Kate pushed her way through bodies. She was making her way toward the window when she was suddenly taken aback.
“What the...?” she whispered. She saw him! Jacob! Just for a second. Where did he go? There!
Oh, she suddenly realized with dejection. That’s not Jacob. She should have known better, but he sure did look like Jacob. She saw only his profile, the neatly trimmed dark hair, strong jaw line, but the nose was wrong. Her staring must have caught his eye, because he turned to her and smiled. Almost as handsome as Jacob, she thought.
Kate smiled back, then quickly turned away, embarrassed at being caught staring. She made her way toward the window area that was slightly less crowded than the hallway where the keg was being emptied. She scanned the room. Chris and Patrick were nowhere to be seen. She looked at the faces around her.
She saw some senior girls from school, including big-bottomed Angie, who were already tipsy. They were laughing hysterically. The rest of the room was a collection of familiar and unfamiliar faces. The Jacob look-alike suddenly caught Kate’s eye again. Kate scanned his tanned, handsome face and almost felt like she knew him. As she gazed at him, he again looked right at her and caught her staring. Kate quickly looked away, attempting to be nonchalant, but knowing she was failing miserably.
One of the senior girls leaned over to Kate and pointed at her. “Hey, you’re that girl from Alaska, right?” she said, slurring her words together.
“Nebraska,” Kate corrected her.
“I have an uncle in Alaska on a fishing boat. Maybe you know him.”
Kate smiled thinly. “Yeah, maybe.”
The girl suddenly burped loudly, which made her and all her friends burst into fits of laughter. Kate took the opportunity to turn her back on the girl.
Finally, Chris and Patrick appeared, plastic cups of beer in both hands.
“Two cups?” she asked.
“Hey, there’s a long line at the keg. We’re just maximizing our drinking time.” Chris set one beer on the window sill and starting downing the other one.
Patrick handed her one of his cups of beer. Kate looked into the cup with mixed emotions. She didn’t really like the taste of beer, but she took a long swig anyway.
Patrick asked her, “See anybody interesting?”
“Well, I see Cynthia making out on the couch. Some senior girls who are already on the verge of puking. Michael What’s-His-Name over there talking to some chick,” she listed.
“Hey, that’s not some chick. That’s Melody Winters!” Chris said with sincere excitement.
“Where?” Patrick asked, looking toward Chris’ gaze. “Oh my gosh, that is her.” He had a dreamy look in his eyes.
“Who is Melody Winters?” Kate asked.
“She was the hottest chick in our class until she transferred to Huntington High,” Chris said. His face took on a sudden determination. “I’m going to go talk to her.” He downed the beer in his hand, crunched the plastic cup, grabbed his second beer and headed off through the crowd. Kate felt a little miffed at his sudden departure.
Patrick continued to gaze longingly at Melody Winters. Kate pulled herself onto her tiptoes to check out this mythical beauty. She was an attractive brunette with feminine features. Nothing spectacular, Kate thought. The guys seemed enthralled with her.
“I was too slow, I guess,” Patrick sighed. “Chris got there first.”
“Aw, she’s not that pretty,” Kate said.
“Anything happen today at your house?” Patrick asked. “I mean, anything else?”
“Hi, I’m Tom,” said a deep voice from behind Kate. She turned around. The Jacob look-alike was there, smiling at her. She noticed that his dark eyes were framed with red, as if he’d been working on the keg since about noon.
“Hi, I’m Kate. This is my friend Patrick,” Kate said, emphasizing the word “friend.”
Tom nodded at Patrick and turned his attention back to Kate. “So, how do you know Paul?”
“Oh, he’s in my class at school.” Kate took another sip from her beer.
“You mean, you’re in high school?” He stared at her with disbelief. “I thought you were in college for sure.”
This thrilled Kate and she giggled. “I hear that a lot. I guess I look old for my age,” she said with a playful smile. “Are you in college?”
“Yeah, I’m a freshman. I’m studying medicine. I’m going to be a doctor,” he said, coolly taking a drink from his cup.
“Wow, that’s terrific! Do you like college? Tell me it’s fun, because I can’t wait to get out of high school.” Kate knew she was flirting. She wasn’t really trying to, but the beer was starting to make her feel tipsy and she couldn’t stop herself. He really looked like Jacob.
“It’s awesome,” he replied, “but it’s really hard. I mean, the parties are awesome. Every night, there’s a party somewhere on campus and you get to sleep late in the mornings, because the professors don’t make you go to class. Isn’t that just awesome?” Tom slurred.
“Parties every night?”
“Yeah, and there’s beer at every party. I’m in a fraternity, too. Do you know Pi Kappa Alpha? We’re the most partying fraternity on campus. Every weekend we get a keg and party until the sun comes up. We even have a foosball table. It’s totally awesome.”
Patrick walked away, muttering, “See ya, Kate.”
