Late Bloomer

Chapter 15 Torn Between Two Lovers

The party was amazing. Everyone pulled out all the stops with their outfits, movie characters appeared everywhere. And being thrown at one of the uptown, rich kid's mansions, practically every junior was there. I pulled my mask off but kept my hood on. That way I could see better but not ruin the ensemble.

"Get a load of this party! And there are so... many... boys..." Jules said to me, her eyes sparkling.

"Go, flirt, and have fun!" I said, nudging her. She took a step forward only to be blocked by a slim figure in a white bodysuit.

"Oops, sorry—" Jules began but stopped when she saw who it was.

"Oh my—" I gasped. We were looking at the spitting image of Madonna from her music video 'Sorry'. It was Karen. She had dyed her hair a golden blonde and styled it to match Madonna's. She wore an exact replica of the bodysuit, bare legs and all, and tall white boots. Not to mention heavy red lipstick.

"Watch where you're going!" She snapped. Looking at her and Jules, I realized they both looked somewhat alike in their bodysuits. Karen also seemed to have noticed the fact and scowled.

"Whoa, Karen, you look good," I said to break the tension. Everyone, including Karen, stared at me. She suddenly regained herself and huffed.

"I know. Now out of my way," she said with a toss of her hair and marched passed us. Jules blinked at me.

"Did you just compliment Karen?" She asked, looking like I'd gone bonkers.

"Yeah, I'm surprised too, Thea," Matteo said.

"What? It was just a compliment! I'm not going out of my way to be friends with her or anything," I said defensively. It was the least I could do, being civil to her, especially knowing what she was going through. Matteo lifted his mask and smiled at me.

"You're too nice, you know that?" He said, snuggling his arm around me. I saw Pierce watching us and I got a peculiar feeling he was glaring at me under his mask.

"We should get some drinks," I said, hastily pulling away to the buffet table. I grabbed a tall glass of something and sipped it but found I didn't like the taste.

"Ew, what is this?" I asked with a wince. Matteo grinned.

"Pineapple mojito. And if I remember correctly, you don't like pineapple." He took the glass from my hand and put another one in it.

"Here, try this. You'll like it, it's got your favorite fruit. It's a watermelon margarita," he said, sipping the mojito from the same straw I drank from.

"Don't you want a new drink?" I asked in surprise. He smiled at me.

"You're my girlfriend, Thea. I don't mind sharing a straw with you. In fact, I can think of a few other things I'd like to share with you..." his voice went low as he spoke in my ear. I ducked my head turning red at the thoughts he suggested in my head. From the corner of my eye though, I saw Pierce stalk off, as if disgusted to be around me. My face fell immediately.

"You okay?" Matteo asked, seeing my face.

"Yeah, just—thirsty," I said slowly, sipping the margarita. It was delicious. And Matteo scored a point in my book for remembering my favorite fruit from our chat last night. So why did I feel so low all of a sudden?

"Hey," Jules said joining me after a bit. "So there's beer pong in the living room and people are doing body shots in the bedroom. Oh, and for a real juicy bit—there's a couples' spin-the-bottle marathon with a little twist. The couple who gets picked has to make out in a private bedroom upstairs. You interested?"

"Jules! Seriously?" I asked, scandalized.

"Oh come on! What's the point of having a BF if you don't grab the chance to make out with him?" She asked, pouting. She swayed a little and almost fell in my arms.