Page 53 of After the Storm

“Have fun?” I ask, running my fingertips up and down her arm. She smiles softly at me.

“It was never like this before,” she admits. Pride fills me to the brim.

“It wasn’t for me either,” I agree. With Audra, sex finally feels like more than sex. It’s emotional, it’s raw, and it’s intoxicating.

“I want to take you on a date. Like a real date,” I say, popping up on my elbow to look at her.

“Then take me on a real date.” She shrugs with a smile.

“When are you free?”

“My next day off is the Fourth of July and I’ll be here at your parents’ party with Ares. I’m off the Sunday after.”

“Then it’s a date. The Sunday after the fourth. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Chapter21

Audra

You knowit’s going to be a long day of partying when you wake up to a beer bong in your face. Since we turned 18 it’s been a tradition to spend the night at Ares house on July 3rd to wake up here to get as many hours of partying in on the 4th. The sun is barely up and Ravyn is kneeling next to me holding the kink in the tube to keep the beer from pouring everywhere.

“Open up, buttercup,” she says lowering the tubing to my lips. I haven’t felt much like partying this summer but I’d never turn away from the fourth of July party. It’s the most fun day of the year at the Dawkins’ household. So without question I open up and I chug the cheap beer. Ares cheers me on from his bed. Out of the corner of my eye I can see the wet marks around the collar of his t-shirt which tells me he already had his.

“I think we should make Roman do it this year,” I say, wiping the droplets of beer running down the side of my mouth. Ravyn and Ares share a look before nodding and jumping up.

“I’ll do his,” Ares says, reaching for the bong. Ravyn hands it over with no hesitation. We stop by the kitchen to grab a new beer and get it ready before we take it to Roman’s room. Ares stands over his sleeping body and shoves him roughly.

“Drink up, shithead.” Roman’s eyes flutter open. Confusion and annoyance take over his face. He’s always been a part of the partying but he’s never been a part of this tradition. His eyes glance around the room landing on Ravyn and then me. When his eyes fall to me, I give him a sympathetic smile because this was my idea. As if he could read my mind that the idea was mine, he gives in. He lets out a dramatic sigh.

“Fuck it, why the hell not.” He shrugs. He pops up on his elbows and Ares lowers the tubing to his mouth. When he leans up on his elbows I can see he has no shirt on. It makes sense since he was asleep but it doesn’t stop my breath from catching in my throat.

Little drops of beer run down his chin and on to his bare chest. Surely this shouldn’t be a sight that does something for me. However I spend the next minute thinking of a way we can sneak off later. Not to mention the sick little voice in my head begging to lick it off of him.

“You need a bib? You sure are dribbling.” Ares laughs as he takes the last couple of gulps. When Roman swallows the last bit, he wipes his chin.

“Fuck off. Sorry I’m not experienced in bonging beers before I’m out of bed,” he grumbles, rolling out of bed.

“Is Beck coming?” Ares asks Roman.

“Yeah. He always comes for the 4th.”

We somehow manage to pace ourselves and stay buzzed but not cross the line into being trashed by sundown. Usually it’s Roman hanging out with Beck all day and then the three of us. For the first time, we spent most of the day all hanging out. I can’t ignore how much my relationship with Roman has brought him and Ares together. It feels good until the fear sets in of what it might do to their relationship when Ares finds out about us. I wonder if I should have just told him from the beginning but I didn’t know if there was anything to tell then. Now I know and now I feel like I’m digging a deeper hole every day.

All five of us stand at the kitchen counter lining shots up in front of us. Three shot glasses sitting in front of each one of us.

A red one that’s cherry vodka and grenadine. A white one that’s coconut rum and some cream based rum. Lastly, a blue one that’s straight UV blue.

We count back from three before we simultaneously take all three shots together. Think of a bomb pop but evil, that’s what it tastes like. It burns the whole way down and the whole kitchen erupts in groans as we reach frantically for our chasers. Except Ravyn of course who stands there proudly showing us her unfazed smile.Show off.

“Holy shit. Do you guys drink like this every year?” Roman asks, spitting in the sink. Seemingly in an attempt not to throw up.

“What? Can’t hang, pussy?” Ares taunts. Roman braces himself over the sink with one arm and holds the other up to give Ares the finger.

“I’m with Roman, you three drink like goddamn fish,” Beck chimes in, forcing a fake and quite dramatic gag.

From the kitchen you can hear the 80’s and 90’s music playing outside. We aren’t the only one’s who party here on the 4th. Allison and Ken have their friends over. Some years my mom even comes but this year she’s on another work trip. The adults are outside hanging out and we’re in here getting drunk. Since we turned 18 we haven’t had to hide it. Back when we were in school and teenagers though, we had to sneak drinks.

“Close to firework time, are we watching from the beach or from the pool deck?” Ares asks. Their house is oceanfront so some years we go down to the beach and some years we just watch from the pool.

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