The gummy took effect almost immediately and I felt an overwhelming sense of contentment. All my worries and cares melted away, leaving only a blissful happiness in its wake. I found myself surrounded by familiar faces, as we danced, laughed, and embraced the freedom of the night, celebrating my first birthday as a legal adult. Sure, I couldn’t buy a drink at a bar yet, but thanks to my mother’s foresight, I was already a proud homeowner, had a trust fund to keep me comfortable for a few years, and a dear friend who was thrilled to have me back in her life. What more could a girl possibly want?
Well, according to Dana, there was still one thing missing from my perfect birthday celebration - getting laid. In between indulging in delicious snacks and staying hydrated with frequent trips to the bar for water so we could also ogle the cute bartender, Dana took a break from her own search at adding another notch to her bedpost and gave me the inside scoop on all the boys in the room as we made our way back to our favorite hi-top of the night.
“That guy, blue shirt- black jeans,” Dana said, pointing with an enthusiastic, slightly tipsy finger, “he totally sucked in bed. It lasted all of like- a minute and a half, and then he acted like he had just rocked my world. I was all like, oh ya baby, so good. Fuck- I was so much nicer back then.” Dana reflected, before bursting into a fit of laughter, clearly amused by the memory. “Actually, I should probably be a good friend to him and tell him how bad he really was so he doesn’t continue to embarrass himself,” Dana added, with a turn in his direction. I pulled her hair to make her return to the table, hoping to spare the boy from her intoxicated spiteful mirth.
“Ow! Damn bitch easy on the extensions, I don’t get my allowance for another two weeks,” Dana said, pulling at a loose strand and dropping it onto the floor before laughing hysterically at the clip in her hand.
“Sorry!” I giggled, happy to know my bestie wasn’t absolutely perfect in every single way straight of the gate. It gave me hope I could evolve into something more than what I had become. Maybe with a push-up bra, some high-end concealer, and some really dim lighting, I could hope to be as beautiful as she is.
“Fine, I’ll be nice.”
I bounced my eyes off of her with a roll at the end.
“Okay, okay. I promise to leave him alone. So let me tell you about Chester over there instead,” Dana continued, turning me slightly to get a better view of the people standing around another high-top on the far end of the room.
There were 3 of them eating wings and enjoying their overpriced flavored coffees. “The one with the brown hair, standing close to that little, short blond girl, with the pixie cut. He was an incredible lover, but unfortunately, he was super clingy, it got old real quick. Mmm, the things that boy could do with his tongue though." Dana confessed dreamily as she swept her eyes over him. "Sadly, he’s currently dating that girl, Kathy Sweeney,” Dana said, pretending to gag at the mention of the blond girl’s name. “She’s a skank, such a dirty bitch. Who knows what kind of ‘cooter cooties’ he might have caught from her? So, he’s a hard no, though I think he’d drop her like a bad habit to fuck you.” Dana said, flashing a bright smile at me before scanning the room once more, her eyes darting from one guy to the next.
After spending several hours with my oldest friend, her words no longer made me blush, but I couldn’t help but be taken aback by her openness about the numerous sexual encounters she had had in my absence. And I hated to think it but, her declaration of Kathy being a slut, had me wondering what she thought about her own multitude of sexual endeavors at such a young age. It seem my sleepy little town had turned into a place where everyone, did, everyone.
“Yes!” Dana exclaimed, pointing towards a tall boy as he entered the barroom with a group of similarly dressed boys, tee shirts, jeans, and construction boots seemed to be the theme of the night.
He had brown hair, a great body, and an air of confidence much like Christian O'Reilly had showcased earlier. “That’s Bobby,” Dana said, excitement evident in her voice. “He’s perfect, so good in bed, and as far as I know, he’s not currently involved with anyone as far as I know.”
Dana couldn’t contain her joy, as she did a little victory dance around me. Apparently, she believed she had found the ideal guy for me spend the night with. My mouth was slightly ajar, as I was still reeling from Dana’s candidness, and I couldn’t help but widen my eyes in disbelief as she revealed the extensive list of lovers including this new boy Bobby that she wanted me to hook up with tonight.
It took me a few moments to gather myself, but Dana, ever observant, looked me over and playfully placed a finger under my chin to close my gaping mouth, again. She giggled, shaking her head at my stunned expression, and asked, “What?”
Summoning the courage that the alcohol and gummy had granted me, I retorted, “Perhaps someone you haven’t been fucked yet.” I couldn’t help but giggle at my comeback, hastily covering my mouth as if the profanity had slipped out unintentionally.
Dana, feigning offense, placed a hand over her heart and pretended as though I had insulted her. “Did you just call me a slut?” she asked, her eyes wide with mock shock.
