When everybody was finally ready, the girls piled into Karen's car. They only wanted to take one, so Megan squished in the back with Jen, Stacey, and Tara. Danielle, of course, got the front seat.
"It's good to be tall." Danielle said, turning around and grinning at them.
"Yeah, shut up." Stacey mumbled.
"It's only a few minutes – you'll be fine." Karen told them over her shoulder.
They found a space to park at the end of the street. Megan was surprised at how many cars there were. How many people came to these things?
Megan was more than ready to get out of that cramped back seat, but Tara had a few last-minute reminders for everyone.
"Remember, don't leave with someone you don't know. If you get in trouble, call someone. And watch your alcohol."
"Wait, what?" That last part was news to Megan.
"If you lose track of your glass just get another one. And don't let Keith pour you anything." Tara told her, misinterpreting Megan's surprise.
"Yeah, ok." Megan nodded.
She wasn't sure how much she'd actually have to worry about that though. She and Jen had sneaked a few drinks out of their parents' liquor cabinets once or twice, but Megan never really cared for the taste.
"And nobody let Stacey text Heath." Tara added.
"Yes, mother." Stacey rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious. I see you texting him, I'm throwing your phone in the toilet. He's not ruining this – especially since he won't even be here tonight."
"Wait – he won't?" Megan broke in. "Why not?"
"It's across town from where he lives – he says it's too far." Stacey shrugged, like he'd told her so many times she didn't even care anymore.
"Everyone ready?" Tara asked. When no one else said anything, they piled out of the car.
As they walked towards the house, Megan found herself getting nervous. She could barely believe she was doing this, but it seemed way too late to back out now. So she tried to look her most mature – like she basically crashed parties all the time. She just really hoped Jake's magic held and they wouldn't throw her out for being a junior or something. Nervously, Megan knocked on the door. Well, here goes nothing, she thought.
"Yeah?" An older blond boy asked, cracking the door open.
Megan was pretty sure he went to their school last year; he was on the soccer team or something. But what was he doing here? Was this really a party that college kids were attending? Maybe Megan had made a mistake in coming here after all; suddenly she felt like she could be in over her head.
"Uh, hi." she said.
The guy's abruptness had caught her off guard. She took a timid step towards the door. She was pretty sure it was going to slam in her face, but part of her thought that if she was close enough, she could stop it in time.
Megan stood there for a second, trying to think of something to say. She knew her popularity worked on kids at her school, but she was pretty positive it wouldn't affect college guys.
"Hey, Rollin." Jen said, stepping up next to Megan.
"Hey, Jen." the guy said, giving a short nod.
Megan just stared. How did Jen know someone in college? It wasn't like she had any older brothers or sisters she could have met him through. But as Megan stood there trying to figure it out, the question was answered for her.
"Greg's out back." Rollin said.
"Thanks." Jen told him.
He opened the door wide enough for Jen and her friends to go through. As Megan passed by him, that's when she saw it – the hint of green in his ice-blue eyes. That, paired with his narrow nose and his dirty blonde hair let Megan know: this guy was definitely related to Greg.
"So that's Greg's brother?" Megan asked. She hoped Jen couldn't see her blushing in the near-nonexistent light.
"Yeah." Jen nodded. "He's kinda reserved. But nice once you get to know him."
Now that they were safely inside, Megan looked around. The whole place was pretty dark. Kids gathered around every free space, and someone had music playing incredibly loudly. Jake was sitting on the couch in the living room, glass already in hand. He smiled when he saw her, raising his glass.
"Oh my God." Jen yelled in Megan's ear.
"What?" Megan shouted back.
"I can't believe he's really here!"
"Why not? I told you, I said he could come."
"Yeah – I know. He looks pretty comfortable over there." Jen didn't sound happy about that.
"He's fine." Megan told her. She wanted to come to a party to have fun, not to talk about what a great time it looked like Jake was having.
"I just hope you know what you're doing." Jen told her.
"Yeah, don't worry." Megan said. She hoped she didn't sound as annoyed as she felt.
"Who's he even talking to anyway?"
"No clue." Megan didn't even bother to turn and look; she'd had enough of this. "Let's go find something to drink."
She threaded her way through the crowd to the kitchen, not even bothering to wait for Jen to follow.
