Absolutely Unforgivable(49)
At the end of the song Billy took the microphone back off of the stand, walked over to me, winked and then turned back to face the crowd. “Everyone give it up for our little superstar, Stacy Keller.” The crowd cheered. Next he took Mindy’s hand and lifted it in the air: “Mindy.” He made his way over to every person on stage, lifted their hand and called out their name.
I noticed behind me that Trista gave a commanding look to Brick and a few moments later he was making his way onto the stage with two shot glasses in his hand, one of which he handed to me, the other to Trista. “Here drink this quickly,” Brick said to me as he put the drink in my hand. I downed it and then Trista handed me hers. I gave her a look but all she would say was, “Hurry up, they are about to start up again.”
I did as she instructed and downed the drink. It was a sweet thick drink, with a butterscotch and chocolate aftertaste. I handed the empty glass back to Brick and he quickly made his way off stage. Just in time for me to hear that ominous riff on Zander’s guitar. Damn it. They are playing Jessie’s girl.
Before I could turn around to look, Billy was behind me, dragging me back to the center of the stage. The crowd cheered on as I stood near Billy shaking my tambourine. Trista was a smart girl. She knew those drinks would help me relax and they really did.
Just as before, at the chorus of the song I leaned in to sing with Billy. As the song ended, Billy addressed the crowd saying: “Thank you. Thank you all. We are going to take a break now but we’ll be back later tonight.”
A really crazy-looking all girl band took the stage next. The lead singer had long brown hair with the ends died purple and hot pink. The drummer had a hot pink Mohawk and was covered in tattoos. The other three girls in the band had quite a few tattoos also.
When we made our way back to our specially reserved table, Brick had buckets of beer waiting for everyone and a round of shots which we all quickly downed. The all-girl band on stage was really killing it. They were pretty good but I didn’t really recognize any of the songs they played. Still, the crowd seemed to like them a lot.
The night went by quickly. Before I knew it, the fireworks were exploding overhead. I leaned back into Billy’s arms as I watched the show overhead. But as I did I felt his eyes boring into me. I’m not sure he ever took his eyes off of me that entire time. He never said a word, just stared at me. I could feel the heat of his breath on my neck and could tell his breathing was getting heavier. It was arousing and I felt myself get caught up in his desire.
I turned my body so that I could face him. My body tingled, and my head was spinning. I couldn’t think straight. He put his hand on my face and I looked down at his lips while licking mine. The sexual tension in the air was thick. At that moment I wanted him more than I wanted anyone or anything in my entire life.
And then, as I leaned in to kiss him, my phone started buzzing and I pulled back. It took me a second to realize what it was that I was hearing. When I did realize what the noise was, I grabbed for my phone and looked down at the screen. It was Jeromy texting me, “Happy 4th of July baby. I love you. I miss you.”
I jumped back, quickly readjusting my body with my back to Billy so that I could continue to watch the rest of the fireworks show as waves and waves of guilt flowed over me. What did I almost do? What the hell is wrong with me? Here Jeromy is thinking of me, sending me “I love you” messages and I’m about to make out with his best friend. I am officially the worst girlfriend ever.
When I was a child, I would dream of how life would be when I was all grown up. I was sure that one day I would meet the perfect man, who was handsome and strong yet still gentle and kind. He would have some sort of fabulous job and together we would live in a big house. I may not have pictured Jeromy’s face specifically but in every way he was my childhood dream, this perfect man that, together, I would have this perfect life with. And now that I have exactly what I always wanted, all I can do is think about what I can’t have.
After the fireworks show, I found our waitress and ordered a few more drinks. I wanted more than anything to drink away the horrible thoughts in my head. As I was throwing back shot after shot, I suddenly became amused by Bree who was softly singing, “One drink, two drinks, three drinks, four.” I couldn’t get what she was singing out of my head and I burst out in laughter. Bree took her own shot off of the table and walked over to me. She pushed back my chair so she could fit her body onto my lap. Once she had firmly positioned herself on top of me, she grabbed the back of my hair and pulled my head back, then poured the drink into my mouth. Some of it spilled over and she slowly licked it off of me.