“Yeah, see you later,” Kate called after him without a glance.
She and Tom nabbed a corner of the couch. They sat close together, giggling and nursing their drinks. He brought her another cup of beer, which Kate drank without even thinking. The more beer Kate drank, the more like Jacob he looked.
“I have to pee,” she said, then burst out laughing.
“I’ll show you where the bathroom is at,” he said, standing. He pushed his way through the crowd, leading Kate by one hand. It felt funny to have her hand held by someone other than Jacob, but exciting too. She had to wait a few minutes to get into the bathroom. By the time she finally emerged from the bathroom, their cozy corner of the couch was gone.
“Crap, where are we going to sit?” Kate moaned. She was feeling a little dizzy.
“Here, I know the perfect spot.” Tom led Kate toward the bedroom.
“Wait a minute,” she said, stopping in her tracks.
“Hey, it’s okay. We’re just passing through. We won’t stay.”
He pulled Kate into a darkened, hazy room. The odor was strong, earthy and sweet, like a freshly mowed lawn served with pumpkin pie. A group of people sat around the room, a lit joint passing between them.
“Hey, Kate. You came to party with us. I knew you were cool,” said Paul, who was lying across the pillows like a muscled, hairy Caesar, while a dazed girl stroked his chest. She might as well have been feeding him grapes and fanning him with a palm leaf.
Kate was about to answer, when Tom said, “We’re just passing through.” He walked to the window and yanked it open. He indicated for Kate to go through it. She stepped onto a chair that was under the sill and through the window onto a flattened roof. She gasped at the coolness of the night air. She glanced over the edge of the roof to the busy downtown street below. Saturday night was hopping in Huntington. The headlights buzzing past started to make her feel woozy, so she turned her head away.
Tom crawled through after her. He grabbed her hand and led her toward a blanket that was conveniently laid out, their feet crunching on the roof as they walked. They sat down close together.
“I have to tell you, Tom, you look just like...” Then, his face was right there. He smeared his lips all over Kate’s mouth, his whiskers scraping against her chin. She pushed him away with a nervous laugh, but he persisted. His hand felt for her breast as he pushed her down, putting his weight fully on her chest. She jammed her hands against his chest and turned her head away.
“Hey!” she yelled out. “Stop it!”
“What’s the matter, Kathy?” he said, plastering more sloppy kisses on her neck.
&
nbsp; Kate worked her elbows up under him, then put one hand on his neck, pushing on it.
“Ack,” he coughed. He rolled off her and sat up, anger in his eyes.
“My name is Kate. And what’s the matter with you?”
“What do you mean, what’s the matter with me? What’s the matter with you?”
“Hey, I just came out here to hang out with you. I’m not doing this,” Kate hugged her arms protectively around her chest. Her head felt heavy.
He laughed meanly. “Then why have you been leading me on all night?” His once handsome, Jacob-like face was now contorted with drunken anger. She couldn’t even see a resemblance to Jacob anymore. What had she been thinking?
“Leading you on? I thought we were just having a conversation. I have a boyfriend.”
“Whatever, you were staring at me and flirting with me and…. Listen, if there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, tell me now so I can get back to the party.”
“No light at the end of the tunnel? You mean…if I won’t have sex with you?”
He sat motionless, waiting for an answer.
Kate glared at him. “Get away from me.”
“Waste of my time,” he hissed. He jumped to his feet and stomped across the roof. She waited until he climbed back in the window before she allowed a solitary tear to fall from her eye.
“Jerk,” she muttered to herself as she waited for the lump in her throat to subside. She sat in the cool night air a few minutes longer, breathing evenly until she felt calm enough to return to the party. A guilty feeling nagged at her. She just kissed another guy. What would Jacob think? What would she tell him? Should she tell him? She always told him everything.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. I’m so stupid, she thought glumly. Her head swam. She was confused and cold. The heart-shaped burn suddenly started to throb painfully.
She slowly stood and crunched across the roof to the window into the bedroom. When she tried to open it, it stuck. Not stuck, she realized, locked. The window was locked. She heard giggles. She crouched and peered into the room. The weed-smoking crowd was looking right at her, laughing hysterically.
Swallowing her wounded pride, she tapped on the window expectantly.
“Okay, let me in. It’s cold out here.” That just made them laugh harder. After a few minutes, the girl who had been stroking Paul’s chest hair finally arose and came to Kate’s aid. She unlocked the window and went immediately back to Paul’s side.
“Thanks,” Kate said, barely glancing at them. She could feel her face burning red.
“That’s what happens when you don’t put out,” Paul said, which made the entire room burst into hysterics again.
“Thanks for the advice,” Kate mumbled and practically ran for the door, trying to get away from these horrible people.
*
She was never so happy to get back into a hot, crowded, living room. She spotted Chris and immediately headed in his direction.
