Boy Crazy (5 page)

W
ith the Fourth of July behind them, the three girls decided that the following Saturday night was time to take what Greta had dubbed Project Kiss to the next level: clubbing.

“Enough with boys we’ve already dated, or go to school with, or have, like,
met
already,” Greta had declared earlier in the week. They’d been relaxing after work at Keagan’s parents’ house, enjoying the hot tub.

“Seriously,” Keagan had agreed. “Something different is definitely in order.”

“I want to hit a club this weekend,” Greta had continued.

“Yes!” Cassie had cried. It had been far too long since
she’d gone out dancing. “New and undiscovered boys! Bring it on!”

Which was how the three of them had ended up in skimpy outfits and high heels outside Club Danger on Cahuenga Boulevard. When Cassie was a kid, she’d spent her Sunday mornings in this very same neighborhood with her parents. Every Sunday was the Hollywood Farmers’ Market, which took over the streets, barring all cars and making the area a pedestrian walkway. The streets were crowded with white-canopied tents and the smell of earth and fresh produce. People wandered around with bulging baskets, munching on perfectly ripened tomatoes or sweet berries. Cassie and her father would always pick up fresh tamales from the tamale truck and eat them while they walked, while Cassie’s mom gathered fresh-caught fish and heavenly smelling loaves of bread baked that morning.

It was exciting to see how much the neighborhood had changed. It was now home to all kinds of hot new clubs and bars. Someone was obviously trying to make the most of what had once been a super-seedy neighborhood boasting not much more than the Arclight, Cassie’s favorite movie theater in the world. But the fact that the neighborhood had become cool while Cassie wasn’t paying attention didn’t make up for the fact that her feet hurt and standing in line was boring. Plus, she
suspected that the bouncer was only making them all wait so that people would think the club was über-exclusive—because they’d been in line a while and no one had gone near the door.

“I hate waiting,” Cassie muttered, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She’d borrowed one of Greta’s crazy-short dresses, and was trying to appreciate how long her legs looked rather than think about how much of her upper thighs were on display. Her outfit was far outside her comfort zone. She wore a shiny gold micromini dress that clung to her body and ridiculously high platform sandals with crisscrossing straps that made her feet ache. Keagan had applied Cassie’s makeup, using a lot more eye shadow than Cassie would have, and had also done Cassie’s hair so that it looked like she’d spent all day at a magical beach that didn’t ruin perfectly tousled waves. Greta had approved. She’d called Cassie “messily hot.”

Cassie wanted to feel hot. Instead, she felt self-conscious. She realized she was tugging the tiny dress farther down her legs and forced herself to stop.

“You need to learn how to live in the moment,” Greta murmured back, her voice all vampy. She was also wearing a micro dress in her signature black, but with bright red ankle boots. “There’s a lot of eye candy right here, and no one’s pushing you to get to the bar.”

Keagan and Cassie exchanged a look and giggled as
Greta pointed out a guy a little ways in front of them in the line snaking down the sidewalk. He smiled at Greta’s obvious point, and Cassie thought that maybe he was a little too Hollywood for
her
—gelled hair, carefully constructed outfit—but maybe he was perfect for Greta.

“See?” Greta asked. She turned back to her friends. “Where are we on Project Kiss, anyway? It’s already the second week of July. Time’s running out.”

“I’m good,” Keagan said brightly. She started ticking off kisses on her fingers. “There was the football guy from that party in the Palisades, obviously. And some random guy at a soccer cookout I went to the next day. And then that cutie with the sideburns and the guitar at the barbecue on the Fourth.”

“You missed a great barbecue, Cassie,” Greta said.

“Don’t rub it in,” Cassie moaned. “I’ve missed the family reunion for the past three years. My parents insisted I go this summer.” It had been nice to see all of her relatives and hang out in the hills near San Diego, but Cassie would have much preferred to spend the holiday with her friends.

“It was at a funky house in West Adams,” Greta said. Her hazel eyes sparkled. “I kissed one of the guys in the band, and then later made out with this other guy who claimed he was the band manager. I think he was making that up, but who cares? He was yummy.”

