L.W.T.B.B Copyright © 2012-2015 xXMopelXx All Rights Reserved.
To anyone still reading this story, thank you so much for your endless support! xo
Rewritten version of this chapter posted - March 22nd 2015.
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{Chapter 2}: I'm a Barbie Girl, In A Beer Boy World
It seemed like a lot of changes were happening today.
After dropping Layla and Gabriela home, I'd headed straight for my house. I promised my little six year old brother that we'd watch Shark Tales together tonight. He'd never seen it.
I was filled with disappointment when I got home. My mother left a note on the dinning table, letting me know that she'd dropped off Michael at his friend's house and that she wouldn't be home tonight. Just like every other night, they'd paged her in for another overnight shift at the hospital. I wasn't stupid - bills were accumulating and she was forcing herself to work overtime. All so we could make ends meet at the end of the month.
A part of me wished I could do more to help her out. But with my mother overexerting herself, someone had to be home to watch over Michael. We couldn't leave him alone. I'd resulted for a babysitting gig that brought in enough cash flow to cover weekly expenses like groceries and gas money for our cars. This way I got to stay home and keep an eye on my little munchkin.
My phone pinged with a text message from Gabby as I aimlessly wandered the corridors of my house, a bottle of Naya adorned in my hand. I flinched at the sound, forgetting how eerily quiet it got when both Michael and my mom were out of the house.
I hated it.
It made me feel like I was slowly suffocating. Almost as if the narrow walls of our little town house would close in on me, until not a single ounce of breath was left in my lungs.
When my gaze drifted over an old family photo, carefully perched on the wall above the bench by our entrance, a feeling of nostalgia washed over me. I was thirteen and my parents cradled a one year old Michael in their arms.
The more I stared at the picture - one I'd gone over a thousand times as I flitted in and out of the house - the feeling of nostalgia, trapped deep in my chest, morphed to something like distress. Until I felt my breathing pick up speed. The joyous smiles on my parents' faces were taunting me and I snapped my eyes away, not wanting to look a second longer.
In a moment of panic, I drained my entire bottle of water and went to dispose of it in the kitchen. The yellow curtains by the sink billowed softly in the air coming through the open window. It only emphasized the feeling of loneliness in my house. I was abashed to find my palms clammy, the aftermaths of pondering over old memories.
Desperately trying to control the sudden high of emotions running through me, I opened Gabby's text message for a diversion.
Please, please, tell me you're going to the party tonight? - G
My response was quick, seeing as I didn't need to contemplate too hard on it.
No. -A
Why not? -G
Because I've got better things to do. - A
That was a massive lie. It was Friday night and I had the house all to myself. Since it was only the first week of school, I didn't have a heavy workload. Nor was I babysitting tonight.
Her reply was faster than mine.
You're a terrible liar. Bet you my new Beyoncé CD you're dying of boredom in your room. - G
I gritted my teeth. Close enough.
Not that it's any of your business, but I'm about to put on a movie and get cozy with my blanket. -A
And Pepsi. Let's not forget that. -G
Your point being? - A
I need a ride to the party. Layla's hitching one with another friend. My mom managed to piss me off - unsurprisingly - so this calls for booze. FYI, booze that I can get at a party for FREE. C'mon, Anna. I'm on my knees in front of you. Think of that appealing image. -G
I don't swing that way, babe. And my answer remains the same. No. -A
I thought for sure that Gabby was done. In the midst of shoving my phone back in the confinement of my cardigan, I paused when I received another text from her. This one had me stopping dead in my tracks, mouth dry with realization.
You need to live a little more. -G
It was just a sentence, but the words felt like they weighed a ton. I needed to live a little more? Where had that gotten me last time? Nowhere. If anything, I lived "a little more" and gotten myself in shit for it. I had a lifetime of guilt resting on my shoulders.
A harmless night of animated movies, coupled with loads of junk food was what I needed. Not a party where the idea of a good time consisted for getting shitfaced and having drunk sex. Shaking my head, I went to turn off my phone when Gabby texted me again.
Anna, it can't hurt. Just one party. You don't even have to drink. Be a good friend and give me company. It'll be great - greater than a night of popcorn and boring old chick flicks. Like old times. -G
She was guilt tripping me and she damn well knew it. For a whole year, Layla and Gabby constantly tried to haul my ass out of my room to do something "rebellious" or "fun". Asides from today, I couldn't even remember the last time I'd went out with them or came remotely close to enjoying myself.
Except for my little episode with Samuel Adams this afternoon.
The thought of the blond-haired-and-green-eyed giant brought me to an abrupt half. Would be he there, too? Was he going to keep up his facade and try to talk to me?
