Heart Waves (27 page)

I shook my head. No. The future could change. I could change it. Just don’t let go.
No matter what.
Of course I knew in the end, the choice wouldn’t be mine.

The plans were set. Both sets of parents were under the impression I would be spending the weekend at Grace’s house helping her look after her little brother. Trying to calm my parents’ reservations, I left the house in a pair of flannel pajama pants and a tee shirt. I packed an overnight bag in front of my mother, another pair of flannel pants and a hoodie for Saturday. I knew I’d have to check in back at the house before Sunday, so I looked set.

“And you’re going to be there alone?” My mother asked, definitely suspicious.

“Yep, just Grace, Connor and me.”

“If I find out you’re
lying
to me Jenna, Reece will never be allowed in this house again. Understand?”

I nodded.
“Of course.”

I wondered if all the trepidation was from fear of getting caught. I’d never told my parents a lie this big before. I never had a reason to. They were pretty easy going most of the time, but I knew asking to spend the night with Reece was out of the realm of possibility.

I realized there existed a more than likely chance I would get caught. What if my parents decided to check up on me by calling Grace’s house later than nine o’clock? Or worse, what if they drove over there and insisted on seeing me? We wouldn’t be able to explain my absence. And what if everything went perfectly and Mike shows up during the week and mentions I was there?
Too much room for error.

Once I rationalized all the things that could go wrong, I felt slightly better. Sure they would ban me from seeing Reece ever again, but they couldn’t possibly enforce such a punishment. Although it would be difficult, there were ways we could see each other. If they were the great obstacle I anticipated coming between us, we could work around that. 

*                       *                       *

I headed over to Grace’s house at seven o’clock. This left plenty of time for us to talk and for me to change clothes and put on makeup. Aside from Mike’s party over the summer, I’d never been to a college party. The thought of that alone intimidated me. I needed as much moral support as she could muster.

The moment Grace answered the
door,
I knew she had something up her sleeve. She wore a look of consternation, and reminded me of someone who just sunk her teeth into a bitter orange rind. It didn’t take her long to jump into her thought pool.

“I’m coming to the party,” she announced.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I wanted to talk her out of going. 

It was a terrible idea. She couldn’t go. Essentially she was the reason for the party. If the idea was to cheer Mike up, she shouldn’t be there. End of story.

“I thought about nothing else for the last couple of days,” she explained. “When you met Reece, he was at that party trying to forget his ex-girlfriend. What if Mike meets someone? What then?”

“I thought you found him repulsive.”

Grace shook her head, “When he told me he loved me, I got scared. All of a sudden, my life was changing.” She paused, deliberating what more to tell me. “My parents were talking about having my grandmother move in with us. Only we don’t have enough room, so we would have to move. And because property is so expensive here, we’d have to go somewhere further south. Like the Carolinas or something.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

She nodded. “What could I say? If we have to help my grandmother I’d have no choice, no say.
In anything.
So I pushed him away.”

I shook my head, “Still, I don’t know.”

“I do,” she insisted. “I already dropped Conner off at his friend’s house. He’s sleeping there. Text Reece and tell him there’s a change in plans, I’m driving you.”

I didn’t mean for my makeup to match my mood. I worked hard to apply it carefully, but as I pulled the pencil across my bottom eyelid, my hand jerked the teensiest bit. Not a big problem, I just needed to compensate a little, make the black line just a little thicker in the corner. Once I made that correction, I noticed the top line needed to be thicker there too, so my eyes looked balanced.

In a way, it made my eyes look bluer, brighter. I used Grace’s straightening iron to smooth the curls out of my hair. With a quick glance in the mirror, I almost didn’t recognize myself.

“Are you ready yet Jenna?” Grace barreled through the bathroom door. Noticing the startled look on her face as she stared at me, I felt like backing out of going altogether.

“That bad?”
I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

Grace looked me over from top to bottom, circling me. “You look hot!”

I swallowed hard, and looked down at the tight black shirt, and
jeggings
, both hugging my skin so close, I felt like I wasn’t leaving enough to the imagination. I twisted my mouth to the side in a nervous gesture. “I don’t know. I look like someone else.”

Grace shook her head. “It’s a bit severe for you, but you look gorgeous!”

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me,” she linked her arm through mine, “You’ve never looked better.”

The closer we got to the suite, the more anxious I felt. I heard the music pounding as we climbed the steps. I wondered if we should bother to knock on the door. I opted to just walk in, knowing if the music was loud in the hall, no one would hear us from the inside. 

Once we were through the door it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting. Christmas lights were strung up around the perimeter of room, along the crease between the wall and the ceiling. The light bulbs in the free-standing lamp had been replaced with blue and violet ones. The smell of alcohol permeated the air around me. I looked around the packed room, feeling out of sorts.

A large body colliding with mine sent me stumbling forward a few steps. I turned toward the large oaf, wanting to shout out a profanity.

“Jenna!” I recognized Brandon and immediately stopped myself from doing anything to antagonize him. “C’mon,” he took my hand and led me through the crowd to a far corner where Reece stood talking to a guy I didn’t recognize, a cup of beer in his hand. “He’s been waiting for you,” Brandon shouted. 

The smile that spread across Reece’s face when he saw me warmed me from the inside out. He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him. I couldn’t
help but notice his eyes wandering from my face, all the way down my body, soaking me in.

“You look amazing!” he spoke close to my ear so I could hear him over the pounding music, leaving me with the sensation of a seductive whisper.

