Ford and Lily were having so much fun at dinner that they didn't realized what time it was. They arrived at the concert as the opening act was finishing up.
Lily went to use the bathroom and when she came out, Ford was nowhere to be found. She looked around in concern. She couldn't believe he would ditch her. She thought they were having a great time. She stood on the tippy toes of her cowboy boots searching the crowd when she spotted Ford's cowboy hat moving in her direction.
"Here," he said, handing her a tall beer can when he had reached her. "Benny's older brother works at the concession stand. He hooked me up."
"Thanks," she said with a smile. She badly needed a drink. Even though she was having a good time, she still couldn't help this nervous feeling she had in her gut. She could use a little something to take the edge off.
***
It had been at least a half hour since the opening act ended and Lily had consumed at least 3 tall beers. She was starting to loosen up and she couldn't remember why she was feeling nervous in the first place. She was dating Grant and this was a favor and all of that other stuff was just in her head.
Just then the lights went down and the crowd roared. The thump of a drum and the hum of a guitar could be heard as the band took their places.
"Come on!" Lily shouted over the noise, grabbing Ford's hand and dragging him towards the general admission area with standing room only. They were the only tickets Grant could afford. She felt bad that he couldn't be there with her, but she felt worse that she was having so much fun without him.
They found a spot, squished in between the other concertgoers. The lights rose on the stage and the fans went wild at the sight of the band. Lily squealed and Ford laughed at her excitement.
Lily danced to the music. Song after song. It was a warm night and she was glad she had left her jacket in Ford's truck. She pulled her wavy hair up into a ponytail. She looked over at Ford to see if he was enjoying himself. He didn't seem to be watching the concert as much as he seemed to be watching her, or maybe that was just the beer clouding her brain. The alcohol was coursing through her body now, giving her the courage she didn't even know she needed. She wanted Ford to have as much fun as she was having so she grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her waist.
She swayed back and forth to the music, pulling him with her. He resisted at first and she figured he didn't know how to dance, but then she felt him lean into her and press his hips against her backside. He swayed his hips expertly to the beat of the music. He definitely knew what he was doing.
Just then the upbeat song ended and the band transitioned to a slower song. Lily released her grip expecting that Ford wouldn't want to keep dancing, but he pulled her closer. She could feel his breath, warm on her neck as her long ponytail swished back and forth gently hitting his hat. Lily didn't understand what was happening or whether it should be happening. She just knew that she liked it. Her hand found its way back to his and she linked her fingers in between his. She leaned back into his groin. Then she felt his hand drop, releasing hers and she felt foolish. What was she thinking? Would he tell Grant about this, whatever this was? But then she felt his hand against her thigh, his fingers tracing their way up her skin. Lily's entire body tingled at his touch. She could feel his fingers brushing up against the fabric of her dress as it inched upwards.
She spun to look at him, scared and unsure if she wanted him to go further. His hand cupped her ass under her dress and she inhaled sharply. Her head was telling her to pull away but her body had a mind of its own. He held her gaze with his piercing eyes and she held her breath in anticipation of what would come next.
Just then she heard someone shout, "Ford!"
Lily and Ford both immediately snapped out of their trance and she yanked her body away from his.
"Ford! That is you," a familiar voice said as he pushed his way through the crowd. It was Benny.
"My brother said you were here," he said, slapping Ford on the back. "Oh hey Lily, didn't see you there." He smiled.
Lily released her breath, thankful that the crowd was so thick that Benny hadn't seen Ford and her together. To Benny, she was just another body pressed up against his in the crowd.
The song ended and the crowd went wild. Lily turned her attention to the stage, clapping and cheering and trying to clear her head and get back to reality. It was a good thing she'd be home soon. She needed to sober up and get away from Ford Jameson.
The roar of the fans began to dissipate and she turned her attention back to Benny.
"So I'll see you back at my place then?" he said.
"What that's? What now?" Lily asked confused.
"For the after party. Ford said he'd bring you."
