Page 74 of Secondhand Smoke
“Seriously, even our bad luck looks good now.” Toni threw his arm around Nell’s shoulder, oblivious to her inner turmoil. “What would we do without you, Duncan?”
Nell laughed as well as she could. She was glad the boys were so distracted by their success and excitement that they couldn’t sense her worry. She didn’t want to distract them; they deserved this.
She picked at her fingernails.
“I think this calls for a celebration,” Dennis said, pulling a flask from his pocket and shaking it suggestively.
The others hollered in agreement.
It was the first thing that anyone had said that she fully agreed with. She could use a good, thorough celebration.
* * *
“Oh! I know this one.” Nell was pleasantly surprised that a Wham! song she was familiar with started on the boombox Toni had carried all the way from his house.
Filled with some tequila, beer, and a few glorious hits of weed after days of restraint, Nell wasn’t so worried about anything anymore. She stood up and started twirling to the song, giggling.
Lately, she hadn’t heard much music other than the metal rock the boys had been showing her. Though it had been growing on her, it was nice to hear something familiar.
“Why the hell did you bring this song?” Dennis cringed and covered his ears.
“What? It’s catchy,” Toni defended, his beer can sloshing as he spoke. “Plus, Duncan likes it.”
Nell watched the stars above her spin, mesmerized.
“Come dance with me,” she said to no one in particular. It’d been so long since she’d danced. She missed it.
There were a few grumbles, but when she looked away from the sky, Paulie was there, about as drunk as she was and mimicking her excited twirling.
An elated balloon filled Nell with such delight that she joined him, singing terribly to the lyrics and not caring because she felt sogood.
She glanced toward the others all sitting back on the ground and watching them. Toni nodded to the beat, and Dennis raised a brow.
She met Barrett’s eye. She wasn’t sure if he was drunk or high, but his face looked dazed, his smile lopsided as he tilted his head at her.
She ran toward them and grabbed both Dennis and Barrett by their hands, attempting to pull them to their feet.
“Come on, you guys. We’re celebrating you. This is the perfect way to celebrate.”
“For you, maybe,” Dennis said but relented and got to his feet. He didn’t twirl like her and Paulie, but he swayed, and Nell decided that was good enough.
Barrett, on the other hand, was not going to get off that easily.
Nell grabbed both his hands in hers and pulled him into the middle of the imaginary dance floor. She swung their arms together to the beat.
He stayed stiff, his eyes jumping between their hands and her feet, trying to match her steps.
“Don’t think so much, Scott,” Nell said, laughing at his focused face.
He lifted his eyes to her, and the moment his eyes landed on her, she felt his hold relax. His lips lifted to match her smile.
“Just have fun.”
Nell had danced at plenty of school dances, but for some reason, the school gym with an echoing speaker system and squeaking dress shoes didn’t compare to the dark quarry and scratchy radio and clicking gravel under their feet.
Maybe it was the unique setting or maybe it was the surprisingly clumsy rockstar who danced with her in circles. They were letting themselves live.
Halfway through the song, they were all dancing on the quarry road, laughing and teasing each other. Toni and Paulie followed Nell and Barrett’s lead, swinging each other around, while Dennis shook his head in disapproval, hiding a grin behind his beer.
