Suspending Reality (64 page)

“That’s the spirit!” She suddenly grabbed my arm. “Hear that?”

What? The loud music or the roaring laughter?
“Hear what?

“Only my favorite song in the whole wide world!” She started swaying her hips to the beat of the music.

The music pounded louder as the guy finally returned with our drinks.

“Thanks,” I said.

As I opened it, he slammed his bottle against mine in some kind of impromptu and uninvited toast, and beer splattered my face and started to fizz all over the place.

“Ah! What was that for?” I asked, trying to wipe my face.

He winked. “Gotta pay better attention, little girl,” he said, then began to laugh. 

I didn’t see what was so funny, and in a rage, I turned to Taylor. “I’ve been here less than five minutes, and I’m already soaked with beer, smelling like a smokestack, and almost got puke on my shoes!”

She pulled me into the crowd. “Don’t pay him any mind. He’s drunk. Your shirt won’t take long to dry, and then no one will even notice. C’mon. Let’s have some fun.”

A tall guy with pretty green eyes reached for Julie, and she giggled flirtatiously as he twirled her around. “I see you love to jam,” he said, eying her up and down. “Wanna dance?”

“I’d love to,” she said. “This is my favorite song.”

“Mine too.”

She glanced at me. “Do you mind?”

I couldn’t possibly refuse to let her go because the invitation to dance with a college guy had her looking like she’d just won the lottery. I didn’t see the harm in letting her bask in the light for one dance or two. “Have fun.”

“You’re the best!” she shouted.

After she shimmied off with the green-eyed goon, I glanced around and swallowed hard again when I realized I didn’t know a soul other than her. Eager to claim my role as an unnoticed, inconspicuous wallflower, I made my way to the corner and waited for the dance to finish. I leaned against the wall, I sipped my drink.

The next song that came on was a slow love song, and I felt uncomfortable all over again, standing there by myself as couples snuggled close all around me. I decided it would be better if I made my way through the crowd and headed out to the deck for some fresh air.

Just as I spun around to leave, a towering figure with brown eyes smiled at me. He looked to be in his early twenties with short cropped hair. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing here without a date?” he asked.

“Like the old song says,” I said with a shy smile, “girls just wanna have fun.”

“Well, dancing is fun. Would you like to?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said with a shrug, as if I wasn’t flattered at all.

We danced through the slow song, which was a bit awkward with a stranger, but when the fast music came on, we danced some more. Julie and I did shots, but all in all, she drank far more than I did. After the drinks loosened me up a little, I danced with a few guys at the party and made lots of small talk as the hours waned on.

After a while, she leaned on my shoulder in a drunken stupor and slurred, “He wants me to go upstairs with him. Should I go? I mean, I’m totally turned on right now, and—”

“You’re drunk,” I said, snatching the drink out of her hand. “Consider yourself cut off,” I scolded, “and you’re definitely not going upstairs with him or anybody else on my watch.”

“What!? Why am I cut off?”

“Because you have to drive us home. I can’t drive a stick.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I’ll start trying to sober up. Besides, the last thing I need is a bad reputation already. I just got here!”

“Exactly.”

When she leaned on me with all her weight, I almost stumbled. “I’m so glad you’re here to watch out for me,” she said. “You’re my new best friend. We girls gotta stick together. And you know what?”

“What?”

“Where’s the guy who promised to bring me coffee? My head feels like there’s a thunderstorm in it.”

“I didn’t know somebody was getting you coffee.”

“Not just somebody. An angel. The caffeine angel.”

I almost laughed at her, but I didn’t feel that would be appropriate. “You’re so wasted.”

“Really, a blue-eyed angel offered to bring me a cuppajo. Blue eyes like Heaven, where he comes from.”

Wait…light blue eyes? Maybe….periwinkle eyes?
My heart began to thump in excitement that I hoped wouldn’t be for nothing.

In the next second, she turned to a guy and smiled. “You’re back…and you really did bring me coffee. How sweet. Thank you.”

When I could muster up the courage to glance up at her hero, I found myself staring right into the eyes of my own, the one from the forest. My heart pounded a symphony all its own as I stared into his intense, vivid blue eyes. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from his high cheekbones and that sharply chiseled face. I’d never seen such a beautiful face before, such a masterpiece of strength, contours, and beauty, like something off the cover of a romance novel or some dapper leading man in a classic romance movie. This time, he was wearing a white shirt, dark blue jeans, a well-worn bomber jacket, and I immediately began to envy that cotton, denim, and leather.

He held out his hand and smiled. “Hi. I’m Jesse.”

“Taylor,” I said, unable to put a whole sentence together.

“Nice to officially meet you. Mind if I get your picture?” he asked, holding up a camera.

“Um…sure, okay. But…why?”

“To prove to my friends that angels do exist.”

It was a ridiculous line, like one some cliché some sleaze-bag idiot would say in a bar, but coming from his lips, it seemed sincere. I couldn’t help but smile at his blatant flirtations, and the heat in my blushing cheeks scorched my skin. With him, it wasn’t just a pick-up line. He was trying to break the ice, and it worked; again, I was absolutely melting.

“Well, in that case, I need to take yours too,” I said.

“You’re more than welcome,” a buddy nudged, “but he doesn’t show up on film.”

Jesse nudged him back. “Stop it! You’re talking crazy.”

“Am I?” the guy said walking off.

Jesse looked back at me. “That’s Tom. Once he’s had a few beers, he talks all stupid. So just ignore whatever moronic stuff he comes up with.”

I laughed again.

Another slow song began, and Jesse casually took off his jacket and smiled. The fabric of his long-sleeved shirt clung to his broad shoulders and muscular chest, and the white cotton made his shoulder-length hair stand out even more. “Would you like to dance?” he asked like a gentleman, offering me his hand.