Lily looked at Ford, whose expression she again couldn't read. There was something in his eyes. It was that same look he gave her in the hallway the day that boy smacked her ass. The look where she thought he wanted to throw her up against the lockers in frustration over what she had said, only now she realized it wasn't out of anger or frustration that he wanted to do that. It was something entirely different, something that both frightened and excited her.
***
The drive in the car was quiet. Lily rolled down the window, hoping to cool down and sober up. It didn't really help either.
When they arrived at Benny's she hopped out of Ford's truck before he could come around to her side, and she marched as quickly as she could up Benny's front lawn. Ford followed closely on her tail. The house was packed, as usual. Lily tried to lose Ford in the crowd, which wasn't hard. Guys from the football team were high-fiving him and handing him a beer. Meanwhile Lily marched to the backyard and straight for the keg. She figured if she couldn't get sober than she might as well get more drunk. She needed to numb the feelings she was having and stop being all up in her head.
She quickly pounded a beer but it was mostly foam, so she immediately had another. The beer fed off the alcohol that was already in her system and within a short time she was buzzed again. But despite her need to distance herself from Ford, she found herself drawn to him, looking for him as she wandered through the crowd, alcohol coursing through her veins. She spotted him on the other side of the yard. His eyes were on her as soon as she saw him. Her feet were frozen, unsure of whether to go over to him or get as far away as possible. Just then a drunk girl stumbled up to him and wrapped her arm around his neck.
He looked angry and ripped the girl's arm off of him His eyes then immediately went to Lily who returned his look with one of irritation. He stepped towards her direction but she quickly disappeared, not wanting to confront what she was feeling or hear what he had to say.
The night only seemed to get hotter and the heat only seemed to make Lily drunker. Just then she felt someone grab her and spin her around.
"Hey babe!" Grant said, planting a kiss on her lips. She leaned into it. Yes, Grant, her boyfriend. This was her boyfriend who she loved...well, she at least cared very much about him, she reminded herself. He was here and she was safe from making any more stupid drunk decisions.
"Look who I found studying all alone on a Friday night," Grant said, pulling Violet from behind him.
Violet. Ugh. This was the last person Lily needed at the party. She was the reason Lily was even thinking all these crazy thoughts to begin with.
"What is she doing her?" Lily asked, not trying to sound rude, but she couldn't handle any more drama for the night.
"I went to your house after practice. I thought you'd be home from the concert by now, but I guess you and Ford had more fun than I expected."
Lily couldn't tell if he was implying something. Had Ford already told him? Did he know what had happened? What would Ford even say? She didn't even fully understand what had happened herself.
"What, no," she said defensively.
"No you didn't have fun?"
" I mean, yeah, it was all right. We had fun I guess."
Grant laughed.
"It's ok Lily. I know you two don't really like each other."
If only that were the problem, she thought.
"I just appreciate you giving him a chance."
"Totally," she smiled, leaning into his side. She fit well next to him. They fit well together. They made sense, she reminded herself.
Just then they heard chanting coming from the other side of the yard. Grant grabbed Lily's hand and drug her to the hill behind Benny's house with Violet trailing behind.
As they made their way through the sea of drunken teenagers, they noticed a huge yellow slip n' slide. There was a hose at the top running cold water down the surface mixed with spilled beer. The crowd was chanting to encourage someone to go.
Benny's eyes immediately latched onto Lily.
"Lily!" he shouted. "You go first!"
"What? me? Unh uh," she said, fiercely shaking her head.
"Come on, it'll be fun! Aren't you dying from the heat?"
She was, but she wasn't about to go down that thing. She'd had enough excitement for one night. But then she spotted Ford on the other side of the slide. He was looking right in her direction only he wasn't looking directly at her. He was looking at Grant's hand wrapped around hers. She didn't know what came over her, whether it was jealously or anger or something else but she suddenly felt a need to piss Ford off. She was tired of the way he seemed to mess with her emotions, tired of how confused he made her feel. He knew he hated when that boy smacked Lily's ass and she did too, but the weird thing was, when Ford grabbed her under her dress that night, it had the opposite affect. She didn't want him to stop. She looked straight at him. She could see the fire in his eyes. She knew he didn't like her holding Grant's hand and she knew he didn't like her being objectified but she didn't understand why, so she chose to push him more to see what would happen.
