Burning Down the House (20 page)

“
That was the best
anything
ever.” He lifted his head to brush my lips before carefully pulling away. “I’ll be right back.” Climbing out of bed, he vanished into the bathroom, presumably to get rid of the evidence. I stretched out luxuriously with a silly grin on my face.
A virgin no more…holy cow, I just let Rob Kensington pop my cherry! Who would’ve ever thought? Me and Goth Boy?

He returned to slide between the sheets again,
cuddling me close to his smooth, hard chest. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Not at all
,” I sighed contentedly. He began to caress my cheek with his thumb, and my eyes closed in pure rapture. It was hard to believe this was the same guy who, just two months ago, was crudely demanding that I stay out of his way. Life can be very unpredictable.

“
You are so hard to resist,” he admitted in a low voice. “I knew I was in trouble the minute you walked in that door in August. Damned if I wasn’t right.”

“You think I’m trouble?” I wondered if I should feel insulted by that remark.

“That’s not what I meant, Saralou.” He kissed the tip of my nose and I smiled. “But I do think we need to establish a few ground rules.”

Rules? My heart began to sink as I imagined all sorts of scenarios. Was he
about to tell me something I didn’t want to hear? I thought about all those nights he’d supposedly been over at Trent’s after football practice. Maybe he was seeing someone else and I just didn’t know about it. “What are you talking about?” I asked faintly.

“I’m talking about your dad. He doesn’t need to know about this.”

Oh…right.

“We just have to be careful, is all I’m saying. If he ever ha
s reason to suspect something’s going on, things could get…messy. You know what I mean?”

“Better safe than sorry, is that what you’re saying?”

“Exactly. We should keep it on the down low for now.”

“
Sure. We can do that.” How
would
my dad react if he found out? I knew he was fairly liberal and definitely not a puritan when it came to sex. During my summers here I’d woken up more than once to find one of his “friends” in our kitchen flipping pancakes. Also, I was eighteen now and technically considered an adult. But as Rob had pointed out before, in my father’s eyes I
was
still his little girl. The last thing I wanted was to give him an excuse to kick our houseguest to the curb. Not that I honestly thought he’d ever do something like that. It didn’t fit his benevolent personality and besides, he really seemed to adore Rob. But it just wasn’t worth the risk. “Tell me something.”

“
Okay.”

Pausing, I debated for a moment
before chickening out. “No, never mind.”

“What is it
?” he gently pressed. “Go ahead. Ask me anything.”

“Forget it - it’s stupid.”

Grasping my chin, he forced me to look straight into his twinkling eyes. “Now listen up here, little miss - you either spit it out or I’ll have to spank it out of you.”

I
stifled a giggle at his so-called threat. “Really? ’Cause I might like it. Was that supposed to intimidate me or something?”

“Yeah…I didn’t think that one through.
Come on now, what’s your question? Let’s hear it.”

“
All right. Um…” I hoped he didn’t think I was some kind of possessive stalker type for asking this. “Why do you have condoms in your room?”

He considered this. “I think what you really
want to know is whether or not I’m a man whore. Am I right?”

“Okay…we’ll go with that.”

“How many girls have you seen me with?”

“None
,” I had to admit.

“That’s right, none.
I bought them not long ago just in case, with you in mind - and yeah, I know it was presumptuous but I wanted to be prepared just in case. I think I knew all along this was coming. No pun intended.”

“Oh.” I felt a little
foolish, but immensely relieved and now I was glad I’d asked. At least I wouldn’t be obsessing over it. I should have quit while I was ahead, but my need to know all was a rebellious driving force. “But you’ve done this before,” I blurted, and it came out as a statement rather than a question. Of course it wasn’t his first time. He was way too confident and self-assured to be new at this.

He pressed his forehead against mine. “Not with anyone who mattered.”

I decided that was enough for now. Suddenly I didn’t want to know any more. Not now, not tonight. Tonight was ours.

“I’m on the pill,” I confessed.

“You are?”

“Yeah, but I just started taking them three days ago so I didn’t figure they were working yet.”

