The Homecoming Benefactor

15 | the shine

"Perfect timing," I said, hopping out of the ATV. "How did y'all sit through that game? Wasn't the score, like, forty-two to seven?"

"I snuck, like, three flasks in there," Devi deadpanned. "That's why I didn't drive."

"Well, I hope you aren't done," Nick interjected, taking the cooler off the back off the ATV. "I have plenty more alcohol in here for tonight and the stuff for beer pong in the barn. I may or may not have invited some high school friends."

This was definitely one way to start the vacation. It was also a test for Nick, as he rarely got drunk. I've seen him have one singular beer the entire semester. Would I become a sex object, just as I had been with Bryce, if Nick had too many drinks? There was a chance I was overthinking, as Nick never said he would get drunk. I just couldn't help but agonize over the possibilities because I had just started to get my hopes up.

A voice of reason played in my head, interrupting my thoughts. Why am I thinking like this? We aren't even dating.

I shook my head and followed everyone else inside. All of the air mattresses were placed on the loft, leaving room downstairs for this apparent party to occur. A country radio station began to play, and people I had never seen before started pouring in through the front door. Jamie was way more relaxed than my mom could ever imagine being for just letting this take place in her yard.

If I was going to worry like this sober, that meant I had to get drunk tonight. It definitely was not something I planned on doing. As a matter of fact, I didn't even like beer, but I knew six or seven of them would take the stick out of my ass... if I could manage to swallow them without throwing up.

My brain randomly decided to eavesdrop on a conversation that some people were having near me. It was a few guys I've never seen before, likely some of Nick's high school friends.

"I heard Bryce Jameson is back in town. Hasn't it been some years?"

"Yeah, I heard a rumor that he's looking for some girl."

Why was Bryce here? He had told me numerous times how much he hated this town. As of the last time we talked, he hadn't visited since he started college, so it was weird that these people were claiming to have seen him. It was even weirder that he was searching for someone that was probably me. I was an extrovert, even more so with alcohol, so I had no problem getting to the bottom of this.

"Wanna take a shot with me?" I remembered I had two more whiskey shooters from homecoming and approached a girl who was watching the guys play beer pong.

"Yeah, sure," she replied. "I've also got a jar of peach moonshine in the fridge we can have."

The girl flipped her long, red hair around her shoulder and walked toward the fridge. She returned with a large mason jar filled with an orange-pink liquid. We took the shots first, then she opened the jar.

"You know," I said, analyzing the jar. "I've actually never had moonshine before."

Those were my nerves talking. When I go to parties, I often agree to things I would not normally agree to. Nonetheless, it was too late for me to back down, and I was about to drink some homemade concoction from a stranger's jar.

"This one's not too strong," she replied, twisting the lid off. "Just sip and don't chug."

"I gotcha," I nodded, watching her sip from the jar.

I never did figure out what her name was, but the moonshine was pretty good. It was strong, even compared to a shot, but it tasted better than I imagined. She poured some for me into a plastic cup before rejoining her friends.

Nick had disappeared into the crowd long ago; this was not really because he left me behind, but because I wandered off. I didn't want to see something I would regret seeing. It was stupid for me to think this way, I now realize, but everything I had been through in the past two weeks had permeated into my thought process. I heard his voice again about an hour into the party, when I had finished my whole cup of moonshine and was feeling a bit looser.

"Francie?"

I turned, a wobble in my step. Nick was standing with Timmy and two guys I had never seen before. He leaned in to whisper to me, moving the hair behind one of my ears.

"Did you take alcohol from that red headed girl?"

I nodded, and he grabbed my arm. "Let's find you a chair. It's probably time for you to reel it in for tonight."

"How come?" I knew moonshine was strong, but I didn't know why that girl's drink would have been particularly harsh.

"That's Danielle," Nick answered, keeping his voice low. "Lord knows what was in that jar. I didn't even invite her here, someone must have told her there was a party. We'll deal with her."

My eyes widened, and I threw my cup at the nearest trash can. "That's why she never told me her name."

"Yeah, she's sneaky like that," Nick sighed. "That older guy she left me for just moved to Florida, so I've heard. I also heard that Bryce is in town... just stay with me for the rest of the night. This is starting to get out of hand."

We made our way to the one couch that was left in here, and it was a large sectional. All of our college friends that came along were there, plus both of Mattie's friends and two guys I didn't recognize. They were playing some kind of drinking card game.

Nick handed me a cup and whispered, "this is water, but no one has to know."

"This game is called Truth, Dare, or Drink," Araceli explained. "It's pretty much what it sounds like. Just pull a card for the one you want to do. Hazel has never played a drinking game, so I wanted us to play this with her."

"Wait, really?" I looked at Hazel, and she nodded.

"I've only had alcohol maybe twice," Hazel blushed. "I know, that's not normal for a twenty-one year old."

"Everybody starts somewhere!" Mattie chugged an entire beer can after shouting this.

"You probably shouldn't start like that," Araceli whispered.

Timmy shuffled the cards, and Mattie went first. You were supposed to do this whole process with numbers to decide who went first, but we didn't feel like doing that, so Mattie went first because she was already pretty drunk.

"Of course I'm picking drink first!" She pulled a card and read it. "Drink if someone in the circle is from Florida."

Araceli raised her hand, as she was from Jacksonville, and we kept going. Most people were picking truth. We found out that Timmy lost his virginity at a gas station, Mattie's friend Zoey once stole from a thrift shop, and Hazel had actually been suspended from school one time for getting in a fight. That last one was definitely the most shocking.

When my turn came around, I chose "drink" because my cup was just water. "Drink if you've kissed someone in the circle."

Of course I would get that one. Everyone stared at me, anticipating my next move. I slowly lifted the cup and began sipping the water, pretending it had a kick, and people started to react. It was like they were watching the first overall pick of the NFL Draft.

"Interesting," Devi said, tapping his chin. "So, like, what are y'all?"

"That's not just something you ask someone," Bridget scoffed.

I was barely able to pay attention to the conversation because of how the moonshine was hitting me. My eyes kept closing for long periods of time, like I was trying to fight off sleep. While I had a decent amount of the moonshine, I knew this wasn't normal, so I tried to walk off somewhere more isolated to recuperate.

• AUTHOR'S NOTE •
Lots of ups and downs here! Why do we think Bryce is back in town? What did Danielle do to the moonshine? Keep reading to find out!