In This Life (Sequel to 'In Another Life')

36

"She's an old friend from Georgia," I said, talking above the crowd. "Do you know everyone?" I asked, so that I could finish introductions, if needed. She nodded, her face flushing as I noticed Aryia look her up and down. "Damn, we may need to make a trip down south if this is how they make em," Tavan said, slapping Chaz on the back, as his eyes went from me, to the rest of my friends, one by one. Colby laughed, and wrapped both of his arms around me. "They do make em pretty good, don't they?" I rolled my eyes at him, and kissed him quickly. "Let's get this party started for real! Neece, turn the music up!" I stood there for a moment, watching everyone talk and start doing different things. Colby walked over to Brennen, who had dried off, and started putting the food on the grill. Sarah, Denise and Kenzie were dancing with the rest of the girls, over by the pool. Sam had started a game of Kick the Can, revised with his own rules, and had most of the guys out there with him. It was nice having a big back yard for things like this. How did I get so lucky? I never imagined my life like this. Okay, maybe I did, but I never thought it would actually happen. It was always just a dream. I saw Amber standing off by herself, next to the table that we all had formerly been sitting in. She was people watching, twisting her fingers anxiously. She was nervous. I knew the signs well. I walked over to her and sat down in the chair that she was standing next too. "Hey, you can sit down if you want," I said, laughing a little. She smiled at me gratefully, and took the seat next to me. "Sorry. I just don't know anyone all that well, besides you. I know your other friends don't particularly like me, and I don't want to intrude." I automatically felt bad for her. "Amber, I know it's hard to make new friends, but these people are amazing. All of them. I promise. You can start fresh because the only people that know anything about you are Kenzie, Sarah, and Denise. Plus Colby. Otherwise, no one knows anything," I tried to reassure her. She nodded, then turned her head towards the girls dancing. Tavan, Chazz, and Corey had joined in, doing some complicated thing that I would never be able to do, even if my body was well. She was biting her lip, watching them with a hunger in her eyes. She wanted to belong, to make friends. I made up my mind, stood up, and held my hand out to her. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Come on," I said, smiling at her, then nodding towards the dancers. "You wanna dance. So let's go dance." She looked confused then. "But I thought you couldn't dance." I shrugged, and rolled my hips. "I feel fine. Come on." She hesitated, but eventually smiled and put her hand in mine. I lead her over to the dancers, then stepped in beside Katrina. Amber fell in beside me. Kat grinned, then slowed down her steps so that we could follow along. I wasn't lying. I did feel great. I was having the time of my life, being with my friends, old and new, just playing around, acting crazy. I was convinced that there was nothing better in this world. The song changed, and we all started jumping around, cheering. "Hey, that's me!" I heard Elias exclaim. I looked over to him and grinned. "You're damn right it is. Your music is a house favorite around here." He smiled back and nodded. "Sweet." We all chimed in and recited the words to his song 'Mad Hatter.' By the time it was over, we were all breathless, and sweating. "Okay, I'm jumping in the pool. I'm hot," Devyn said, wiping her hand across her brow. "Yea, me too," Tara chimed in. She looked over to the rest of us. "You guys coming?" "Yeah," I said nodding. "I need to go get a towel though." "Need me to go get it?" Denise asked, looking at me with concern. I smiled and shook my head. "No, I'm okay. Really. I feel great." I honestly did. Better than I had felt in a very long time. I saw Amber looking down at the ground, sort of shuffling her feet. "Hey, are you going to get in the pool with us?" She met my gaze and shook her head. "No, I didn't know that I was going to need a swimsuit so I didn't bring one. It's okay though. I'll just hang out around the edge so that I can talk to you guys. Go get your towel." I rolled my eyes at her, and grabbed her hand. "Come on. I've got an extra one that you can borrow." She followed me inside my house, and to my room. I dug through my drawers and found a sunflower yellow one piece that had open areas on each side. "Here, this will look great with your skin tone," I said, tossing it to her. I kept looking for which one I was going to wear while she got changed. "There you are," I muttered when I had finally found it. I pulled out the pieces of the swimsuit and smiled, remembering the last time I had worn it. It was old, but I could never throw it away. Even when I got multiple new ones, this one had always stuck around in the back of my drawer. "Oh, that is so cute," Amber replied, looking down at the white bikini, with the little black roses on it. I grinned and nodded. "One of my favorites. Haven't worn it in a while though." I changed, and left my clothes laying on my bed. Instead, I grabbed an oversize t-shirt that I could use after we got out of the pool. "Oh wait, I need to grab the towels too," I replied. "I'll be right back." I went to the bathroom, and grabbed two towels. When I turned back around, the mirror caught my eyes. The mirror that was in front of the medicine cabinet.