He was just about to say something when his cell phone started going off somewhere on the floor. Rolling over, he reached down to dig it out of his pants and held it up to see who the caller was.

“
It’s Trent. This oughta be good.” After answering the call with, “What’s up, ass clown?” he turned on the speakerphone option with a grin. I could hear voices shouting and loud music in the background.

“Hey man!
Need you to do me a solid.”

“What’s that?”

“Come pick me up. I need a ride.” Dana’s muffled voice said something I couldn’t make out before Trent rephrased his request. “
We
need a ride. Me an’ sexy Alice here - she done had too much of the
drink me
potion…”

Even in the darkness, I could see
Rob’s eyes turn to the ceiling. “I assume you’re out at Savage River.”

“You assume…
correctly.
” Trent began to laugh raucously, obviously finding his own wit terribly funny.

“Hang tight. I’m on my way, gimme half an hour.” He dropped the phone on the nightstand with a sigh. “Dammit.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Sounds like they both had a little too much of the
drink me
potion.”

“Wanna go for a ride?”

“Sure. Just give me five minutes to get dressed.”

In my own bathroom, I found a pink smear on the toilet paper
but that was to be expected. I was glad it wasn’t worse. Dana told me she bled all over the place her first time. That was summer before last, when she was infatuated with some lifeguard she met during her vacation in Ocean City. I remembered meeting him once. His name was Harley, and he was a bronzed beefcake with long hair and the IQ of a box of instant mashed potatoes. Their relationship didn’t last long.

After hastily brushing my teeth and rubbing on a bit of scented lotion, I dressed in a pair of jeans and
a blue Adidas hoodie before meeting Rob in the living room. He already had the car keys in his hand and was waiting for me. I felt a flutter in the pit of my stomach at the mere sight of him, and when he placed his hands on my waist to pull me near I felt every pore reverberate in response.

“You know…you have never looked more beautiful
to me than you do right now,” he said softly.

That could be true.
I’d never felt more beautiful.

16

It wasn’t
difficult to find the cabin. Colin had sent out a Google map to everyone he’d invited, and since it was right on the river it wouldn’t have been hard to locate even without it. Once we heard the loud bass thumping of music and drove past the yard littered with dozens of vehicles, it was apparent that we’d arrived. The only place we could find to park was on the side of the road.

There was no point in ringing the doorbell, not only because
the sound would’ve been drowned out by the blaring of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s
Relax
, but also because the front door was already standing wide open. The living room was wall to wall people, some dancing suggestively and some just standing around talking, many of them in Halloween costumes and most of them feeling no pain. If I’d had any concerns about whether Rob would want to keep our relationship a secret from everyone at school, they were dispelled when he put a protective arm around my waist.

“
Robbie!
Omigod everybody, look who’s here - it’s
Robbie!
” I wanted to stick a finger down my throat when Staci bounced her way over to us, scantily clad as a sexy bunny complete with whiskers, long ears and stiletto heels. Funny, I wasn’t aware that rabbits were in the habit of wearing stripper shoes with fishnet stockings. Wouldn’t that make it hard to escape predators in the wild? Her propped-up-and-on-display tits were practically falling over the top of her skimpy outfit. “You guys wanna drinkie-poo?” she cooed in a shrill voice, shaking the cup in her hand enough to slosh some of the contents onto the hardwood floor.

“You want a drink?”
Rob looked down at me.

“No
thanks, I’m good.” I wondered if he intended to hang around for a while. In my faded jeans and hoodie, I felt underdressed and distinctly out of place.

“
Howdy, y’all!” We turned our heads in the direction of the voice that had snuck up behind us and I burst out laughing when I saw Doug. He was wearing a cowboy hat, bandanna and vest, and yes, the infamous leather chaps with only a g-string underneath. Melanie Walker was beside him in a cute spotted cow costume, and she raised her hand in a shy greeting.

“
I gotta say, you are one brave chick to let yourself be seen in public with this fruitcake,” I told her, still in hysterics.

“I know, right!” She shook her head in mock exasperation. “It’s
so
embarrassing.”

