Double Threats Forever (2 page)

I’d like to think this is the mature thing to do. Because a long distance relationship between a hot college guy and a cute high school girl just doesn’t seem to make any sense. No matter how much we love each other. And we do. A lot.

Dominic and Steph swing by to get me before we scoop up Keesha. I don’t know why we bothered getting our driver’s licenses over the summer. I don’t have anything to drive. Keesha doesn’t either. Steph has a car, but does she use it? No. She’d rather let Dom taxi us around. Not that I’m complaining. It is pretty convenient and he doesn’t mind.

“You coming?” Steph says, leaning over the side of Dom’s new
used
Jeep Wrangler, when we get to Josh’s. It totally suits him. Big truck for a big guy.

I swipe my hair from my eyes, and scrub my hands over my face. I’m glad I didn’t style my hair after all. It would’ve been trashed by the time we got here. Instead, it probably looks the same as when we left. I don’t know if that should make me feel any better. It feels like a big mop flopping on my head.

We’re not the first to arrive. The place is packed and it’s only eight o’clock. I guess everyone got off to a head start. I recognize everyone from our ASB class—the typical party crowd. If we can plan events for school, we sure as hell can plan a raging party as long as someone’s parents are out of town, which is often the case with Josh’s family.

“I can’t believe we’re going to a party. I’m so nervous,” I hear as a group of girls pass by. Aww. That was so me three years ago. I wonder if they’re already crushing on older guys. What am I thinking? Of course they are. I have to stop myself from tapping them on the shoulder and asking. Although, maybe I should. I could help them. Nah. Then some poor little girl will be in the same shoes I am her senior year. If they’re smart, they’ll stick to guys their own age.

We make our way into Josh’s house, stopping to hug everyone along the way. I wouldn’t consider any of these people my close friends, but we’re friendly enough at school and to party with. Otherwise, it would just be me, Keesh, Steph, Dom, Josh, Travis, and Andi for the year. As appealing as that sounds, chillin’ with the crowds is a must our senior year.

We need to experience it all.

Like drinking.

Lots of drinking.

“The Megster is here, come drink a beer,” Josh shouts, waving me over with a beer in one hand and a pen in the other. He throws his arms around me, lifting me off the floor in a tight squeeze. “It’s about time you got here. I’m already fucked up.”

“I can see that,” I tell him.

“You need to slow the hell down,” Keesh scolds him.

“All right, all right,” he says, nodding his head. “You guys take over for me.” He hands me his can of beer and tosses one to the girls and Dom. Then he pushes the pen in my hand. “You ready?”

“For what? Are we going to write in your diary?” I ask.

“No, dummy. We’re shotgunning beers.” He points to Eric who winks at me before plunging a pen into the bottom of a beer, and cracking the tab open as he chugs the drink from the punctured hole.

“That doesn’t look like fun.”

“Oh, stop being a wimp. I’ll do it.” Keesh snatches the pen from my hand, and before I can blink she’s sucking down her own can of brew. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand when she’s done before letting out a manly belch.

“What the hell, I’m in.” Steph glances at Dom, who seems amused by this whole thing. She’s not as quick as Keesha. She practices first, pretending to punch the whole and holding the can to her mouth before pulling the tab. “Okay, I think I got it.”

And whoosh, the beer flows partly into her mouth while the rest streams down her chin and neck. Nope. She would not win a beer chugging contest. Dom hands her a few paper towels and she sops up the mess all over her face. “That wasn’t so bad. You’re next, Meggie.”

She passes the pen back to me, and I roll it back and forth in my fingers, looking down at the beer in my other hand. I haven’t chugged a beer since my first high school party. It was a beer bong contest that time. And I wanted to win to show Alex I could keep up with the older crowd. Now, I
am
the older crowd and this seems silly, yet insanely fun. So why the hell not?

Let’s get this party started.

“Dude, you guys are wasted!” Andi yells over the music, when she and Travis find us dancing in Josh’s backyard. They’re way late for this shindig, but whatever.