Suddenly, I looked around me and realized that, to some extent, I didn't want to be home alone tonight. Gabby was right. Staying cooped up at home wasn't going to do me any good. I'd be faced with conflicting thoughts - thoughts that left me in an turmoil.
I needed to get out. Needed a breath of fresh air, if I was being completely honest with myself.
When was the last time I'd gone to a party? It was just one night. Nothing could go wrong, right? Before I could stop myself, I thumbed a quick text to Gabby.
You win. I'm coming to get you in half an hour. Be ready. -A
As I took the staircase two steps at a time, I couldn't help but feel like I was pinning the last nail to my very own coffin.
* * *
I didn't need directions to Joshua Brown's huge mansion, a thought that surprised Gabriela. After all, I'd been there more than my fair share of time, seeing as I'd never once had an excuse to miss a party this big in the past. Funny how tables could turn.
Gabby clicked her tongue frustratedly as she gazed at herself in my rear view mirror. She combed her fingers through her side fringe a couple of times. "I'm having one of those bad hair days," - she grumbled - "where nothing seems to be working out right."
"You look fine," I said. We were parked along the cul-de-sac, still seated in my old beat up corolla. At least two dozen cars lined the street, and I knew there were more people on their way. "I'm sure the boys will have no complaints."
She hummed and fixed her sleek red ponytail for the millionth time, before shimmying her hands down the front of her cutout dress. Her skirt literally looked like it was made of leather scraps. "As my best friend, it's your due to say shit like that. You're just being biased, Anna. Be honest with me."
I shot her a brief grin as I unbuckled. "If you don't get laid tonight, I'll be shocked."
"That's the plan."
Shaking my head, I suppressed a smile. "Gabster's on the prowl, huh?"
She made a soft, roaring tiger-like sound and winked at me. "You have no idea. I think the whole town's population is here... meaning lots of hot boys."
And lots of fondling and groping.
Dipping my head, I sneaked a glance through my windshield and spotted a large crowd of partygoers entering through the large iron-wrought gates. Boyish laughter and loud girlish squeals carried out into the air. Joshua was known to have the best parties in town. Every weekend was a new occasion to indulge in booze and an endless amount of girls for him and his friends. I was bound to spot people I didn't want to see.
"You okay?" Gabby questioned when silence rushed between us.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm just pondering." I didn't tell her that I felt a little shaken being here after so long.
Seriously, why had I even agreed to come here in the first place? My insides contorted sickeningly as I watched a throng of underage girls from my high school, prancing around in indecent clothing. An involuntary shiver coursed down my spine. Hell, you'd been one of those girls, Anna.
"We're only here for a couple of hours, right?" I asked absentmindedly. Suddenly, I didn't think I could stomach being here for more than two hours.
"Swear it," Gabby crossed a hand over her heart as she unbuckled her seat belt. Her skirt rose up her thighs. "Three hours tops it. I just want free alcohol, and maybe a few dances with a handful of hot hunks."
Something told me that I'd be chaperoning tonight, and for longer than three hours. Stuffing my keys inside my jeans short shorts, I inhaled sharply and got out of the car. Gabby followed suit.
I paused dead in my tracks when I was greeted by a very loud and abrasive wolf-whistle from my best friend.
"Hot damn," she murmured, her eyes the size of saucers as she drank in my appearance. "And you said I'm on the prowl?"
Fighting a grimace, I shifted uneasily from one leg to another. "I picked out the first thing I found."
It was true. I'd donned a low cut black peplum top with a pair of shorts that were, admittedly, probably shorter than Gabby's skirt.
"Not to mention your thigh-high leather, come-fuck-me-boots," Gabby remarked, licking her lips like the dirty pervert she was. "You look like fucking... Jesus, you even put Barbie to shame, Jo."
Now my cheeks and neck were suffusing with color at her, for lack of a better word, compliment.
"I'm not looking to get laid," I said a little defensively, feeling myself growing more flustered by her assessing gaze. "And I love my boots, so back off."
Layla and Gabby had taken it upon themselves to refer to my new babies as hooker heels. My guilty pleasure was anything thigh-high.
She raised her hands in mock surrender, giving me an eye roll. "I was just stating facts. Now let's get going," Gabby ushered. "Layla must be waiting inside for us."
My eyes darted to the huge house. Colourful lights spilled from the floor-to-ceiling windows and loud music blared through the speakers. The pounding bass mirrored the thumps of my heart. My mouth went dry at the thought of going inside, in front of all those people. Even from this distance, I could make out grinding bodies swaying to the loud beats.
Gabby gave me a confused look when my feet stayed rooted the ground. Oh, God. I'm a mess. Before she could detect anything, I straightened myself and ran my fingers through my blond waves one last time.
"Ready?" Gabby twined our arms together.
