I definitely didn't complain though because I had a humongous bedroom with a closet the size of my old room. It also helped that Landon bought me anything I asked.
But there was one rule. No parties.
I understood why. Landon didn't want his stuff messed up by a bunch of crazy high school students. But this party was different. It was my birthday.
“Hey Landon, can I talk to you about something?” I asked
“You know you can call me stepdad, right Stella,” he replied.
“I know but I haven't gotten used to it yet. Just give me some time.”
“Of course,” he said with that charming smile. “Now what do you want to talk about?”
We both sat down on the nice leather couch in the living room. A giant TV hung on the wall over a fireplace.
“Well, it's going to be my birthday soon,” I said. Landon watched me closely, taking in every word I said. I always liked that about him. He would put 100% focus into you no matter what was going on. “I was wondering if I could have a birthday party here before I go off to college. I promise I'll make my friends behave and I'll clean up everything. You won't have to lift a finger.”
Landon sat across from me, studying my face. “Okay you can have a party here. But none of my stuff gets messed up. And no alcohol. Understand?”
I nodded my head. “We'll just be in the backyard. I won't even let people go inside.”
“Good to hear. I'm putting a lot of faith in you, Stella. Don't mess it up.”
“I won't,” I replied. Landon leaned over and gave me a hug. His aftershave smelled amazing and it ignited feelings deep in my stomach.
Landon left the room and I jumped up and down, squealing like a little girl. My fantasy birthday party was about to come true.
The first step was invitations. They needed to be perfect. The whole foundation of the party relied on the strength of the invitations. People needed the impression that this was going to be the party of the century. If the invitations were shit, then nobody would show.
I spent day and night on my computer, designing the perfect birthday invite. A picture of the mansion took center stage. I knew people couldn't resist if I they knew the party was at an awesome location.
“Hey Heather, here's the invite to my party.” I handed her an envelope and her face lit up.
“Thanks Stella,” she replied.
“You'll be there right?”
“I wouldn't miss it for the world.” She smiled and then looked around in a devious manner. “Are there going to be booze,” she whispered.
“Of course, there will be. Mountains of liquor. Trust me, this party is going to be fucking crazy.”
Heather laughed. “I'll see you there.”
Alcohol was going to be a big problem. I wasn't twenty-one yet and I didn't know anyone that old. How was I going to get it? And more importantly how could I get it past Landon without him knowing.
I went to the only person who could possibly help: Zack, the local weed dealer.
He wasn't old enough to buy alcohol but he probably knew someone who could.
I pushed through the boy's bathroom door and discovered a foggy haze. The smell of marijuana was overwhelming. I spotted Zack in his trench coat, leaning against the tiled wall with a big fat doobie in his mouth.
“What's up, Stella,” he coughed out. “Need some mary jane?”
“Nah, Zack. I actually came to ask for a different favor.”
“Well I don't think you're in a position to ask for favors when you didn't even invite me to your shitty party,” he said with a smug face.
He was right. I didn't invite any of the “losers” to the party. If the popular kids found out that the less desirables were coming, then the majority of the school wouldn't even show up.
“Maybe it got lost in the mail,” I lied.
“Very funny,” he replied.
There was only one way I could get what I wanted. “Okay Zack, you can come.” I scrounged through my backpack until I found a leftover invitation that was all bent and handed it to him.
“So what do you need?” he asked, inspecting the invite.
“Alcohol,” I stated. “Lots of it. Do you know anyone that's twenty-one?”
Zack smiled. “Of course I do...me.”
I put my hands on my hips. “Don't play games with me Zack or I'll take back that invitation.”
“No seriously, look.” Zack stuffed his hand into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He showed me his driver's license that said he was twenty-two.
“Holy shit! Where did you get a fake?” I asked.