I nodded, attempting to maintain a serious demeanor, but it didn’t last long. We both burst into simultaneous laughter once again, drawing the attention of the bartender. His face contorted with annoyance at the prospect that he might have to police if we continued to be overly loud.
“Good, I do try my best to be a disappointment to my parents!” Dana exclaimed, her mouth stretched wide in a hearty laugh at her own honesty. I quickly covered her mouth, fearing another reprimanding gaze from the bartender. I checked and thankfully he had returned to his drink orders, but I didn’t want to risk another glance in our direction. "Shhh," I said to Dana placing my other hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.
I was far too intoxicated to engage in a conversation with a real adult right now, even if he was really attractive. She playfully licked the palm of my hand and I pulled them away wiping my wet hand across my leg, “You’re gross.”
She stuck her tongue out at me as she tried to compose herself, wiping up under her lower lids so her makeup didn't run from the laughing tears she had caused herself, removed the cap of her water, gulping down the last of the liquid before tossing the empty bottle into the trash. She took a moment to catch her breath from our fits of laughing and regain her composure, leaning over to adjust her boobs before bouncing back up and smiling at me.
“So, my dear prudence,” Dana began, her voice filled with mischief as she leaned onto the tabletop as if we were at a talk show and she was the host with an index card filled with prewritten questions. “Please tell me you’re not an innocent, chaste 18-year-old virgin. I do hope you’ve had your fair share of adventures with some well-endowed English boys while I’ve been left here all alone to navigate through these ‘nose-picking, ninety-seconders’ on my own. Share your gossip, girl, or go home.” Dana declared, leaning in closer to me, clearly feeling the proliferation of our night’s adventures.
I paused for a moment, contemplating my response. With a mischievous smile, I leaned over, sliding on my elbows against hers, “Well, my dear friend, let’s just say I might have a few stories to tell.”
Dana smiled slapping the top of the table with a drum roll, “Listen to you. You even sound all proper and Brit-Shit now. All grown up and so-fisticated,” she said, her words dripping with playful sarcasm. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her misused words, and she giggled under her breath as she tried to correct the word several times, before bursting out into laughter, again giving up. Her shocked expression only added to the entertainment value, and I found myself laughing along with her not caring about who heard us this time.
“Spill girl,” Dana demanded as she took deep gulps of air to calm herself.
I crafted the most captivating story that my inebriated mind could muster in the fifteen second pause I took, sprinkling it with a touch of truth and deliberately omitting any mention of the supernatural, when recounting my first sexual experience. I explained to her that it happened with a close friend I had made at my boarding school, during a time when my mother and sister were away on their first nature retreat and I was left alone at home for the first time during winter break. He offered to stay the weekend with me, telling his parents that he was sleeping at a “friend’s house” so he could keep me company. We found the key to my mother’s wine cellar, and we ended up in bed together. I told her that our romance lasted the summer, but we eventually decided that it would be best to just remain friends and we went our separate ways.
Dana’s face contorted into a disapproving grimace as she dismissed my story with a single word.
“Ugh.” Dana groaned, “That’s a terrible story, Lizzy. Friends should always remain in the friend zone – it never works out. Next!” Despite Dana’s harsh critique, she seemed oddly cheerful, her eyes sparkling with anticipation as she rose from her relaxed position on the tabletop to hopefully hear a more spicy tale.
But I took a beat. It was intriguing, how she held such a strong belief that friends should only be friends, taking into account that she had spent most of the night feeling me up. Her actions contradict her words, leaving me puzzled but maybe it was her thing, I got the feeling I was not the first girl she had kissed though she was mine. It wasn’t terrible but I doubted I would be inclined to explore things further even with more copious amounts of alcohol.
“Ok, you’re right, that one is depressing isn’t it? Let me see- okay,” I began, my voice filled with a hint of excitement as I cleared my throat and stood up straight matching her. I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts before continuing to try to think of a way to make it sound juicier than it probably was. “Alright, well, just recently before I left- England,” I began, my voice faltering slightly as I struggled to maintain the facade of being abroad all these years.
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It was the story my mother had concocted in her letters to Mr. Patterson and it was just easier to stick with what she had in place. My mother had spun an elaborate web of lies over the years as though she knew that someday we'd be taken from here. She had even gone as far as to tell Mr. Patterson, our farm manager and long-time personal family friend and accountant, that if there came a day that we just up and left the farm unannounced he was to go down the bank and retrieve a lock box that was paid for in both of their names and that he was to open the letter and follow all of her instructions that she had left for him.
He showed them to me when he found us at the house, two days after Caleb and I fell through The Veil. I thought it strange that all our things were still in the house just as we had left them that night over a half-decade ago. The house was tidy and clean, free of the cobwebs and decay that I had expected to find inside when I used the hide-a-key in the little mushroom fairy, my mother had in her flower garden off the back porch that unlocked the back door.
