Heart and Soul [bxb]

Chapter Twenty

Jenna's house was in the same neighborhood as Chaz Wheeler's. Both were three-story houses in spacious properties with pools. The area outside Jenna's was smaller though, and she usually held her parties inside. 

Like Chaz's parents, Jenna's mom went out of town a lot. But unlike Chaz, Jenna normally had a cleaning company over after each party, so she didn't care if a hundred teenagers wrecked the place during the night.

It was Joey who received Carter and Seth at the door, with bright eyes and one red solo cup in each hand. He already had a clear head start on them on the drinking. Probably because it appeared he had kept true to his word and skipped the post-game shower. Carter imagined the rest of the team had too, judging by how quickly they all got to the party.

Joey shoved the solo cups in their hands, urging them to drink. Carter grimaced as he concluded whatever was inside wasn't just beer. He set the empty cup on a sideboard inside, while Joey dragged them along to the living room, where Jenna and Mel sat on the couch with a few other cheerleaders.

Jenna greeted them with an enthusiastic grin. She had definitely also gotten a few drinks in before their arrival. "Have you tried the jello shots? Try the jello shots! Sienna, pass the shots. You have to try these!"

Carter wasn't the biggest fan of jello shots but he took it, and the next one Jenna shoved into his hand as well. Before Jenna and the other girls could throw themselves at him the same way they did at Seth, Carter sat down at Mel's side. 

Like her friends, she was still in her green and white cheer uniform. Unlike her friends, though, she looked completely sober.

"I'm surprised to see you here," he said. "You're usually a master at the art of getting away from these things."

Mel laughed. "Jenna made me. She summoned some kind of Girl Code law and preached about supporting your best friend's parties."

"Parrish," Scott Myers cried, plumping down to Carter's side, a bottle of Grey Goose in one hand and a cup in the other. Mel raised her eyebrows as he poured a generous amount of vodka on the cup in front of them.

"Drink," Scott barked, thrusting the cup under Carter's nose. He grimaced as the smell of alcohol wafted over him. That was, at least, half a cup. Of straight vodka.

"That's a lot," he complained.

Scott chortled. "You look way too sober. Chug that."

Carter took the cup in his hand and Scott hooted. "You're next, Jones," he warned.

Mel lifted her hands in defense. "Can't. Driving," she said.

Carter knew that probably wasn't true. If she had come to Jenna's party, she would probably stay the night, even if she had brought the car. But he didn't say that, downing the drink Scott had foisted on him instead. It burned his tongue, throat and stomach, and his face contorted unpleasantly.

Scott cheered. "One more!"

Carter shook his head, unable to say no through a burning throat. But when Scott poured another inch of vodka for him, he drank that too. He would probably have drunk more if Seth hadn't come to his rescue, with a determined cheerleader glued to his arm. He took the bottle from Scott to chug a good portion straight from the neck of it, peeling Scott's drunken attention away from Carter. That gave him maybe two minutes to start feeling the heat spreading outward from his core, before Jenna came to sit on Mel's lap, at his side, holding the jello shot tray.

Carter had two more jello shots and one disgusting cup of a mixture prepared by Joey, before he started feeling too hot. But he didn't know if that was the alcohol or the girl that had clung to him in the meantime. Maybe both. Probably.