There was a guy about Rollin's age in the kitchen mixing something into a red plastic cup. Actually, most of the people here seemed to be that age.
"What can I get you?" he asked when he saw Megan.
"Are you playing bartender?" she asked.
"For the moment." he told her, taking a sip of his drink. "That's better." he said to himself. Then he looked back at Megan, waiting.
"Oh, I don't know." Megan said. "Just a coke I guess."
"Just a coke?" the kid raised his eyebrows. "No Jack?"
"I don't like the taste." she told him, shrugging.
"Well then, how 'bout I make you something good? I promise you'll like it."
"Uh, sure." Megan said. He got something pink out of the fridge – lemonade?
"Sure is." he confirmed when she asked. "They always have it here."
She watched as he added something clear to it. When he put it back on the counter, Megan saw it was rum.
"Try this." he handed the cup to Megan. Tentatively, she took a sip.
"Not bad." she told him, surprised. Actually, it was pretty good.
"See?" he grinned. "Don't ever let anyone tell you I don't know how to make girly drinks."
"Thanks." Megan narrowed her eyes a little. Sure, she wasn't really a drinker, but she didn't like to hear it called a girly drink. That hurt her sense of pride.
"Any time." he told her. "You need anything else, just ask for Caleb."
"Will do. Thanks." she said, even though she knew she probably never would. She raised her glass to him and took another sip as he disappeared into the crowd.
Now that she'd talked to someone other than Jen, Megan was feeling much better. And he'd even been a college boy! She never would have thought that was possible for someone like her. She thought about thanking Jake, but it occurred to her that she'd actually done this one on her own; her wish didn't carry over to college guys. Her friends would be so proud of her! Now all she had to do was find them.
Still sipping her drink, Megan walked casually through the house, trying to find someone she knew. There were a lot of people here, so she was having a hard time believing that she couldn't find anyone she knew.
She didn't see any of her friends in the family room, and even Jake had left the living room. Maybe she'd have better luck upstairs.
Most of the doors were closed, but there were a ton off people in the loft, and one of the far rooms had people coming in and out. It was the only room with the door open, so Megan figured she'd try her luck there. She got through the door and saw it was a game room of sorts. Greg was leaning against the pool table, talking to some of the soccer guys. Danielle and Stacey were only a few feet away.
"There you are!" Stacey said as soon as she spotted Megan. Megan waved and headed over.
"Where'd you go?" Stacey asked her. "I just turned around and you were gone."
"I was talking to this college guy downstairs." Megan beamed. "Actually, he was pretty cute."
"Really? Maybe I should check him out." Danielle said, coming over to them. "What's he look like anyway?"
"Dark hair, kind of messy. Nice eyes." Megan thought about it for a second. "Tall. Good smile too."
"So he looks just like Jake." Danielle snickered.
"No he doesn't!" Megan said quickly. She looked around, glad to see that neither Jen nor Jake was around to hear.
"What part of that didn't describe Jake?" Danielle countered.
Megan thought about it for a second.
Well, she'd already covered eyes, height...nose, maybe. And he wasn't exactly the same height. But she was pretty sure those differences weren't going to be enough to convince her friends. She stood there awkwardly, trying to come up with something to say.
"I knew it!" Danielle said, giving Megan a look. Before Megan could say anything, Stacey beat her to it.
"Eh, there are worse things than a guy who looks like Jake." Stacey said.
"So true." Danielle agreed. "Maybe I'll see if I can find this one."
"Me too." Stacey said quickly. She grabbed Megan's arm. "Come show us."
"What about Heath?" Megan asked.
"What about him?" Stacey asked blankly. "He's not here, remember?"
"Yeah..." Megan decided she didn't even want to ask.
She took them down to the kitchen, where she'd met Caleb. Of course, he wasn't there. But Danielle decided not to waste the opportunity.
"Your glass is empty." she told Megan.
"It is?" Megan looked down in surprise. She must have finished it on the way back downstairs.
"Here – what're you having?" Danielle was already perusing the bottles on the counter. Megan thought about it for a second.
"Light rum." She turned to the fridge and pulled out the still mostly full lemonade.
"Really?" Stacey asked. She'd already filled her glass and was now watching her friends.
"Actually, it's really good." Megan told her. "That guy showed me – Caleb."
