Freeks(4)

It was a massive two-story white antebellum manor, with a balcony supported by thick columns. Some of the party guests had drifted out onto it, singing along to the music that blasted from the stereo.

Still standing on the cobblestones at the end of the driveway, I was near enough that I could see the people fairly well, dancing and laughing on the brightly lit balcony. A guy sat on the railing of the second-floor balcony, drinking from a red plastic cup.

With his back to the street, the popped collar of his silver blazer blocked his face. Slowly, he turned away from the party. His brown hair was pushed back, and he surveyed the parking lot that the front yard had become.

Then I felt his eyes settle on me. I was hidden in the shadows of the street, so he wouldn’t be able to see me. Or at least he shouldn’t have been able to. But there was something about his expression—the furrow of his brow, the shadow across his eyes—and I was certain that he was looking right at me.

I smiled at him and tried to quiet my heart hammering in my chest. There was nothing about this that should have my pulse racing so fast. But then he returned my smile.

A brand-new Mercedes squealed to a stop at the end of the driveway, and I took that as my cue to move on. The passengers tumbled out of their car, laughing loudly, and I stepped away from the driveway.

As the couple from the Mercedes walked toward the house, the guy stumbled, but his female companion held him up so he wouldn’t fall. He wore dark sunglasses even though it was past ten at night and smiled at me as they approached.

I smiled politely, meaning to just continue on my exploration of Caudry, but as I slid by, the guy reached out and grabbed my arm.

“Where are you going?” He’d turned to face me, and he let go of me so he could push down his sunglasses.

“Logan, we don’t know her,” the girl said, sounding annoyed.

Her black hair was permed and fluffed into a perfect coif, and her crimson lipstick stood out against her light brown skin. She wore a skin-tight leopard-print minidress with shiny red pumps, and I’m not sure how she managed to keep her footing while steadying her friend.

“Are you sure?” He tilted his head, looking up at me.

“No, we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting. I’m Mara, and I’m assuming that you’re Corey Hart,” I said with a wry smile.

“Funny.” He glanced back at the girl in the leopard-print dress. “She’s funny.” He straightened up and turned back to me. “It’s a party in there, and you should go in.” Then he gestured wildly to the neighborhood and shouted, “Everyone should come!”

“Logan!” The girl tried to hush him.

“You see her?” Logan pointed to the girl. She stumbled as she tried to hold him up, and I reached out, grabbing on to his arm to help steady them before they both fell back. “This is my beautiful girlfriend Selena, and tonight is her twenty-first birthday. So everyone should help her celebrate, even you … strange girl I’ve never seen before.”

I’d only wandered out with the intention of seeing Caudry and clearing my head, and I shouldn’t stay out too late since we’d have even more setting up to do in the morning. But it would be a nice change to spend time in a house instead of a stuffy old trailer.

“If I wouldn’t be an intrusion,” I said, looking to Selena to confirm that it was okay.

“My boyfriend is a drunken mess,” Selena said with a half-smile. “But he’s right. This is my big party, so if you want to join, you can. If not, I’ll just drag this idiot in myself.”

“Well, since it’s your birthday, I should at least help you get him to the house,” I said.

“Thank you.” Selena offered me a grateful smile as Logan threw his other arm around my shoulders.

“The more, the merrier!” Logan laughed as Selena and I started leading him up to the house.

I glanced up at the balcony to see if the guy was still up there, but I didn’t get a good look. Helping Selena with Logan required all my concentration, since he barely seemed capable of standing on his feet. I had no idea how she would’ve managed it on her own, even without the heels.

“Logan decided to start with birthday cocktails early tonight,” Selena explained as we weaved between the cars parked in the driveway. “Even though it’s my birthday, he thought he needed to go celebrate out at the bar while I was having a party here. And then he called me to pick him up, so I had to leave my own party to get him.”

“Hey, hey.” Logan held up a finger and tried to defend himself. “Happy birthday.” He tried to kiss her on the cheek, and she leaned away.

“You’re still gonna be in the doghouse when you sober up,” Selena told him.

When we opened the front door, we had to push through people to get to the living room. The entry opened into a massive front hall, with a curved staircase and a chandelier, and even that area was filled to capacity.

As we walked farther into the house, it didn’t get any less crowded. If I had to guess, I would say that Selena had invited the entire teenage population of Caudry, along with a chunk of southern Louisiana.

When we finally made it to the living room, Selena dropped Logan unceremoniously on a white leather sofa.

“There,” Selena said, speaking loudly to be heard over the music and the people talking. She smoothed out her dress and stared down at her boyfriend, who appeared to be on the brink of passing out.