Cocky

by Love, Amy

  “Why not? He’s hot and single, you’re hot and single, and you’re both stuck in this nothing town. What else are you going to do?”

  “Jamie, we’re practically related,” Chelsea said.

  “What? No you’re not. Your parents are dating; that doesn’t make you related. Besides, knowing mom, she’ll get tired of Terrance in a few months anyway. I give the two of them a year, tops.”

  “I don’t know,” Chelsea said with a shake of her head. “The giant house, the pool, limo rides, those are all things Mom likes. Besides, look how rich Terrance is. She could be Queen of Snowbird. I don’t know that she’s going to walk away from this. So nothing can happen between Blue and me.”

  “I think you’re acting crazy,” Jamie said. “You were so in love with him in high school. Honestly, I think sixteen-year-old Chelsea would slap twenty-three year old Chelsea if she were here.”

  “Yeah, well, sixteen year-old Chelsea was kind of an idiot, so I think I’ll stay in charge.”

  “Fine,” Jamie said. “But you should at least think about me. I had to listen to you talk about Blue DeMarco for years. I still remember his high school schedule: home room, then math, then English-”

  “Stop!” Chelsea begged, her face red with embarrassment. It was true; she had been a little obsessed with Blue. It was a case of unrequited love. She had wanted him so badly, but he always pushed her away. They had a series of little moments where they almost kissed, but nothing had ever really happened between them. Until now, now they had slept together and they had to spend the next week in the same house as their parents who were dating. It was all too much and Chelsea was seriously beginning to regret coming home.

  “I’m just saying, for what it’s worth, you have my permission. Forget about Mom and Terrance. You’re allowed to think about yourself every now and again, Chelsea.

  But that was just it. Chelsea was thinking about herself. She was thinking about all of the work that had gone into her album, all of the planning and all of the people who were depending on her. She couldn’t release an album and tell the world she was sleeping with her stepbrother at the same time. It would be an outrage. Chelsea wanted Blue, but she had other dreams, and she needed to remember that.

  Chapter Six

  Chelsea held the eyelash curler up to her right eye and gently pressed down turning the ends of her long lashes up. She wondered if she was overdressed. Jamie had got a text from their old high school friend Mikey G; he heard the Riley sisters were back in town and decided to throw a party. Chelsea was wearing a skinny pair of blue jeans and a thin white shirt over a black bra; her long hair was down and she applied a little bit of mascara and eyeliner and left it at that.

  She couldn’t help but wonder what a party at Mikey G’s house would look like to her now. Chelsea had been to album release parties, after parties, and house parties at James Franco’s house where models, rappers, and actors had drunk champagne like it was water. She was a little worried that a party at Mikey G’s was going to look sad in comparison.

  They were all going and all included Blue. Chelsea had no idea what she was going to do. When she was with Blue she wasn’t able to resist him; she didn’t even want to. It was only when he was in another room that she remembered their parents were dating and her record deal and the other millions of reasons why nothing should be happening between them.

  He was so hot, though. Somewhere between high school and now, Blue DeMarco had grown up. He was arrogant and cocky. Chelsea could still feel his touch on her back, the way his hands had slid around her skin and under her bathing suit. There had been no awkward pauses, no hesitations, just his hands going wherever they wanted on her skin.

  She had wondered if he still had his anger streak. Blue had been quick to fight in high school. He was always taking words out of context and talking with his fists; it had frightened Chelsea, but secretly it always excited her, as well. On the surface Blue seemed icy and cold, like he didn’t care about anything, but underneath he was a roiling sea of emotions that were always threatening to storm. Was he still like that? Did Chelsea want him to be?

  Blue drove them all in his car. He had left it here when he had gone to war, but it still worked. Chelsea settled into the passenger seat and realized that it was still set the way she liked it. It had been over five years since she had been in this car, but once she sat down it felt like no time at all had passed.

  “You remember our car in high school?” she asked her sister with a sigh.

  “We had that beat up station wagon with a missing backseat,” Jamie chimed in from the back.

  Next to her Blue smiled for just a second, but Chelsea caught it and she couldn’t help but smile back at him.

  “What is it?” Blue asked.

  “It just feels nice to be like this, the three of us in a car driving off to some party. It feels like old times,” Chelsea said.

  Mikey G’s house was the same as ever. His parents had retired to Florida the year before and given the house to him. It was a small ranch with a pool in the back and they had spent many nights jumping from the roof right into it.

  The three of them showed up at eleven, but the house was already jumping. Cars lined the street and there were couples making out in the tall grass of the front yard. Blue reached the door first and opened it to reveal the rager inside. Chelsea didn’t know why she had been worried. If there was one thing Mikey G knew how to do, it was throw a party.

  “Oh, look, I see someone I know,” Jamie said once they were inside. “Keep an eye on her for me, will you, Blue?”