I grinned. “I’d love to.”

He shot me his leading-man smile and wrapped his arms around my waist as I placed my arms on his shoulder. My heart jumped into a new rhythm of excitement, dancing to the music drifting around us as we stared intently into each other’s eyes. I was nervous, but at the same time, I felt comfortable and safe; scared but happy. I’d never felt such a strange mix of emotions before, and I couldn’t stop smiling. There was a thrilling, rushing, euphoric something going on between us, and for that one timeless moment, everything in my life seemed perfect.

We swayed back and forth to the music, slow and close, and I rested my head in the crook of his neck. I never would have imagined myself dancing with someone like Jesse, someone so beautiful. I couldn’t believe
he
was holding
me
. I felt I was walking on air. I’d always laughed at that cliché before, but for the first time, I suddenly knew what it meant.

Some of the guys I’d been chitchatting with at the party didn’t seem to be fans of his, and I could feel the tension like daggers in my back as they shot me glares. As much as I wanted to be with Jesse, I didn’t want to cause any trouble, so I thought it was best that we head back to Julie’s house. I had a nice buzz, but I wasn’t trashed like she was. When I glanced over, I noticed that she was drinking a second cup of coffee, so I hoped that would sober her up enough to drive us home in one piece. 

“I hope she’s okay to drive,” I said to Jesse.

“If not, I’m sure you’ll get her home safe and sound.”

“Do you live around here?” I asked.

“Yes, here in Big Bear Lake.”

Excitement flooded through me when I discovered he wasn’t merely a tourist who’d be taking off anytime soon. I smiled up at him, then glanced down and noticed a bracelet on his arm, leather woven with silver beads and decorated with weird symbols. “I love that,” I said, nodding toward it, “but what do the symbols mean?”

He shot me the most beautiful grin, a movie star smile. “You’ve gotta get to know me better before I can tell you all my deep, dark secrets,” he said. He smiled when he said it, but I got the feeling he wasn’t joking.

I gave him my best flirty smile. “Is that a promise?”

“You have my word…and my word is my bond.”

I smiled again, then nervously fidgeted with my hands like some silly little middle-schooler. I really had no idea how to keep up the conversation with such a hot guy, and every word was a struggle. “How old are you?” I finally asked, since I couldn’t think of anything else.

“Seventeen.”

“Really!? Me too.”

“So is this a new school year for you?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe we’ll be in some of the same classes.”

“Nah, I’m homeschooled. Like I was telling you a while ago, my mom is a bona fide control freak, and—”

“Taylor!” Julie called. “I feel sick. I think I’m gonna pass out.”

When I glanced over, she was teetering. I rushed over, but before I could reach her, she swayed to the left and toppled over. She tried to grab a side table on the way down, but it didn’t help; she crashed to the floor, knocking a huge vase over in the process.

“Oh my gosh! Julie!”

The alcohol was one thing, but I couldn’t understand why blood was gushing from her neck, trickling down onto her shirt.

Chapter 4

When I ran over to my friend and looked down at her wounds, I assumed the shattered vase shards must have cut her during her fall. I only hoped she wouldn’t need stitches, because she was bleeding pretty profusely. Someone handed me a kitchen towel, and I applied pressure to the wound. “She needs a hospital or a doctor or maybe some stitches and—”

“No!” said a woman who was suddenly standing over me, looking down at Julie. “It’s a shallow cut, nothing a bandage and some peroxide can’t fix.”

I looked up. “Are you sure? I mean, she’s bleeding really bad, and—”

“Positive,” she said, cutting me off. “I’m a medic. Let me go get my medical kit from the car.”

I squeezed Julie’s hand. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes fluttered open. “I-I think so.”

“Just lie still and hold on. There’s a medic here, and she’s going to help.”

“A medic? Wow. Lucky for me. I drank way too much, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s putting it lightly. Do you remember me cutting you off?”

She offered a half-smile. “Yeah, but I still sneaked drinks behind your back.”

Knowing it was important to keep Julie awake, I engaged her in conversation until the woman came back.

“Can you give me a hand?” the woman said to Jesse.

“Sure,” he said.

She then went to work to cleanse the wound and put a sterile white bandage on it.

Once Julie was all fixed up, Jesse and I helped her back up to her feet.

“See? Good as new,” Julie slurred.

“It’d be best if she gets some rest now,” the medic said.

“But I-I can’t drive,” Julie stuttered. “I’m toasted…and now wounded from a pissed-off vase.”

Jesse pulled me to the side. “Can you get her home?” he whispered.

“This is so embarrassing, but her car’s a stick shift, and I’ve got no idea how to drive one. I probably can’t drive any safer than she can right now.”

“Lucky for you, I can.”

“But then how will you get back?” I asked.

“I can walk.”

“No, it’s way too far, Jesse.”

“I’ll be fine.” He bit his lip and looked down at Julie as if he was worried. “It’s best we sneak out of here.”

I furrowed a brow. “Sneak out? Why?”

“You see that guy she was dancing with?”

“Yeah. She told me his name, but I forget.”

“It’s Jonathon, and he’s an absolute psycho. I’m afraid he might follow her home if he sees her leaving.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Are you sure? That’s insane.”

“I heard him claim her, and I heard some of the other guys claiming you. They may look like your average drunken frat boys, but they’re beyond dangerous, Taylor. The nice guys are outnumbered here. I’ve got a couple of buddies here, but we’re no match against the others. They’ll jump us, and I’m not sure I can protect you.”

“Wait…claiming people? Just what kind of party did she bring me to?” I muttered to myself.

“A dangerous one,” he retorted, overhearing my conversation with myself. “My buddies will distract them while I sneak you two out the back door.”