Page 65 of The Breakaway

Crystal turned and pulled down her pants. I tried to slap her bare cheek, but she ducked away just in time.

We finished getting ready, and by the time we arrived at the party, we were riding a giddy high that had nothing to do with the vodka sodas we'd sampled before we left Crystal’s. Maddie offered to be the DD, and I gratefully took her up on it.

The house was packed wall to wall. Bass thumped through the floorboards as sweaty bodies writhed to the beat. I spotted some familiar faces from the hockey teams milling about, red Solo cups in hand.

We waded into the fray, letting the music pulse through us. Crystal made a beeline for Jaaake almost immediately, and as I shimmied my way through the crowd, I nearly collided with someone. "Oops, sor—" I started to say, then did a double take. "Lily?"

Sure enough, there was Lily, an all-around goody two shoes, looking decidedly out of her element.

"Sharla, hi!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the wall. "This is insane."

I grinned. "No offense, but . . . what are you doing here? Didn't think this was really your scene."

She shrugged, a little self-consciously. "Oh, well . . . It's senior year. Figured I ought to get the full college experience before I graduate. Live a little, right?"

Her words struck a chord, plucking strings that had no business being touched. “Exactly.” I pulled her into a hug, then walked into the next room, searching for a quiet corner. Preferably with no couch sex.

I wasn’t any better than Lily. She was tied to her violin, but I was tied to Logan. I’d started to realize it at the pancake breakfast, but now the truth of it hummed within me. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to give some things up for him. I was happy to. That’s what relationships were. But having him gone was shining light on just how much I’d sacrificed. It was like wiping layers of dust off an old photograph and not recognizing the face underneath.

All of that discomfort propelled me to the kitchen. I wasn’t normally a drinker. I had a sip every once in a while, but I didn’t love the pounding headache and roiling stomach the morning after. Even that wasn’t enough to stop me now. I grabbed two beers and found Maddie, sticking close since Crystal was in a deep conversation with number twelve.

We kept our eyes on her, making sure she never left the public spaces. That she didn’t put her drink down or leave it unattended. She didn’t know we were overbearing parents, and that was exactly how we wanted it.

As the night wore on, the party kicked into high gear. The smell of weed wafted in from the patio, and I saw at least three pills exchange hands. I wanted to slap some sense into the guysand girls who accepted them. We’d seen two friends fail out of Douglas because of that shit.

I hadn’t planned on dancing, but when Janet Jackson came on, I took Lily’s advice. I was going to live in the moment—do what I wanted to do. Logan didn’t dance, and I would never force him. But if he wasn’t there, nothing was keeping me from enjoying myself.

I pulled Maddie out with me, and we joined the group gyrating in the middle of the living area. I felt the beat, moving my hips and laughing when I nearly dropped my half-empty beer bottle.

The lights moved over us, making Maddie’s hair look purple. “It’s a good look!” I shouted over the bass. Maddie laughed and spun, and by the end of the song, we were somehow separated by two guys I hadn’t seen before.

“Hey.” One of them leaned in, putting his hand on my waist, and rolling his hips into me. We moved together for a full three measures before I realized what was happening.

My heart raced. I didn’t want to be a jerk, but I also didn’t want this guy’s hands all over me. “Hey, I actually?—”

“Piss off.” Someone pushed between us, rolling me away from random dude and against his chest.

I looked up and nearly dropped my beer a second time. “Rob?”

"Hey." His hands were still on my hips, and for a second, that was all I could feel. My hearing dulled, and my vision blurred, my brain only taking input from those two points of contact.

I swayed on my feet, and Rob steadied me. “You’re going to be in so much trouble.”

Rob stood there, his dark hair tousled and his eyes hooded. “Are you going to tattle?”

I blinked up at him, my head suddenly fuzzy enough, I wondered if I was on beer number four. Familiar voices blastedover the speaker. “I Swear” started, and everyone coupled up, swaying together to the a cappella intro.

“I didn’t need your help,” I snapped, starting to pull away, but Rob’s fingertips pressed into the small of my back. His hands were so big, they reached that far. I wondered if I’d ever known that before.

He started moving, swaying from side to side, pulling me with him. “Just like you didn’t need help in the courtyard?”

My eyes flashed. “That was different.”

“This could’ve been different.” He dropped his head, his lips brushing my ear. “It’s like you’re looking for trouble.”

I barked a laugh. “Oh, you mean because I have a vagina?” The couple next to us glanced over. Said that louder than I intended.

“Because you’re dancing like you want something.” Rob’s hand shifted, sliding across the bare strip of skin above my jeans. Heat pulsed through me, making my whole body feel weighted. That, combined with the angelic voice of Nathan Morris, made it impossible for me to be pissed off.

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