Coming of Age

CHELSY

I called up Vicky and told her I would be going to Elizabeth’s party that night.

She came by with her dress and assisted me in getting something put together to wear. I settled on a black dress with silver stilettos and caught my hair in a ponytail.

Vicky wore a pink dress, permed her brown hair in slick coils, and settled for white heels.

We ensured that we waited until Max and Nathan left first, before we did, so he wouldn’t realize that we were going.

We arrived just in time to be some of the lucky fifty who got in free of cost.

The party was a blast. I had never been to anything like it before. Elizabeth had quite a large house, with an outside pool at the back.

Hormone-enraged and drunk adolescents were all around, laughing, talking, and having a good time.

The music was so loud we could barely hear ourselves.

“I hope we do not run into Max!” I said to Vicky above the noise as we made our way through the crowded room of people. “We would be roasted!”

“I know, right!”

We moved to the living room and found a spot on the large red leather couch.

“It’s crazy in here,” Vicky said, looking around.

To be honest, the party was definitely not my cup of tea. I hated crowded places more than anything in this world.

I was at the tip of regretting when a tall brown-haired guy marched over to us. I shifted in my spot on the large couch, my palms a bit sweaty.

A boy is coming to us. Damn, we must really look good.

He smiled at us both as he came to a stop in front of us. “You girls look amazing. I have never seen you two at Gilmore High.”

Vicky smiled shyly. “Uh. We are around…”

She looked at me with a face crying for help. I had no idea what to say though. If I had known guys would talk to us tonight, I would have rehearsed a few lines.

He smiled. “Would one of you like to dance with me?”

His gaze moved from me to Vicky.

I was hesitant. I was not a good dancer, so I decided to keep my ass quiet and not humiliate myself. That left Vicky in the open, unsure what to say as she flashed me another SOS for help.

I kept my gaze on the floor.

“Uh. Okay,” I heard her say.

I glanced up, surprised at her agreement.

He smiled. “Come on.”

She got up and gave me an awkward smile before walking away with the guy.

Wow, and there goes my only company for the night. Just. Wow.

I let out a harsh breath.

What was the fun in a party? I couldn’t find it. I had no idea what all these kids were so crazy about. I could be home watching an episode of The Walking Dead or some Asian series while munching on a large bag of Doritos.

Yet there I was, in a room filled with sweaty teenagers who just could not wait to gossip to their friends the next day about what their classmate wore and which guy they banged in the corner of the room.

I glanced around the room at everyone who seemed to be having fun when someone plopped down next to me, making me jolt, and I darted my eyes to see Nathan.

God, he smelled, looked, and smiled like heaven.

His cologne was mild and sweet, his black hair was shiny and perfectly combed. He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt that hugged his firm build, and a small silver necklace hung from his sexy neckline and onto his muscular chest.

He beamed at me under the living room lights.

I blinked. “W-what are you doing here?”

Wow. Good question, Chels, considering this is a public party. One he was directly invited to, where you had to beat the first-fifty-people race.

“I should be asking you that, Princess,” he said.

“You can’t tell Max.”

He cocked a brow and brought the beer that he was holding to his lips.

“If you do, I’ll tell him that—”

“That what?” he interrupted, removing his beer from his mouth and licking his lips.

Damn, they look extra pink tonight.

Fighting the distraction they offered, I spoke. “I don’t even know, just don’t tell him, okay?”

“I won’t. I wouldn’t. But you know you shouldn’t be drinking, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “I am not five. I can handle a little liquor.”

“No, I am serious, P. Don’t. You’re not ready for that lifestyle yet, you hear me?”

His glare was intimidating, bearing a very serious warning, and I swallowed hard before whipping a strand of hair from my ponytail away from my eyes.

“Fine. Just don’t tell Max I am here. Where is he, by the way?”

He leaned back against the sofa with a smile. “Upstairs, having sex with some girl.”

I made a face. “Ew. I was good from all that knowledge.”

“Nathan.”

I looked up at the sound of Elizabeth’s voice. She marched over to us, glancing at me with a harsh glare for a second before crashing onto Nathan’s lap, winding her arms around his neck and pulling him into a deep French kiss.

When she moved away, she whispered something in his ear, and I noticed his lips curve into a smug smile.

“Have a condom?” I heard him ask her, bringing his beer to his lips again.

I glanced over at him.

Condom? So they were beside me discussing their plan to have sex? Why was I even listening to this again?

She hopped off him and stood, and he gripped her hand as he got up too.

“Later, Chels, and don’t drink,” he instructed before walking away with Elizabeth who glanced back to scowl at me.

They made their way to a room upstairs, and we all knew what for.

I was stupid.

Blushing and gushing at Nathan when he clearly had a girlfriend whom he was just planning to bang. I needed to get a grip.

I walked to the kitchen to clear my head, and as I was about to grab a beer from the open Igloo cooler on the table, I recalled Nathan’s warning not to drink. I ignored the voice in my head and took a can out.