  “Shut up,” Chelsea said to her sister. But Jamie had already turned away with a wave and gone in search of someone else to talk to.

  “Let’s get a drink,” Blue said and Chelsea nodded and followed him into the kitchen.

  She felt like a teenager again, her hands shaking a little and she couldn’t look Blue in the eye. Get it together, Chelsea, she chided herself. She wasn’t just another awkward teenager anymore. She was a grown woman with a record contract and a fan base and, besides, what did she have to be nervous about? She had already slept with Blue. Maybe I should sleep with him again, she thought.

  It was an appealing idea. Blue was pumping the keg and Chelsea could see the muscles on his arm as he pushed down and just a glimpse of his dark tattoo. Maybe she could sleep with him one more time. Just one more time.

  “What are you thinking about?” Blue asked interrupting Chelsea’s train of thought.

  “What? Nothing,” she said reaching for the cup of beer he was holding and taking a long swig. She could see friends she had known in high school, but they all looked older a little more sophisticated even while they were drinking out of red solo cups.

  “So, you’re a pop star now?” Blue asked.

  They were standing by the back door and he pushed it open leading her into the cool night. They were standing on a small patio, leaning on opposite railings; they were very close to each other, Chelsea could have reached out and touched him without moving much at all.

  “Not a star yet,” she answered with a shrug.

  “But that’s the plan?”

  “Yeah. The album drops in three months and hopefully it sells well and then it’s touring, and promotional shows and photo shoots in exotic locals.”

  “So I’ll get to say I hooked up with Chelsea Riley before she was famous?” Blue asked.

  “It’s not a lie,” Chelsea answered. Something about the night’s air had given her courage. She didn’t need to be shy or awkward in front of Blue; she had known him almost her entire life and she didn’t seem to be able to stay away from him.

  He moved his leg so it was touching hers and Chelsea couldn’t help but lean into him. In one fluid motion he stood up straight and then put both of his hands on either side of the railing with Chelsea in between them. She looked up into his dark eyes and brought her hands up to his chest, feeling the strength held there. He cupped her chin in his hand and tilted it up and then they
were kissing, his warm lips pressed against hers and she was sliding her tongue over his and Chelsea wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer.

  “Blue!” Came a loud call from inside the house.

  Chelsea pulled away just as the back door swung open and a large man came barreling out and tackled Blue, picking him up and throwing him down on the ground.

  “Ha ha! Got you!” the man said, standing up as Blue coughed and pulled himself into a sitting position.

  “Hey, Paul,” Chelsea said crossing her arms over her chest and looking at her old friend.

  “What up, Chelsea,” Paul said. He bounded up the stairs and hugged Chelsea so tightly he pulled her up off the ground.

  Behind her Blue was standing up and flexing his muscles cursing his friend under his breath.

  “Blue DeMarco, back in town,” Paul said, leaning against the railing. “We were worried about you over there, man. My mom was watching the news every day for news about your battalion and your base. She was worried sick. She was so happy the day you were done.”

  “I remember the cake she sent me,” Blue said. “Double chocolate fudge, best damn cake I ever had.”

  “So what are you doing back? Going to work for your dad?” Paul asked.

  “No,” Blue said, shaking his head. “I’m just back in town for a visit, and then I’m headed to college on the GI bill.”

  “Very impressive,” Paul said, and then “shots?” he asked, looking from Chelsea to Blue and back again.

  Chapter Seven

  Chelsea, Paul, and Blue did three shots, one for each of them. They had hung out a lot in high school. Paul and Blue had been best friends, but after high school Paul had gone to college and was now in law school. But in a lot of ways he was the same burly kid Chelsea remembered. He was six five and easily two hundred and fifty pounds and he and Blue were constantly shoving and punching each other like they were sixteen all over again.

  The party around them only got wilder. Blue and Paul did keg stands and then Blue and Chelsea played Paul and Jamie in beer pong. It was fun and carefree, exactly what Chelsea needed. At Hollywood parties, everyone had an agenda; they wanted to audition for a part or get a record contract; a party could never be just a party. But out here everyone was just having fun and spending a little bit more of their early twenties being young and reckless.

  She was always with Blue. Chelsea could have left, could have slipped away, but she didn’t want to. She was electrified by the occasional touch of his skin against hers, his hand on her lower back, their arms pressed together. She always knew where he was. Even when she couldn’t see him, she could sense him behind her or over her shoulder and every time she looked up at him, she found him looking back.

  “Come dance with me,” Blue said, pressing his head against hers and whispering into her ear. She shuddered a little and nodded and let Blue guide her towards the makeshift dance floor in the living room.

  There was a DJ and he was playing slow R&B song as Blue put his hands around Chelsea’s waist and she rested hers on his shoulders. She looked into his dark eyes and couldn’t help but smile and then look away.

  “You look good tonight, Chelsea Riley,” Blue said and he pulled her a little closer.

  “Thank you,” Chelsea said, unsure of what else to say. “So you were really in Afghanistan?”

