He missed just being able to let loose. We danced for a long while before I was too bushed to keep going.
“Come on. I can’t dance another second.”
“Quitter! You’re the one who brought me out here,” he said laughing.
“I know. You can keep dancing if you want. I know there’s plenty of willing girls.”
“Nah, I’m gonna go find a place for the old fogies to sit,” he said grinning.
I laughed and went to find Caleb.
I found him by the strangest looking guy I’d ever seen. He was wearing no shirt, black leather pants, no shoes and his hair was in a wild afro of black curls. I could only assume this was Zeke and I immediately blocked his thoughts and focused on Caleb.
“Hey, you,” Caleb called sweetly and pulled me to his side. “Zeke, this is Maggie. Maggie, Zeke.”
“This is your Maggie, eh? I say, good work, my man.”
“Thanks,” Caleb muttered wryly.
“So, lads and lasses, what are we drinking? Refill?” Zeke tipped Caleb’s cup towards him and grimaced. “Still a soda man. What about you, Maggie, my dearest, a little bubbly to brighten your night?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“Zeke and the guys are about to go on stage,” Caleb told me.
“Really,” I said enthusiastic. “Great. I’ve heard a lot about you guys. What’s your band’s name?”
“Metal Petals.”
“Aha. Nice.”
“Well, you two sit right there and prepare to be rocked,” Zeke said and pointed his fingers at us as he walked away backwards.
I told you he was unconventional.
I just laughed as he took the stage and introduced their band. Then they began to play. They were pretty good actually. We stayed right there until I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned to see Kyle...with the blondest fakest tanned bimbo I’d ever seen. Her makeup was all bright purple and pink and her blue leather mini skirt couldn’t really even be called a skirt- scrap was more like it. I was sure my eyes went wide. She looked me over too and her thoughts came to me.
So this is her, huh? Nothing special.
I blocked her out.
“Hey, guys. I’m gonna go ahead and take off and go back to the beach house with Amber.” He purred her name making her giggle and flip her hair.
“Kyle,” Caleb said like he was talking to a drunken idiot. Only this idiot wasn’t drunk. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” She made playful nipping and biting type moves toward him and he made them back to her. I wanted to gag. “I’m going to go play with Amber.”
“I don’t think Uncle Carl would want you bringing people we don’t know to the house, Kyle, especially with us not being there.”
“Well,” Kyle leaned in and whispered. “You not being there is kinda the point, cuz. If you know what I mean?” he winked. I must have looked disgusted because he turned to me and frowned. “What’s your problem?”
I shook my head.
“Nothing.”
“That’s right, nothing. You don’t get a say in what I do, Maggie. I could take the whole party home to screw and you couldn’t say one word to me about it!” he yelled angrily and a few people near us looked to see what was going on.
“Hey!” Caleb yelled back and moved me behind him. “You need to calm down. You don’t talk to her like that. Go. Go to the house, whatever, I don’t care, but go before you say something stupid and I have to do something about it.”
“Whatever,” Kyle muttered. He looked at me once more before putting an arm around Amber’s shoulders and pulling her away.
They walked down the beach toward our house and sighed in exasperation. I felt sorry for him too. He was hurt, because of me, and he was trying to get back at me for it.
“He shouldn’t have yelled at you like that,” Caleb reasoned with my inner thoughts. “No matter how ‘hurt’ he is. He’s a jackass.”
“Yeah, he is,” I agreed and shook my head to clear it. “Come on. Let’s get back to Metal Petals.”
He smiled sadly and positioned me in front of him. Now we were in front of the makeshift stage. He put his arms around me from behind and kissed my neck before sticking an arm in the air and yelling loudly as the song ended. I laughed at him and we listened to the rest of the set. Once it ended that was pretty much it for the party, especially once the beach patrol showed up. He turned to me and yelled over the ruckus.
“Come on, let’s get Bish and get out of here.”
Back at the house, you could hear the giggling from the porch. I assured Caleb they weren’t doing anything unclothed and we could go in. They were sitting on the couch, she was lying on her back across his lap and laughing as he tickled and nuzzled her.