I had no idea what to do when he showed up on Monday morning with his crew to work the fields. I thought I would have to convince him that I was me, but he recognized me right away. He brought me to town where he did most of the accounting work for the farm and showed me what my mother had set up for me and my sister if we were to return home without her.
My mother had planned for every scenario possible, including if either I or my sister came back on our own and how he was to help us reestablish our lives. She must have somehow continued to pay him well because he had just carried on with our family business as if she was still in contact with him all these years. It hurt when I found nothing amongst the dozens of letters and endless boxes of paperwork in the vault at the bank, nothing addressed solely either me or my sister with an explanation of what happened and why, but that was an entirely different hurt that I had packed away for another day.
“I was at this wedding and there was this incredibly attractive guy at the reception. I mean he was the epitome of a bad boy, the kind of hot that every girl was drooling over all night long. And guess what? I was the one who had him for the night. And I’m sure they were all mad and jealous about it too.” A triumphant smile played on my lips thinking I had hit the ball out of the park with this story to impress my promiscuous friend. But apparently, my storytelling skills sucked because Dana lifted a bored eyebrow at me and sighed, with a little roll of her eyes.
I rushed to regain my composure as I felt deflated, my sexcapades couldn’t really be this boring, could they? This was the only other story I had to share. I stammered, “It was like wild, you know? Like a steamy, throw down, right there in the hay, we ripped each other’s clothes and oh my God-. And let me tell you, it was so good I could have cared less if someone had walked and watched us.”
“Hey? Wait, what?” Dana questioned, her curiosity only slightly interested. I was momentarily confused, but then it dawned on me. “Hay, as in the bales of hay. It happened in a barn- at my friend’s wedding.” “Oh,” Dana chimed in, thankful for the added clarity. However, it seemed like it didn’t quite meet her expectations.
“Did I mention that the hot guy was my ‘first’s’ older brother?” I had made an oath to myself that I would never say anything about what happened between me and Demetrius. I wasn’t ashamed of it, I was glad it happened but I didn’t want to announce it from a mountaintop either. More feelings besides just Caleb’s would be hurt. It was shameful that I used it now to try and impress my friend. But it worked, perking Dana up, clearly, she was intrigued by the scandalous details.
“Damn girl, I haven’t had brothers. Bravo! And that’s what he gets for breaking my girl’s heart. ‘Let’s be friends, what an asshole!’” she remarked, giving me an imaginary check mark as if keeping score.
I couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction for impressing her though most of it didn’t really play out as scandalously as I had spun it. Finally, I had managed to captivate Dana’s attention with a tale that was both thrilling and enticing, she would never know either of them so I figured who would it hurt. And now at least I didn’t feel like a meek, broken child wading through the waters that were filled with circling sharks. I could take on any guy in this place if I wanted to, she was right. I've had a lifetime of regrets, what's one more added to my tally?
After another hour of exhausting dancing and flirting, I was eager to take another break quench my thirst, and hit the restroom. However, it was clear Dana had no intention of leaving the dance floor to join me this time. She was too busy grinding her backside into the groin of the new flavor of the hour.
Dana had at least taken a minute to introduce me to the dark-haired boy between songs. He was cute and had the straightest, brightest, white teeth I had ever seen on a person. Kind of reminded me of a ventriloquist dummy when he smiled, it crept me out but Dana seemed to be into him so I let her do her thing.
Despite my friend kind of ghosting me, I did manage to enjoy a few dances with Christian despite the nose-picking memory, hoping he had grown out of it, not that I had any intentions of sticking my tongue into his mouth, but you never know where the night would take us.
Surprisingly, he had a good sense of humor and respected my personal space, which was a pleasant surprise even with his friends egging him on from the sidelines. Perhaps, I could even envision going on a real date with him sometime in the future. However, I wasn’t intoxicated enough to go home with him tonight, despite Dana’s persistent encouragement and his friend's immature gesturing from across the dance floor.
Dana’s new prospect was a college boy from one of the neighboring towns, who was almost 21 and seeking some barely legal fun with any girl he could find. Although Dana could do better, she seemed genuinely interested in him. She had danced with him for several songs without dismissing him like she had done with many other boys tonight. And she hadn’t groped me in a while, so that was a plus.
I moved closer to Dana, trying to make myself heard over the deafening music. However, before I could say anything, the ‘dummy grin boy’ grabbed me by my hips and pulled me in between the two of them.
They both took turns pressing against my body and grinding into me. Christian, clearly feeling territorial, walked over and shoved the guy and attempted to start a fight, his hand wrapped around my wrist as he pulled me away from them. Christian was bigger and beefier than the college boy. But I could tell he was not going to let Christian insult him, and cause him to lose his chance with Dana by looking like a wimp and the college boy shoved him back. Frustrated, I tugged at Christian as he stepped back into place, posturing in aggression. I pulled my arm out of his hand stood up on my toes and shouted into his ear, “Enough! We’re done.”