  “Yeah,” he said with a nod.

  “What was it like?”

  “It was hot and dry and hard, that’s the best way to describe it. It was hard, but I knew what I had signed up for. I wanted to serve my country, I wanted to leave Snowbird behind, and I did that. It wasn’t all so bad. We used to watch soccer with the locals and go to camel races; some of the people were really great.”

  “When did you come back?”

  “About two weeks ago,” Blue said.

  “Wow,” Chelsea said. She looked into his eyes and found he was staring back at her.

  “It’s good to be back,” he said. “But, really, it’s good to see you.”

  Her heart stopped in her chest and Chelsea didn’t know what to do or say. It was good to be home and to be with Blue. It felt right, like everything her sixteen-year-old self had ever wanted. “It’s been good seeing you, too, But this thing with our parents is...weird.”

  “Yeah,” Blue said, rolling his eyes. “But Terrance seems pretty set on marrying her and he usually gets what he wants.”

  “When we were in high school...” Chelsea started, but then she wasn’t sure what to say; she didn’t know how to talk about her worries about Terrance. “You said a lot of stuff about your dad, that he was mean and violent, that he hit you, that he only cared about money.” Blue nodded and clenched his jaw but said nothing. “And if that’s still the case, I can’t not tell my mom. I don’t want her to marry someone who’s going to hurt her.”

  “I don’t remember your mom being a logical person who listened to reason,” Blue said and Chelsea had to agree. Colleen was stubborn and bullheaded and what’s worse she might not believe what Chelsea told her.

  “Why did you come back to town?” Chelsea asked. “If Terrance is really so awful why are you back?”

  “He is my father,” Blue said. “And this is my home. I honestly didn’t know where else I could have gone. Plus, he told me you were going to be here, and I wanted to see you.”

  “Why?”

  “You know why,” Blue said and he pulled Chelsea until she was flush against him and he planted a long deep kiss on her mouth. His arms were locked around her and Chelsea was trapped in his embrace and she never wanted to leave. He was so strong and solid; he was nothing like the men she had met recently and it was only at that moment she realized how much she had missed him.

  She could remember sitting next to him in math class. Chelsea had always been terrible at math. No matter how careful she was, she always made a tiny mistake that threw the whole equation off. But Blue had been a natural; he would breeze through problem after problem, barely thinking about it at all. He used to push his tests to the edge of the desk so Chelsea could read the answers. He was the only reason she had passed Geometry.

  Then there were the bruises. Blue always refused to tell her where they came from. When she would ask he would just shrug of his shoulders and tell her not to worry about it. His arms and chest would be covered in them and his face sometimes, too. He would come to school with a dark purple bruise under one eye and a split lip and claim he had been jumped on the way home.

  He had never told her where the bruises had come from. She had always suspected Terrance, but he would deny it every time she asked. He would get mad when she pressed the issue and sometimes they wouldn’t talk for days. When that happened Chelsea would be inconsolable, laying on her bed and crying into the pillow until he finally forgave her and came back. So eventually she stopped asking.

  She was leaning against his chest and breathing in the scent of him. He was running his hands up and down her back and then he slipped them up and under her shirt and she moaned at the touch of his skin against hers. She felt like she was melting into him; she didn’t know where she stopped and he started.

  “Yo, where’s DeMarco at?” The voice was loud and dangerous and it carried over the sound of the music and the partygoers.

  Gently Blue separated himself from Chelsea. “Who wants to know?” Blue called out and the party went silent.

  “Blue, you don’t have to do this,” Chelsea whispered. “We can just leave.”

  Three men appeared in the kitchen. They were all tall and muscular and the man in the middle, the ringleader was bald and looked to be about seven feet tall. “You remember me?” the man asked.

  “Yeah,” Blue said with a nod, “I remember you, Jimmy.”

  Paul suddenly appeared next to Blue. Chelsea looked from the group of men to Blue and Paul, but she didn’t know what to do, she didn’t know how to calm the situation down.

  “Yo,” Mikey G said, appearing out of nowhere, “this is my house and if you
want to be here, then you need to be cool. No fights in the house, man. This is a place of love.”

  “Outside then,” Jimmy said and Blue nodded.

  Chelsea stood on the dance floor dumbfounded as Blue and Paul walked outside followed by the three bigger men.

  “What’s going on?” Jamie asked as she ran over to Chelsea.

  “I have no idea, but I don’t think it’s good,” Chelsea said. Together the two sisters walked into the backyard with the rest of the party.

  Blue and Jimmy were talking and then they were yelling, but Chelsea couldn’t make out what they were saying over the noise of the party’s music. And then Jimmy swung at Blue, but he was ready and blocked the punch and responded with an uppercut that sent the bigger man stumbled back. Chelsea couldn’t help but scream out, but it was too late. Paul and the other men had joined the fight and now it was a melee in the back yard.