I struggled to open it when someone pulled it from my grip. I looked up to see Brad.

“I’ll do that,” he said with a smile.

As if that would make him ditching me yesterday less offensive.

I didn’t offer one back.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, a little flatly.

Sure I hadn’t forgotten what he did the other night. He had stood me up and called hours after to say he wasn’t going to show up. That was harsh.

I put the beer to my mouth then immediately scrunched my face up at the taste.

Yuck. Did I just drink poison?

I glanced at the can, and Brad chuckled. “Not a drinker, are you?”

I shrugged. “I am not a lot of things.”

“Like?” He leaned on the counter and eyed me up and down, biting his lower lip.

I sighed. “Like a girl worthy of being stood up.”

Neat.

His smile faded, and he drew in a breath, his eyebrow shaped in bother. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do that. Just that my mom was sick and I had to stay home to take care of her.”

His mom?

I looked up at him, considering his excuse.

It was his mom, so I should be understanding, right?

It was a good one, even though holes were still kind of in his alibi.

“Oh, I see. I am sorry about that then, Brad. I was just a bit hurt. I mean, you didn’t even call the next day.”

“You mean today?”

“Yeah. Today. All day I waited, and nothing.”

He leaned in a little closer. “I was busy. I am sorry, okay? Let me make it up to you. Let’s go upstairs and talk a little. Just us two.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, and he raised a brow. “So?”

“I don’t—”

“Only because it’s noisy down here, and we can’t talk with all this chaos.”

I considered it for a few more seconds, then finally nodded with lame eyes. “Okay. Okay, let’s do that.”

We made our way up to an empty room. He closed the door behind, and all the while I felt a bit tipsy, so I decided to rest the can of beer down and not drink anymore.

I sat on the bed, massaging my forehead from the dizziness I suddenly felt.

I should have taken Nathan’s warning about drinking.

Brad sat next to me. “So. Tell me more about you?”

I rubbed my shoulder, a usual thing I did whenever I felt a bit uncomfortable. I wasn’t all that used to Brad yet, so being in an enclosed room with him felt a bit nerve-racking.

“I am seventeen, and I like movies and such.”

He was smiling as he watched me expectantly, waiting to hear more.

“There is not really much to say about me,” I told him. “I am kind of bland and weird.”

He shook his head. “No, you aren’t. Sexy would be the correct term.”

I smiled at that. It felt a bit good to be considered sexy to him. I was constantly wondering if he found me a bit childish-looking because of my gentle features and small round face.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” I blushed as I looked down from his gaze.

Suddenly he rested a hand on my bare leg, and I looked up at him, goosebumps trailing my skin.

He began moving in closer and closer, and I stiffened.

Is he about to kiss me? Holy shit.

I folded my hands in two nervous balls as anxiety numbed my whole form.

Should I move away or should I let him kiss me?

But I hadn’t kissed anyone before (except the traumatic experience with Nathan when we were twelve).

What if I ruined the kiss and ruined my chances with him?

Panic began settling in as his face was an inch from mine. I began to remember what Nathan had said about letting him kiss me too early, and I moved away quickly from him, earning a small glint of disappointment in his hazel eyes.

“Uh. I think this is too…fast,” I mumbled.

I was fearful that my rejection would make him lose interest, but his smirk resurfaced, and I let out a small sigh of relief.

“That’s okay, Chels. We can take this one step at a time.”

I smiled, satisfied that he agreed.

“Uh. Should we head back down?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, we should.”

He smiled and got up, and I followed him out of the room.

As soon as we made our way down the stairs, I spotted Nathan in the kitchen, drinking beer and talking with a guy.

He saw me and Brad, and I wasn’t sure I saw correctly, but a small look of displeasure temporarily played on his face.

“Babe, do you want something to drink?” Brad asked, turning to face me.

Babe?

Wow, things were escalating rather quickly. I was his babe now just from one conversation about basically nothing in an enclosed room?

Should I feel flattered or concerned? Why was it so easy for him to call a girl that? Did he do that often?

“Uh. Sure,” I said, ignoring his choice of jargon.

“Okay. I’ll get you a beer.”

Beer. I shouldn’t be drinking.

Once was enough, considering how dizzy and half-dead I had felt in the room. I decided not to try it again. Plus, beer tasted pretty much like shit.

Although I had never tasted shit, but I just felt like shit would probably taste something like that.

He noticed my indecisive expression and rested a hand on his waist. “Or you can’t drink, can you?”

The last thing I wanted was to seem like a lame-ass girl in the eyes of Brad. Teenage stuff.

“No! I can, of course. I am not a kid, as you can see.” I chuckled as I opened my arms wide so he could see the “woman” I was.

He laughed. “Right. Because there is no way a kid could be this sexy.”

I blushed again as I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

He smiled at me, then headed off to fetch me something to drink.