Pepped Up by Ali Dean

porch. There aren’t as many people as there were at Remy’s party. I immediately recognize Madeline, Emma, and Serena standing by the bar. Wes is behind it mixing drinks. He stops what he’s doing when he sees me and jogs over to us.
     
    “Pep! Hey! I’m glad you could make it.” He gives me a hug and turns to shake Zoe’s hand. “I’m Wesley.”
     
    “Hi! I’m Zoe.” She is beaming.
     
    I’m relieved that Wesley is okay with us being here. “Yeah, we, um, saw Pierce and Forbes earlier and they invited us. We brought stuff.” I raise the brown paper grocery bag.
     
    Wes raises his eyebrows when he looks inside. “Let me guess. Bunny?”
     
    I laugh. “Yup. She said someone would know how to make margaritas.”
     
    “I think I can handle it. How is Bunny?” Wes asks. He takes the bag and guides us towards the bar. He places his hand on the small of my back and I notice Madeline glaring at me. Forbes and Pierce wave from the pool where they are playing pool basketball with two other guys. There are half a dozen people on the beach chairs. Apparently it’s a fairly exclusive party.
     
    “Pep, Zoe, have you met Madeline, Serena, or Emma? They were at the party I saw you at the other night, Pepper.” The girls look us over without saying anything. I gulp nervously.
     
    “Yes, we met. We played beer pong. It’s nice to see you guys again.” I smile. I really hope they approve of us. We won’t make it through this party if they don’t like us. 
     
    Serena and Emma seem to defer to Madeline. They look at her and wait for her response. Madeline smiles tightly. “Yes, Pepper Jones, I remember. It’s nice to see you too. Zoe, hi. What would you like to drink? Wes has a full bar.”
     
    Zoe pipes up. “Oh, we brought some stuff for margaritas. Do you want to whip those up, Wes, while I put out the chips and dip?” I widen my eyes. Wow. Zoe is smoother than I gave her credit for.
     
                  When I’m halfway through a margarita, I feel comfortable enough to take off my dress. Everyone else is in a bathing suit anyway. I sit on the edge of the pool and keep an eye on Zoe.  She’s lying on a recliner that floats in the water while Pierce stands beside her in the shallow end. Zoe has already finished one margarita and is on her second. I decide that this will be my only drink; I need to be the responsible one. 
     
    Wes sits down beside me. “How come you didn’t race today?”
     
    “I’m trying to make Nationals this year, which will make my season a lot longer than usual,” I explain. “So I’m not going to start racing until later. You remember Ryan? You met him a couple of weeks ago.”
     
    Wes nods. “Yeah, he was with you at that party.”
     
    “He sat out the race too. He actually won Nationals last year.”
     
    “That’s right, I heard about him. So, how do you qualify for Nationals?”
     
    I splash some water in front of us with my feet and lean back on my hands. “At Regionals. There are four regions. The Midwest regionals are in Denver this year. Nationals are in San Diego. It’ll be my first time on a plane if I make it.”
     
    Wes’s phone beeps next to us and he takes a look at it. “I’ve got to go deal with something. I’ll be back in a few minutes. You okay?” Wes puts his hand on mine gently before he gets up.
     
    “Yeah, I’m fine. Just help me keep an eye on Zoe, will you? She doesn’t drink much.”
     
    “No problem.” Wes heads over to the shallow end of the pool and nods towards Pierce. Pierce hops out of the pool and talks to Wesley for a minute. They look at Zoe, who has her eyes closed on the raft. I notice her second margarita glass is empty.
     
    After Wes tells Pierce not to take advantage of Zoe (at least, that’s what I hope the conversation was about), he heads inside. 
     
    I can feel Madeline’s eyes on me from the bar, where she sits on a stool surrounded by three guys. I try to avoid looking their way, but