“I know.” Ashley took me by the hand and led me up to the front porch. “But, I was used to being around you every day.” She opened up the front door and motioned for me to go inside. “C’mon, I want you to meet everyone before it gets crowded here.”
Seven other girls rushed about with various things in their hands. A few had food and bowls while the others threw blankets and pillows into closets.
“Hey, this is Mara,” Ashley yelled over the One Direction song that had them all bopping around.
“It’s so great to meet you!” Two of the girls rushed over and gave me a big hug like Ashley did when I first got here.
“Uh, you too.” I gave them a quick hug back then let them get back to their party preparations.
“Since you’re here early, you can help.” Another girl, who looked like one that I would consider a complete bitch in high school, shoved a tray full of food my way. “Help over there.” She pointed her long red fingernail in the direction of where the food table was and walked away.
“Yeah, don’t mind Elissa.” Ashley took the tray from my hands and motioned with her head for me to follow. “She can be bitchy sometimes.” Her voice was low, and Ashley looked around to make sure none of the other girls had heard her.
“That’s okay; it’s not your fault.” I followed Ashley back the hallway that had bedrooms on both sides.
“Well, it sorta is.” She opened up a door and waved me through.
“Why?” I walked in and sat down on the bed that I knew was hers. It had the same cozy comforter that she’d had since our middle school years.
“You remember that I told you that Van goes here, right?”
I nodded my head that I still had that memory.
“Well…” she drew out the word like whatever she was going to tell me was a life or death event. “He’s coming here tonight and Elissa got all excited because she totally has the hots for him. I got mad at her this week and told her that you were coming, and you’re his ex-girlfriend and that you were coming here so you could get back together with him,” Ashley rambled this out so fast I thought she had a side job as an auctioneer.
“You know there’s no way in hell that I would ever, ever, ever go back with Van!” I couldn’t see myself being with anyone else besides Max. Yes, even being at a party and with my best friend he still occupied my thoughts. Then even if I never met Max, Van would never be my boyfriend again.
“I know, and I would probably beat you over the head if I saw you with him, but I was so mad at Elissa that I had to say something to piss her off.”
“No biggie.” I didn’t want Ashley to worry about this all evening. She was one that would keep asking me all night if I was still mad at her if I didn’t clear the air right now. “When she sees that I have no interest in him and that I’m not here to take her little boy away, then maybe she’ll forgive you for being a bitch.” I had to giggle when she picked up a pillow and slugged me in the shoulder.
“I’m not a bitch. Well, not all the time.” Ashley bounced off the bed and waltzed over to the closet. “I have an extra, ultra-sexy, make guys want to drool dress if you want to wear it.” She pulled out some shiny, slinky black piece of material that looked like it was one of those barely-there dresses.
I held up my hand in protest. “I’ll pass on that one. I like my comfy jeans and t-shirt.” I don’t think I looked that bad, but I wasn’t here to impress anyone or get a guy out of this night.
“Also, I’m leaving this room for you. If you want to get away from the party, this room is off limits to everyone else. There are three other bedrooms for everyone’s—um, extracurricular activities.” Ashley grabbed my hand and led me out of the room. “Let’s get back out there and get everything ready before everybody gets here.”
* * *
Two hours later, the sorority house had about one hundred more people in it with more hanging around outside. I had freshened up a bit while Ashley went the whole nine yards by dressing as trampy as she could.
She looked hot, and she knew it by the way that she strutted from room to room. “Don’t look.” Ashley grabbed both of my cheeks and forced them to look at her straight on. She peeked over my shoulder, and I could see her eyes moving with whoever she was watching. “Okay.”
I rubbed my cheeks after she’d let them go. “What the hell was that for?”
“Van just walked in, and I’m sure you didn’t want to start the evening out wrong.”
I nodded my head that she was right. “Then, let’s go the other way.”
Ashley took me around and introduced me to different groups that were there. The one fraternity that Van didn’t belong to had several nice looking guys that were pleasant with their words. They asked if I was going to be starting at the University any time soon and I had to reply with a ‘maybe’ as an answer. I hadn’t told Ashley yet about my acceptance to a college in Massachusetts and now wasn’t the time to get into some debate about where I might spend the next four years of my life.
Elissa seemed a little more at ease around me since it looked like I wasn’t moving in on her boy-toy. Well, that and her drinking straight up shots of whiskey helped to calm her down a bit.
I was actually having a good time; that was until I ran smack dab into the person that I’d been trying to avoid all night.
“Mara.” Van stood right in front of me, and it looked like he wasn’t moving anytime soon. “It’s been awhile, baby.” He went to stroke my cheek.
I slapped his hand away before he could make contact. “Hey, Van. How’s Tori’s mom?” I just had to throw that jab in there to let him know that I hadn’t forgotten what he’d done to me.
“Aw, you still mad at me for that. It was so long ago, baby. We have so much time to make up for.”
Once again, I slapped his hand away from my face. “We.” I pointed back and forth between the two of us. “Have no time to make up. There will never, ever, ever, ever be another us.”
Van tried to grab the tail end of my shirt as I pushed past him. “Mara. You can’t walk away.”