“You guys are killing me!” Cassie complained. “I
talked to my grandmother. My uncle Bobby quizzed me about my future plans. Ugh.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Keagan said in a soothing tone. “You can totally kiss your way around the club.”

“All I’ve had so far was the near miss with TJ from Boston,” Cassie said, pretending to hang her head in shame. “I’m a disappointment to us all.”

“Don’t forget your close call with Trey Carter,” Greta said with a snort. “That could have been a much bigger disaster.”

“Luckily, you saved me,” Cassie said lightly. She felt a pang of guilt. She should have told her friends about Trey’s unexpected appearance on Catalina the day after the party, but she hadn’t. She didn’t know why she’d kept it to herself, and a whole week had gone by. How could she bring it up now?

And then, as if in answer to her prayers, the line began to move.

“What are you smiling about?” Keagan asked, looking especially mysterious with lots of dark mascara and a high, sassy ponytail. Her dress was slightly longer than Cassie’s but made up for it by plunging to nearly her navel.

“This is going to be a great night,” Cassie told her, slinging one arm over her shoulders. She shoved Trey Carter out of her head and moved toward the sound pounding out from the club. “I can just tell.”

Inside, Greta immediately peeled off with her eye candy, who’d been waiting for her just inside the doors, near the coat check.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Greta singsonged. Cassie watched Greta saunter toward the guy, swinging her hips. She almost blended in with the black walls that made the entrance to the club feel like a cave. Dance music filled the air and shook the walls. People streamed past them, some headed into the main club area to the left, others straight ahead toward the bathrooms.

“That was quick,” Keagan said with a laugh, pulling Cassie forward, away from the entryway and farther into the club. “His friends are checking us out, if you’re interested.”

Cassie shot a look over her shoulder, then shrugged. Three guys returned her look, all of them dressed in that super-stylized Hollywood way. They were good-looking, but they looked like a matched set. They were a little bit plastic, a little too chiseled, and were all smiling like they expected Keagan and Cassie to come running. Not to mention they looked like they had more product in their hair than Cassie did.
No thank you.

“I kind of want to take my time,” she said. She fingered the high hem of her dress, then let it go. Again.

“I think you might be stalling,” Keagan teased her. “You haven’t even kissed
one
boy yet!”

“The summer is young!” Cassie protested. “I’m just getting started!”

“Excuses, excuses,” Keagan said, shaking her head as if scolding Cassie. “We made a pact, you know. I’m already up to four!”

“Four?” Cassie demanded. She led Keagan deeper into the club. The place opened up into a vast cavern of a dance floor—filled with glittering, gyrating people. The energy level was high and the beat was cranking. “When did you get four?” Cassie continued, shouting into Keagan’s ear. “You just said there were only three!”

“This guy I hung out with one night after work,” Keagan said with a shrug and a coy little smile. “He’s kind of a friend of a friend, I guess. I forgot.”

“You are bad,” Cassie told her.

“And you’re definitely stalling,” Keagan threw right back at her. “This is a prime opportunity to kiss more guys. I know I plan to!”

Cassie just laughed. She couldn’t hold back any longer, so she and Keagan hit the dance floor. It felt amazing to let go, to lose herself in the music.

After a few songs, Keagan pantomimed her need for a drink, so Cassie let her lead the way off the floor, though she was reluctant to go.

“It’s way too hot in here!” Keagan cried in Cassie’s ear. Instead of approaching the bar at the back, Keagan maneuvered through the crowd and led Cassie out into
the club’s vast, multitiered back patio. People stood in clusters, some smoking, some lounging across benches scattered at regular intervals. There were two additional bars on the patio—but the best part was how deliciously cool the night air felt against Cassie’s skin after all that dancing.

They got two bottles of water and snagged a bench, and were sighing with happiness when two cute guys walked up.

“You two look like you’re having fun,” the first one said. He had a warm, open smile and freckles that somehow worked with his curly blond hair. Cassie couldn’t help but admire someone who used his freckles to his advantage, having despaired over her own for so long.

“It’s summer,” Cassie said. She and Keagan grinned at each other. “Of course we’re having fun.”

The second guy had darker hair, and was both better looking in a classical way and preppier than his friend. He stepped up, eyeing Keagan with stark appreciation.

