The Eye Of The Ankh #Wattys2016

Chapter Forty

"Oh my God I'm so stoked for this weekend!" Halle said as she sat down at the table Thursday. "Aren't you guys?"

"What all is this weekend?" I asked.

Jean and Marco laughed. Hugo sighed. "We're the seniors. We've got end of the year parties to go to. Two of the best are this weekend."

"But it's not even the end of the year..."

"Babe, it's only fifteen days till." Halle said. "Anyway, you guys have any goals for the end of high school? My goal is to get painfully drunk and hopefully smoke some weed." She smiled. "Alice?"

"Ah, gee, how can I possibly come up with something better than get drunk and smoke dope?" I smiled. "Uh, well, let's think of the classics: get drunk, get high, get laid... I've already done two of those." I glanced at Hugo. "Yeah, okay, I'll get laid."

Hugo's eyes got wide. "What?"

"Yeah. Come on. It's in every movie and book ever. Couples at parties get laid." I shrugged. "Let me be a cliché."

"Uh, right, but..." Hugo sighed. "How about we talk about this later, yeah? When our friends aren't all listening in?"

I smiled. "What about you, Marco? Jean?"

Jean smiled. "Probably the same."

"As whom?" Halle asked.

He shrugged. "Both of you."

The bell rang.

"So what makes these parties so great?"

"Well, the one tomorrow night is hosted by Marie Antone. Every year her parents go away for the weekend—this weekend. They have a maid who comes every day so the day after the party, Marie tips the maids extra for the mess and not to tell her parents. Everything goes back to normal with very little room for her to get in trouble. Because of that, she hosts the biggest and best parties."

"Oh."

"Plus her house is huge. But you'll come with me, right?"

I nodded. "Diffidently."

Hugo smiled. "I'll pick you up tomorrow night, then, yeah?"

I smiled. "Yeah."

"What time will you be home?"

"Anna, I'm spending the night with Halle, remember? I won't be home." I said, spraying some perfume on my wrists.

Anna stood up, standing behind me in the mirror. "I trust you, I really do, but please don't do anything too stupid, okay? And... uh..." She lowered her voice. "I put some condoms in your handbag. Please use them if you, uh..."

"Anna!"

She shrugged. "Rather be safe than sorry."

"Okay. Hugo's outside, so I'm going to leave now, okay?"

"Okay."

I took another look in the mirror. I was wearing a tight flowery tank top and white shorts and heels. I looked great. I smiled. "Bye, Anna," I hugged her and grabbed my backpack, heading downstairs and out to Hugo's SUV.

Halle was drunk. She's fun drunk. She handed me a can of beer, urging me to drink. "Come on! Just drink one!" She cracked it open and pushed it to my lips. I took a sip. It was disgusting, the taste bringing back memories with Ethan. "See? It's good! Now! I'm going to go get really high!" She was screaming, even though the music wasn't that loud.

"Okay, be safe!"

She nodded and gave me a thumbs up.

I sat down the drink. "Beer isn't my forte." I said. "I'd rather drink something sweet."

The living room was hot and smelled like sweat and booze. I grabbed Hugo's hand. I wanted to go somewhere less crowded. I pulled him with me to the foyer. Couples and groups of people lined the walls, a few in the center, all talking amongst themselves. Most had red solo cups in hand.

I pulled Hugo towards the stairs, leaning against a bare spot on the wall at the foot. I pulled at his collar—who wears a collared shirt to a high school party?—and pulled him to my lips. He tasted slightly lemon-y, a dash of peppermint. He hadn't been drinking, though, at least not that I could tell.

I unbuttoned the top button on his shirt, kissing down his neck. He pulled my lips back to his. I pulled off again, whispering in his ear. "You know, I'm sure there's a room upstairs that's unoccupied..."

"I don't know..." He said, looking nervously at the top of the stairs.

I stuck out my bottom lip. "Come on, Hugo,"

He smiled. "I just don't know, Alice," his face lit in blush. "Call me old fashion, but I thought that we'd wait until..."

"You're not old fashioned, you're classy." I sighed. "How about this: we go upstairs and see if there are any rooms open? And if not, we don't?"

Hugo smiled slightly. "Okay."

I smiled wide. "Okay?" I asked, giddy with myself.

His smile widened. "Okay."

I grabbed his hand and hurried upstairs. I knocked on the first door I saw. A muffled "occupied" responded. I knocked on the next and got the same. The third door was to a bathroom where a girl was throwing up, her boyfriend holding back her hair. The four I didn't get any responce and opened the door.

The bed in the center of the room was huge. There was another door that I'm sure led to a bathroom. I had a strong feeling this was the master suite.

I turned around and grabbed Hugo's collar. I pulled his lips to mine, pulling him back to the bed. Then the mattress hit the back of my knees I fell backwards. Hugo started to laugh. I started to unbutton his shirt.

His hand brushed my hip, and he started to pull down my shorts, his hands shaking.

Then, there was a hurried knock at the door. "Al-eeee-ce?! Allllllll-ee-ce?" It was Halle. She opened the door. "Ohmygod." She plopped on the bed above my head, oblivious to Hugo and I. "Ican'tbelievehowextremelyexpensivepotis? I mean, it'snotlikeitdoesn'tgrowontrees!" Her words were jumbled together, syllables slipping and slurring.

"Uh, I'm sorry?"

"So. Am. I."

Hugo shook his head, not going to happen. He sat up and started to button his shirt. I stopped him, leaving the top two undone. He looked more relaxed that way.

"So then I asked around and I found out that you two shits came up here and so I came up here and I found you two and—oh God!" Halle stood up, rushing to the bathroom.

I sighed. "Wanna head home?"

Hugo nodded. "Let's take Halle home."

I stood up and held her hair back. Once she was done—or close enough to it—I helped her downstairs, holding a trashcan under her chin the whole way out. Hugo drove her while I drove her car.

Hugo drove me home. I sat in his SUV, smiling. "I'm sorry about how I acted tonight. That was stupid."

Hugo shrugged. "You were lost in the moment. It happens to everyone eventually."

I glanced at the front door. The porch light flicked on and I sat Anna in the window. I looked back at Hugo. I still wanted to do it with Hugo. But not like that. Not with everyone doing that there. "We still going to the party tomorrow?"

Hugo nodded. "If you're up for it."

I nodded, smiling. "Hell yeah. Beach, right?"

"Yeah."

I leaned over and kissed Hugo's lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, then,"

"Yeah."

I opened up the door and hurried inside. Anna ambushed me with questions, demanding details. Why wasn't I at Halle's? What all happened at the party? Did I drink? Did I smoke? Did I have fun?

I turned around and looked at her. "Halle's drunk. Nothing really happened at the party. I didn't do anything with Hugo. I took a sip of a beer. I didn't smoke. I had fun."

Anna smiled. Satisfied. "Okay. You're dismissed."