You gotta live to party
Bust your move
Everybody's in the groove
unedited
✝ Chapter Seven | Live to Party. ✝
This wasn’t my first rodeo.
I’ve had a handful of boyfriends here and there, and I knew how to talk to boys without blushing my ass off.
I didn’t fall in love with every single handsome boy I laid eyes on. The closest I got to loving a guy was my ex-boyfriend of a year, West Aldrich.
When I found out he cheated on me, I cried. It was at that moment I knew I felt strongly about him because I rarely cried, unless it was the last episode of a TV show I really liked.
See the thing about falling in love was you never know if someone is going to catch you.
But there was something about Jack that made me want to fall.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked, looking over to him.
Jack released a sigh and pulled the keys out of the ignition. “You’re actually inviting inside? You’re not going to make me beg you?”
I rolled my eyes playfully and opened the door. “Come on,” I insisted as I walked up the driveway with him following behind.
Shoving a strand of straggling blonde hair aside, I pushed the keys into the lock, wiggling them a bit. I just hoped my mother was fully clothed this time.
I bumped the door open and threw the keys into a decorated bowl on a nearby end table. “Mom, I’m home! Please tell me you’re wearing clothes because I brought a friend.”
Mom appeared from around the corner, wiping her hands into a kitchen towel. “Honey, who-” Her eyes widened once they settled on the tall boy behind me. “Oh my gosh,” she breathed out.
“Jack, Mom, Mom, Jack.” I pushed past her and swung my backpack off my shoulder, sending it to the couch.
“It’s nice to meet you,” he greeted her, holding out a hand for her to shake. He gave her a big friendly grin that made me want to gag.
“Yeah, you too.” Her lips curled into the sweetest smile I have ever seen as she shook his hand. “You are so handsome,” she added.
Reluctantly, my palm slammed against my forehead. “Please don’t drool over him, Mom. I don’t want you inflating his ego.”
“It’s already inflated,” he noted, keeping his eyes locked with hers. “You are quite the beauty yourself.” He slowly bent down and placed a chaste kiss on the back of her hand.
Involuntarily, Mom let a squeal escape from her lips. “Well, I was just making dinner. Would you like to join us, Jack?”
“I’d love to!”
“He can’t,” I interjected.
“Why not?” he asked, bringing her brows together.
“Because we’re going to a party.”
Mom turned to face me, her mouth agape. “A party?” Her pale grey eyes grew hard and unfriendly. Shortly after, the dumbstruck mom was replaced with the strict mom. “You’re not going to a party.”
“I have to. I’m Adam’s date.” The name felt foreign on my tongue. I wasn’t even sure I knew Adam anymore.
“I don’t care! You’re staying home,” she scolded, placing her hands on her hips. The tone in her voice told me she wasn’t going to be easily persuaded. In a way, I felt relieved because I didn’t want to go to Lou Sanders’ party in the first place.
“Alright, I’ll just call Adam.” I tugged my iPhone out of my back pocket and searched for his name in my contact list.
“I understand why you don’t want Lexi going to the party, but we were actually looking forward to this party. It’s kind of a de-stressor to relieve the events of the week. I was the one who invited Lexi because I felt like she didn’t get out of the house enough,” Jake spoke up, lying through his straight white teeth.
Mom pursed her lips, contemplating the idea. “But Lexi has to study.”
“Oh, of course!” He circled around her and rested his hands on her shoulders, gently massaging them. “You don’t want Lexi to fall behind on her studies. We actually have a study session at the public library. We have a test on Monday in Chemistry, and I need to get an A if I want to keep my scholarship.”
By now, her eyes were shining with excitement and hope. Her lips spread into a full-on grin. Poor girl. She had no idea that she was putty in his hands. “Scholarship?”
“To Harvard, of course.”
She bit back a shaky breath as she stared into his ice-blue eyes. “That’s wonderful! Lexi needs more friends like you!” Unable to contain her excitement, she began to jump up and down. “You can go, Lex.”
“Seriously?” I questioned, trying to keep calm. Was it that easy for him to persuade my mom with his mind tricks? Damn, he earned my respect.
She nodded, still daydreaming about Jack.
I rolled my eyes once more and groaned, pushing past my mother and grabbing Jack’s wrist forcefully. “We’re leaving.” I tugged him along with me until we were completely outside of the house. “Study session, really? We don’t even have any classes together.”
He raised his hands in defeat, his signature provocative grin spreading across his lips. “You’re welcome.”
I sharpened my gaze, analyzing him. “I didn’t ask for your help,” I spat roughly. “Come on.” I picked up my pace and padded down the driveway and onto the pavement. It didn’t take long to reach my destination, considering Adam’s house was right next to mine.