“I hear that,” he said. “I live for summer. Freshman year at Occidental kicked our asses.”

“Speak for yourself,” the first guy said with a laugh. He rolled his eyes at Cassie. “My buddy Ty here found it hard to get out of bed before four in the afternoon. But some of us had early labs, so we adjusted.” His smile widened when Cassie laughed appreciatively. “I’m Colin,” he said.

“I’m Penelope,” Keagan said from beside Cassie. Cassie whipped her head around to look at her, and caught her friend smirking slightly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Penelope,” Ty said, moving even closer to Keagan.

It hadn’t occurred to Cassie to make up a totally new identity, but she liked the idea. She could create a girl to match the dress she was wearing. A Greta-esque version of Cassie, who would dance her ass off and strut with confidence and start taking her Project Kiss responsibilities seriously. She smiled. The way her alter ego would.

“I’m Delilah,” she told the two guys, remembering from honors English that Delilah was supposed to be a temptress of biblical proportions. Like, literally. And besides, she’d loved that Plain White T’s song so much she’d practically considered having the lyrics tattooed on her body.

“That’s a beautiful name,” Colin said, and Cassie agreed with him. She wanted to be the Delilah that she imagined with perfect clarity: wicked, powerful, sexy, and carefree.

“Want to dance?” Cassie asked Colin, shooting a sideways glance at “Penelope.” She no longer cared if her dress was too short. She wanted it to be too short. She noticed Colin looking at her legs, and made sure her hips swung when she moved. Because that was how Delilah rolled.

“I would love to dance,” Colin said—which made Ty snort with laughter. She saw Ty give his friend a look that clearly said,
Since when do you dance?
Cassie figured everybody was playing some kind of game tonight. Why not run with it and see what the night held in store?

“Then let’s dance,” she said, and she took Colin’s hand as she led him toward the dance floor.

By the time the club’s lights came on, they were exhausted. And Cassie had found out a lot about Colin. He and Ty were frat brothers and roommates. Colin was originally from Florida, but he didn’t see moving back there after college—he liked California. He was the oldest of three kids, wished he could have brought his dog with him to school, wanted to be a doctor someday, and knew he was a terrible dancer but was willing to keep trying anyway.

In return, Cassie had told him nothing about herself. When he’d asked a question, she’d tossed her hair and refused to answer, with a sexy smirk. She’d had a blast. She loved being Delilah, who was flirtatious and daring and was happy to rub up against him one minute and then laughingly shimmy away the next. There was no getting close. No telling stories. She let him buy her a few drinks and didn’t even try to pay for them herself.
She laughed and danced and was actually disappointed when the night came to an end.

Colin walked her toward the valet. Up ahead, Ty and “Penelope” were leaning into each other and making out as they walked.

Colin took one of Cassie’s hands, and pulled her around to face him.

Cassie looked up at him—at his broad face with the sprinkling of freckles and the mischievous grin—and she knew that he was going to kiss her.

Finally.

He leaned down, fitting his mouth to hers. Cassie felt excitement speed through her body, and the kiss deepened. Cassie closed her eyes and swayed closer, not caring that they were in a crowded parking lot. Not even caring when his hands smoothed along her back, tracing the line of her spine. He was hot, and this had been coming all night. Cassie felt electric. On fire.

The kiss kept going. Colin put his hand on the back of Cassie’s head. His hand was hot and sweaty and as his mouth moved across hers, Cassie found herself wondering how much kissing was required to count toward her summer total. Did she actually have to fully make out with these guys? Or was a single kiss acceptable? She and the girls were going to have to hammer out some details.

Colin was still kissing her, and Cassie began to notice how he was breathing kind of funny through his nose.
And how he moved his tongue in her mouth. She noticed it in a clinical, detached way, which made everything feel awkward.

Why am I still kissing him?

It was an excellent question. Cassie pulled away and smiled a little guiltily at Colin when his unfocused eyes finally trained on her.

“Oh, um, thanks,” she said. “I had a really good night.”

“I’ll call you,” he said, and Cassie didn’t bother to tell him that she hadn’t given him her number.