I felt charged by the high voltage of electricity flowing between us. My focus narrowed. Everything faded into a dull thrum of background noise. All I could
see,
hear, or feel was Reece. His hand running slowly down the side of my face to the back of my neck, made my nerve endings tingle and my temperature climb. The heat flowing through my veins had me boiling over.

It felt as if we were alone in the room. Like no one else was there. His lips sought mine with the hunger of a coyote devouring his prey. Drawing back to catch my breath, I snapped back into the room full of people.

I noticed the friend he’d been speaking to
moved
on. I looked around the room for Grace. I thought she’d been by my side, but she was nowhere in sight. It didn’t matter. There wasn’t anything I could do to help her. She needed to face Mike herself. Given my past with Mike, my getting involved could only put more gas on the fire.

I turned my attention back on Reece. I sidled up against him, fitting myself into the contours of his body. I noticed his eyes riveted on something or someone across the room before his eyes flashed back to mine. Unfortunately, a split second passed, in which I was able to track his line of vision.

My heart wrenched. She stared at Reece longingly. She looked like a pinup model in her short pleated skirt and two sizes too small tee shirt. Let’s not forget the thigh high boots, just a bit over the top. The worst part, I’d been expecting it all along. I knew who she was without ever even hearing a description of what she looked like.

Reece swallowed hard. He guzzled down half the beer in his cup, clearly uncomfortable. “Want some?” he offered, pushing the cup in my direction.

I took it from him and took a sip, trying to get down as much as I could without gagging. Not immediately realizing it, Reece repositioned us, so that my back was against the wall and his back faced Rebecca. He rested his hands on my hips and leaned in, his mouth travelled from my lips to my neck, his body swaying to the music against mine. Only now, instead of feeling the delicious desire he turned on my body, I felt insecure.

The stomach cramps I’d been suffering all day intensified. It wasn’t Reece. I usually enjoyed the attention he showered me with, especially the touching and kissing, but this felt different. It almost felt like he wanted to prove something.
To her.
I just went with the flow, or I tried to.

I couldn’t help taking my eyes off Reece and stealing a peek at Rebecca, all pouty and perfect. Still her eyes were glued on him, her red lips pursed together. I ran my hands under Reece’s black tee shirt and over his warm, taut skin.

I remembered how jealous it made me when that girl on the boardwalk did it. Watching another girl with her hands all over Reece made me want to drop to the ground and slither away. I hoped it would have the same effect on Rebecca, but the little voice inside my head told me the only place she’d like to slither would be up his leg. 

I heard someone next to me shout my name. I turned and saw Grace standing there, teary-eyed, looking very unhappy. Reece released his hold on me. I didn’t want to let him out of my reach. I stretched my hand out to grasp him before he could move any further. I pulled him back, entwining my arm through his. 

“You were right,” Grace sniffled. “He’s still mad at me.”

“I’ll give you girls a minute,” Reece offered, breaking away.

“No.” I tried not to panic. “Don’t go.”

He laughed at my sudden possessiveness. “I’ll be a minute.” He assured me, “Besides, I need a refill.” He leaned down and gave me a long open mouthed kiss.

I watched him walk across the room where Mike stood, next to the keg. He shook his head in an animated fashion. No doubt talking about what just transpired between Mike and Grace.

Returning my attention to my friend, I pulled Grace into an embrace. I didn’t know what to say to her. I had no idea how to make any of it better.

“He doesn’t want me back,
”  Grace
said.

“That’s because he’s hurt,” I explained. “He knows he’s got you on the ropes and he wants you to hurt, too. Give him time.”

Grace looked down at the ground, breaking eye contact with me. Naturally I used that moment to let my eyes dart over to Rebecca. She was gone. No sign of her. I looked toward the keg, no sign of Reece.

My pulse quickened.

I swallowed hard and searched the room, full of angst. Just before giving up, I caught a glimpse of Reece. I breathed, amused at how jealous I could be. He pushed through the crowd going in the direction of his bedroom. Behind him, Rebecca followed. My entire body tensed up.

Everything told me to go after her and rip her hair out. I stood frozen in place as I watched her reach out to take his hand in hers, to no avail. Like he couldn’t bear for her fingers to touch his skin, he yanked his arm away quick and purposefully.     

My heart sank from my chest to my toes. It crashed and broke in pieces. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He would never cheat with me in the next room. I made my way through the swarm and headed for the bedroom. No way could I just stand out there and pretend like everything was fine.

My eyes stung as I stared at the closed door. I wanted to cry. Not here. Not now. First I’d confront them, tell him to go to hell. I turned the knob and pushed, but the door
didn’t budge. He locked it!  Or did she? It didn’t matter. He had no reason, no business taking her to his room to begin with.

I turned and hurried toward the door. Someone stopped me. Brandon reached out and took hold of my arm in one of his large hands. “Are you okay?” he asked, as if he really cared.

I couldn’t speak. I summoned all my strength, all my pride to just nod my head. So close to the door, I knew I just had to hold on a bit longer, and then shoot out, I could lose it, but not in front of Reece’s friends.
Especially not this one.

“Hey Brandon!”
Some big jock I didn’t recognize came over and clapped him on the back. “I can’t get over Reece. He’s got one girl after another.” Mr. Tall, Dark and Athletic certainly didn’t have much of a brain. “
Becca
won’t even give me the time of day, and she’s having another go around with him.”