There were cans of booze lying on the grass. The vast majority were empty. And the area smelled of strong musk. I huddled closer to Skylar as we strolled down the trail to the cabins near the creek. We had been walking for a little over five minutes. But she assured me the parking lot wasn't far from where they set up.
Laughter echoed the bright night sky, in between the trees. It cut through the bass of the music blasting from a speaker. Not loud enough to wake the neighborhood, just enough for it to be heard among the group. Clearly, they had already started the party without us. By the sounds of it, there were a couple of girls and a few guys. I couldn't really tell.
Skylar nudged my side and sent me a comforting smile. "You can relax a little, miss girly."
Her comfort was appreciated, still, the nervous bug in my stomach wouldn't go away. Not only were they new friends of hers but they were long-term friends of Jason's. I had never met any of Jason's friends before. Jason and I weren't that close to begin with.
Him and Skylar had met online and developed a long-distance relationship, where he'd drive to New York to see her sometimes, until she moved to Connecticut. I should've visited Skylar after she moved. It was only last summer, but still. I felt bad. School took up most of my hours.
Finally, we had reached a large open clearing in the woods, where the breeze was most heavy. The cool breeze felt nice compared to the warm spring weather that'd been plaguing the town earlier. It was to be expected, considering June was rushing in. Though, I still wasn't ready for it.
"Babe, there you are!" Jason kicked himself off one of the nearest trees. He began walking to us in three long strides, the brown curls on his head drooping low over his brown eyes and dark tan skin. "We were just talking about you."
"Why? You guys better not be talking shit." She narrowed her eyes, causing everyone in the group to laugh.
He grasped her waist and whispered something I didn't understand in her ear, "Mi amor, nunca hablaría una mierda de ti." It almost sounded like sweet talk.
I could hear him in the background of our phone conversations all the time, using a similar dialect. Whatever it was, she seemed to understand it, and it made her smile. I guess she picked up on most of his Spanish dialect the longer they dated. What was it, almost two years now they'd been together? Probably.
I stood there, allowing the dark shadows to consume me.
Now that we had gotten closer to fire, I could see everything clearly. The setup was just as I imagined. A small circle of people surrounded the bonfire. Some of them were laid out on layers of blankets while others sat up straight. A grill was placed a few feet away from the group, being monitored by one of the guys. Behind them was the large cabin Skylar and Jason mentioned.
Geez, the outside of the cabin was dripping with wealth. If the outside looked like that, I couldn't help but wonder what the inside would have appeared to be. Apparently, it belonged to his friend Andrew, if I had been listening.
"Who's the girl?" one of the guys in the circle questioned.
He'd been leaning back with his arm draped over one of the girl's shoulders. In his other hand was a half-empty bottle of beer. His comment brought everyone's eyes to me. I thought I had blended into the darkness extremely well. But I guess not.
"Is she your hostage?" he joked. I flinched and took a step forward.
"Dumbass," Skylar muttered with a roll of her eyes.
"Hey, I heard that." He snarled.
"Good. Chastity, Thomas. Thomas, this is Chastity," Skylar emphasized his name, looking directly at the guy who made the comment. "Remember when I mentioned my friend was coming to stay with me for the summer? Well, here she is! This is my best friend from NYC."
Thomas eyed me up and down, a smirk crossing his lips. "Your friend looks like she's about to take flight. Are you sure you didn't drag her here against her will?"
Skylar rolled her eyes, clasping our hands together. "No, you idiot. My friend is very capable of thinking for herself. Don't mind the asshole over there. He likes to toy with people. Come on, let me introduce you to everyone else."
"Over here, babe," Jason called. I hadn't even noticed he broke away from her and cleared out a spot for us to join them on the blankets. So, we did.
My eyes wandered over everyone in the group.
There was exactly two girls and three guys. Then, there was Jason, Skylar, and I. I couldn't help but feel like a third wheel. Nearly everyone was curled under someone. The girl under Thomas' arm stirred closer to his chest, her eyes stuck to me like glue.
I'd noticed it before but I hadn't put much thought into it. However, she wouldn't stop staring now. Why was she staring at me like that? Damn, I just got here. Had I done something wrong already? I'd hoped not.