“Okay, okay, enough.” Ashley knocked his hand off of me and stepped in-between us. “Fuck Van, move on. Can’t you tell that she doesn’t want anything to do with you.” She pointed over to several of her sorority sisters who were watching us from across the room, one being Elissa. “See that girl over there in the tight pink dress. She wants you bad, go over and make her night.” Ashley took me by the hand and pulled me away while Van looked over at Elissa.
“That’s why I shouldn’t have come.” I grabbed a soda can out of the cooler once we got back to the kitchen.
“No, no, no.” Ashley shook her head. “You can’t let that prick dictate where you can go and what you can do.” She grabbed a beer can and offered it to me.
I waved her off and took a sip of the cola.
“Hopefully, Elissa will keep him busy the rest of night so we can paaaaartyyyyy.” She took a long swallow and slammed the empty back down like she’d been chugging forever. “Let’s go.” Once again, we were on the move with her leading the way.
* * *
Van seemed too preoccupied with Elissa to remember even that I was in the house. Ashley tried to hook me up with several guys, once that I would’ve considered if I’d never met Max, but I brushed them off with always a ‘maybe or I don’t know’ when they asked me out.
Halfway through the night, the whole feel of the room took on a different ambiance. It was like the same feeling I always got when Max was around, but that couldn’t be—could it?
Chapter Thirteen
“Katie!” Elissa’s high pitched squealing voice rose above everything else, and she ran towards the door.
Oh please, let it be someone other than the only Katie I’d ever met in my life. I followed to where Elissa ran to and yep there she was—Max’s Katie. What’s my chances of going to a party and having the fiancé of my guy, yes he is mine, showing up three hours away from where they lived? I saw a dark-haired curly top
behind her and now knew why I had that feeling come over me, Max was behind her.
“Issie.” Katie gave Elissa a big hug.
“Mara.” Ashley’s hand waving in front of my face brought me out of my trance of watching Max. She must’ve glanced over to what had my attention and nodded her head. “That’s Elissa’s cousin from Massachusetts. She’s okay but too much like Elissa on the being a bitch part.”
“Yeah, I know.” After the words had left my mouth, I knew I’d said the wrong thing.
“How do you know?” Ashley was always quick to pick up on things that I’d said, especially if I hoped that she would overlook the matter.
“She just looks like she would be. What about the guy?”
“What guy?” Ashley looked over at Elissa and Katie. “I don’t see any guy with her.”
I looked back over, and Max wasn’t there. Maybe he went in another direction or back outside. “Never mind.” There was no sense in dragging Ashley into this whole big ordeal with Max and me.
Now, I just had to figure out how to stay clear of them the rest of the night. I was in a fixed position. Van was off to one side of the room, and Katie, Elissa, and Max had gone to the other side. My best bet would be to make up an excuse and go back to Ashley’s room for minute or two, or the rest of the night. “Hey.” I tugged on Ashley’s hand to grab her attention. “I’m gonna go back to your room for a minute.” I had left before she needed a reason of why.
* * *
I went back to Ashley’s room, which was the only vacant room in the house, and tried to gather my thoughts and feelings. Was this coincidence or fate that Max happened to show up here tonight? Could he tell, like I was able to, that I was near? It was this tingly feeling that made me feel so alive. It felt like every nerve in my body had been electrified. How was I going to go back out there and act normal when he was there, and I had all these emotions coursing through me? Yes, even the erotic feelings that I felt with his every touch. I closed my eyes and remembered back to the days when neither one of us could move away from the other’s embrace. We used to lay together and make love time after time after time.
“Let’s go.” Ashley burst through the door and pulled me to my feet. “You are not going to stay in here all night.” She yanked the door open and pushed me out. “Oh, hell no.” Ashley turned the girl and guy around that were trying to come into her room. “Stay the fuck out!” She pointed her finger for them to go back down the hallway.
The crowd in the room seemed to have doubled in size since I’d went in. I knew Max was still here because of the zappy feeling that I still felt.
“Here, catch.” Ashley tossed me another soda can. “Or maybe one of these?” She held up a small bottle of wine.
I shook my head no and opened the tab on the soda. I wish I could get wasted like a lot of the kids that were here, it would make everything so much easier to deal with, but I knew I wouldn’t because now that Max was here I had to stay in control of my mouth and feelings.
“Ashley.”
Ugh, it was the sound of Elissa’s voice. It sounded slurred, and she stumbled a bit as she made her way towards us. I tried to turn around and make a beeline back to the bedroom, but Ashley kept me firmly in place. I saw that Katie and Max were right behind her and knew that this was not going to be a pretty sight.
“Hello, my beautiful sorority sister.” Elissa pulled Ashley close and squeezed her tightly.
“Okay…okay…you’re killing me.” Ashley jerked back away from Elissa, almost knocking her over since she wasn’t too steady on her feet.
“You remember my awesome cousin, Katie.” Elissa pulled Katie up so that she was now standing face-to-face with Ashley and me.
She looked a bit confused when she saw me, like the look that someone would give when they think they know who you are but couldn’t be too sure.
“Yes, hi Katie.” Ashley gave her a small hug and backed away. “This is my best best friend and sister, Mara.”
