Beside a fire pit, John Cole sat surrounded by some of the school's finest. Sports stars, rich ones, and various cool types, all of them laughing and chatting and drinking. Erika had seated herself on a new guy's lap. Not that it mattered. No way would I wander over and say hi to John. He might fit in with those types, but I didn't. I'd stick with my friends and head for the dance floor. Time to burn off some of my pent-up frustration, and other equally unwelcome emotions, with Carrie and Soph.
We took turns fetching drinks. Some were water, some weren't. After an hour or two, I had a nice buzz going, my body drenched in sweat and a broad smile on my face. My friend Marie from Bio had even joined us for a while.
"Pool?" asked Soph, panting.
"Pool," Carrie and I agreed.
They both had bathing suits on under their clothes, but I just toed off my flats. Good enough. In we went, denim shorts and tank top and all, making an almighty splash. Cool water closed over my head and the muted bass of the music thumped on, before I resurfaced to the summertime smell of chlorine. Man, it felt good.
Sophia and Carrie started floating around, kissing. Meanwhile, Anders and Hang appeared to be having a deep and meaningful conversation over by the steps. I was on my own. All good. I climbed out, going in search of first, a towel, and second, food. Turned out John had the first one already covered.
"Hey," he said, wrapping me up in a monster-size towel. Shades of green and yellow decorated his face, the bruises slowly fading. His knuckles seemed a little better too.
"Hi. Thanks."
I wrung out my hair. Only about a gallon of water came out. My wet clothes had the towel saturated in under a minute. This was the problem with going in fully clothed. Oh, well.
"Damn." He smiled. "We need another one just for your hair-come on."
I followed him around the side of the house to another door leading into a laundry room. Guess he'd spent a lot of time here over the years. For certain, he knew his way around. He had two fresh towels out of the closet in no time. One got exchanged for the drenched thing wrapped around me, but the second he kept hold of, using it to gently pat my hair dry.
"I can do that," I said.
"I got it." His voice dropped low, sending a strange thrill down my spine. Given we were platonic, he was certainly being very handsy. No. John was just a friend. Just a . . . hell, not even I could quite believe that one anymore. "How was the water?"
"Nice. Cooling." And this was strange. Very strange.
Once my clothes reached the point of damp as opposed to dripping, little more could be done. I put the wet towel on top of the washing machine, ready to be hung out once John got done with my hair. Only, work on my head stalled at that point, his gaze flickering from my face to the wet T-shirt competition happening below.
Oh man, my nipples. How pointedly embarrassing.
I crossed my arms over my chest. "So, what have you been up to? I haven't seen you since detention."
"Yeah." He licked his lips. "I've been busy."
"Avoiding me."
"Possibly."
I laughed. "Definitely. Don't worry, I no longer wish to lecture you on the evils of getting into trouble at school. Especially when it's because of me."
"No?" His expression eased. "Good."
"Though it's totally hypocritical of you to avoid me like that."
He bit back a smile. "Heard someone had their car egged the other day. You know, I think it was that asshole who grabbed you."
"Wow, what a coincidence. And such a shocking attack on private property."
"Mm."
I kept my face blank. Innocent as a lamb. Baa.
"You wouldn't know anything about it then?" he asked.
"Absolutely not."
"Uh-huh." Brows scrunched up, he was obviously unconvinced. "Next time, when you're not doing things like that, let me know so I can watch your back. Okay?"
I just smiled.
"I'm serious, Edie."
"I heard you, but my back was covered."
"Anders would have been pissed if you'd gotten Hang into trouble," he said.
"Hang's a big girl; she can make her own choices."
For a moment, he just looked at me. "Can't believe you egged his car."
"I admit to nothing."
He gave me a lopsided smile and it actually made me feel a little light-headed. God, everything this boy did got to me. Either that, or I'd had more to drink than I realized. Whatever. Emergency escape time. I had to get out of here before I did something stupid. "I'm going to head home."
