The moment Kiera closed her parents' front door, Jenna looked at her with wide eyes. "What?" Kiera asked, turning her palms up.
"I hope to god you won't be following Luke and me around the whole night," Jenna said. "Tell me that was a lie to make your parents feel better and you're still talking to James."
"Of course," said Kiera, playing with the long strap on her purse. "But if all goes wrong, I'm hanging out with you two. So, whatever you're planning on doing, get it out of the way fast."
"Kiera," Jenna let her jaw hang open slightly. "Luke and I like to drink before finding a room. It's more fun that way."
Kiera and Jenna got into Jenna's bright red Sedan. "That sounds terrible," Kiera responded. "Don't you get sick all over each other?"
"Pfft, no," Jenna laughed. "You have to drink a certain amount to get sick. I did that at Luke's Fourth of July party this summer, and it was not fun. I was in his parents' bathroom for two hours. Thank god they were on vacation."
Kiera had gotten into a giant argument with her parents about that party because they wanted her to stay home. Now that she heard about Jenna puking her guts out, she was more grateful for her parents' command.
"Also, we may need to stay a little later than 11:00 because I'll need to sober up," Jenna told Kiera as she started driving.
"I don't feel like being grounded, so I can drive your car back if you want," Kiera said.
"Absolutely not. I don't trust anyone with my baby. Not even my own mother."
"You don't trust your mom with anything, though," Kiera pointed out.
"Yeah, and for good reason," said Jenna. "This car will smell like cigarette smoke and cheap cologne if she uses it even once."
"Is she dating anyone right now?" Kiera asked, hoping Jenna's mother was finally settling down. Jenna's mom had gotten pregnant at eighteen, but she didn't know who the father was. Jenna used to spend hours researching different ancestorial websites looking for her birth dad. She never expected anything from this man, considering he likely had no idea about her, but she wanted to confirm that she wasn't some kind of alien baby, as she suspected (and shared this superstition with Kiera) when she was a little younger.
"Not at the moment," Jenna muttered an answer. "At least she finally got her damn tubes tied. I was worried I'd end up with a sibling with only half of my DNA."
Kiera couldn't imagine not knowing who she came from. Her family had always been extra careful regarding their roots. It baffled her how Jenna's mom could be so nonchalant about it. Perhaps Jenna would have kids someday and record their history more efficiently.
Kiera heard pop music blaring from the mansion-like house as Jenna parked on the side of the road. "God, I love Noah's house," Jenna sighed. "I'm living in one like this one day." Kiera smiled at her friend, though she didn't agree. She thought a house this big would require too much energy to keep up with, and what was the point unless someone had five-plus kids?
The closer they got to the house, the tighter the knots in Kiera's stomach became. She almost hoped James got sick and didn't show up. Did she actually think she could do this? What was she thinking? She lacked everything she figured James looked for in a girl: outstanding beauty, confidence...
Ugh, confidence. Kiera would be confident if she looked more like Jenna.
"Let's go find your man." It felt like Jenna violently shoved Kiera even further into her uneasy thoughts with that statement.
"Stop, he's not my man," Kiera forced a laugh. "I don't even know what will happen."
Jenna rolled her eyes. "Ok. He's not your man yet. Come on, help me look for him. I know you can spot him from miles away." She tugged at Kiera's wrist.
With a demurring look on her face, Kiera let Jenna drag her through the crowd of strangers. She suddenly felt exposed in her dress, as if everyone was shrinking her down and studying her through a magnifying glass. Did something happen to her makeup? Was her hair still in place? Did she still look similar to Jenna?
"Oh look, there's Luke," Jenna smirked before waving him down.
Luke drunkenly stumbled towards the girls; his dark hair disheveled around his eyes. "Babe, let's go dance," he held Jenna's waist. "Want something to drink first?"
"Baby, where's James?!" Yelled Jenna over the music.
A wide smirk covered Luke's face. "He's in the kitchen. There are some good snacks in there, Kiera. You might want to check them out."
"Go ahead, girl," Jenna giggled, swaying to the music with Luke. "You've got this." Before Kiera could argue, Luke pulled his girlfriend into the mass of people in the living room.
Kiera froze up. Her mind raced with delusional thoughts about how maybe one of her and Jenna's other friends would be there to rescue her and get her out of there. But she knew she was surrounded by seniors. She had no choice but to suck it up and say "hello." How hard could one word be?
When Kiera saw James leaning on the marble bar top counter with a bottle of beer in his right hand, one word felt more like an entire public speech. At least he wasn't looking directly at her. She could manage walking forward as long as his eyes were fixed elsewhere.
As she ventured closer, Kiera decided it was best to keep her head down. That way, if James did happen to look at her, she wouldn't know. She had to find some way to "accidentally" run into him without humiliating herself. Kiera noticed James's blue and white sneakers next to the cooler—damn, she was much closer to him than she thought—and impulsively bent over to grab whatever drink would make its way into her hand.
Kiera stood upright with her bottle of whatever, and her hazel eyes met electric blue. Her breath caught in her throat. There he was, with the yellow kitchen lights midasing his otherwise ash blonde hair.
