Page 56 of Steal My Breath Away

THREE YEARS AGO

The problem with living in a small town is that everyone knows exactly how old you are. That means no fake IDs, no sneaking into bars, and no ordering alcohol at the Roadhouse Bar & Restaurant.

Not that it ever stopped me from trying.

“I’ll have a double burger with home fries and a gin and tonic.” I handed my menu to Colette. She’d been in the same grade as my brother Matt before they graduated, but I was hoping she didn’t remember me. Paige and I had boldly walked into the “over 21” section and were still high on the fact that no had stopped us.

“We don’t serve alcohol to minors,” Colette said, sweeping her thick auburn hair back behind her shoulder.

“I have ID.” I pulled out the fake ID Paige and I had made using an illegal software program and the laminating machine at her mother’s office.

Colette studied the card. “Maria Gomez. Is that you?”

“Sí.” I kept my eyes on Colette because I knew that if I looked at Paige across the table, I’d start to laugh. I could already hear her snicker.

“You look exactly like Haley Chapman, who just had her seventeenth birthday party at Pinz Bowling Alley eight months ago,” Colette said. “I remember because I was there with my cousin. It was his birthday, too.”

Busted. I’d never liked Colette. She’d gone on a few dates with Matt and then dumped him for the captain of the football team. Karma had caught up with her though. Her new boyfriend hadgone to Northwestern on a football scholarship and never looked back.

“C’mon, Colette,” I wheedled. “Just one drink. Seventeen is practically nineteen and nineteen is the new twenty-one.”

Colette tossed the fake card on the table. “We’ve got soda, water, and juice, and if you hurry you can get the last table near the window in the family section of the restaurant.”

“Her brother is about to deploy,” Paige said. “Doesn’t that count for something? Have a heart.”

“I’ll have no job if I serve you alcohol, but I do know about a big house party happening tonight…”

Paige and I leaned forward. A party would be even better than the bar. We could drink as much alcohol as we wanted, and no one would be there to stop us.

“Where is it?” Paige asked.

Colette lifted an eyebrow. “I don’t see a tip on the table.”

“We didn’t order anything,” Paige protested.

“I believe you just ordered an address.”

“Two hamburgers and two Cokes that we’ll enjoy in the family section.” I put some money on the table. “I hope that’s enough to coverallthe costs.”

“Nope.”

Paige added a few more dollars and Colette smiled. “Tyler Richards’s house. His parents are away for the weekend. He’s invited a ton of people. I’m heading there after my shift. Should be fun.” She scooped up the money and we went back to the restaurant and grabbed a table beside a family with two screaming kids.

“Why don’t we just forget the food and go there now?” Paige grimaced when a french fry flew over her head and landed on the table.

“We need to eat before we drink. I heard Matt and Ace talking about it one time. You’re supposed to coat your stomach so you can drink more.”

“What if they show up?”

“They won’t,” I said. “They decided to spend their last night athome gaming. I told Matt we were coming here for a meal and then going back to your place. He won’t suspect a thing.”

Two hours later, Paige and I were blitzed, and Tyler’s party was going strong. We were taking a breather at the edge of the outdoor patio overlooking the beach after a crazy hour of dancing.

“Some of Matt’s friends from high school are here.” Paige sipped her piña colada. With over one hundred people scattered throughout the house and on the beach, no one was keeping track of who was seventeen and who was over twenty-one. “His baseball buddy Lucas is checking me out.”

“If I was into girls, I’d check you out in that dress, too.” She was wearing a sleeveless lime-green dress with a plunging neckline that would have put me at risk of indecent exposure. I’d chosen a tight black dress with a sweetheart neckline that could keep my girls in check.

“He’s waving me over. He wants me to dance with him.” She stumbled back on her heels, saved from a fall by the massive potted plant behind her.

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