana. I actually prefer him over Levi.”
“Sure, you do.” I laughed, then looked up to see Marcus and Benny.
“Who knew our boyfriends could bust a move, huh?” Miranda quickly asked as Marcus swung his arm around her shoulder.
“You could literally see it on Liam’s face that he wanted to do that for a long time and now was his chance,” Benny said as he placed his hand on my back.
“It was fun. Hey, midnight’s in, like, twenty minutes,” Marcus said as he looked at his phone.
“We’ll go help Liam and Aidan with fireworks. I don’t trust them. Meet us on the back porch in ten,” Miranda said, then winked at me. Benny’s arm snaked around my waist as he motioned upstairs. He walked on as I trailed behind and finished my drink. It was only my third drink. When I walked into his room, he shut the door and pinned me against the door. Thank goodness my cup was empty as I dropped it.
“I’m so glad I got you when we’re still sober,” he whispered, then kissed down my neck and hugged my waist. I ran my fingers through his hair, then raised his face so that I’d kiss him. His hands tugged my jacket, and I helped him pull it off, then locked my arms around his neck. I moaned as he deepened the kiss. His hands traveled everywhere until one reached between my thighs. I jumped up and locked my legs around his waist as he spun around and walked to the bed. Benny hovered over me then kissed down my collarbone. I leaned back and gripped his hair, to which he groaned. He placed an arm on either side of me, then came up and left a long, sweet kiss. He straddled me, then pulled off his black baseball tee to reveal his toned, hard chest. I didn’t know why, but I liked neck kisses. Benny was certainly good at it as I tilted my head to the side. When I saw his small digital clock, it showed that there were five minutes left until midnight. At the same time, I felt Benny’s hands go under my body and to my bra strap. My eyes widened as I placed my hand on his chest. He immediately stopped and looked at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Err…the…f-fireworks! I wanna go see them,” I mumbled, then sat up. “Plus, you’re the host. You should be there too.”
Benny slowly nodded, then helped me off the bed. I grabbed my jacket while he put his shirt back on. I gave him a tight smile, then entwined my fingers with his as we walked to the back porch. Mostly everyone was on the back porch or kitchen while music played through the house. Benny and I stood outside while we watched Marcus and Liam set up the fireworks.
“A toast to 2016…what a shitty year,” Aidan said as everyone raised his or her cups in agreement. “We lost friends, did strange things, but most important, we made new friends. Half of us wouldn’t be here together if it weren’t for the senior year we’ve had so far.”
“I’m gonna help them.” Benny pointed to Liam and Marcus, who were arguing.
“Twenty-seventeen better be lit, otherwise I’ll be disappointed as fuck,” Nick said, and everyone agreed.
“And a toast to Nielson for hosting this awesome party!” Ethan added. Carter stood next to me and handed me a drink. We cheered Benny on as he smiled at us.
“And we wouldn’t be here if a certain someone didn’t get into a car with four hot guys,” Carter mumbled beside me. I playfully rolled my eyes because they’d all be here, everyone except me. When Levi wouldn’t come for Christmas and came for summer instead, I’d be in my room on New Year’s Eve or in Dad’s office while he was on patrol. Benny stood next to me again as we did the countdown. I looked around and thought what a year it had been. At the beginning of 2016, I would’ve never thought I’d end it with these people.
“Three…two…one! Happy New Year!” Everyone cheered as the fireworks went off. I turned to Benny and gave him a small smile.
“Happy New Year.” I smiled and cupped his cheeks. As soon as we kissed, a strange feeling whirled through my stomach, and the memory of Madam Saga entered my mind. I pulled away from Benny, and he frowned. I went to kiss him again but stopped as someone called out Benny’s name.
“I’ll be back,” he said and walked into the house. I followed, then walked into the kitchen where Melissa wa
s sitting on the counter swinging her legs. I stood in front of her and noticed that she took a shot.
“Happy New Year, girl! Take a shot with me,” she said and gave me a drink. We took the shot in one swing, and I let the alcohol burn the back of my throat. I put the glass down to see Melissa smirk. “So…where did you and Benny disappear to?”
I thought back to what Benny and I did a few minutes ago. I nervously bit my lip as I thought what would happen if we continued.
“We almost had sex,” I mumbled.
“What?” she yelled over the loud music.
“Benny wanted to have sex with me,” I said.
“What?” She cupped her ear.
“We were gonna have sex!” I yelled, and everyone in the kitchen stared at us. Melissa’s jaw dropped while a random guy from school walked past and high-fived me.
“All right, Lana!”
“So why didn’t you?” she asked, then hopped off the counter.
“I-I don’t know. We’ve only been dating for, like, a month,” I said.
“Understandable, but Nick and I had sex way before we were even dating,” she said as I turned to her. “Yeah, Kelly dared me to, so I did and…let’s just say he was quite nervous. We had sex, which meant a lot to him, and then he said I’m the only girl he would ever want to be with.”
“Wow.”
“Maybe Benny didn’t mean that. Did he say it directly?”
“Well, he just stated that he’s glad that he got me when we’re still sober.” I shrugged. “I don’t know why I stopped. I just don’t want to disap—”
“I got it!” Melissa said, then pointed at my empty cup. “You need to get drunk.” She grabbed a bottle of rum. Melissa was probably on the verge of getting drunk as she filled our cups and added soda. I flicked my hair over my shoulder and looked around the kitchen. I saw Axel leaning on the wall opposite us. He smirked as he raised his can.
“Cheers, pumpkin,” he said as Melissa handed me my drink. Melissa and I raised our cups at Axel, then drank the fresh alcohol. I finally got used to the taste as the liquid filled my body. Melissa held up the bottle and motioned for a refill. Axel strolled to us and threw his can in the trash. He took a cup and held it out as he smirked. “Let’s get fucked.”
