Letters to Nowhere(29)

CHAPTER NINE





“What kind of celebration is this?” I asked Jordan after prying my fingers off the seat of the car and forcing my eyes to open. We were parked in front of a huge house, practically a mansion.

“It’s a high school party.” Jordan reached across me to open my door. “No specific purpose other than the absence of parental control.”

I climbed out of the car and looked down at my outfit—skinny jeans, a green V–neck sweater, and black boots. I had even put on a padded bra. That didn’t give me cleavage, though. I felt the sudden urge to button my jacket all the way up so my lack of boobs wouldn’t be the first thing everyone noticed.

“Do I look okay?”

“You look fine.” Jordan grinned at me. “There might be drinking here, so don’t tell my dad.”

We had sort of told Coach Bentley we were going to get low–fat nondairy pizza and then shop for toiletries at Walmart. Then we planned to add on to the story, saying that the wait for a table at the pizza place was an hour, buying us three to four total hours of freedom.

“I might need to have a few drinks,” I said. “Just to loosen me up. I’ll need some liquid courage for all those rounds of spin–the–bottle and twenty minutes in heaven.”

Jordan burst out laughing before leading us toward the door of the party house. “Twenty minutes in heaven, huh? That could get crazy.”

We stepped through the door and entered the world of loud music, beer kegs, and random hookups. Part of me was totally petrified, the other part, fascinated. I just wanted to watch and see what normal looked like.

“Hey! Bentley!” someone shouted from the back patio.

I jumped and then realized Jordan was also Bentley…Jordan Bentley. I let out a breath of relief. He bumped fists with a stocky dark–haired guy whose eyes swept briefly over me and then back to Jordan, one eyebrow raised. “Who’s the cute redhead?”

“Tony, this is Karen,” Jordan said, nodding toward me. “This is Tony’s house.”

“Are you a freshman?” Tony asked, then he snatched a cup from the counter and handed it to me. “You must be a freshman. Three’s your limit, maybe two. You look like a lightweight.”

I started to take a sip, but Jordan stopped me, leaning in to sniff the cup. “It’s all right. I’ll be fine,” I told him. Despite my lack of social experiences, I had drunk alcohol before. I had developed an early taste for wine and my parents had let me drink a glass sometimes. If they weren’t home, Blair and I had been known to sneak another glass.

The drink tasted like iced tea and lemonade…with a kick. It felt warm going down, which was good because Jordan led me outside to stand around a bonfire with about twenty other kids. “I have a confession to make,” he whispered into my ear before we got too close to any of the others. “I did have some selfish motives when I invited you tonight.”

“Like what?”

“There’re two girls I’m trying to avoid, and the best way to do that at a party is to bring another girl.”

I laughed really hard. “You’re kidding. You should have brought someone a little more intimidating than me.”

He grinned down at me when I looked over my shoulder. “No one knows you. The mystery in itself is intimidating enough. Trust me.”

“What do you want me to say?” I asked, half panicking and half looking forward to the challenge of helping Jordan for a change. “If anyone asks who I am?”

Two girls were already striding in our direction, fake smiles plastered on.

“Tell them anything you want,” he said before moving beside me, rather than behind me.

“Hey, Jordan,” the girls said together.

He introduced me without explaining my presence at all, then seconds later, he left to go talk to some guys on the other side of the bonfire. I wasn’t sure whether to be scared or ticked off by Jordan’s departure, but the girls were on me before I had a chance to decide.

“So,” one of the girls said to me, “you must be a freshman, right? I thought you looked familiar.”

I downed about two–thirds of my drink and placed it on a table. That would be just enough alcohol to loosen my tongue, but not enough to tip off Bentley when we got back home.

“How do you know Jordan?” the other girl asked.

“Well…we’re…uh,” I stammered.

They both nodded, looking impressed. “That’s so great you guys are together,” one girl said, holding her hand to her heart as if Jordan was a close relative or something. “I’ve been telling Jordan forever that he needed to get a girlfriend and quit messing around.”

I coughed loudly, nearly choking on the alcohol still burning my throat from thirty seconds ago. “Right…well, it’s only been two dates. It’s not like we’re living together.”

“Two dates is progress for him,” the girl on my left said, rolling her eyes. “Trust me on that.”

“Thanks, guys,” I heard Jordan say. He moved right behind me, resting his hands lightly on my shoulders. “Why don’t you just tell Karen everything you know about me?”

“Whatever,” they said together.

Jordan steered me in the other direction, where Tony and a couple other guys were standing. “Sorry about that.”