Destiny Destroyed

Chapter 22 (1982)

It's Saturday and I'm sitting in the back of Gabby's sister Tiffany's car with Tara. I'm wearing jeans and a white blouse. Everyone seems excited except for me. I'm nervous. I honestly don't know why. Tiffany is a Senior. There will be a lot of older kids at the party. Tara and I are sleeping over Gabby's house tonight. Gabby's parents are gone for the weekend. My parents have no idea or otherwise I wouldn't have been allowed to sleep over. They don't know we are going to a party tonight either. I don't like lying. I know it's part of being a teenager, but it doesn't sit well with me. I know I am way too uptight. I just don't like to disappoint people.

We enter the house and the music is loud. Really loud. The house is packed. I recognize a lot of people. I don't really know them, but I recognize them from seeing them in school. I know there are a lot of seniors there. Tiffany quickly tells us to get lost and takes off to catch up with some of her friends. Gabby, Tara and I stand looking around. I really feel out of place. Gabby heads towards a keg in the corner of the room. Tara and I follow. I can feel some of the older boys watching us. Gabby fills up the solo cup and hands it to Tara. Then she does the same for me and herself. We slowly make our way to the other side of the room.  The furniture has been arranged so it borders the room leaving enough space in the middle to dance. 

After an hour of just hanging out I find myself bored out of my mind. Devo's Whip It comes on and Gabby drags both of us to the middle of the floor where some girls are dancing. "I love this song," she says loudly. Not my favorite, but I give in and dance. Two more beers and I am a dancing fool. The three of us have a few guys standing on the side watching us. Endless Love comes on and they quickly make their move. Before I know what is happening, I am dancing with Vince Thompson. He's a popular senior. He's holding me close. I'm a bit uncomfortable but decide to go with it. He smells of some type of cologne. He's taller than Seth. That's when I remember he plays basketball for the school.

When the song ends, he takes my hand and leads me off the dance floor. I search around for Tara and Gabby. I don't see either of them. Vince pulls me into the hallway. He takes his right hand and gently swipes my hair back behind my ear. He leans in and kisses my now visible neck. I close my eyes and let him. He kisses my neck again. "You're so beautiful," he whispers in my ear. Reality sinks in and I pull away. He looks down at me. His lips are on mine before my brain can react. The kiss takes me completely by surprise, but I don't stop him. I want to know what it feels like to be kissed by someone other than Seth.

I close my eyes and just feel. There isn't anything special about the kiss. I don't feel butterflies or any spark really. When the kiss ends, I look up at him. He smiles at me. I shake my head no. He looks at me confused. "I'm sorry," I tell him and slip out of the hall back into the living room. I hurry to hide behind a group of boys. I peak around to see if Vince followed me. I am relieved to see he went back to his group of friends as though nothing happened. I stay hidden in the shadows the rest of the night. It's after midnight when Tiffany collects us to leave.

I lay on the floor in my sleeping bag and listen to Gabby and Tara talking about the party. "I can't believe a senior boy asked for my number," Tara said excitedly. I tried to pay attention as she went on about how much cooler the senior parties were compared to our age parties. I think about my kiss from Vince. Vince is cute. He has reddish brown hair that curls at the ends. His eyes are a lighter shade of brown. Not dark like Seth's. He had freckles across his cheeks. My mind drifts to Lucas. He has freckles across his nose. I smile to myself. I like the freckles across his nose. I think they are sexy. I wonder what it would be like if Lucas kissed me. I think about his lips on my neck like Vince's were and goose bumps appear on my arms.

"Hello Destiny," Tara is saying snapping her fingers near my face. I immediately lose my Lucas buzz and look at her. "What," I say slightly annoyed. She laughs. "Where were you." I shrug. "I'm just tired." She looks at me and knows I am lying. "I asked you what happened with you and Vince." I lie and say "Nothing. We just had a dance." I can feel both her and Gabby watching me. I close my eyes and think about Lucas. I don't even realize I've fallen asleep until the sun shining through the window wakes me in the morning.