“Oh, hey, guys. You remember Amber?”
Caleb and I looked at each other and shook our heads.
“I’m going to bed,” Bish announced and came to me. He smiled and hugged me to him. “Night, Mags.”
“Good night. I had fun,” I told him sincerely.
“Me, too,” He leaned down to my ear. “I can even overlook the fact that you are an appalling dancer.”
“Ha, ha.”
I heard Caleb stifle a chuckle. Bish nodded to him in goodnight. Then he called to Kyle from the stairs.
“Night, Kyle. Don’t be an idiot.”
Kyle scoffed and Amber turned his face back to look at her.
“I’m kinda tired too, actually,” I said, “and hungry.” I looked to Caleb. “You want a sandwich?”“Yeah, thanks. Kyle, can I talk to you, on the porch?”
I heard an aggravated noise as I left for the kitchen and soon I was joined by the bimbo.
“Hi! I’m Amber.”
“Yes. I know.”
“What’s your name?”
“Maggie,” I muttered.
“Awe, how cute! OMG! Isn’t Kyle just delicious? How do you live here with him and not just want to jump him? Though that other guy was pretty hot too.”
“Somehow I manage,” I muttered as I started to make the roast beef sandwiches.
“So, did you and Kyle used to go out or something?”
“No. Why?” I asked as she moved behind me to go to my other side.
She bumped my arm in the process and I sliced the end of my finger. I huffed and looked at her but she didn’t say anything. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a napkin, wrapping it around my finger.
“Eeew, blood makes me gag,” she said as she watched me, her neck wrinkled as she sucked it in.
“I’m fine by the way,” I said with sarcasm that she didn’t catch.
“Mmhmm. So anyway, back to Kyle. He just seemed very intent on seeing you and that other guy before we left to come here. We looked for you forever!”
“What?” I asked and got a clean knife.
“Yeah, I thought he was parading his rebound or something.”
I put the knife aside and looked at her.
“So if you thought you were a rebound, why were you so happy about coming back here with him?”
“Hey.” She leaned forward on her elbows and smiled coyly. “Don’t knock rebound booty til you try it.”
“Eeew,” I muttered before I could stop myself and resumed the mayonnaise.
“Hey!” She suddenly seemed a little bristled and stood up with her hands on her hips. “Don’t judge me. You don’t even know me!”
“You’re right, I don’t. See ya,” I said, unwrapping my finger that had stopped bleeding and grabbing the sandwiches, making my way out of the room, visibly shaking the grossness off me. Girls like her gave the rest of us a bad name. “Caleb?”
He was still on the porch with Kyle, all big brother-ish. They were discussing the no-dating rule again and Kyle was explaining basically the same thing as Amber just had to me. A one night stand, no matter even if they didn’t have sex, wasn’t a relationship. I tuned them out and went to go sit on our couch bed and wait for Caleb.
He came in shortly after, upset and shaking his head, grumbling about how Kyle was being an idiot and it was stupid how childish he was being about it all, stringing that girl along. I just sat and let him rant, listening, and then laid down with him when he was done and ready for bed. He put his arms around me from behind and spoke his words into my hair.
“Hey, uh,” he started. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you. Zeke’s band wants me to play with them next weekend, their bassists is going to a wedding in Maine or something.”
“Really, you want to do it?”
“Yeah, I do.”
I heard his thoughts. He’d always secretly wanted to be in a band or start one but never got the notion to. Plus what good would a band do for his family? He really wanted to do this. Just to say he did it once.
“I think it’s awesome. Did you tell him yes?”
“I wanted to talk to you first.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t know if you’d be...weird about it. I don’t know. I mean, it doesn’t mean anything, nothing will come of it but I will have to practice this week if I do it. Like everyday to be ready for this weekend. I’m not thrilled about the idea of leaving you alone...but Bish is here so...”
“I’ll be fine. I think you should do it.”
“Ok,” he said brightly. “I’ll call him tomorrow.”
“What about the Mutemath concert?”
“That’s Saturday night. The gig is Friday.”