we’re doing.”
“So you’ve had booze at all your parties? For how long?”
“Well, this is the first time, officially…but she always turned a blind eye before.” Lacy grinned. Then she turned to where Gabe was lounging on a chair surrounded by girls and called out, “Beer, Gabe?”
“Toss it over.” She did and he caught the can deftly with one hand. I could tell the girls thought that was super awesome as they all oohed at the catch. Oh, and ’cause one also said, “That was super awesome.” He winked at me before turning back to them. I guess that was his way of forgiving me for splashing him. Thanks, Gabe.
I looked back at Lacy and had to face a smug smile. “Sure you don’t want one?”
“I’m sure.”
Amber and I moved over to the table where she had the condiments and salads laid out. Her mother had obviously gone to great lengths preparing all of it, but it seemed like kind of a stupid effort to me, considering how fast the guys were wolfing everything down. Like some magic trick: “Watch as a table of food magically disappears!”
We managed to grab some of the potato salad before it too vanished, and a couple carrot sticks and dip. The platter of veggies was pulled out from under Amber’s hand and I could tell she was about to tell off whoever’d done it until she realized it was Brett.
“Oh, hey, Brett,” she said, her voice rising an octave and getting kind of quiet.
“Hey, Amber,” replied Brett, a mouth full of cucumber. “Didn’t know you were here.”
“Yeah.” Amber took a sip of her beer and didn’t say anything else.
Brett turned to me. “You look good in a swimsuit.”
“Uh, thanks,” I replied.
“Yeah, you should wear them more often.”
“I’m not sure that would be very practical…”
“Well, you know what I mean.”
“Not really.”
There was a pause in our conversation as Brett chewed. I watched. When he swallowed he spoke again.
“Gabe’s cool.”
“Sure.
This time we were quiet because there was nothing more to say. I looked at Amber, hoping that maybe she’d built up enough courage to look Brett in the eye. Evidently the top of her beer can was far more interesting.
“Hey, look,” I finally said, “I hope you guys don’t mind, but I’ve got to…go over there…now.” I really wasn’t cut out to be a wingman. Fortunately I didn’t think Brett would figure out my clever plan to get them alone.
“Yeah, that’s cool,” he said.
“You’ll keep Amber company?”
“Yeah sure.”
“Okay then. So, I’m just going to go and talk with…” I glanced at the far end of the pool, “…Eddie then.”
“Cool.”
“Amber, that okay?”
“Yeah.”
Well, that had been like pulling teeth. I wandered away from the lovebirds and joined Eddie at the edge of the pool. Eddie was the class emo, popular only because he’d had a poem published last year in an indie magazine. Also ’cause his father was a freelance photographer who’d worked for Playboy in the 80s.
I sat down next to him, dangling my feet in the water and balancing my plate on my knees.
“Hey, Eddie.”
“Hey.”
“Didn’t think pool parties were your scene.”
“I’m not really here anyway.”
Okay…“That’s cool. So we don’t have to talk?”
“Can we not?”
“Awesome.”
14.
Turned out Eddie was the perfect person to spend a pool party with. We just sat and ate our food quietly, occasionally making an observation about something irrelevant. It was nice to just sit and watch everyone else get drunker and drunker. Well, it wasn’t really nice to watch everyone get drunk, but it was nice not to be involved. Amber and Brett had finally moved over to the lounge chairs and sat together. Once they started talking it looked like they actually did like being with each other.
Gabe was still the center of attention, though. Now some of the guys had joined his little harem, and the group was starting to get really loud. Some of them were pushing at
“So you’ve had booze at all your parties? For how long?”
“Well, this is the first time, officially…but she always turned a blind eye before.” Lacy grinned. Then she turned to where Gabe was lounging on a chair surrounded by girls and called out, “Beer, Gabe?”
“Toss it over.” She did and he caught the can deftly with one hand. I could tell the girls thought that was super awesome as they all oohed at the catch. Oh, and ’cause one also said, “That was super awesome.” He winked at me before turning back to them. I guess that was his way of forgiving me for splashing him. Thanks, Gabe.
I looked back at Lacy and had to face a smug smile. “Sure you don’t want one?”
“I’m sure.”
Amber and I moved over to the table where she had the condiments and salads laid out. Her mother had obviously gone to great lengths preparing all of it, but it seemed like kind of a stupid effort to me, considering how fast the guys were wolfing everything down. Like some magic trick: “Watch as a table of food magically disappears!”
We managed to grab some of the potato salad before it too vanished, and a couple carrot sticks and dip. The platter of veggies was pulled out from under Amber’s hand and I could tell she was about to tell off whoever’d done it until she realized it was Brett.
“Oh, hey, Brett,” she said, her voice rising an octave and getting kind of quiet.
“Hey, Amber,” replied Brett, a mouth full of cucumber. “Didn’t know you were here.”
“Yeah.” Amber took a sip of her beer and didn’t say anything else.
Brett turned to me. “You look good in a swimsuit.”
“Uh, thanks,” I replied.
“Yeah, you should wear them more often.”
“I’m not sure that would be very practical…”
“Well, you know what I mean.”
“Not really.”
There was a pause in our conversation as Brett chewed. I watched. When he swallowed he spoke again.
“Gabe’s cool.”
“Sure.
This time we were quiet because there was nothing more to say. I looked at Amber, hoping that maybe she’d built up enough courage to look Brett in the eye. Evidently the top of her beer can was far more interesting.
“Hey, look,” I finally said, “I hope you guys don’t mind, but I’ve got to…go over there…now.” I really wasn’t cut out to be a wingman. Fortunately I didn’t think Brett would figure out my clever plan to get them alone.
“Yeah, that’s cool,” he said.
“You’ll keep Amber company?”
“Yeah sure.”
“Okay then. So, I’m just going to go and talk with…” I glanced at the far end of the pool, “…Eddie then.”
“Cool.”
“Amber, that okay?”
“Yeah.”
Well, that had been like pulling teeth. I wandered away from the lovebirds and joined Eddie at the edge of the pool. Eddie was the class emo, popular only because he’d had a poem published last year in an indie magazine. Also ’cause his father was a freelance photographer who’d worked for Playboy in the 80s.
I sat down next to him, dangling my feet in the water and balancing my plate on my knees.
“Hey, Eddie.”
“Hey.”
“Didn’t think pool parties were your scene.”
“I’m not really here anyway.”
Okay…“That’s cool. So we don’t have to talk?”
“Can we not?”
“Awesome.”
14.
Turned out Eddie was the perfect person to spend a pool party with. We just sat and ate our food quietly, occasionally making an observation about something irrelevant. It was nice to just sit and watch everyone else get drunker and drunker. Well, it wasn’t really nice to watch everyone get drunk, but it was nice not to be involved. Amber and Brett had finally moved over to the lounge chairs and sat together. Once they started talking it looked like they actually did like being with each other.
Gabe was still the center of attention, though. Now some of the guys had joined his little harem, and the group was starting to get really loud. Some of them were pushing at
Similar Books
