Heart and Soul [bxb]

Chapter Six

When Carter and Luca left the house together, teeth brushed and reeking cologne in Luca's case, Seth's BMW was parked right out front. The car was unlocked, though Seth didn't seem to notice them until they were inside. He set his phone down, while Carter and Luca fastened their seat belts, and roared the ignition to life.

Chaz Wheeler, their party host, lived in a large, three-story, ivory mansion with a broad portion of land surrounding it, which included a faux-stone cabin-turned-gameroom, a kidney shaped pool that went six feet deep and a small orchard. 

The guy was rich. 

Or, rather, his parents were. And they also went out of town a lot, to a luxury condo they had in Palm Beach. Because, sometimes, they needed a weekend's rest from their luxury mansion at home, in Miami – Carter imagined.

This year, though, for the first time, they hadn't taken Chaz's little brother with them. And, for the first time since Chaz was an underclassman himself, there were as many freshmen and sophomores in the party as upperclassmen. The place was absolutely packed. Some people definitely didn't even go to their school.

The crowd didn't seem to intimidate Carter's stepbrother, though. Luca Santoro was off with Brad Wheeler and other JV kids before Carter really had time to tell him to be good – or whatever he was supposed to say. 

It was Scott Myers, their lean, darkly-tanned center – a senior – who spotted Carter and Seth first. Scott yelled out their names, draping one heavy arm around each of them to drag them around the house to the back, where the party was. Chaz never actually let people inside, because then he would have to clean it before his parents got home. And his parties could get messy, to say the least.

Scott was completely naked from the waste up, his Calvin Klein briefs peaking out from the waistline of his grey shorts. Judging by his breath and the red hue around his eyes, Carter imagined he was also already wasted.

Scott told them about a couple of senior girls that had left the bikinis at home and decided to simply go for a swim in just their underwear. The look Scott gave them made Carter think he should feel more excited to see that than he actually did. The enthusiasm in Scott's tone only grew as he hauled them along to the pool, where he promised there would be beer kegs. 

Bobby Gonzalez, their hulking, loud offensive tackle, greeted Carter and Seth with characteristic brashness. He torso was also bared. His shirt was a soggy mass, loosely hanging around his neck like a limp, under-inflated neck pillow.

Chaz Wheeler sat on a long, cushioned pool chair, with a big grin on his face and a pink flush on his cheeks. Jenna Torres was half-leaning into him, wearing waist-high skin-clad black shorts and a green bikini top. Joey Ashley was in the pool, fully clothed, two different bottles in each hand.

Drinking and swimming. What could possibly go wrong?

Something recent and upbeat thundered from monstrous, expensive speakers spread across the property. Carter didn't know the song, though. Or maybe he did, but it was too loud to tell. 

The music made it hard to talk to people, but Carter still tried. He indulged two of his second string teammates with light, football-themed conversation before Chaz Wheeler came to fill his hands with a full red solo cup each, dragging him away and forcing him to down everything in front of him. Carter didn't like the wobbly feeling that came afterwards, so he sat next to Jenna on the pool chair.

Jenna told him Melanie had bailed on the party without excuse and Carter talked to her for a while, passing every glass, shot or beer can anyone put in his hands onto hers. She was glad to rid him of his many burdens.