Hooked (9 page)

    
“Yeah, we’re cool
,
” Cam said as he looked back down at me.  “I’ll see you tonight
,
Millie
.
”
H
e smirked like seein
g me at the party tonight meant more than actually seeing me at the party.
  “Hey, Cash you ever been to a bonfire before?”  Cam asked.

    
“No
,
” Cash said.

    
“You should
come
.  W
e’ll show you how we party here in Tennessee.”

    
“Maybe
,
” Cash spoke in a low short reply.
 
He didn’t even look at Cameron as he answered him.  He kept his eyes on me like Cameron didn’t matter. 
Cameron left, leaving me and Cash standing there.

    
“I don’t like the way he touches you.”

    
“Well, I‘ve had to handle Cameron for a few years now
,
so this isn’t a big deal, you shouldn’t worry about it
,
” I told him confidently.

    
“I never said I worried about it, I said I didn’t like it,” he said never breaking eye contact with me.

    
“So, what does that mean?  You don’t like it because you think of me like a sister or something?”

    
“No, I can honestly say I have never
thought of y
ou as a sister. 
You’re
too beautiful to be kin to me
,
”
h
e said smiling, knowing it was going to make me uncomfortable.

  
 
“Thank you
,
but you confuse me.”

    
“Well, there is really nothing complicated or confusing about it.  I like you, I think
you’re
beautiful
,
and I’m going to see you at that party tonight
,
”
h
e said as he walked off and left me standing there holding a basketball and thinking about our kiss the other day.

     When I got home that afternoon
,
I started getting all my stuff together so I could go over to Jess’ apartment.  I put everything in a bag and headed down stairs.  “Mom, I’m going to Jess’.  I’ll be home in the morning.”

    
“Mil, have fun and be careful
,
”
she
says like she know
s
we are going to a party we are not supposed to be at.

    
“Will do
,
” I say as I give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

    
As I head over to Jess’
,
I am really excited.  I think it is the unknown with Cash.  I am really looking forward to seeing him and I hope I bring him to his knees with my skirt.  I think he likes my legs, I mean
,
I’ve caught him staring at them whe
n
I had shorts on.  I make a mental note to put lotion on them tonight
,
just in case. 

    
I pull in at Jess’ and I notice Cash’s car parked in front of his apartment door.  I start smiling for no other reason, but that I know we are mere feet from each other.  I wonder what he will have on
,
I think
,
as I walk up to Jess’ door.  I bet he will have on a pair of
old jeans, white or black
T-shirt
(he really switches it up sometimes) and a ball cap that he will go back and forth between wearing
frontwards
and backwards.  I love seeing him switch it around
, it seems as if he does it in slow motion and has complete control over it.  When he puts it on frontwards, he ducks his head in the
slightest
way. 
He always messes with it
,
too.  I don’t think he even realizes he does it because a lot of the times he’s talking when he does it.  I can’t help but to stare at him when he does it though.  I know so little about him, it’s like he is giving me small glimpses of himself, even if it’s only knowing which hand he picks his hat up with to change it around on his head. 
Tell me, how does someone putting on a ball cap look so hot?

     I get to the door and Jess opens it before I knock.  “What are you doing out there?” 

    
“Nothing, I was just thinking
.
”
  A
bout Cash
,
I add in my head.

    
“Well, get in here girly, we have a lot to do.  We are going to have Cash eating out of our hands.”

    
“Our?”

    
“Don’t be a smartass
,
Millie
.
I
t doesn’t suit you.  And what I meant by our
,
is that I’m helping so that makes it us
.
”
S
he smiles at me like it is all worked out now.
 
“Cara and Jason are going to meet us there,” she tells me as I start changing.

    
Once I am dressed
,
I look in her full length mirror and feel like I look pretty good.  I’m wearing a
short
jean skirt, a black sleeveless shirt and a
black
pair of converse with no socks.  Cara would have worn heels with the skirt, but I wanted to be realistic.  I’m going to be in the middle of a field, drinking for the
first
time and I’m not completely confident that I won’t fall or puke or both anyway.

