Page 23 of The Perfect Play

Walking in, I could smell bodies and something I couldn’t name just then. I rubbed at my nose, hoping to keep the gag reflex from kicking in.

As soon as we were inside, Brynn and Serena disappeared through the crowd, and I stood there wondering if I’d be better off just walking back out.

“Come on. Let’s get something to drink and find a spot to watch. That’s sometimes the best part.” Kate’s grin put me at ease somewhat, but I knew I was going to need more than that to last longer than one of the screaming songs in the next room.

She led me to the large kitchen where the bar was covered in bowls of ice, drinks of every kind sitting in them. I located the water and soda section and grabbed a water, already feeling the dryness taking over my mouth. The heat in the house from all the people seemed to suck the moisture right out. I pulled out my phone and took note of the time. Had it really only been three minutes? I might not even make it to fifteen at this rate.

Kate started talking to a girl I barely recognized, a senior. And just like that, I was on my own. I glanced around, unsure of what to do, and then decided to go find somewhere to sit. I passed the room with the loud head-banging music and grimaced as I watched a couple make out against the wall. What was I even doing here? This was fun?

I found the doors to the pool out back and walked outside to a chair, enjoying the refreshing air as much as I had on the drive over. All of this was something I’d never had interest in, not since my mother began telling me stories of her high school days. She would fit right into this scene, and just like all the other times, I wondered how she and my father really got together. He was so mild-mannered, although driven, and it seemed like they’d come from worlds apart to marry.

Thinking of my father, he would kill me and then bring me back to clean up the mess if he ever found out I’d had a party with alcohol. Kate had said something about the Jefferson parents being on a three-week trip to Europe. I just hoped I’d get out before the neighbors called the police.

There were only a handful of people milling around outside since a cold front had moved in during the day, making it chilly for the ones who were only half-dressed.

“I never thought I’d see the day when Penny Davis would be at a big party like this.” Jake’s voice caused me to jump, and I turned to see him smiling over me.

“More like I was dragged here against my will.”

He moved to take the seat next to mine, setting his red cup on the table between us. I glanced at the light blue polo he’d worn and the jeans I’d noticed fit him very well around the backside. His hair was done, and he looked a lot like he had back in seventh grade. Even better.

“I see you’re enjoying a nice beverage ofaguatonight.” He motioned to the bottle sitting on my lap.

“And you’re partaking in the libations of alcohol freely given at this party?” I gave him a small smile, emphasizing my sarcasm.

His smile grew even wider, and I frowned, trying to figure out what was so amusing about underage drinking. “Actually, I poured myself a soda. No alcohol. Not since…the accident.” He turned his gaze away and took a sip from the cup, his jaw working back and forth. Was he trying not to cry?

“You mean you come to these parties and make people think you’ve been drinking when you really haven’t?” The idea sounded both ludicrous and genius at the same time.

“My buddies know I don’t drink anymore, but that’s about it.” His expression looked sad, his eyes glazed as if seeing something far away. “I was turning into my father, and the accident kind of woke me up a bit, helped me see that I didn’t need all that. Besides, losing one of your best friends because he was driving your car doesn’t help you sleep well at night as it is.”

I wanted to come up with some retort to knock him down a peg, but this was a whole new side to Jake I hadn’t seen before. There had been plenty of rumors swirling around after the accident saying that Jake had meant to get Troy Johnson killed. Others described how Troy had a fight with his girlfriend and Jake had jumped into the Jeep at the last minute, trying to dissuade him from driving away.

“I’m sorry, Jake. I didn’t know.” I leaned forward and reached my hand out, covering the back of his with my palm. Warmth trickled up my arm and into my chest, causing a feeling of comfort and giving me goosebumps.

“Well, it’s just a piece of my life that’s happened in the last three years, five months, and two days.” It took a moment for me to realize what he meant with the numbers, but as I calculated it all, I realized it led to the day my mother walked out the door.

He swallowed. “That’s the day my life started to crumble as well.”

His eyes stared into mine as several emotions played out on his face. Most of them looked more vulnerable than anything, and I wanted to pull him toward me and play with his hair, telling him everything would be okay again. But something held me back, my pride most likely.

“Well, I’m here when you need to talk.” I glanced at my phone, not sure I was ready for an in-depth conversation right there next to a pool at a loud party. Sure, I’d been looking for answers for so long, but now that I thought about it, did I really want to know? Even though my attraction toward him grew every time we were around each other, my subconscious seemed to know pursuing a relationship with him would be much harder than what I’d been doing before we started talking again.

I stood, playing with the lid of my water bottle as Jake stood before me.

“Where are you going?” he asked, his voice soft.

“I, uh…” I cleared my throat, trying to think of something. I glanced up and locked my eyes with his. “I should probably go find my friends, just to make sure they’re okay, you know?”

Jake raised his arm past me and pointed through the window. “Serena, Brynn.” I looked where he pointed and saw the two of them dancing with a couple of guys I didn’t recognize. “Kate is probably still in the kitchen talking to the guy and girl she was chatting with when I asked where you were.”

I shook my head, trying to process the words. “Wait, you asked her where I was?”

“I figured I’d give it a shot to see if you were here. I knew there would be at least one other sober person at this party, and I like spending time with you. It reminds me of the good old days.” He ran his hand through his hair as if wishing he could take the statements back.

“Well, I promised them fifteen minutes, but I didn’t think about what would happen after that amount of time. I rode with Kate.” A sinking feeling took over. I was going to be stuck here all night. I didn’t have a curfew, so that wasn’t the issue. It was the boredom I was bound to feel once Jake found a girl to talk to.

“Why don’t I drive you home? Then you won’t be stuck here all night.” He shrugged, the corner of his mouth turning up in a way that made me wonder if I was in a dream.

---