"You like Rainier, too?" James asked.
Oh, god. What was Kiera supposed to say to that? What was he talking about? Was Rainier a football team around here? Was it the mountain close to Tacoma and Seattle? Was it a sports brand? Oh, no, what was it?! "I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the loud music," Kiera said. "What are you asking?" Please elaborate more this time, she thought.
"The beer," James held up his drink. "I just noticed we have the same type in our hands," he chuckled. "My friends say it's nasty, so it's nice to see someone else who likes it."
Kiera looked down at the bottle she held. A red, bold R took up half the space on the label, followed by the rest of the word. How stupid could she be? She'd seen Jenna drink this all the time at parties. "Oh, yeah, well it's my first drink, so I wanted to start with something that looked good."
"Really? Your first drink ever?" James asked. "Not even a sip on New Year's Day?"
"No," Kiera shook her head, wishing she'd fibbed. James was probably laughing on the inside just like her friend group did when they found out she had never tasted alcohol before.
"Then you picked the perfect drink," James said with a grin. "It's Kiera, right?" He pulled out one of the black stools from under the counter.
Kiera nodded in response. "Did Luke tell you that?"
"Yeah," James replied. "I wanted to ask you myself, but he caught me staring and said you were kind of shy," he chuckled.
"Yeah," Kiera looked away as the blood rushed to the surface of her cheeks. "I mean, I'm not that shy. It really depends." She couldn't believe Luke exposed her like that. James probably hated shy girls.
James gazed at her for a moment before speaking. "I get that. Luke also told me that you like veggie straws. Is that true? I hope I didn't bring these to the party for nothing." He reached back and grabbed a giant bag that held multiple smaller bags of zesty ranch chips.
"Yeah, it's true," Kiera laughed. She now knew that Jenna had been feeding Luke information about her because she had never personally told Luke what her favorite snack was.
"Thank god," James teased, handing Kiera one of the mini bags and taking one for himself. "I like these, too, but I wasn't gonna eat 'em until I was sure you liked them."
"What?" Kiera smiled. "You can eat whatever you want."
"I know, but I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of you."
Kiera was flabbergasted, but she felt a little more comfortable now. "Embarrassed? How could you feel embarrassed? I felt embarrassed when you asked about my drink." She awkwardly sat down next to him, noting the small distance between their legs.
"I didn't want to make a bad first impression," chuckled James. "Since I'm on the football team, I'm supposed to eat healthy. What are they gonna think if I'm eating this delicious snack all alone?"
"I don't think anyone would care that much," said Kiera, looking at him strangely.
"I'm just kidding," James said. "But I really do want to make an impression since you're so beautiful."
Kiera felt hot. This was too good to be real. "Are you being serious right now? This isn't something Jenna and Luke told you to do?"
"What would Jenna and Luke tell me to do?" Asked James.
"I don't know, talk to me in the first place?" She cringed.
James gave her a lopsided grin. "All they told me was what your favorite snack was. Neither Jenna nor Luke could tell me to do anything. Like I said, I've been looking at you before I even knew your name, Kiera. You sit diagonal from me in Algebra class, after all. I have the perfect view."
Kiera covered her tomato-red face with her hand. "Ugh, I'm sorry for being so awkward. I just thought you—liked another girl or something. Like someone on the cheer team. They're always supporting all the football games."
"Yeah, they do, and I appreciate it, but they're all in it for our potential in the future," he explained before taking a swing of beer. "You know Vera?"
"Yeah," Kiera nodded.
James leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I overheard her talking to her friends by the lockers about how they should start dating the football players they believe will make it to the NFL."
"Wow," Kiera blinked. "That doesn't surprise me, but it's low."
"I can't trust any of them," James said.
"I don't blame you." Kiera winced in pain as she attempted to open the beer with her fingers.
"Here, let me help you," offered James with a chuckle. "You're gonna cut yourself trying to do it like that."
Kiera handed him the drink and watched as he took a silver bottle opener attached to a keychain ring out of his right jeans pocket. "Well, now I feel stupid," she frowned.
"Don't feel stupid," James told her, allowing their fingers to brush as he gave her back the bottle. "Once you start drinking more, you'll get the hang of it."
"Thank you," Kiera smiled. She took a tiny sip of the beer and instantly recoiled, sending James into a fit of laughter.
"I'm not making fun of you," he assured. "The look on your face was just so cute. It tastes super bitter the first time you drink it."
"It tastes like soggy bread," Kiera grimaced.
James kept laughing. "It kind of does. Not that I ever had soggy bread. Just a guess. So, what's your excuse for that comparison?" He joked.
"I don't know," Kiera started laughing with him, "probably an incident when I was a child wondering what watered-down bread tastes like. But apparently, they made a drink for it."
It took Kiera another thirty minutes to finally finish the bottle of beer. James congratulated her, acting as if she won a marathon, making her laugh once again. James had been on his third beer by then, but he stopped and asked Kiera if she wanted to go to the park down the block. Beyond excited, she texted Jenna about it, figuring her friend would see it later.