I scrunched up my face, turning my back to her.
"I heard that too," Thomas scoffed and took another swig of his beer. The trimmed wavy edges of his brown hair fell flat over his eyes, bouncing slightly with every action.
"Good. That's what I was hoping!" She flipped him off.
"He's been on a roll all night, Skylar. Be careful not to bruise his ego anymore. You know sensitive jerk wads run through the Mars family bloodline." The guy at the grill laughed. His dark skin shimmered under the moonlight, glowing just as beautiful as his smile. He was just a few tones darker than Skylar and I.
"Screw you, Mick!" Thomas gritted his teeth. Mick's laughter only thickened. It seemed everyone was capable of easily getting under Thomas' skin.
"Well, I guess you know two of them now. The girl under Thomas' arm is Julia, his girlfriend. Reggie and Wilma are the two laid out over there." She pointed to a dark-skinned girl with long brown twists in her hair and a septum ring hanging from her nose who had a guy, I was assuming her boyfriend, burying his head in her lap. Both of them looked as high as a kite.
"And where is Andrew?" Skylar got on her knees to get a better look around.
"Did someone call for me?" A figure appeared from behind the trees. He kept walking until he entered the wide field of grass. I scooted behind Skylar, waiting for the shadow to reveal itself.
"There you are! I was about to send out a search party for you. We thought you might've drowned in the creek or something." Jason laughed, calling out to him.
"Ha-ha, very funny. I had to take a piss." When he stepped into the light of the fire, his eyes had just stopped rolling at their behavior.
But my eyes were already focused on something else.
His head full of curly dark auburn hair and the faded stubble around the jaw, that was almost invisible, caught my attention. Then, there was the grimace attached to his face, which seemed to be a natural expression for him. Freckles were littered across his skin (flourishing in the faintest of light brown skin tones), further bringing out his cheekbones.
I felt myself gaping in awe in my head.
"Your dad has a well-working bathroom in the luxurious cabin you guys seem to take for granted. So, instead of using that, you went near the creek?" Wilma laughed, poking fun at him.
"I wasn't going to make it from the creek to here in time, okay?" He gritted his teeth and scowled. "Reggie, tell your girlfriend to get off my back, please."
"Good luck, she doesn't listen to me either," Reggie announced.
By then, everyone was laughing again. Except me. I couldn't help but watch Andrew. His tongue grazed across the skin on his bottom lip and I shivered. I wasn't sure how just one simple gesture sent an overwhelming number of chills up my spine. But it did.
Then, his tongue flicked up, doing the same to the top lip. It wasn't until I heard someone clear their throat beside me, that I realized I was staring at him while he was licking his lips, like some sort of sex crazed person.
I turned to Skylar. She gestured forward, struggling to keep her laughter under control. Oh God. Did he catch me? When my eyes shifted up, I was met with a pair of light brown eyes. They set me under a microscope, surveying every inch of me.
At first, there was a blank set of confusion drawn over his face. It was deep in the arch of his eyebrows. Then, there was satisfaction, which turned into amusement. I tried to ignore the smile on his face, painfully shunning me, but it was too late.
"And you are?" he rasped. He was trying not to laugh. I could tell.
"Andrew, this is Skylar's best friend. The one she mentioned before. Chastity," Jason replied.
"Oh. . . Nice to meet you, Chastity. I hope you're enjoying yourself and they haven't scared you off," he said, though his smile hadn't gone away.
He walked past us, grabbing a drink from the cooler. He then plopped down in the nearest open spot across from us, threading his fingers through the tangles of his curls. A silver and black champion soccer ring sat tight on his finger on his right hand. My eyes didn't fail to notice it. I mean, how could I? It was huge.
"He's single and available," Skylar nudged my side, whispering. I fanned her off and scoffed. Nonsense. I didn't move here to start relationships. I still wasn't sure if this move would even be permanent or not.
"Hey, I'm just saying." Skylar laughed, flinging her hands in the air, in surrender.
"What are you two gossiping about?" Thomas mocked with a yawn.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" She flashed him a forced smile, to which he flashed back one of his own.
