Keily

“Have fun at the party tonight,” Mom said at the door while she fixed Dad’s tie. “Remember your curfew,” she said.

“No alcohol,” dad recited, “no grinding against boys, and—”

“Call you if anything happens, I know.” I rolled my eyes playfully at him. “Don’t worry so much. Besides, Addison’s there to keep me out of trouble. Have fun at dinner.”

“Business dinners are never fun, sweetie,” Mom said. She patted Dad’s tie, satisfied. “They’re more like a necessary evil.”

“At least we get free food,” Dad murmured. They opened the front door and walked outside just as Sadhvi and Addison were walking up our driveway.

Sadhvi was dressed in a deep V-necked red top tucked inside denim shorts. She was flaunting her petite figure beautifully.

Addison was wearing a short dark-blue spaghetti dress, which hugged her lean, muscular body. I was sure she’d be dealing with lots of boys vying for her attention tonight. Addison had a backpack slung across her shoulder.

“Hey girls,” Dad called.

“Hi uncle!” Addison walked up and hugged him, and then Mom. Sadhvi smiled and waved at them.

“Look at you two all dressed up,” Mom said.

“And look at Keily still in her pajamas!” Addison gasped. “Why aren’t you ready yet?”

“I was working on my essay for English class…” I muttered.

Mom, Sadhvi, and Addison shake their heads, but Dad just chuckles.

“Help her out, will you ladies?” Mom said playfully.

“Mom,” I complained.

“We will,” Addison assured her.

“And stay out of trouble,” Dad said.

“Of course,” Addison said solemnly.

With a final wave my parents walked down the driveway and got into the car, driving off for Mom’s company dinner. The second their car turned the corner, Addison and Sadhvi twirled to me, mischief in their eyes. They pushed me inside and shut the door behind us. Addison swung the backpack around so it was in front of her, unzipped it and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

My eyes widened. “Uh…what’s that for?”

The two gorgeous girls just smiled at me. “You never show up to a party dry. Time for our pre-game!”

***

“I can’t believe I missed that,” Addison muttered as she brushed my hair. She looked at me, and then Sadhvi accusingly in the mirror. “You guys ditched me!”

“Not our fault you had other plans,” Sadhvi shrugged unapologetically. She was applying some blush to my cheeks. “Still, who knew that Keily would be such a hot commodity? She had Lucas and James ready to strangle each other.”

“I did, obviously,” Addison said.

Both girls looked at me in the reflection and grinned while my face went red. “They were not fighting over me,” I protested.

“Of course they were. And now they’re both gonna be at the party, and they’re both gonna be looking for you.” Addison waggled her eyebrows suggestively before pouring out another round of shots for the three of us. Sorry, Dad. I grimaced and downed it in one go, the fiery liquid burning its way down my throat. I wasn’t even fully dressed and I was already tipsy.

“Looking for me to torment me some more, maybe,” I said.

“You should try punching James,” Sadhvi suggested.

“A nice little bop on the nose,” Addison agreed.

“Like that’ll work.” I’d probably just tickle him and he’d tell me he felt more fat than bone in my knuckles.

Addison and Sadhvi stepped back and admired their work in the mirror, nodding in a satisfied way. I scrutinized myself in the mirror.

My makeup was light, but the lipstick was a bold matte pink, which stood out. My black hair was curled below the shoulders.

The black dress I was wearing reached down to my shins. It had long sleeves and fit tightly around my bust before turning into a flowy skirt.

It looked good, and it covered everything that it needed to. And the silver pumps that my mother had bought on sale last year went great with it.

After putting in this much effort, I was pumped up for the party.

Not even the thought of seeing James there dampened it. It wasn’t like I had to sit right next to him, like in the ice cream shop.

Avoiding him in the big house filled with other teenagers would be relatively easier.

The three of us grinned at each other, and we whooped excitedly as we raised another shot to the air and downed it. The liquor was going down easily now. I felt warm, a nice buzz going through my head.

“Let’s see James make fun of you now,” Addison said. “You look beautiful Keily.”

“Thanks.” I smiled, but my mood dampened. “But James will find a way. He always does. He’ll probably say something about how covered up I am and how I’m a whale disguised as a teenager or something.”

“What a bitch,” Sadhvi said. “What’s his problem anyway?”

“I don’t know!” I said, exasperated. I poured myself another shot and downed it. “So what if I don’t want to have my flab exposed? What’s it to him?”

“You should embrace your curvyness, Keily,” Addison said. “You’re beautiful, and a lot of guys like that.”

“Yeah, sure.” I rolled my eyes.