James used the flashlight on his phone after he and Kiera stepped away from the streetlights around the sidewalks. He refused to let her use her own flashlight so he could hold her hand and guide her across the grass to the playground.
They got on the swings next to each other. "I'm so glad to be out of there," whispered James, keeping their hands intertwined between the chains.
Kiera jutted out her lips. "What do you mean? I thought you loved parties."
"Only small ones. I feel like I'm suffocating around large groups of people. I haven't told Luke about this yet because I don't think he gets it."
The tension Kiera had on her shoulders eased. All this time, she had thought James was the perfect social butterfly. "I get it," she said. "I've been to a few parties with Jenna, but I never really liked them that much. There's too many people."
"Yeah," James let out a breath. "I feel like everyone's judging me, too."
"You read my mind."
The two looked up at the stars scattered across the Washington sky. Kiera thought about the fact that James had already opened up to her when he felt he couldn't open up to his friends and vice versa. Maybe this was fate.
"I haven't been here in years," Kiera giggled, breaking the silence.
"Me neither," James smiled.
"Oh god," Kiera started giggling more, "Last time I was here, my little sister was trying to push me on the swing, but she was much shorter than me, so she ended up falling face-down on the ground."
James chuckled. "That kind of shit makes me want siblings."
Kiera slowed down her swing. "You're an only child?"
"Mhm," he nodded. "It has its perks, but it gets lonely sometimes."
"Jenna used to say that. I bet it does," Kiera said.
"I also bet your little sister's a pain, though, huh?" James laughed.
"Yeah, but maybe it's better than being lonely," she frowned.
James shrugged. "Eh. Both could be great but like hell at the same time."
"You just described my family," Kiera giggled.
"Well, my parents are assholes, so I'm pretty much stuck in hell," James chuckled nervously.
"As in annoying?"
"Nah," he kicked woodchips on the ground. "They're more like bullies who peaked in high school."
"What do you mean?" Kiera asked softly. "Are they mean to you?"
"Only verbally," answered James. "They tell me I'm worthless and shit. And they say that I'll never make anything of myself because my grades suck and I don't wanna go to college."
"College isn't for everyone," Kiera repeated what her parents had always told her and Amara. "They shouldn't judge you based on your performance in school. I just got to know you tonight, and I can already say that you're not worthless." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
James looked Kiera in the eyes and then stroked her cheek. "I've never met someone like you, Kiera. Before I ask this, I promise I'm not drunk. I have a high tolerance," he laughed. "Can I kiss you?" James slowly leaned towards her.
Kiera was in another galaxy. With her luck, she'd wake up any second, and this would all be just a dream. She absentmindedly nodded and heard herself say "yes."
Their lips met, and Kiera tried her best to kiss the "right" way—the way she saw couples do it in movies. She sighed blissfully when she felt James's warm hand resting on the back of her neck.
A bright chiming noise interrupted their kiss. Kiera groaned. "I'm so sorry; someone's texting me." She pulled her phone out of her purse. "Of course, it's my sister. She had to remind me that I only have two hours left till I have to come home."
"That's so mean," James snickered.
"I know. She's terrible." Kiera put her phone back. "I'm kinda hungry. We should go eat more veggie straws."
"That sounds good right now," James agreed, pulling Kiera closer and pecking her cheek. "But before we get back to the noise, I just want to tell you I'd really like a date with you. At least one."
Kiera blushed. "I'd like one with you too, James."
James let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "So glad I got that out of the way. For real, you're the most intimidating girl I've ever asked out. The other girls came to me first, and it got old. I'm glad I could chase you for a change."
The rest of the night passed by quickly. Kiera and James talked nonstop for the remaining two hours and exchanged numbers. Kiera considered staying at the party for even longer and risking getting grounded, but Jenna talked her out of it because she had a "motherfucking headache" and wanted to get some rest.
Despite Jenna's headache, she managed to be excited about Kiera's kiss and future date with James while she drove her home. "I knew you could do it, bitch!" Jenna threw a lazy fist in the air. "I'll talk to you about it more tomorrow when my head feels better."
Kiera smiled and nodded. "I know. I just can't believe he likes me."
"Who wouldn't like you?" Jenna said. "You're HOT, and you better start believing it."
"Maybe I can, now," replied Kiera. If the most attractive guy in school considered her attractive, then nothing was impossible.
When Kiera got home, she snuck past Amara, who was passed out on the couch in the middle of some cartoon episode. Hushed voices came from her parents' bedroom, so she texted them that she was back and fibbed about feeling too tired to talk. James said he'd text her as soon as he could, so Kiera took her phone to the bathroom and kept it on the windowsill while she showered.
Later, as she brushed her teeth, Kiera received a text from him.
James: I had so much fun with you 2nite ;)
Kiera couldn't wipe the smile off of her face. Me too :), she texted back, hardly noticing the foamy clumps of toothpaste falling from her mouth onto the tile.
For once, she couldn't wait for the first day of school.
Notes:
"Midasing" is a made-up word by me. I personified the kitchen lights shining on James's hair. When they were "midasing" James's hair, they were making it appear golden, as King Midas in Greek mythology turned everything he touched into gold.
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