Breaking the Ice

ten

It took maybe ten minutes to get to the party, and by then, Beau's hair was a fluffy mess from the wind. I resisted the temptation to run my fingers through it as he slowed down and parked a few houses down, between a busted pickup and a matte black convertible. The music was loud, and I could almost feel it thrumming under my feet.

Climbing off the motorcycle, I pulled off the helmet and dragged my hand through my twists. Beau followed, grinning at me as he plucked the helmet from my hands. "Ready to go?"

"Hell yeah," I said, turning to him. "How are you feeling?"

He seemed to catch my meaning if his grin was anything to go by. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Used to it, anyway."

I decided against asking questions, just watched as Beau strapped the helmet to the bike and turned back to me with that lopsided smile of his. We walked down the block together, up to the open door, and inside the house.

It was loud and bright, the entire place covered in caution tape and fake blood. Trashy, fake spiderwebs dripped from the ceiling, with red solo cups already tangled in them. The costumes varied from slutty cats to full, japanese-looking cosplays to bedsheet ghosts, but everyone seemed to be dressed up. The music shook the floor, so loud you had to yell to be heard.

Before I could even find the drinks, I was sucked into the group of athletes, losing Beau to the sea of costumed bodies.

"Luke! My man!" Hector was the first to greet me, clapping a hand on my back before leaning on my shoulder. He was dressed like a red pirate with a plastic hook on one hand. "Glad you made it!"

There was a girl hanging off his arm. She was pretty, with long, blond braids thrown into a bun and a sharp, dark face with thin eyeliner. Her costume was a green dress with tiny fairy wings and pom-poms glued to the tips of her shoes.

"Sorry," she said, "he lost beer pong."

I smiled at her. "I'm used to it. You're the girlfriend, I'm assuming? I don't think we've met."

She laughed, holding out a dainty, manicured hand. I shook it lightly. "Yeah, I'm Charlotte, but basically everyone calls me Lottie. I go to East Waters, downtown."

"It's a pleasure, Lottie."

Someone tackled me from the back, nearly knocking me into her, and I turned to see Adam hanging off my shoulders with a red solo cup of clear liquid in his hand. He wore a head mirror and a doctor's coat, open to reveal his toned chest, and his smile was sharp despite the sweet vodka in his breath. "Luke! Hey, how are you! Not good, I see? You're look pretty sick, actually."

Confusion smacked me like a truck. "What?"

Adam nodded, still grinning. "But I have just the cure!" He pulled a plastic syringe from his jacket pocket, filled with a clear liquid. "The shot doctor says to open up!"

The pun finally registered, and with a laugh, I let him squirt what turned out to be vodka into my mouth. It burned all the way down. With a firm pat to my back, he tucked the syringe back into his costume. "Now that you're feeling a little better, come with me. The rest of your hockey boy friends are out back with a bong, they were looking for you."

With a hasty goodbye to Lottie and Hector, I was dragged outside to see Jason, Thomas, and Simon sitting on the porch steps, passing around a blue-tinted bong. A couple of football guys sat with them, and I recognized Teddy Mason, the kicker, among them, with Jeremy hitting a vape with his head resting on Ted's shoulder. Their costumes had little sailor's caps with anchors and matching suspenders.

Jason was the first to notice us, waving me over. He was dressed in what I noticed to be a very well-made costume of a Greek god, fit with an iridescent toga, embroidered sandals, and a crown of leaves. "Luke! How are you?"