Cheek to Cheek

Chapter 19

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Entering the house, I was surrounded by a mixed array of crazy teenagers grinding one another. The smell of cheap beer and sweat filled my nostrils, making me wince. The music and loud laughter was overwhelming. A couple was making out on the staircase in front of us.

I was already uncomfortable. I was never in this kind of situation before; it was because I’ve never been invited to this kind of party before. Booze was passed around from hand to hand on the floor where people were dancing. Walking a little further, we entered an area where things were a little calmer; people were standing around and talking over the loud music.

Tabby was pulling my arm in the direction of the dancing crowd. I tried to resist.

“Tabby, I’m not so sure about this,” I told her. She was already at the edge of the crowd trying to blend in. She began bouncing to the beat of the music, trying to pull me in to dance with her.

“Come on, Kat! Don’t be such a killjoy!” she hollered over the music, dancing away. I shook my head, pulling away before I could get sucked in amongst the sweaty, partly drunk teenagers.

“No, it’s okay. I’m going to go look for Jake,” I declared, turning away before she could try to pull me back in. I felt a body slide up next to me. I looked behind me to find a guy grinding up next to me, reeking of alcohol. It was only eight o’clock, and some people were already wasted.

I shoved him off of me to accidentally bump into someone else. I turned to apologize to the person I bumped into to find a familiar face. Immediately, I felt more at ease.

“Stevie!” I exclaimed. He glanced in my direction and smiled warmly before pulling me into a hug.

“Oh, hey! Kat right?” he said, after retracting from the hug. I smiled; even though he’s only seen me once, he still enjoyed a hug.

“Yeah, what are you doing here? Isn’t this crowd a little young for you?” I joked around. He shoved me playfully before suggestively eying a couple of guys in the distance, smiling brilliantly.

“What can I say? I like my boys younger,” he explained to me, “What are you here for?” I laughed heartedly, trying to ignore the smell of alcohol wafting from the booze table nearby.

“I’m meeting someone here. Is your sister here?” I asked him. He looked around wearily.

“Oh, yeah, she should be around here somewhere. Want to go find her?” Stevie suggested. I shook my head quickly, my eyes wide, before remembering that Stevie could easily go tell Elizabeth of my reaction. I quickly looked down at the floor.

“No, that’s okay,” I calmly added. Stevie was quiet before he started laughing, taking my hand and tapping it gently.

“Oh, it’s okay. Few people like my sister, and I am not one of them either,” he proclaimed. I stared at Stevie for a moment and just smiled. He was just one of those people all of the girls wished they had at least as an acquaintance.

My head started to pound once I smelled cigarette smoke. Combine that with the smell of alcohol and the pounding beat of the music, and I was getting a major headache. I rubbed my temple in frustration.

“Want to get a drink? There’s some Pepsi in the kitchen,” Stevie suggested. I nodded slightly. Stevie reached out his arm, and I linked my arm through it, letting him lead me to the kitchen. There were few people in there, but they surrounded the cooler on the floor. I wondered why anyone brought a cooler when there was a perfectly fine refrigerator right next to it.