Megan poured herself a drink – almost half and half. She was a little worried that she messed it up, but when she took a sip, it still tasted fine.
"Let me try that." Danielle said, taking the cup from Megan. She tried it, and Megan could see she was surprised. "Not bad – try this." she told Stacey, handing it over.
"I'll have to make this my round three." Stacey said, nodding in approval.
Once everybody had their drinks, the three of them went in search of that guy. They checked every room downstairs – living room, family room, den, even the master bedroom. Finally, they headed out to the backyard.
"You sure this guy's real?" Danielle asked.
"Of course I'm sure." Megan told her. How else would she have learned about that drink? She looked down at her mostly-full glass but didn't take a sip. Things were already starting to get a little fuzzy, and they hadn't been here that long. She was going to have to pace herself.
"Hey! There he is!" Megan said suddenly.
She pointed across the lawn to where Caleb was talking to someone. It took Megan a minute to recognize the other kid as Greg's older brother. As if they'd heard her, the two turned around.
"Hey! Girly Drinks!" Caleb called out to her. Megan tried not to look as annoyed as she felt. Really? Did he have to just shout that across the yard?
She walked over to him, her friends in tow. As they made their way, Megan found herself wondering if the ground was really that uneven or if the drinks were starting to hit her. She decided to blame the ground.
"So how're you liking those drinks?" he asked her.
"They're good." Megan told him.
"Of course they are." he gave a wicked smile that made Jake at his worst look absolutely charming. "So who are your friends?"
"Well, this is Stacey, and this is Danielle." Megan said pointing to each of her friends in turn. Then motioning back to him, she said, "And this is my personal bartender."
Now where did that come from? Sure, she was a little annoyed at the girly drinks thing, but that was still something she normally would have just said in her head. Either Jake was rubbing off on her, or she'd had more to drink than she thought. Megan didn't know which was worse.
"I like her." Caleb said to Rollin. "She the one your brother's dating?"
"No – this is her friend though." Rollin told him. Then nodding across the yard, he added, "That's the one Greg's with."
Megan turned and saw Jen and Tara standing on the patio.
"Jen!" Megan called, waving them over. When they were close enough, Megan asked, "Where's Karen?"
"Last I saw, she found Eric." Tara shrugged. "So what are you guys up to?"
"Megan's introducing us to Greg's brother and...Bartender." Stacey told her, slurring slightly. It wasn't until that moment that Megan realized just how drunk Stacey was.
"Caleb." Caleb told them.
"Nice to meet you." Tara told him. Then sliding her eyes to Stacey, she asked, "How much have you had?"
"Enough." Stacey beamed.
"I need to go to the bathroom." Megan told her friends. Besides, it was getting cold outside.
"I'll go with you." Tara said. "And Stacey too."
"I'm good." Stacey announced.
"Just real quick – come on." Tara told her. "We'll come right back."
"Fine." Stacey rolled her eyes, but followed them anyway.
When Megan came out of the bathroom, she had to fight her way through the crowd of kids jamming the hallway. Were there always so many people here?
It seemed to take forever, but she finally made into the game room at the end of the hallway – where Tara had said she'd meet Megan after finding some water for Stacey.
Of course, Megan couldn't find Tara or anyone else she knew either. They must have decided to go somewhere else in all the time it took her to finally come back. Well, that was just great – where were they? She decided to go out on the balcony to see if everyone else was still out in the yard; it was too stuffy in here anyway. She set her empty cup on a nearby table and started for the door.
Megan inched her way through the crowd and finally managed to squeeze through the French doors at the other end. There were still a ton of people crowding her, but at least she was outside. She found a place by the railing and looked out over the backyard.
She still couldn't see any of her friends, or even Rollin or Caleb. But she did see Jake hanging out with a group of guys she didn't know; she would have almost been jealous of his networking skills if she hadn't made friends with a few college guys herself tonight.
One of the guys said something, and Jake laughed loud. It was funny, watching him like that, he seemed like any kid her age. Someone handed Jake something, and Megan leaned over the balcony, trying to get a closer look.
As she was standing there, half over the balcony and straining to see, someone stumbled into her. She lost her balance and plunged head first over the railing, straight towards the ground below.39Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrvaYLsFIP
