“She’s right, Sara. Don’t drink and drive.”
“I won’t,” Sara told them. They all knew that she would, but they also knew that if she ever got so bad that she couldn’t drive she would call them. It made everyone feel better. “Goodbye.”
“See you in the morning.”
“Have fun,” her father told her.
Sara opened the door and bounded down the steps of her front porch. Pam’s small car sat in her driveway and looked like an ant about to be squashed by a boot as it sat next to her father’s huge farm truck.
Pam stuck her head out the window and whistled loudly. “Looking good, girl!”
Sara blushed. She stopped and struck a seductive pose with her hand on her hip and her butt stuck out. “You know it.”
She hurried the rest of the way to the car and leapt in the passenger seat. The car was small and cramped, but for the first time, she didn’t care. She was too excited. Her door was barely shut before Pam accelerated out of the driveway.
“Are you ready to party you butt off?”
“I am,” Sara responded, but she wasn’t so sure that she was ready. In fact, she had already begun to get cold feet and they were barely out of sight of her house. Pam put some kind of hip-hop on the radio and began to sing along.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the party. The sun had just begun to dip below the horizon, but the party was already in full gear. Country music pumped from speakers somewhere inside the house, loud enough that it could clearly be heard outside. As Sara stepped out of the car, she knew right away that she had made a big mistake. She looked around at the people on the porch and only recognized a few of them. The door flew open and a drunk boy about the same age as the two girls ran out. He fell up against the railing on the porch, nearly toppled over as he leaned over it, and threw up all over some tulips that were planted by the porch. Sara was just about to tell Pam that she wanted to go home when her friend grabbed her arm and pulled her up the steps and into the house.
As they entered, Sara happened to glance at a guy who stood beside the door on the porch. She had no idea who he was or where he was from, but she did know one thing. He was absolutely gorgeous. An amazingly built body with long, dark hair and the darkest blue eyes she had ever seen. He nodded to her and raised his red cup in a greeting. She tried to play it cool, but as always she blushed. She nodded back in return and hurried after Pam as she felt her cheeks redden.
Pam had already found someone she knew to talk to, so Sara grabbed the first drink she came to in the kitchen. The drink was a beer of some kind or another. She hated the taste of beer, but she didn’t really care; she just wanted to get her drink and find a corner out of the way that she could sit in until the night was over.
For a few hours, Sara sat in a chair near the front door, but out of the way. The party fell into full swing and she saw Pam from time to time. No one seemed to pay her any mind and she was glad for it. She nursed her beer as the music changed from country to rap, to hip-hop, and finally back to country. Just as she was about to see if she could find Pam and get her to take her home, the guy from the porch stepped through the doorway. She tried her best to blend into the surroundings, but he noticed her and gave her another nod. She nodded back as her face reddened. The beer she drank to try and hide her blushing almost made her puke because it was hot, but she choked it down.
The guy walked across the room to where Vince was running the stereo and tapped him on the shoulder. After a few minutes of conversation Vince nodded and the guy handed him a CD. Vince put it in, pressed play, and the whole night changed.
The thunder of double bass blasted through the speakers and was quickly followed by a the chugging of a guitar. Finally, some good music, Sara thought as she began to nod her head with the rhythm. A shadow fell over her and she glanced up. Her eyes widened in surprise.
The guy from the porch stood over her with a beer in each hand. He offered one to her and sat down on the coffee table.
“Hey.” He had to shout over the heavy metal.
“Hi.” She took the beer and held it.
“Something wrong?” He popped the top on his beer and took a long swallow.
“N... no.” Her voice shook as she spoke.
“I just thought that maybe something was wrong. You’ve sat over here by yourself all night with that same beer.”
“I just... never go to these things.”
“Me neither.”
“Yeah right. I bet you go to two or three parties a week,” she scoffed and tried to take a drink of her beer, but the cap was still on. Her face flushed in embarrassment. That was a stupid move, she scolded herself.