“No, seriously! Flaunt what you got, girl. Maybe James will roll over and die if he sees you show up sexy and confident and have a lineup of other guys that wanna talk to you.” Addison mimed a heart attack and I giggled.

“Yeah.” I got a glint in my eye. “Yeah, maybe.” I walked to my closet, an absolutely insane idea popping up in my mind. I stumbled a bit and grabbed at the wall for balance. Oops, maybe we drank a little too much before the party. I rummaged around in my closet and pulled it out for Addison and Sadhvi’s inspection.

Their eyes went wide, then massive grins split their just-as-flushed-as-mine faces. “No way,” they said in unison.

I was holding out a skimpy silk and lace lingerie that I’d bought a while back just because I was curious. As soon as I took it home I was too embarrassed to ever try it on, but now I had the perfect reason to try it.

“Let’s see what James thinks about this!” I say.

“He’s going to lose his shit,” Sadhvi says. “His head just might explode on the spot.”

Addison smirked. “I’ll keep the camera ready.”

***

The Uber steered into a posh-looking neighborhood. My eyebrows raised as I took in the mansions along the lane.

“That one is James’s.” Addison pointed to a large house on my left.

Behind its big iron gate, I could only get a glimpse of a massive garden and a pristine white statue in the middle of a wide driveway, which led to the illuminated front porch.

But it was enough to know that James Haynes was loaded. “I know, right? I had the same reaction when I first heard.”

I shut my mouth when I realized it was agape. “What do his parents do?” I asked when we left the house behind.

“His father runs the business that was passed down to him by his father. It’s something related to producing parts for everyday machines,” Sadhvi answered.

“James’s mother is a neurologist. I guess that contributes to their massive income too.”

I nodded. No wonder James acted like a king; he really was on some level.

A minute later, we stopped in front of Keith’s place. Although his house didn’t compete with James’s, it fit perfectly in this neighborhood.

The car stopped by the others in the driveway. It seemed enough of a crowd had already gathered.

“Keith’s rich too, but at least he has a better attitude about it,” she said. She stepped out, and we followed suit. Music blared before we even stepped inside the open door.

The party had already started.

I saw familiar faces from our school laughing, drinking, and dancing. The smell of alcohol, different perfumes, and sweat wafted in the air.

I bet Keith’s home was spacious, but with so many people, it didn’t seem like it.

“Alright girl, go get him!” Addison shouted in my ear over the music. She grinned at me as Sadhvi was already dragging her off to who knows where.

“Wait!” I said, some panic cutting through the liquid courage buzzing around in my head. “I thought you’d have a camera ready!” But she was already lost in the crowd. “Great.”

Someone walked by with a tray of jello shots, and I snatched one and downed it.

Well, here we go.

There were three reasons I was nervous.

First, I’d never been to a house party before. I stepped inside, the pounding bass from the speakers thudding along with the beat of my heart. I looked around at everyone else dancing, drinking, and making out.

Second, he was here. It didn’t take long for me to pick him out from the crowd. He was tall, he was handsome, he was surrounded by a group of giggling girls, and he ignored them all, because he only had eyes for ~me~. My own personal tormentor.

The third reason had everything to do with the buzz of alcohol in my head and the clothes I was wearing underneath my long coat. Or, more accurately, the clothes I wasn’t wearing.

Mr. Hot, Tall, and Cruel constantly made fun of me because I was chubby. Called me piggy every day. Made fun of the clothes I wore to hide my flab, said I dressed like a nun.

I grinned, probably a little alcohol crazy as I locked eyes with him. Underneath my coat I wore nothing but lingerie. No more baggy shirts to hide my folds, no more loose skirts to hide the cellulite in my thighs.

Just my breasts, my hips, and my curves, wrapped up with a bit of silk and lace. Let’s see what he thinks of that.

No one was looking at me as I began to undo my coat, heart pounding. No one paid attention to the fat new girl at school. No one but him. I saw his eyes go wide as the top button of my coat goes loose, my cleavage peeks out from the deep V of my lacy bodice.

He walked towards me, completely ignoring the girls vying for his attention, pushing and squeezing through the drunk and dancing crowd.

I undid my second button, common sense completely out the window as I abandoned myself to the reckless feeling in my chest. More of my lingerie was exposed, the silk hugging my body.

Before I could undo the third button powerful hands grabbed mine. I looked up to find him staring down into my eyes, anger in every line of his stupidly handsome face, in the rigid cut of his jawline.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he asked. His eyes flashed down to my cleavage, lingering for a second too long before glaring at me. That gave me courage. That, and an unjustified amount of liquid courage.

“Proving you wrong.”