I laughed for the first time since I got there. The queasy feeling in my stomach began to fade away. And even within all the jokes and laughs, there was still one person I managed to catch looking at me from time to time. Somehow, Andrew and I's eyes had stayed glued to each other all night, as we indulged in our own small conversations, here and there.
I liked it. Being around them wasn't as daunting as being back home. At least, so far.
It was like a breath of fresh air had welcomed me with open arms. But I wasn't counting on it to last. Not when it was just day one and there was still time for things to go wrong.
* * *
Shit. Three missed calls from my dad. Things were going wrong just a little faster than I imagined they would. I had jinxed myself when I expected the worst. That's probably what I deserved for being so damn pessimistic.
"Hey, you've reached Bernard. If you're hearing this, then I'm busy. Leave a message after the beep." The noise clicked.
"Hey, daddy. I'm sorry I missed your calls. I was out with some friends. It's past midnight so you're probably sleeping now. Call me when you wake up. I love you." I hung up the phone and sat down on the edge of the bench near my bed, blowing out a soft sigh.
I'd been so caught up in Jason and Skylar's friends, I hadn't heard my phone. It could've also been due to the one too many shots I tossed back down my throat earlier, from a flask of Jack Daniel's Skylar was hoarding in her bag.
It was just a few small gulps, but clearly, three swallows were enough to nearly make me lose concentration. I should've known better. I knew I was so much of a lightweight. That's why I didn't drink. God, my head was still spinning.
Meanwhile, Skylar was down for the count. Jason had to carry her all the way upstairs because she was too drunk off her ass. It was so bad, Andrew volunteered to drive us home, since he hadn't been drinking.
Sighing, I kicked my feet, my eyes dropping to the floor. Had she waxed the floors before I arrived? It was the first time I was noticing them. They were so shiny; I could see my reflection. I hadn't realized that earlier. I was too busy stuck worrying about the weird, uncomfortable feeling lingering in the room.
I snickered and sank to the carpet, folding my legs. But before I was properly seated, something caused me to leap back up.
"Ouch!" I squeaked. What the heck? Something pinched my butt.
I quickly scrambled to my knees, a frown settling on my face. When I bent forward to investigate, there was a tiny lump in the carpet. I would have missed it if I didn't have my glasses on. What the hell? Huffing, I got up, and stepped off the carpet to lift the edges.
"Hmm, where did you go?" My eyes scanned the floor.
It wasn't until something bright shined in the darkness under the carpet. A glimpse of silver glowed from the cracks of the floorboard. My eyebrows knitted together as I sunk back to my knees, pressing my palms against the floorboard.
I grunted and extended my hand under the carpet. "You're almost there, Chastity. Come on, come on. . . Yes, bingo!" when I felt the small item in my hand, I cheered in glee.
Then, something put a damper on my mood. Why wasn't it moving anymore? Shit, don't tell me it was stuck. I yanked one good time. That didn't work. I then yanked another good time until eventually, I felt the item break free from the confinements of the floor.
"Sheesh, that was a lot of work," I mumbled, falling back onto my bottom. "Now, what are you—a charm bracelet?" I stopped mid-sentence. Seriously? I'd done all of that for a charm bracelet? Well, it was an extremely nice charm bracelet, so there was that.
The charm bracelet easily slipped down my wrist when I dropped it. I hummed and twirled it around slowly, its cold silver texture smooth against my skin. Something sparkled off one of the charms, catching my eye.
Tilting my head, I examined the initials closely. "D.K. . . ."
The initials were vague, engraved deep in the bracelet's material. Could Skylar have dropped a bracelet in here or something? Probably not. Did I know anyone with those initials? Not that I could remember. Perhaps, she had guests over before and they dropped it on the floor.
"D.K.," I repeated again.
An eerie vibe eased around the room every time the initials slipped off my tongue. So much, that when the door to my room began creaking, I immediately perked up. The door was now opened to a wider degree, a gust of wind slipping in through the crack.
I blew out a breath and rolled my eyes, laughing out my awkwardness. "Stupid wind."
That was nothing to get scared about.
Normally, I would have called it a night and tossed the bracelet to the side. But I guess the alcohol swimming in my system gave me enough false bravery. Therefore, I ignored my jumbled mess of nerves for good this time.