"Okay, I'll do it," she said turning towards Benny.
"Yeah!" he shouted in excitement.
"But only if Violet goes too," Lily said turning towards her sister. She cocked her head to the side and smirked. Lily figured she might as well kill two birds with one stone. It was Violet who made Lily start rethinking the way she saw Ford and know was her chance for revenge.
"What? No. Absolutely not. Not happening," Violet vehemently shook her head.
"Well if she doesn't do it, I don't do it," Lily shrugged.
Violet turned to leave.
"Oh come on Violet, have a little fun," Grant said and it stopped her in her tracks.
Violet was sick of always being seen as the un-fun sister. Just because she was studious didn't mean she couldn't let lose. It was one thing when Lily teased her, but there was something about hearing Grant say it that lit a fire under her ass.
"Ok, let's do this," she said.
Lily smiled. This was going to be fun.
Violet kicked off her shoes and pulled down her pants. She lifted her baggy shirt over her head and threw it on the ground then shoved her glasses in Grant's hands. She wore a plain black bra and black underwear. Grant looked her up and down. He was checking her out, which did not go unnoticed by Lily. And really, she couldn't blame him. Her sister was beautiful and had a body she was always jealous of. She was way more curvy and bustier than Lily. She just hid it behind her glasses and frumpy clothing.
Lily followed her sister's lead and lifted her dress up and over her head. She had a bright pink lacey bra with purple underwear. It didn't match but it didn't matter. Lily could make granny panties look fashionable. She looked at Ford whose eyes went big. He took a step in her direction but then stopped himself. Lily held onto Grant's shoulder with on hand as she removed one boot and then the other.
She took her place next to Violet at the top of the hill as the crowd cheered, "1, 2, 3, go!" and the two girls lept onto the slide and sailed down the hill. By the time they reached the bottom Lily was laughing hysterically, and to her surprise, so was Violet.
From the bottom of the hill, they heard Benny and Grant chanting, "Hal-i-day Hot-ties, Hal-i-day Hot-ties!" And before they knew it, the entire crowd had joined in. Lily looked over at her sister and could hardly believe she had a smile on her face.
"Should we go again?" she asked, holding out her hand.
"Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint the fans," Violet joked as Lily pulled her up from the ground.
***
It was well past midnight when Lily and Violet stumbled into their room. Grant had given them both a ride home. Lily hadn't seen Ford much the rest of the night and she was grateful he had kept his distance. She wanted to forget what had happened between them.
Lily's underwear was almost completely dry thanks to the warm Utah desert air. She threw her dress on the floor and flopped onto her bed. She quickly fell into a drunken slumber.
When she awoke she found her covers pulled over her.
"Thanks for tucking me in," she said to Violet as she sat up and rubbed her head. She was going to have a mean hang over.
"I didn't," Violet replied from her side of the room where she was already dressed and had made her bed.
"Huh?" Lily asked confused.
"Ford came knocking on the window last night. You let him in."
"I what?!" Lily sat straight up covering herself with the blanket at the thought of Ford being in her room when she was practically naked.
"Yeah," Violet laughed. "But don't worry, you pretty much passed right back out."
Lily's mind immediately went to what could have happened if she hadn't passed out. Would she have taken things further with Ford?
"He laid you down and covered you up and left that."
Violet pointed at Lily's jean jacket which hung on the post at the end of her bed.
Lily smiled although she wasn't even aware of it.
"Did something happen between you two?" Violet asked.
"What? Of course not!" Lily responded but she couldn't look her sister in the eye. She could feel her cheeks turning red.
Something had definitely happened between them and all Lily could think about was how she desperately wanted it to happen again.