“What, you don’t like my costume?”
Doug baited us with a sly grin. “Wanna see the back?”

“
NO!
” Rob and I both yelled at the same time.

“Once you shee that shit, it can’t never be unsheen,”
Colin warned us, staggering up beside Staci. “I’m so fuckin’ glad you guys’re here! We were juss ’bout to do s’more keg stands out in the shicken…chicken…ah, y’know what the fuck I mean…”

“
Kitchen,” Staci giggled.

“He’s drunk off his ass,”
Doug needlessly announced, taking a sip from the plastic cup in his hand.

“Thanks, Captain Obvious. You
got any idea where Trent is?” Rob was scanning the crowd, but there was no sign of either Trent or Dana.

“I think they went upstairs
to the loft a little while ago,” Melanie offered helpfully. “I don’t know if they’re still there though.”

“So whass up with
this
…?” Staci demanded, suddenly taking notice of Rob’s arm around me. “Are you two like, boyfriend-girlfriend now?”

“That’s right.”
Lowering his head to mine, he told me, “I’m gonna go find Trent. You stay here with Melanie, all right?”

“Okay.” I watched him ascend the staircase, taking the steps two at a time.
God, he was gorgeous. And he’d just claimed me as his girlfriend.
Sweet.

“I
coulda told you that shit was gonna happen,” Doug informed me, smirking.

“What shit?”
I gave him a coy smile even though I knew exactly what he meant.

“You and
Rob. I saw that comin’ a mile away.”

“He tappin’ that ass?”
Colin looked way more interested than he should have. For that matter, so did Staci. More fodder for the rumor mill.

“
Man…shut your drunk ass up.” Doug gave him a shove and Colin, in his inebriated state, lost his balance and wound up sprawled across the floor. Staci doubled over, shrieking with high-pitched laughter while several other people who’d witnessed him fall on his backside joined in.

“Do you know where the bathroom is?” I asked
Melanie, figuring I might as well make use of it while I was here. There was no telling if we were going straight home. With Trent along for the ride, we were all likely to wind up somewhere in Delaware.

She pointed. “Down that hall, first door on the right.”

“Thanks. I’ll be right back.” Skirting through the crowd, I made my way to the bathroom where I rapped on the closed door. “Hello? Anyone in there?” It was impossible to hear any response over the loud music and voices trying to talk over one another, so I tried the door. Discovering it unlocked, I went on in to find some girl in a French maid costume hunched over the toilet, head practically shoved all the way inside.

“Sorry
, I didn’t know anyone was in here.” I started to leave but then I caught a glimpse of some distinctly familiar red hair.

“
Jordan?” Closing the door behind me, I locked it so no one else could come in. She was making godawful retching noises, and I had to clench my teeth to keep from gagging just from the gross sound. Rubbing her heaving back, I asked sympathetically, “Are you all right?”

“Nu
hhh…” she moaned, in a perfect imitation of someone who was welcoming death with open arms.

I found a clean washcloth and wet it
with cold water, then squeezed it out and folded it across the back of her neck. “Can I get you anything?”

She reached up to flush the toilet,
lifting her head just enough to gaze at me with glassy green eyes. There were tears running down her cheeks. “Oh. Hey. I know you.”

“Ye
ah, sweetie, you know me. It’s Sara.” Poor thing was even more shitfaced than Colin, if that was possible. “You gonna be okay now?”

“Not gonna be okay.
S’never gonna be okay.” She rubbed her nose and sniffled.

“Can I get you a glass of water?
Maybe some ice chips?”

“No…you don’t know. You don’t know, see
…it’s
not
okay.”

“
Listen, I promise, you’ll be fine in just a -”

“
No.
You listen to me. He’ll break your heart. He’ll use you, then he’ll break your heart.”

I froze, staring down at her
, startled by the uncanny timing of her prediction. “What? Who? Who are you talking about?”

Her hand
grasped the charm necklace that still hung around her neck, rubbing the “
R
” between her thumb and index finger. “You’ll find out. He’s got his eye on you next. I know it.”