“Hey, where’ve you been?” he asked. Kate could see he’d had a lot to drink. His accent was growing thicker as the night wore on. He was chatting with a short blond. Kate briefly wondered how she was going to get home tonight.
“Don’t ask. Can we go home?” she pleaded.
“You need another beer!” Chris said enthusiastically.
“Listen, I’m not feeling very good. Can we just go?”
“Come on, we just got here,” he said.
“We’ve been here long enough for you to get trashed,” Kate said, knowing she sounded like his mother.
“Listen,” Chris said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Just get yourself another beer and relax. If you still want to go home in a little while, we’ll go. Okay?”
Kate sighed. She hated to ruin his night just because she was stupid enough to get groped on the roof by a drunken college guy. “Okay.”
The room was starting to clear out a little, so Kate grabbed a plastic cup, filled it with water from the sink, and sat on the couch. She saw Tom leaving with a group of guys and a few drunken girls.
“Good riddance,” she said under her breath.
Suddenly, Patrick emerged from the crowd and sat beside her. “Are you having fun?” He seemed remarkably sound of mind, despite the mass consumption of beer all around him. She noticed he was drinking a Coke.
“Not particularly,” she said in a low voice and took a long drink of water.
“What happened to that guy?”
“He left, thank God.” Kate looked up at Patrick. He had a calm, comforting face. “Why are guys such selfish jerks?”
“Not all guys are selfish jerks.”
“Just most of them.” She knew she sounded like a big baby. She wished she could just stop talking.
“What happened?” he asked. When Kate didn’t respond, he asked, “Did he ditch you?”
“Can we change the subject?” Kate sighed deeply.
“Okay.”
But no conversation followed. Kate sat annoyed and embarrassed, ready to go home.
“You don’t like me, do you?” Patrick finally asked.
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m having a crappy night. That jerk tried to grope me, then when I told him no, he left me on the roof.” She couldn’t even look at Patrick, feeling her face burn red with embarrassment.
His voice softened. “I’m sorry. That sucks.”
“Yeah, well, it’s my own stupid fault. I shouldn’t be yelling at you.” She finally turned to face him. “I do like you. I think you’re, uh, smart and interesting,” she said with a nod of her head.
“Oh, great. Thanks,” he said with sarcasm.
“I mean it. You know a lot of stuff. Me, I don’t know anything.”
He seemed surprised. “I think you’re really smart.”
She breathed deeply and leaned forward until her elbows were on her knees. She rubbed her temples which were starting to throb. “Obviously, you don’t know me very well.” She continued, “Let’s just say, I don’t make the best choices.”
Patrick leaned forward and spoke in a low voice. “We all have nights like that.” She smiled at him, feeling better. Kate noticed that his eyes were light brown with glints of gold, framed by long, black lashes. What I wouldn’t do to have those eyelashes, she thought in passing.
“Hey, I almost forgot. Check this out.” She pulled up her sleeve and showed him the heart-shaped burn on her arm, telling him the story of being tossed from the ladder. He was impressed.
They nursed their non-alcoholic drinks in silence. After a while, Kate started to relax. Whereas before the silence between she and Patrick was awkward, it now seemed kind of natural and comfortable. They sat side-by-side on the couch, shoulders touching. They watched the thinning crowd as teenagers headed home to make curfew.
Chris finally made his way toward the couch and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Patrick and Kate. He was still drinking.
“Hey, guys! Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Are you seriously thinking of driving us home in this condition?” Kate asked.
“Patrick can drive us.” Chris handed over the car keys. Kate and Patrick half-carried Chris down to the silver Corvette.
Patrick started up the car and Chris sat in the passenger seat. As soon as Kate sat down on Chris’ lap, he began to tickle her. She squirmed and giggled, then grabbed his hands and wrestled with him in the confined spaces of the car. Patrick smiled and cranked up the music.
But on the curving road that led to his house, Chris started to make gagging noises. Patrick pulled over to the side of the road. Kate leapt from Chris’ lap, after which he ran to the bushes and leaned over. She could hear him being sick. She quickly got back into the car and rolled up the window, but it didn’t drown out the sound, considering she was sitting in a convertible. Ew, gross.
A few minutes later, Chris stumbled back to the car and they got moving again. He didn’t talk, but just sat with his head against the cool window. Patrick dropped Chris off at his house a
nd wished him luck. Chris waved bleakly as he turned to walk up the stairs to his house, where a solitary light shone in the living room. They climbed back into Chris’ car.
“He’ll come pick up his car tomorrow. This isn’t the first time we’ve done this,” Patrick said.
Kate couldn’t believe Chris could be so careless with such a beautiful car. Although, now, the car did seem to be in capable hands. Patrick was a very cautious driver. The two of them drove off through the night in silence, except for the music coming from the car stereo.
The Blacker House Page 9