He stopped. "What? You're leaving already?"
"Yeah, I need a change of clothes," I said. "Plus, I've danced, I've drunk, I've swum. Work was actually pretty busy today, so . . . time for bed."
"How'd you get here?"
"Hang's dad dropped us off. I'll just walk home."
"Okay," he said. "I'll walk with you."
"You don't have to do that."
"You're always telling me what I don't have to do for you." He shook his head, smiling faintly. "I know what's right and wrong, and I know what I want. You're not walking home alone at night, Edie. I'd drive you, but I've had a few drinks myself."
"All right. No need to get feisty."
He just laughed and threw the towel aside. "C'mon, let's go."
I fetched my bag, and as per protocol, texted the girls good-bye. The breeze was chilly. Summer had officially come to an end. John took off the button-down shirt he had on over his T-shirt and handed it to me without a word.
Happily, it also took care of the nipple issue. "Thanks."
"I was watching you dance. You're good."
"Years of playing ‘Just Dance' in the family room, and I never did reach the high scores."
"I'm serious."
I groaned. "You're making me self-conscious."
"Don't be."
"Right," I said, laughing a little too loud. "I'll flick off that switch because you said so."
He just smiled and shook his head. Seemed he was doing that a lot tonight.
"Thanks," I eventually mumbled.
"Why can't girls ever take a compliment? They've always got to act embarrassed for some reason."
I harrumphed. "Like you do any better."
"What do I do?" He tipped his chin. "Hmm?"
"You ignore them outright. Just pretend like I never spoke."
A small shake of the head. "No, I don't."
"Yeah, you do."
"Hit me with one," he demanded.
"Um. I don't know." He was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, his body a dream. He was sweet and loyal and honest and kind and strong and smart and he made me feel safe, something I didn't think would ever happen again anywhere with anyone. "You're a good driver. Very safe."
"Thank you, Edie."
"You're welcome, John."
"You're damn good at pool. Whipped my ass."
"Thanks," I said.
Up high, clouds covered the sky. No moon to gaze at, no stars to wish upon. Though really, what would I wish for? John was walking beside me and it seemed harsh to burden a distant sun with my desire for world peace. It probably had its own problems.
"When are we playing again?" he asked. "I need a chance to beat you, get back my dignity."
"Can't handle being beaten by a girl?"
The side of his mouth turned up. "No. Just don't like losing in general."
"Fair enough. We can play again whenever you like."
"Good."
He stopped, kicking at a stone on the road. We were at my house already. It really hadn't been far. The porch light was on, the driveway empty. Mom said she had another thing going on with her friends; God knows what time she'd be home. She was out a hell of a lot lately. But since it benefited me, I'd decided not to complain.
"Thanks for walking me," I said, arms crossed over my chest again to hide my nerves. And why I was nervous, I had no idea. "Want to come in?"
The look he gave me, I couldn't read. It was guarded by fences, doors, walls, probably even mines, and a moat.
"Just to hang out," I said. "You know."
"Nah." He looked back the way we'd come. "I, ah, better get back."
"See you later then."
A nod.
"Don't get into any more fights," I said. "Please."
He just smiled. "'Night."
While I unlocked the door, he waited at the curb, watching. He stood with his hands in his pockets, the wind whipping his loose hair about his face. I waved and went inside, locking the door behind me. It felt like a part of me was still out there with him, though. As if I'd been cut in two.
Crazy.
A shower washed the chlorine out of my hair, I'd blow-dried it, and put on my favorite black-and-white polka-dot pajamas. I opened my curtains and pushed up my window, searching the night sky. Only a little of the cloud cover had moved, allowing a couple of stars to shine through.
After a bowl of Cheerios, my stomach was happy. Book in hand, I settled down to read and actually started to get somewhere. Now that the buzz from the drinks had dimmed, it felt good to be home. I'd gone out and socialized with little to no awkwardness. Go, me.