“What makes you think that?” I tell her swaying my hips to the beat. “C’mon, get your freak on with us. Wiggle that little booty.” She shakes her head with a laugh. Her arms are like wet noodles when I lift them to get her moving. “Fine. Trav, dance with me. I know you can shake that ass of yours.” Boy, do I. He can dance. There were many times when I thought I was on fire dancing with my ass in his lap and his hands all over my body. That was a long time ago. He doesn’t turn up the heat for me anymore. That’s all Andi. I want her to feel that, since I can’t. My man is over four hundred miles away, and sneaking home right now to talk dirty to him is starting to sound really enticing.

Travis puts his hands up, shakes his hips a little, and scoots closer to Andi. Her face flushes all shades of pink as he takes her hands and moves her petite frame with the music. Watching them all cute and cuddly kills my buzz.

“Let’s go get another drink.” I grab Keesh’s hand and lead her back into the kitchen.

“Watching them all year is seriously gonna drive me mad,” Keesh says, filling a shot glass with some amber colored liquid.

“Yeah, between Andi and Travis and Dom and Steph, I’m gonna feel like an old maid. I want someone to dance freaky with,” I whine.

Josh tosses an arm around each of us. “Ask and you shall receive. I’ll take one for the team and freak you so hard Alex will feel it all the way in Berkeley.”

Keesh spits out her shot, spraying the people across the bar, and I can’t stop laughing. Who needs a drink when we have Josh for pure entertainment?

I’m still trying to catch my breath when I notice the younger girls from earlier. One of them keeps glancing over at Josh even though she is trying really hard not to. Every time he moves, she looks up to follow his steps. One of her friends looks annoyed while the other looks scared. But she’s a lovesick puppy dog with pouting lips, big eyes and lashes. She’s really cute. And Josh doesn’t have anything going.

I really shouldn’t do this. Look how things turned out for me and Alex.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell my friends. I can’t help myself.

I make a beeline for the freshmen, and chatter picks up between them as I get closer.

“Hey, girls.”

Chapter 2

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” the lovesick girl says. She’s a lot prettier up close. Her eyes are a light shade of brown, and her lashes are so sickeningly long and thick she could do a cosmetic commercial and not have to wear fake ones. They make me want to pluck them out and glue them to my own eyelids.

“For what?” I take a sip of my drink, a beer I snagged off the counter on my way over.

“I didn’t mean to stare at your boyfriend.” My boyfriend? It takes a second for me to realize she thinks Josh is my guy. “He’s just really cute. And I love watching him play baseball. He’s like my own high school version of Andre Ethier.”

“Who’s that?”

She grimaces like I’ve offended her in some way. “Only like the hottest right fielder in major league baseball.”

“Oh, okay. Sorry. So, what grade are you in?” And how does she know he plays ball? The season hasn’t started yet.

She scrunches her face, seemingly embarrassed to say. And it’s cute. I just want to pick her up and put her in my pocket. “We’re going to be freshmen this year.” Her friends nod repeatedly, smiles plastered to their faces.

“So when did you see him play?”

“Oh, we went to all the home games for the last two years. Shayna’s been obsessed with him from the first time she saw him pitch a no-hitter. Our parents wouldn’t let us go to football games because they’re at night, but baseball games are played after school. So we’d go and hang out at the field,” the other girl explains.

“So you’re Shayna?” I hold out my hand, and she takes it. I gesture at the other two. “And you are?” They tell me their names are Sophie and Sasha. “Cute.”

“What’s cute?” Shayna asks.

“Your names. They all start with S.” I take a long pull of my beer. “So you have a thing for Josh? Wanna meet him?”

Her eyes bug out of her head like a sci-fi character, and her cheeks flush even more so than Andi’s do all the time. “That would be weird, don’t you think?”