I had dealt with enough possessive men in my life, thinking they owned me. I swatted him away, mimicking Dana’s dismissive gestures when she was finished with a guy. Initially, Christian appeared confused, so I added, “Fuck off!” screaming it over the music, ensuring he heard me loud and clear. Christian tried to apologize, but I ignored his feeble attempt and he finally turned on his heels, and walked back to his friends, head low and his hands tucked in his pocket in defeat.
I’ll be right back,” I said, gently removing Dana’s hand that had found its way onto my breast a crooked smile playing on her lips. She looked thoroughly impressed with my stand-up attitude.
She looked at me seductively, licking her lips in admiration and jutting a brow. “We’ll wait for ya,” the boy chimed in, playfully slapping my bottom as I walked away. I just can't, with all the ass slaps on my bottom, was starting to feel tender and bruised. Good lord, this night was spiraling out of control again, I may have loosened up a bit but not enough to even consider going down that road with the two of them. I wasn’t feeling that adventurous.
I had only taken a few dozen steps through the pulsating crowd when Dana pulled me back to her, holding me so close her face was fuzzy. She pressed up against me, and I glanced over her shoulder to see the college boy walking away, just like Christian had only moments ago after my rejection. It was astonishing how quickly things could change with her. Had something happened in a mere 20 heartbeats since they tried to get me to join them in bed? I hadn’t even made it halfway across the room yet.
Dana’s face was lit up with a mischievous grin as she leaned into me, playfully pinching my tender bottom. Ouch.
“Oh my Lanta, I’ve found the man of my dreams. Damn, he’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, her eyes darting around the room in search of her mystery man. I tried to follow her gaze, but the strobe lights made everyone’s movements choppy and distorted, making it impossible to distinguish one person from the next.
After scanning the crowd for what felt like the hundredth time, I still couldn’t figure out who she was talking about. With a sigh, I just nodded in agreement to appease her. Did it matter who the next victim was? I highly doubted the new guy would get what he wanted from her anyway, maybe she was more of a tease than I was.
As I watched her flit from one boy to the next all night, I couldn’t help but wonder how anyone ever got her into bed. She changed her mind so often, it was impossible to keep up. But if telling a little white lie meant I could use the bathroom before I peed myself, it was worth a shot and I’d sort it out later.
Despite the chaos around me, I was still enjoying myself. As Dana made her rounds, I couldn’t help but wonder about the whereabouts of the other girls we had arrived with. Throughout the evening, I silently hoped that one of them would be able to get us a ride home if Dana chose to leave us at the club to pursue one of the many guys she had toyed with tonight. Although I didn’t know them well, they seemed nice enough during the car ride over here. Because I would rather sleep in a pasture on a field of cow patties than have to call Caleb for help.
I flashed Dana a thumbs up, desperately hoping to convey a sense of confidence before I made a mad dash for the restroom. In the distance, the neon sign flickered, luring me with the promise of much-needed relief. Meanwhile, I pretended to understand what Dana was talking about, but my mind was consumed by the overwhelming desire to escape from more boy drama with her. As I turned to approach the hall with Dana following suit, our eyes unexpectedly locked, causing a wave of nausea to wash over me that I had to slap my hand over my mouth as a physical reminder to swallow the bile back so it didn't have a chance to rush up my throat and out my mouth.
In a panic, I turned and grabbed Dana and positioned her in front of me, crouching down and using her as a human shield. It was a ridiculous attempt at hiding, considering he had already spotted me. To my dismay, Dana turned around and forced me to stand upright, outing me, her face filled with disbelief that I was suddenly acting like a lunatic.
With panic coursing through my veins, I frantically searched for an escape route, a door, a window- anything. “I really need to use the restroom,” I blurted out, desperately hoping to buy myself some time. Annoyed, Dana grumbled as she firmly grasped my hands and pulled me toward the harsh glow of the hallway lights. “Do not throw up here!” she shouted over the noise of the room, her voice not so much filled with concern as it was embarrassment.
I let out a sigh of relief as we neared the door, momentarily thinking that maybe I had been mistaken and he wasn't really here, perhaps I was hallucinating his presence due to the mixture of shots and edibles. However, my relief was short-lived. He was too quick, and before we had taken just a few steps, he was standing right in front of the door to the women’s restroom staring down at the two of us.
Dana clung to my arm with a dreamy expression on her face as if someone had doused her with an entire bag of magical lusty dust, a half-toothy smile playing on her lips as she batted her long lashes at him. And all I wanted to do was jump off a 1000-story building and die, how the hell was I going to explain him to my friends?