"Not even close," I mumbled, but I'm positive she didn't hear me over the loud raucous leading up to Joshua's ridiculously expensive two-story house. She was already dragging me up the stone pathway. The night was still young.
* * *
Within five minutes of being here, for what seemed like the hundredth time, I asked myself what I was even doing here.
Gabby and I were pushed to some far corner of a makeshift dance floor. The music was tenfold louder inside and it was much darker, save for the occasional flashes of pink and blue strobe lights.
I knew that some part inside of me longed to prove a point. By attending this party I was trying to show my friends - and myself - that I wasn't completely ruled by my past decision, by its consequences. I wouldn't let my past mistakes guide my future actions.
And if the proud glint in Gabby's eyes when I had conversed with a couple of senior girls from our English class earlier was any indication, then I was passing with flying colours.
A bead of sweat trickled between my breasts, some guy dancing frantically close by managed to spill his sticky drink all over my forearm, and there was still no sign of Layla.
In the mean time, Gabriela and I had decided on the buddy system - meaning we'd be glued to the hip. If her behaviour got out of hand or some creep started pawing at her, I'd step in. Vice versa. Though the former and latter were most likely not going to apply to me.
Gabby tipped the beer bottle she'd snatched on her way in to her lips.
"What?" I shouted, leaning in closer. From the way her mouth was moving, I knew she was saying something but I couldn't understand it.
Placing her mouth directly to my ear, she tried again. "Layla hasn't replied to my text. I don't know where she is."
Normally I'd just let it be; Layla wasn't a fast texter. She took forever, sometimes days to reply. But our earlier conversation blazed in my mind, and there was that skin crawling sensation tugging at my insides. Maybe she was just away, socializing with others.
Not caught up with girl-using, rick jock Joshua Brown.
"We'll find her," I grated, throwing an anxious glance over the swarm of dancing bodies. At this point, I was probably just trying to convince myself.
"I hope so." Gabby snorted as she took another swig of her beer. "I ain't waiting all night against the wall."
"You want to dance?"
"Desperately."
I cocked my head to the left, where a boy with shaggy brown hair was standing. For the last song or so, he'd been eyeing Gabby like Tom Cat eyed Jerry Mouse.
"That guy has been looking at you" Amusement leaked into my tone.
Gabby followed my line of vision before she choked on her drink. "Oh, God," she mumbled, seeming as if she had seen a ghost.
My eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?"
"Shane Feller. Hooked up in the back seat of his truck last year. Asked me to be his girlfriend. Ran away."
I let out a shaky, whistling breath. "You're kidding me."
"Nope. He'd blurted the question before disposing of the condom. I couldn't get out of there fast enough."
"TMI, Gabs. Too much information."
My best friend had an aversion to commitment, and maybe that was partly due to her parents' wreck of a marriage. Anything other than "casual sex" wasn't up her lane. The words "monogamous" and "relationship" didn't exist in her dictionary.
From the corner of my eye, I spotted Shane Feller stepping toward Gabriela, his features weighed in determination. Another choked sound reverberated from her throat and, much to her delight, some other guy made a move forward and asked her to dance with him.
She all but bolted to the dance floor, her hand locked with the new guy's. I didn't miss how his eyes lingered on her ass awhile longer. She even added an extra sway of her hips. For Shane or the new guy's benefit, I wasn't sure.
All I knew was that she'd thrown the buddy system down the drain.
Uneasiness crept inside me the moment that followed. Glimpsing around me, I noticed several interested pairs of eyes staring at me. Someone tried to make a grab for my arm and I politely brushed them off. When it happened again, I took matters into my own hand.
Dipping into the swamp of people, I shouldered my way past clinging bodies. Across the room, I spied an area where there seemed to be a built-in home bar. The crowd seemed thinner there and I figured since I had a torturous two more hours to spend here, I might as well make it in a place that was a lot more quieter.
I was almost across the room when someone roughly shoved their elbow between my shoulders blades, jostling my entire body. I had the wind knocked out of me. As I gasped for air, a strong hand latched onto my wrist and steered me clear of the undulating bodies.
When I regained control of my breathing, I gave a quick glance up.
And fell into another coughing fit.
The stranger tapped my back a couple of times, the worry lines around his brown eyes deepening. "Are you okay?"
"F-Fine."
"That was one helluva hit," he said next to my ear. His warm breath tickled my neck. "I saw you trying to make your way across the place. Is there anything I can help you with?"
I exhaled a shaky breath, mortified that this cute boy had to witness my semi-embarrassing moment.
"N-No. Really, it's fine. I was just going to get myself a drink."
"I'll lead the way then." An adorable grin curved his lips. He looked vaguely familiar. "I'm Troy."
"Anna." I took his outstretched hand. It swallowed my smaller one.