Did she mean
Riley? I quickly reached out to catch the washcloth just before it fell to the tile floor and used it to gently wipe the corners of her mouth. “Believe me, I’m not interested. And you should just forget about him too. Trust me, you can do a lot better.”

“Love is a rebellious bird that none can tame, and you call him quite in vain if it suits him not to come…”
She was gazing past me, and I had no idea what she was seeing or, for that matter, what she was rambling on about. Crap, maybe she had something more potent than just alcohol in her system.

“
Jordan, sweetie, you’re starting to freak me out. Should I go get someone?”

Her eyes shifted to me for a moment, then she dropped them with a
despondent sigh. “No. I’m all right.”

“You sure? Do you have a ride home?”

“Uh-huh.” She struggled to stand up and I grabbed her by the elbow to steady her. “It’s all good. I’m okay.”

“Are you done throwing up?”

“Um. I think so.”

“
Okay. Why don’t we get out of here before someone else needs to come in.”

“
No, not yet. I just…I need a couple minutes. Please.”

“
Will you be okay alone?”

“Yes
, I’m all right now. I’m feeling a little better.”

“Promise me you
won’t try and drive home like this.”

“I’m not.”
She pressed a shaky hand against her forehead. “Whew…no more tequila shots for me. I didn’t even think I had that much.”

“Snuck up on you, didn’t it?” I gave her a
compassionate smile.

“Ugh.” She shuddered
as if the very thought made her want to be sick again.

“Well
…if you’re sure you’re okay I’m gonna go now.”

She nodded.
“Thank you, Sara.”

“No problem. Take it easy
on the tequila.” I slipped out of the bathroom and decided to take a different route this time, in case Trent and Dana were down here somewhere. Wandering along in the opposite direction while navigating my way through the mob, I found my way to an open door that led to a huge screened-in back porch. I was scanning the crowd for a certain Alice in Wonderland when a pair of hands snaked around my waist from behind. Smiling, I turned around, expecting to see Rob but instead I got the booby prize.

“You made it after all!”
Riley jubilantly gathered me up into an awkwardly close hug. “Good to see you.”

“Yeah…” I squirmed my way out of his clutches. “Actually
we’re just here to pick up Dana and Trent. You seen either of them around?”

He didn’t catch the
“
we
” I’d thrown at him. “No, last time I saw them was about…oh, I’d say half an hour ago. What’s your hurry? Stay and hang out for a while.”

A
t least he didn’t appear to be completely wasted, unlike just about everyone else here. Although I did smell liquor on his breath. Instead of some outlandish costume, he was dressed in cargo pants and a turquoise Polo shirt. Had to keep up that preppy image, apparently. “I think you oughta go check on Jordan,” I told him. “She was just in the bathroom puking her guts up.”

He
shook his head with a derisive snort. “That bitch is not my problem anymore. Enough is enough. I’ve had it - I’m done with her and her asinine head games.”

“At least go talk to her!
She was in there crying. From what she was saying, it’s obvious she’s not over you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, princess.
She doesn’t give a damn about me.”

Princess?
Oh, gag me.
“She still wears your necklace. Or haven’t you noticed?”

“What necklace?”

“The silver chain with your initial on it. Didn’t you give her that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never gave her any necklace.”

“You didn’t?” His puzzled expression seemed genuine enough. So maybe she’d bought the charm herself. Or it could be I was wrong about this whole thing and her “
R
” was someone else entirely.

“No
, I didn’t.” He draped both arms over my shoulders and brought his head close to mine while I made a futile attempt to back away. “Why don’t we take a walk down to the dock? We can find a nice romantic spot by the river. It’s too loud in here, princess. I’m starting to get a headache.”

“You’ll
be feeling a lot more than a headache if you don’t take your hands off her,” warned a familiar sultry voice.

Oh,
perfect. Why was I cursed with such unbelievably lousy timing? It figured that Rob would materialize beside me at that exact moment. His eyes were piercing through Riley like steel daggers. I hoped he didn’t think I was out here flirting with him.