“Here. Let me get that for you.” He took the beer, and using the edge of the table, popped the top off.
“Thanks.” She took the beer back and took a sip. He smiled when he saw her shiver at the bad taste. Sara noticed his grin and smiled weakly. “I don’t really even like beer.”
He laughed. “I hadn’t noticed. Let me get you something else to drink.”
The guy took her beer and headed for the kitchen. Sara couldn’t believe what was happening. She wondered if she should pinch herself just to make sure that she wasn’t asleep and in a dream. Moments later he came back with his beer and a red cup of something.
“Try this. It’s better tasting that a beer.”
She took a sip of the liquid and smiled. “It is good.”
“It’s called jungle juice.”
“Thank you...” She let the words hang in the hopes that he would tell her his name and he did.
“Dan. Dan Petrie.”
“I’m Sara.”
For the next two hours they talked about music, what metal bands they liked, and how school was going. It turned out that Dan was about to transfer to her school the following week. Sara couldn’t believe her luck. A while later, he asked her if she wanted another drink, and she almost said yes, but she happened to look at the clock. It was ten minutes until midnight and she was all of thirty minutes from home.
“I can’t. I’ve got to go. Have you seen Pam?”
“That girl you came in with?”
“Yeah, that’s her,” Sara said as she scanned the house for any sign of Pam.
“She left an hour before I came over her and started talking to you. Left with some guy named Mike or Mitch. I can’t remember which.”
“Oh shit.” Sara looked around the room for Pam one more time. “I’ve got to get home or my parents are gonna be worried sick. I wonder if Vince will let me use his phone so I can call them and they can come and pick me up?”
“No need. I’ll take you home.”
“Uh...”
“I’m good to drive. I swear. Watch. I’ll stand on one foot and touch the tip of my nose.” He leapt up off the coffee table and stood on one foot. With his left hand he reached out and touched her on the nose. “Did I touch your nose or mine?”
Sara laughed and instantly felt better. “Okay, but we have to leave now.”
“All right.”
Sara followed Dan outside and the walked toward a blue truck. She assumed the truck was his, but he veered around the bend. Maybe he has to take a leak, she thought and stood back so that she wouldn’t intrude. He walked around on the other side of the truck and looked over the bend at her.
“What are you waiting for? My bike’s right here.”
Sara’s heart dropped in her chest. Not only had she never been on a bike, she had never been on a bike with a boy she didn’t know that had been drinking. Good sense told her to turn around and go back inside so that she could call her parents, but another part of her felt that as long as she was with Dan she was safe.
She walked around the truck and saw his bike. It was a huge black and chrome thing with big pipes and a huge motor. He pushed the starter and the motorcycle roared to life. He motioned for her to climb on behind him, and to her surprise, she did. She took the helmet he offered her and placed it on her head. Once the straps were fastened, she told him that she was ready to go. He asked where she lived and she told him the directions.
“Got it!” he yelled over the sound of the motorcycles engine. “Put your arms around my waist and we’ll get going.”
She was glad for the helmet as she placed her arms around his waist. Her face blushed, and by the feel of it, she was sure that she looked something like Rudolph at the moment. His abs were hard against her hands as he gunned the bike and pulled out onto the highway. She had visions the whole ride home about what it would feel like to touch those abs without a shirt in between them and her hands. His hair was blown out behind him by the wind, and to Sara he looked the part of the bad boy. The wind was cool against her face, so she nuzzled into his shoulders and felt that she could live there for the rest of her life.
When they pulled into her driveway her heart dropped in her chest. She had hoped that the ride would go on forever. He shut off the motorcycle and put down the kick stand so she could climb off. She swung her leg over and got off the bike. For a moment, she stood there not knowing what to say, and then she realized that she still had his helmet on. She pulled it off with a nervous laugh and handed it to him.
“Thanks.” She said.
“Not a problem.”