     I keep my long hair down with minimal make up.  I borrow a pair of Jessica’s earrings and I’m ready to hit the door.  Jess looks cute as ever.  She’s dressed in a pair of short cut offs and a red Police tank top.  One of her idols is Sting and she will love him forever no matter how old he gets.
She throws a black and white plaid shirt on and her white converse.  Jess puts her hair up in a bun.  She always looks pretty and never even tries.  Cara is pretty in a put together way.  She’ll
probably have on skinny jeans, a
sequined top
,
and high heels
.  We are all three so different
,
but we get along so well I think that is part of the charm with our friendships.  Cara
is always
proper and look
s
her best, while I’m more of the girl next door and Jess, she’s just gorgeous an
d doesn’t have to try at all, just natural
.

     We head out to my car after we told her sister that we wouldn’t be home because we were planning on staying with Cara.  Yes, we tried the
old excuse that every teenager in the world has either tried or thought about at sometime or other,
knowing it would probably backfire, but at the same time thinking it was somehow worth it.  We figured we would be drinking and of course, non
e
of us could drive.  Most of the kids from
school had decided to just take sleeping bags out to the field and sleep next to the bonfire under the stars.

   
When we get to the party, it is in full swing.  I spot Cara and Jason by the fire. “There they are
,
” I say as we make our way up to them.  When we walk up
,
I notice Jake came too.  “Hey guys!”   

    
Jake comes over and puts his arm around me and says, “Hey Mil, finally made it to your first party
,
eh?”  I push him away playfully
.
 
“Yeah right
, you
just make sure you don’t drink too much, I’d hate for you to get sick on us,” he said laughing.  He walked off and I noticed Jess staring off at him.

    
“What’s up with that?”

    
“What?” 
She
said like she was uncomfortable.

    
“Umm, you just stared at Jake like you were 800 lbs and he was the last doughnut in the free world.”

    
“You got jokes, huh?
  Well, I have no idea what
you’re
talking about
,
”
s
he said
nonchalantly
.

    
“
Oh my
gosh!
 
Why didn’t I see this before?
  You so like Jake!”  I whisper yell at her.

    
“I think your equilibrium is off since meeting Cash.” 

    
It was too easy.  All she had to do was mention his name and I started thinking of him. I looked all over and didn’t see him.  He said he would be here, I thought.

    
“Let’s get a drink,” Jess says. 

    
I follow her to the coolers.  I have absolutely no idea what to get.  There were so many drinks to pick from and my way of picking liquor was based on what was going to make me sick or not.  Jess grabs a beer
,
so I do the same.

    
“All right
,
Millie, don’t drink too fast or you’ll get sick.  Just sip it at first…ok
ay
?”

    
“Gotcha.” 

    
I start out with my beer and sitting on the back of a tail gate by the fire.  I just sit around listening to everyone talking.  It seems like everyone is having
a
great time. 
I’m so glad I decided to come, even though I considered backing out because of Cameron.

    
When I finish my second beer
,
I realize that Jess and Cara have
wondered
off.  I go to get off the tailgate and someone grabs my hand.
  I look up and see Cameron
standing over me.  “Millie, we were just about to do some shots, you in?” he asks me.  I am definitely feeling different after only two beers.

    
“Okay
,
” I say sounding kind of unsure.  He pours two shots and hands one to me.  I look around thinking no one else has a shot.  I shrug and ask him how I do this.

    
“Just relax and tilt your head back and let it slide down your throat
,
”
h
e explains.

     “
Okay,
”
I say mostly to myself,
“
I got this
.
”

    
I
take the shot and it burns my throa
t
,
but I push it down.  I shake my head as I swallow it.
  Cam and some of the guys on the basketball team give each other high
-f
ives after he finishes his shot.  Then
,
he pours another round and this time includ
es
the other guys.  I look around
,
but still can’t find Cara or Jess.  Cam hands me the shot glass and I toss it back
.  I
t burns again
,
but this time not as bad.  After three shots, or was it four? Cam steps in between my legs.  He has his hands on both my thighs.  Damn, why did I want to wear this skirt again?  Oh yeah, that’s right for Cash
,
who didn’t even show up.

     Cameron leans into me and whispers in my ear,
“
Let
’
s get out of here.”