Learning to Love

Chapter seven

                                        Chapter seven

The house looked empty at first glance but as we got closer it was easy to spot the people spilling out onto the porch and through the garden gate. It looked like the house was going to burst at the seams and throw up short skirts and alcohol.

“Uh, whose party is this?” I asked Topher before he could disappear amongst the teenagers.

It took a moment for the words to get through to him but when he finally understood what I asked, he shrugged and dragged me inside. “Come on, let’s find Annabelle.”

Annabelle was the girl that I ended up babysitting and although we didn’t exactly part ways in clean terms – she ruined the backseat of Topher’s old car – I actually felt excited to see her. I bounced along behind him and let the music wash over me, making me instantly deaf to everything but the beat.

“Izzy!” a voice shouted, appearing right next to me. Dressed in a small red jumpsuit, Annabelle grinned at me and opened her arms for a hug. “It’s been weeks!”

Letting her squeeze me, I laughed and stepped back. “Yeah, the last time I saw you, you were stumbling up your dorm steps and complaining that Topher was tugging on your skirt.”

Topher stepped away from us and started grumbling under his breath. “I’m going to get us some drinks,” he muttered, sulking away.

Annabelle winked at me and pulled me towards the kitchen counters before sliding on. “So, you two hooked up yet? Everyone is waiting for it to happen.”

“We spoke about this last time,” I pointed out.

Even though I had only met Annabelle once before, I felt like we had been friends for years. We easily slipped into the best friend category even though our conversations had only been a few hours long at most. She felt so comfortable with me that she even started telling me about her relationship with her on-off boyfriend, which was an interesting hour. She then moved onto my relationship status – which, apparently, had to involve Topher and how I was connected to him.

“Yes, but that was a few weeks ago, like you said. Anything new?”

“Same as always,” I told her, sighing. “Annabelle, we’re best friends and nothing will happen between us.”

Topher appeared behind me and handed me a drink. “What’s the topic of conversation, ladies?”

“You,” Annabelle answered honestly, making me blush and look away.

“Don’t inflate his ego,” I scolded. “It’s already too difficult to fit through the street door.”

Pouting, Topher nudged me over before swinging his arm around my shoulders. “Don’t be mean, I don’t have a big ego.”

“You so do!” I laughed and pushed his arm off me but he placed it back again, acting like I hadn’t even touched him. “If you get one more compliment you will weigh your car down and we won’t be able to get home.”

Annabelle looked between us before holding my gaze with a smug smirk.

“Why am I the topic of conversation, anyway?”

Before either of us could answer – or before either of us could race to get our answer heard first – there was a loud shout and a boy suddenly appeared in the doorway. “There are fun and games in the garden, come one, come all to experience the embarrassment of others!”

Curious, I looked out the window and noticed different circles of people, each participating in a silly high school game. Truth or dare, spin the bottle, seven minutes in heaven, they were all obvious, even from here.