Page 13 of Claimed by the Fallen
Surprisingly,I end up having fun at theconcert.
Once Joey and I rejoined Annie in the middle of the crowd, Young and Heart came onto the stage almost immediately. My friends cheered with the rest of the crowd, and I wound up joining in as the Texas country band began to play. I shimmied and swayed to the familiar country-rock songs, and I laughed as Joey alternated between twirling me and Annie. I didn’t even care when people bumped into me. Everyone was too busy enjoying the concert. No one intended to be rude. If I ignored the unfortunate incident of being spilled on, I’d consider the whole evening ablast.
Two hours later, my friends and I funnel out of the venue. We trail behind a large group of drunk adults, singing along as they scream-sing their favorite Young and Heart songs. Joey hangs his arms over Annie’s and my shoulders, shifting us from side to side like we are still dancing at theconcert.
The fun doesn’t stop when we pile in to Joey’s new car. As the birthday girl, I am given the honor of sitting in the passenger seat. I use my coveted position to hook up my phone to the auxiliary cable. I proceed to play Young and Heart’s lesser known tracks, and we continue to belt out thelyrics.
The drive back to Valley Lake happens too fast. Before I know it, Joey is pulling into Annie’s neighborhood. Annie lives on the outskirts of Valley Lake while Joey and I live close to towncenter.
Joey pulls into her driveway, and I step out of the car at Annie’s request. She gives me a big hug and tells me “happy birthday” for the tenth time that night. I squeeze her tight, thanking her for a great time. I tell her I will text her tomorrow, then we partways.
I slide back into the car. Joey and I watch Annie unlock her front door under the porch light, and we wave goodbye right before she ducksinside.
Joey rests a hand against my headrest when he turns around to check for traffic. He reverses out of the driveway, puts the car in drive, and we roll away from Annie’shouse.
“Did you have fun tonight?” Joey asks over themusic.
I lower the volume to a manageable level. “Actually, yes.” I turn my head and smile at him. “Thanks for pushing me togo.”
Joey shoots me a glance and returns my smile. “Don’t thank me. It was all Annie’sidea.”
That doesn’t surprise me. Joey’s only slightly more social than I am. Annie is definitely the outgoing one in ourgroup.
“Still,” I say, “I appreciate you being there. I had a lot offun.”
“No problem.” He hits his blinker and turns right at the stoplight. “So, tell me, how does it feel to be eighteen? Feeling super mature or adult-likeyet?”
I roll my eyes at his corny joke. “Nope. I feel exactly thesame.”
“You sure?” He persists. “You don’t suddenly have the desire to go buy a lottery ticket? Or what about cigarettes? We can stop at a gas station rightnow.”
His words remind me of Adrian. I can still picture him standing on the rusty staircase, smoking at the concert. I’m still not sure what to make of our unusual conversation. He’d been so direct. He almost acted like we’d known each other. There was a lot of familiarity in Adrian’s comments and loadedlooks.
“Hello? Earth toRonnie?”
My eyes snap to Joey. “Huh?”
“Did you hear what I said about the gas station?” he asks. Though, his words lost some of theirhumor.
“Oh, yeah. No thanks to the cigarettes and lotto. Maybe some othertime.”
Joey shrugs. “Suityourself.”
I face the road, and my mind replays my short encounter with Adrian. I remember the tingles his handshake caused on my skin, and I wonder why he bothered to talk to me in the firstplace.
When I think about it, there is no way Adrian’s greeting had occurred by chance. I’d seen him staring at me from the staircase. Logic says he must have seen me leaving the crowd and intentionally intercepted me on my way to therestroom.
Butwhy?
Why would someone likehimbe interested in speaking with someone likeme?
Joey interrupts my thoughts. “Aren’t you going to ask me aboutPreston?”
I frown, turning toward my friend again. Oncoming headlights shine through the windshield, illuminating Joey’s face. He looks tense. “What aboutPreston?”
I see him raise an eyebrow. “Don’t you want to know why I was talking to him at theconcert?”
“Oh.” You know, after I spoke with Adrian, I’d totally forgotten about Preston and the fact he not-so-subtly checked meout.