Troy tilted his head to the side, brown eyes narrowed and black hair sticking out in every direction. "Anna... as in Jodanna?"
He knew my real name. For a split second, I wondered if he was someone I once knew. Against my better judgement, I nodded. "Yes."
A blush tinged his cheeks. "Not to be a creep of anything, but we, uh, had AP history together last year."
My shoulders sagged with relief. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize."
His grin morphed into a full-blown beam as a teasing look entered his eyes. "No harm done. Pretty girls like you don't always notice guys like me."
Heat flooded my face at the compliment and I ducked my head, shyly biting my lip. "Sorry. I was a little busy learning what year Columbus sailed the ocean in to pay any attention to my surroundings."
This time, Troy bit his bottom lip and crossed his arms over his chest. I took a moment to peruse him, noticing just how cute he was. He had a lean built like an athlete and two or three inches on me, which was rare, since most guys were either my height or shorter. The dimples he was sporting gave him a babyish look but it was well masked by the stubble covering his jaw.
"How about"-he uncrossed his arms, and drawled in a low voice - "I fix us a couple of drinks and you can tell me all about Columbus and his discoveries."
I arched an eyebrow. "You were in that class. I'm sure you know about all his voyages."
"True. But I'd like to hear them from you."
Was he flirting with me?
I ran my fingers through my blonde waves and gave him a secretive smile. "Lead the way then."
Well damn me, because I was flirting right back.
Troy released a husky chuckle and placed his hand on the small of my back. I let him guide me forward, through the mass of people.
Some guys were working behind the bar, talking loudly with each other and making drinks for the partygoers. They all wore black Letterman jackets and I recognized them as the football players. The bar was as cramped as the dance floor but there was albeit more room and it was a lot more private - private enough for a conversation between two people. I found an empty spot at the edge of the mahogany counter top and leaned against it.
"Stay put while I get us something to drink," Troy hushed, moving his hand until it splayed at the curve of my waist. "What will you have?"
"Whatever you're having." I flicked the open collar of his navy blue button down.
Troy followed the motion with his eyes before grinning like he'd won the lottery. He winked at me. "I'll be right back, Columbus."
I couldn't contain the laughter that escaped my lips as I watched Troy's retreating back. Something about talking to him felt so light-hearted , so normal - something I hadn't experienced in awhile. I missed normal. I feel like I'd forgotten what it felt like to meet someone new, socialize, and do some harmless flirting.
While Troy was gone, I busied myself with hunting the crowd for Layla. However, Gabby wasn't hard to find as she kept grinding the night away with some new random guy. His front was plastered to her back and he was running his hands all over her body. She was so enjoying it.
I'd given up my search when my eyes roamed the room one last time for my other best friend. Until I connected gazes with Samuel Adams for what had to be the second time today.
He was leaning against the side of the wall on the dance floor, looking all imposing and authoritative with his strong arms crossed over that broad chest. There was a girl next to him, talking, but he paid her little to no attention.
His dark eyes were set on me.
When I made the mistake of maintaining eye contact for a beat longer, he pushed off the wall, said something dismissive to the girl and walked. My way. Eyes still on me.
Something about him had me feeling flustered. I inhaled a shuddering breath and pivoted around. For some annoying reason, my heart paced a fast rhythm against my rib cage.
Not too far away from me, a can of Pepsi rested idle. One of the guys behind the counter must have seen me eyeing it, as he gently slid it down my way with a smirk. There was a tower of red party cups and I plucked one from the top, before popping open my drink and pouring the contents inside of it.
Samuel's deep baritone carried out into the air.
I closed my eyes for a brief moment as I took a two long gulps. Even going as far as letting my hair shield my face to create some type of barrier.
He was talking with a friend at the bar as he neared. A second later, their conversation died.
And that's when I felt warm fingertips skimming the length of my bare arm. My breath caught in my throat as he stepped behind me. A musky and woodsy scent washed over me. The warm body heat radiating off of him seeped through me.
I held still as I felt him lean into me, hard muscles moulding to my soft curves. I was hyper aware of his presence, of his every move and breath.
When his fingers touched my hand, which was gripping the furnished bar top, I decided to break the long silence that always seemed to flit whenever we were in each others' presences.
I took another sip of my drink, without turning back to look at him. "Are you going to keep buying me drinks, or actually take the initiative to talk to me? This is getting old."
"Don't know. You going to stick around long enough for a conversation between us, or do I have to keep chasing you down?"
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A/N: Please remember to VOTE and COMMENT, loves! It really helps me and I really want to know what you guys are thinking about the rewritten version of the story! Let me know your thoughts on Troy, Layla's disappearance, and Sam and Anna's relationship so far? Xo