Torn

7.

     We pulled up to the beach house a little after seven.  Hannah, in her infinite wisdom, decided that we might appear too eager if we showed up right at seven.  Hannah pulled her car into a parking spot on the other side of the street, and we hopped out.  Music blared from numerous speakers.  Laughing and shouting could be heard around the back.  People were everywhere.  Beer was flowing like water.  On the beach, a game of volley ball was already in progress.

     I stepped down off the curb and smoothed out my dress.  Hannah, of course, picked out my outfit.  I wore a pair of tan and black wedge sandals, that buckled up around the ankle.  My sundress had tiny, thin spaghetti straps and hung to thigh length.  It was tight in the chest, again another idea of Hannah's, and flowed down to my thigh.  My brown hair hung loose around my face.  I was nervous, but tried to appear calm.  Hannah wore a pair of tight blue jean cutoffs and a black tank top.  Her new belly ring glimmered in the light.

     Hannah grabbed my arm.  "Come on!  Let's go!"

     We traveled up the walkway to the front door.  There were a few people standing  on the porch, drinks in hand.  We carefully navigated our way through the crowd to the kitchen, and got ourselves a drink.  There was a keg on the floor by the fridge, and buckets filled with ice and coolers.  I grabbed a fruity vodka cooler and Hannah grabbed a beer.  We walked out the back patio door and onto the deck.  The view was amazing!  The deck lead down to a white sand beach.  The ocean washed gently up to the shore.  The sun, still fairly high in the sky, shone down on us, creating beautiful sparkles across the water.

     Hannah took a swig of her beer.  "This is awesome!"  Music blared all around us.  Hannah set her beer on the railing.  "Come on Mila, let's dance!" 

     I quickly finished the rest of my drink and followed Hannah, to what appeared to be a portion of the deck being used as a dance floor.  We danced and laughed for what felt like forever.  I felt a hand gently close around my arm.

     "You made it!"

     I turned to face Darry.  He stood dressed in a pair of black shorts and an unbuttoned, white, short sleeve shirt.  The black cord necklace still around his neck.

     "Yeah, this is awesome.  Thank you so much for inviting us!"

     "Want to so somewhere and talk?"  Darry asked, his eyes hopeful.  

     I licked my lips.  "Sure, why not?"  I leaned over to Hannah to tell her what was going on.  A sly smile appeared on her lips

     "Have fun."  She winked at me, and spun back around to dance with some other people from school.  

     For a fraction of a second I wished that I had some of the confidence that she possessed.  I was rather quiet and shy, not nearly as outgoing and spontaneous as she was.  But I guess as far as best friends go, we kind of balanced each other out.

     Darry took my hand and led me back through the house.  We stopped in the kitchen to grab a couple more drinks before heading off towards the stairs.  

     "It'll be quiet up here, it's off limits for the party."  Darry nodded up the stairs towards the bedrooms.  My heart began to beat faster and I chewed on my bottom lip.  What was I getting myself so worked up about?  We were just going to go and talk and get to know each other better.  I took a deep breath and smiled a genuine smile at him.  

     We mounted the stairs and entered a bedroom at the end of the hall.  Darry closed the door behind us.  The room was immaculate.  There was a large, queen sized bed that seemed to dominate the room.  The wall across from the bed held a set of french doors leading out to a balcony.  Darry opened the french doors slightly.  The sounds of the ocean and the party below drifted in.  We set our drinks on one of the oak end tables and took a seat on the bed.  I though better of it, and picked up my drink and took a rather large gulp.

     "Are you okay?"  Darry asked, concern written all over his face.

     "I guess that I am just a little nervous.  I mean, I don't even know you,"  I looked up from under a fringe of dark eyelashes.  "But I want to."

     He smiled back.  "Me too.  Let's see, I'm nineteen, a Taurus, I have no siblings and a couple of parents who work a lot and see me little."  He paused, "You?"

     "I am nineteen as well, a Scorpio, I have one brother, and my parents can't wait for me to move out in the fall."

     Darry leaned in close.  "You forgot beautiful, sweet and innocent."

     I felt a rush of heat flare up to my cheeks.  I could only imagine how red my face was.  I quickly changed the subject.  "So how long have you been writing poetry?"

     He waived his hand briefly in the air.  "On and off for a few years.  Do you write?"

     I nodded.  "I have a website that I kind of use as a way to vent.  I put all of my poems on there.  It's like no matter how bad my day was, or whatever happened, I could write about it and feel a bit better.  I don't really know if anyone reads them or not, but it really doesn't matter.  I don't do it for anyone else.  I do it for me.  I am not the best at expressing things out loud, and I hate confrontation, so that is my sanity."

     We talked and drank for hours.  I learned that Darry came to our school at the end of the year because his father got transferred to an office in the area.  His mom was a lawyer and worked a lot and wasn't around very much.  I found myself telling him things that I normally would have kept to myself.  I told him how my dad was an alcoholic and how I couldn't wait to move out and start my internship.  

     "Where is the internship?"

     "In Vancouver.  I am going to 604 Records."  I stated with a grin.  I am getting an apartment and I am going to get as far away from here as I can."

     Darry started laughing.

     "What's so funny?"  I asked, bewildered.

     "It- it's just that, that is where I am moving to!  I am going to University in Vancouver!"  He laughed again and smiled.  "What are the odds?"

     I giggled.  I had to admit, it was a rather strange coincidence.  My head started to spin slightly.  The combination of alcohol and no food was beginning to get to me.

     I felt Darry's hand on my thigh.

     "You really are beautiful."  He leaned in close.  I could feel his breath against the soft skin of my neck.  I closed my eyes and breathed in the intoxicating scent of his aftershave.  His lips pressed softly against mine.  I kissed him back, my mind whirling.  His hand found the small of my back and pulled me closer.  Our kisses deepened, and his hand moved up my thigh and rested on my hip.   I pulled back and took a deep breath.

     "I... what I mean is.... I have never done this before."  I motioned my hand back and forth between us.

     He took both my hands in his and kissed me on the forehead.  "We can stop if you want to."

     My head was still fuzzy, but I knew what I was doing.  I shook my head no.  There was no going back now.  Me, the cautious look before you leap kind of girl, was diving in head first.  I lifted my arms up and allowed Darry to remove my dress.  He lowered me to the bed, and covered my body with his own.  He kissed me deeply.  We were a jumble of teenage hormones throwing caution to the wind.  We made love there in his bed while the party continued on downstairs without us.