Page 2 of My Heart to Keep
I shared her excitement on most of what she’d said, except I wouldn’t be breaking up with Maiken. “What new things do you have in mind?”
She tucked her bra strap under the sleeve of her tank top. “I don’t know yet. I’ve never tried liquor. Maybe I’ll start there.”
I reared back as my mind grappled with her statement. Liquor wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when I thought of trying something new for the first time. I was thinking more along the lines of officially becoming a woman. Maiken and I had yet to take that plunge. We’d been dancing around the topic of sex.
“You know how that went down with Marcus at Sloane’s party last year?” Marcus had gotten so stinking drunk he’d fallen and busted up his face. That had been the beginning of a tense junior year for Maiken. His brother had ruined Maiken’s basketball season because of his drinking and acting out, causing Maiken to get hit by a car driven by Marcus’s girlfriend, Sloane.
“I didn’t say I would get drunk. I just want to try it. Maybe we should both try one alcoholic beverage tonight. We should experience that together.”
I shook my head. “Absolutely not. I have to have my wits about me. You know my parents will be up at the house and no doubt watching from a distance.”
Celia rolled her eyes. “Live a little. One drink will loosen you up too. I can see you’re already wound tight.”
I snorted. “I’ll pass.” With my luck, one drink would turn into two, and since I’d only tried a sip of beer once in my life, anything harder than that would surely mess me up.
She pouted. “You’re a downer. We’re seniors. We’re young adults. Let’s have fun.”
I trudged inside and snagged the box of balloons off one of four tables and threw it to my best friend. “I plan to have fun, just not with alcohol.”
She began blowing up balloons with Daddy’s air pump while I unpackaged the tablecloths. Aside from string lights hanging from the rafters, the decorations weren’t that elaborate. In fact, if anyone wanted to sit, they could use the bales of hay scattered along the walls.
Celia flicked through her phone. “We need music.” Within a beat, Selena Gomez’s voice filled the barn, and Celia sang along to “Lose You to Love Me.” She had a pretty voice, and sometimes I wondered why she didn’t take up singing.
“Are you sure you want to study communications?” I asked. “With your voice, you could sell records.”
“I don’t think so. My voice isn’t all that great.”
“I beg to differ.” My phone pinged, and I plucked it out of my short shorts. I beamed from ear to ear as I answered. “Maiken.”
“Hey, babe,” he drawled in that Southern accent that made the butterflies come alive in my stomach. “You ready for tonight?”
I swallowed. “Why do you sound like you’re about to give me bad news?”
Celia stopped singing and gaped.
“Sorry. No bad news. Marcus and I were arguing. That’s all.”
I bit my tongue. Marcus was the bane of the Maxwell family, the little black sheep in some ways. His rebellious nature was epic, but Marcus wasn’t my concern.
“You’re coming to my party, right?” I held my breath. I would strangle Marcus if he screwed things up for Maiken.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” he said. “But…”
Of course there was a but. There was always a but.
Celia pursed her red lips as she prodded me with her eyes.
I shrugged at my BFF.
“Um… Marcus wants to come,” Maiken said.
The blood drained to my feet. “Do you think that’s wise to let Marcus come to a party? You know how he gets.” Maiken had told me Marcus was still drinking.
Maiken let out a huge breath. “He promised he would be on his best behavior. I’ll watch him.”
Anger seeped into my veins. If Maiken was worried about Marcus, then I would play second fiddle. Plus, the party was mainly for seniors and some juniors, like Emma and Ethan Maxwell, who were my friends. Marcus was far from being my friend. Besides, he was only a sophomore.
Celia shook her head vigorously. Maybe I needed to take Celia up on her offer and have one drink.