His house looked similar to mine with a brown picket fence lining the exterior of the house, with the exception of the driveway and front door. Two cars were parked in the driveway, none of which belonged to Adam.
It was funny; we were both old enough to drive. I was sixteen and Adam was just a few months older than me, at seventeen, yet our parents never thought to buy us a car.
I knew my mom wouldn’t because she simply did not have the money, being a single mother and all, but what was Adam’s reason?
Come to think of it, I knew very little about Adam’s parents other than his dad bought him a new video game every week.
Mustering up the strength, I lifted my hand and rang the doorbell. Jack arrived at my side shortly after and following his arrival, the door opened.
A woman stepped out from behind the door, wearing a fluffy pink robe. Her messy dark hair was pulled up into a bun, and her forest green eyes looked beyond tired. Her gaze darted between Jack and me before she finally let out a huff.
“Oh, um, I’m Lexi. Is Adam here?” I glanced behind her to get a clearer view into the house but she must have noticed because suddenly, her body obstructed my view.
“Yes,” she answered softly.
“We’re actually here to pick him up,” Jack chimed in, hovering over my shoulder. “We’re all going to hang out.”
Adam’s mom sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, annoyed. “One moment,” she told us before closing the door and walking back into the house.
I exchanged looks with Jack. He seemed to be thinking the same I was.
She had her panties in a bunch.
Several minutes later, the door reopened and Adam appeared in front of us. My eyes literally jumped out of my sockets when I saw him. Usually, when he wasn’t wearing a chess club shirt, he wore buttoned down shirts or sweaters with khakis. But now…now he was wearing a simple black T-shirt that hugged the muscles I didn’t even know he had. And for the first time ever, he was wearing jeans.
But what shocked me the most was that he wasn’t wearing the nerd glasses. Without them, I could really see the enchanting oceanic color of his eyes. Seeing him this way stunned me and I remained silent for a few seconds.
“Lexi?” he questioned, stepping down from the threshold and closing the door behind him.
“What happened to your glasses?”
“Oh, the whole chess club went to the mall today during school to get a makeover. Charlie said we needed it.”
“You skipped school?” It came as a surprise to me. Adam did pretty well in school, grade wise, and he would never skip school. It wasn’t in his nature. “Is that why you ditched me again?”
His brows shot up. “Oh, Lexi! I’m so sorry. I was going to come back for you but I lost track of time and it totally slipped my mind!”
I crossed my arms against my chest. “Uh huh,” I hummed. “Let’s just go.” I turned and trudged down the driveway with Adam and Jack following behind.
Adam caught up to me and whispered softly in my ear. “Who’s the big guy?”
“Oh!” I quickly turned around and gestured towards Jack. “That’s Jack. Jack, meet Adam.”
Jack simply waved.
Adam growled before returning his eyes to me. “Why is he following us?”
“Because he’s coming with us.”
“What?” He stopped in his tracks and glared at Jack, sending mental daggers in his direction. “Why?”
“Because I said so.”
He threw his hands into the air. “Hello! We are supposed to be a couple. We can’t show up with some random guy.” His voice grew louder with every word he spoke as he glanced back at Jack. “Especially since he’s way better looking!”
Jack let out a small chuckle.
“Look,” I said sternly, jabbing a finger into his chest. “He comes, or I’m not going.”
Adam’s eyes grew wide, shocked at my sudden behavior. “But-”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure Charlie will understand.” I flashed him a quick smile and continued walking.
✝ ✝ ✝ ✝
The party was already up and running for about an hour by the time we arrived. Our tardiness was due to Adam’s constant complaints and refusal to get into Jack’s truck.
“Maybe you should hold my hand,” Adam suggested as we walked up the steps and onto the porch. “Or maybe I should hold your waist like-” He began to snake his arm around my waist, but I sent him a deadly glare that made him retract his hand.
“I’m here. That was the deal.”
“O-okay.”
I glanced over at a disgusting couple who were seated on a lawn chair, sucking each other’s faces off—very explicitly, might I add.
“Charlie said he would be by the pool tables,” Adam notified me as he turned the doorknob, swinging the door open. He stepped into the house and I reluctantly followed.
I got tired of the constant mention of Charlie’s name. When I got the chance, I would to have to have a very detailed talk with him.
As soon as we walked into the house, my heartbeat started to pound loudly, mimicking the beat of the current Miley Cyrus song playing. Almost instantly, a drunken teenager bumped into me, nearly knocking me over.
“Hey, watch it!” I shouted, pushing the brunette away from me.
“Feisty,” Jack’s voice whispered in my ear, “I like it.”
Rolling my eyes, I waved him off and settled my eyes on the crowd ahead of me. “Hey…where did Adam go?” My eyes scanned the gathering of crazy drunk teenagers. “What the hell? He was just here!”