“Well, you
are
in his house. How weird could it be? I can’t believe your parents won’t let you go to a football game, but they’ll let you go to a party at a guy’s house without any supervision.”

Sasha puts her hands up. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” I like these girls. They’re the younger versions of me, Keesh, and Steph.

I scan the house looking for my
hot
baseball throwing friend. Thinking of Josh as
hot
makes me laugh inside. If this girl only knew what a dork he is … she probably wouldn’t care. She’d eat it up. And that’s just what he needs.

The goober is sucking down Jell-O shots with Eric and Travis. He’s playing around. Tonguing the clear plastic, licking around the rim and jutting it in and out of the cup. Sicko. Maybe I should just tell Shayna and her friends to run. I look over at her and notice she’s gazing in his direction with stars in her eyes. She’s a goner. No amount of warning from me will help.

“Joshie!” I yell. He looks over at the sound of his name and I wave him over. Like a little kid, he bounces our way.

“What’s up, baby cakes?” Oh goodness. He’s
really
tore the eff up. “Just kidding, Megster. Stop giving me the evil eye.” Never mind. He’s good.

“Whatever, dork. I want you to meet my new friends.” His eyebrows arch and a smile spreads across his mouth as his eyes take in the three girls. His gaze fixates on Shayna as I introduce them. “Shay is a fan of yours. She even saw that game freshmen year when you kicked ass.”

“The no-hitter?” He’s definitely interested.

She nods, smiling from ear to ear. She’s obviously incapable of speech at the moment. Reminds me of someone I know. Alex still gets me tongue tied to this very day.

“Yeah, she’s a total baseball fan. You two chat. I’m gonna go dance with Sasha and Sophie.”

I drop my brew in a trash can on our way out of the house. “Let’s dance, girls.” They look at me like I’m crazy, but start to bust a move anyway. I position myself so I can see Josh and Shayna through a window. He already has her laughing. She’s cracking up so much she’s actually wiping her eyes. Yay. There’s my good deed for the year.

Eric, my ex-boyfriend slash friend dances his way towards us. Another guy from our ASB class follows. I give him a nod in the girls’ direction and try my best at a wink. He smiles taking my hint. Cool. That’s two good deeds. I’m on a roll.

I’m done drinking so I dip my hand in a cooler full of ice and dig out a bottle of water. Then, I go into the garage to hide from the party goers. I find Andi and Keesh watching a movie. Travis, Steph, and Dom are right behind me.

“Hiding out in here, girls?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m just not feelin’ it tonight,” Keesh says, kicking off her shoes and tucking her feet underneath her.

“Me either. I tried the whole ‘fake it to make it’ thing when we got here. But that didn’t last long.” I sigh, relaxing into the soft cushy sofa.

“There’s not much eye candy out there either. It might not have been so bad if we could gawk at some hot guys,” Keesh tells us.

“We’ve know these guys too long for them to be hot anymore.” I sigh as I sink lower into the sofa. “Except for Colin. I never get tired of looking at him. If I was looking, I might shake my ass his way.”

“It wouldn’t do anything for him,” Travis says through a chuckle. “There’s a reason they call him Dead Meat.”

“What a nickname. Why?” I ask. Keesh laughs, and so does Steph. I throw up my hands. “Did I miss something?”

“That guy has been smoking weed for so long his wang has no twang in it anymore.”

I narrow my eyes at Trav. “Excuse me?”

“His helmet head is at first and goal and he can’t make a touchdown.”

“Huh?” I’m confused.

Andi smacks her hand against her forehead. “Dude, and you guys think I’m the innocent one. Meggie, the guy can’t keep it up. His pecker is like a wet noodle when it should be hard as a rock.”

“Oh.” My eyes widen. “And why do we all know this?”

“Thelma,” Travis adds, like the answer is an obvious one. “If the school’s go-to sexpert can’t get the dude to the finish line, then you know he’s hit one too many bongs. She actually gave him the nickname.”

“Dead Meat?” I ask for confirmation.