I gave Katie a little wave with my hand.
She cocked her head to the side and looked me up and down. “I know you. Aren’t you the girl from the cliffs and one of the volunteers at the hospital?” She took a large gulp from her bottle. At least, she’s drinking, and I can blame her ignorance on that.
“Nope, wasn’t there.” I pulled away from Ashley. She seemed to be confused as to what the hell Katie was referring.
“What the hell do you mean? Mara was the one in the hospital.” Ashley stood in front of me like she was my guardian for the night.
“I swear you look exactly like this girl that I met at the cliffs. You know, Elissa, the cliffs where Max almost got killed.”
Elissa nodded her head that she knew the place that Katie mentioned.
“Okay, so it’s not her.” Ashley seemed irritated by the two of them.
“Well, I’m sorry.” Katie apologized for her past mistake. “Anyhow, there’s lots of guys that I can…well you know.” She winked and laughed at her joke.
“Later, bitches.” Elissa took Katie’s hand and led her away leaving Ashley and I standing there totally jumbled about what the hell just went on.
“Such great friends I got there.” Ashley laughed at Elissa and Katie stumbling all around.
I looked around to see where Max disappeared to once again. It was like he was right behind them as they walked over here, and then vanished into thin air or got lost in the crowd.
“Need a drink?” Ashley twisted, pushed, and spun around through the mob that was hanging out by the bar.
“Sure.” I followed behind her trying not to get bumped by too many people.
“Beer, wine, something stronger?” Ashley waved her hand to all that was available at the makeshift bar. I shook my head no and glanced around at everyone else drinking, including Katie and Elissa.
They seemed to be having a good time with several of the frat guys. The girls were dancing seductively with one another which was getting the guys all worked up.
“Just another soda.” I pointed to the cooler that had the cola cans.
“Yep.” Ashley dug to the bottom of one of the iced coolers and pulled out a can. “You are so freakin lively.” She tossed the can to me.
“You know I don’t drink alcohol anymore.” I opened my can and took a sip.
“Anymore, shit Mara it’s been like forever.”
“You know what happened the last time I went to a party.”
“Oh. My. God. You weren’t drinking then either. You can’t give up having a good time for the rest of your life because of one accident. And of course, the shit Van did at that party didn’t help the situation.”
I could either get pissed at her being so insensitive or just blow it off because her mouth was running on beer overdrive. It would be easier to just not get worked up over something so irrelevant. “Ash, let’s not carried away.” I patted her on the back and tried to take her beer can away.
“No way.” She moved the can out of my reach. “I got some fine ass I wanna get going with tonight.” Her finger pointed to one of the fraternity guys that she’d been watching since he’d gotten here.
He looked over our way and motioned for her to come over.
“Loosen up, Mara. Have some fun. There’s a bazillion guys here to choose from.” She giggled, winked her eye, then strutted over to the guy who welcomed her with open arms.
I just stood there with my soda can watching everyone else get all crazy. I could feel my body start to tingle, like when Max was near. I looked around the room and didn’t see him anywhere.
“Boo.”
I just about jumped out of my shoes when I heard his voice behind me.
Max was standing by the cooler looking all innocent like he didn’t almost make me have a heart attack. He slowly made his way over to me and his hand gently touched mine.
I could feel the heat pouring off of his body, and it was making me get all hot and bothered, not in a weather or temperature related way of course. “So.” I
tried to make conversation with Max, instead of just standing around like some boring partygoer. “Kind of weird that we meet up here.”
“Yep. You seem to be having soooo much fun.” Max still didn’t look at me. His eyes stayed focused on the two girls still getting tons of attention from all the guys.
“Yeah. I wasn’t coming here until Ashley wouldn’t stop pestering me.”
Max nodded his head that he’d heard me, but didn’t say anything in response.
I stood there with my hands clasped together slightly swinging my arms in front of me. “How’s your leg been feeling?’ I didn’t see him using his cane like he did when I was at his house.
“It has its good and bad days. I don’t have to use my walking stick so much.” Max took the last drink of my soda and threw the can into the trash can.
“Looks like she likes to have fun.” I motioned with my head to Katie. I mean come on. If Max was my boyfriend, fiancé, or even slightly interested in me, there’s no way I would stay sandwiched between Elissa and some guy.
Max barked out a laugh. “You think so?”
“Aren’t you just a little bit jealous of her being over there with another guy? Isn’t she like your fiancé?’”
“Who? Her?” He motioned to Katie, who was dancing with Elissa.
“Hmm. Seems like the last time we’d spoke she made quite clear that it was a lot more, as in you two were getting married the next day or something.” I know it wasn’t like that, but I was trying to get to the bottom of what was going on with the two of them.
“Her and I are off more than we are on. Right now, it looks to be a permanent off.”
I glanced back over to the dance floor. Katie was kissing both that frat guy and Elissa. “Do you wanna dance?” I knew I was acting bold, but this song was like so smooth. Everyone seemed to be moving like water flowing down a quiet stream. Some were getting really into with body parts pressing close together, and others were just barely touching. They all looked so sensual.
Somewhere In-Between (Breathless #1) Page 9
