It Could Be More | ✔

01. Catch Me

One thing West Valley High's football team knew how to do was celebrate a win. The homecoming game ended an hour ago. Now everyone was crammed inside Demarcus Lancaster's house. And I was a part of it.

Sweaty bodies that smelled of alcohol or weed or both pressed against me as I made my way through the crowd, two cups of beer raised above my head to keep them from spilling. It took a solid two hours for me to pick the perfect mini skirt and top combination. I wasn't going to ruin it with beer.

Liah Scott was waiting for me on the stairs. Her face broke into a grin when she saw me, hands already grabbing for the cup. I handed her the drink and sat a step below her. She tamed her kinky curls back into a high puff, decorated with butterfly clips that match her blue shirt.

"So, guess who was just here?" My brows raised, waiting for her to continue as I took a sip of my drink.

I instantly went into a coughing fit. The alcohol burned all the way down my throat. "This is horrible."

Liah giggled, taking a sip from her own cup. "It'll get better, trust me. Anyways, Elijah Roberts stepped on my hand."

The dreamy way she said it had me confused. "And this is a good thing?"

"Yes, because when he apologized, he sat next to me and asked if I was the girl who sang the national anthem."

Now the smiling made sense. Liah had a beautiful singing voice. We normally didn't have live singers for sport events. It took a whole lot of begging, but she ultimately convinced the principal to let her sing.

Of course, she did amazing. Of course, she got a standing ovation. Of course, the star running back was flirting with her.

"And?" I prodded.

She shyly looked into the contents of her cup, her warm brown skin getting a red tint. "And he wants me to meet him for a game of beer pong later."

"Liah!" I said, shaking her knee. "See, I knew this year was going to be the year."

"Yeah, it's easier for people to talk to us when we're not on your living room couch watching movies."

"Who knew?" I laughed, taking another sip of my drink. Still burned. Still gross.

My gaze roamed the living room area where people danced or drank or made out. There was an unmovable smile plastered on my face. Seeing a bunch of inebriated teenagers shouldn't have made me so happy, but this was the first house party I'd been to in a year. The second house party in total.

When you had an older brother who treated you like a delicate flower, you missed out on stuff. Like seeing the senior class president twerking on her boyfriend.

Grayson, the older brother in question, was now miles away in a dorm room. Or maybe he was at some sort of mixer to get to know his classmates. Whatever he was doing, he wasn't doing it here. If he knew I was at this party, a cup of alcohol in hand, he'd drag me home so fast.

But he wasn't there. I took another drink to that.

"Getting better?" Liah teased.

"Not even a little," I admitted. "How long are you going to make Elijah sweat before you meet up with him?"

She puckered her lips up to the side, pretending to think hard about it. "A song. Two max."

Then she took my hand and pulled out to the middle of the living room to join the few people dancing.

• • •

We danced to four songs before we went out to the backyard where the beer pong was set up. The late summer breeze was welcome against my skin, that was currently sticky with sweat.