Jack began to search the crowd as well. He probably had a better view considering his height. “He’s at the pool tables, like he said.”
“You’re telling me that like I’m supposed to know where those are.”
The air was heavy with the thick smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke. It didn’t seem to bother anyone aside from me, because I had already started coughing from the stench.
A random guy stalked towards us and threw his arm around Jack’s shoulder. He was wearing a band t-shirt and a cigarette hung loosely between his fingers. “Hey, man!” he hollered. “I didn’t think you would show!”
Jack grinned as he stopped to converse with his friend. “I couldn’t miss a good party!”
The guy nodded, agreeing, as he fished out a cigarette pack from his back pocket. “You want a hit?” he asked Jack, raising an inquiring brow.
He glanced over to me, his smile fading. “No thank you, dude.” He leaned in and whispered something into his friend’s ear before patting the guy’s chest and grabbing onto my arm. “Let’s go somewhere else.”
I looked over at Jack’s friend as he pulled me along with him. Why had he rejected the cigarette? Was it because of me? No, it couldn’t be. I wasn’t offended by him smoking and he wouldn’t be doing me any favors by refusing. “Where are we going?” I shouted over the loud music.
“Somewhere quiet,” he replied in an equally loud voice.
I decided to let him pull me along and not argue over it. Truth was, the loud music was already starting to give me a migraine.
I took a moment to glance around, seeing girls rub their booties against boys’ crotches. It didn’t even matter if people danced to the beat, they were all too drunk to care.
Jack roughly dragged me in an unknown direction, obviously not caring my physical health. I had to have bumped into ten people on our journey to wherever we were going.
Running into yet another drunk teenager, I suddenly felt a cold liquid running down the inside of my shirt. It took me a while to realize someone had dumped the contents of their red cup all over my shirt.
I ripped my hand away from Jack’s hold and stared down at my damp and very transparent shirt. “Shit!”
Jack looked back at me and his eyes grew wide, his jaw dropping. He cupped his hands over his mouth, refraining from laughing.
“Don’t laugh,” I snapped at him.
“You look like you peed your pants!”
I glanced down at my jeans and sure enough, the liquid left a dark stain on the crotch area of my light-washed jeans. “Jack!”
“Okay, okay.” He reached over and intertwined his fingers with mine and began to pull me along again.
Moments later, we arrived at a vacant bedroom. It was quite difficult because every room we walked in, there would be a couple doing very intimate things.
But I was glad to finally be able to escape the loud music.
“You should probably take your clothes off,” Jack suggested as he took a seat on the edge of the bed.
I rolled my eyes and kicked off my shoes. “No way.”
“You’re wet and I don’t want you to get sick.”
“You probably planned that!”
Jack smiled, a hint of amusement flickering over his face. “Me? No, no. What gave you that idea?”
I didn’t even bother responding. Instead, I turned around and began undressing myself. I could feel Jack’s eyes on me, but at this point, I didn’t care.
“So, I’m taking it that you and Adam aren’t really a couple?”
I unbuttoned my pants and slid them down my legs. “Why do you say that?”
“Because you’re practically giving me a strip tease right now.”
I peeked over my shoulder, shooting him a cold glare. “Give me your shirt.”
Instantly, he stood to his feet and pulled his shirt over his head. When he was done, he tossed the shirt towards me.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, turning around again. “Why did you say no when your friend offered you a cigarette?” I asked him, while taking his shirt and sliding it over my head.
“I didn’t want one.”
“Bullshit,” I spat, facing him. “That’s what you do. You’re a bad boy.”
All the amusement on his face melted away and he just blinked up at me. “I really wish you’d stop saying that.”
“But it’s true, isn’t it?”
“No,” he barked. “Stop acting like you know me, because you don’t.”
I furrowed my brows. I had never seen Jack angry before. I didn’t think it would be a touchy subject; I was only trying to joke around. “I’m sorry.”
He gave a heavy sigh as he climbed onto the bed, pulling down the sheets. “It’s okay,” he said softly as he patted the empty space beside him.
Reluctantly, I offered him a soft smile and joined him on the bed.
✝
A/N: Okay, so this is the longest chapter I've written so far and it's probably my favorite. As you may have guessed, there's more to Jack than just the guy with charm and there's also more to Adam than just his nerdy glasses and jerk tendencies.
So DA question of the chapter is....Why do YOU think Jack turned down the cigarette? (knowing that he IS a frequent smoker, cha know).
And what is your favorite line/part from this chapter? I'm trying to chill it on the jokes because I don't want the story to be ALL about the comedy but I try to include some here and there.
So..vote and comment and follow and do what you do best. I love every single one of you!
~lara <3