AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER SIX
APRIL 2012
Sean and Ronnie agreed to come back to the girl’s house—whatever her name was, I had barely heard it. Emily? Something like that. I explained to Sean that Drew was cool, and we could go back to my new friend’s girlfriend’s place for an afterparty. It took no convincing at all.
Drew’s eyes were locked onto the stage, and he bobbed his head to match the fast tempo of the song. Simple Plan was almost done with their set, and they were damn good. Even though the live music was hypnotic, and the bass threaded itself deep within my veins, I still felt compelled to look over at Drew every song or so. Why was that? I tried not to for fear of creeping him out, but I swore I’d seen him eye me a couple of times, too.
The air was thick from those pressed side by side in the pit. More people had arrived after Simple Plan began their set, and now Drew and I were elbow to elbow.
In between Simple Plan and All Time Low, Drew wordlessly took my empty beer cup and made his way back to the bar. Now, I stood by the blond girl he was with.
“I’m sorry,” I said loud enough for her to hear, “I totally didn’t hear your name before. Can you tell me again?”
Her face brightened and her round, blue eyes twinkled. “Emma! I’m Drew’s girlfriend.”
“Oh, I see.” My face fell, and I quickly covered it up with a strained smile. The two didn’t seem like they were together, but what did I know? I’d only gotten to second base once, and I’d surely never dated anyone before. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Emma. Thank you for inviting us back to your place.”
She laughed and took a sip of beer. She was still on her first drink, but her cheeks were flushed, and she seemed a bit wobbly. Perhaps she had a secret flask, too.
“It’ll be fun!” Emma said. She lowered her voice a tad before she murmured, “The other two we’re with are kind of…boring isn’t the right word, but...” she trailed off with a nonchalant shrug.
I kind of understood what she meant, even though I hadn’t interacted with the other two.
“They probably won’t even stay at my place long,” Emma resumed. “All they do is brood and fuck.”
That made me laugh.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
I shook my head. “Nah.”
Emma looked me up and down, not bothering to hide the fact that she was checking me out. “Shame. I have a few girlfriends who’d be more than happy to go out with you, I’m sure.” She winked.
My gut twisted a bit. I was about to respond when Drew came back. He wiggled himself in between us, kissed Emma on top of her golden head, then handed me a drink that was definitely not beer.
“You didn’t have to get me an—”
He clinked his drink against mine. “Shh. It’s an old fashioned. I want a good buzz before Blink comes on.”
Emma and the other girl, the broody one, disappeared. Maybe to get more drinks or visit the restroom. Either way, their absence didn’t bother me. In fact, I was relieved when they left. As soon as they were gone, I leaned into Drew a bit more.
“Is Blink-182 your favorite?” I asked.
A playful, crooked smile came to life on his lips. “One of many.”
I laughed. “Mine, too.”
I’d never experiencedanything like that before in my entire life.Simple Plan and All Time Low were fantastic. It was like each note they played and each word they sang crept into my soul and held onto my body as tightly as they could. I never wanted the feeling to stop. I couldn’t live without it.
We danced and bobbed our heads. We head banged and laughed. Drew and I sang at the top of our lungs, which I felt comfortable doing because no one would hear me over the music. Sean danced with the same girl he’d met outside, and they made out through the second half of All Time Low. I couldn’t help but grin. They weren’t the only ones making out. Everywhere I looked, people were close together, dancing, laughing, or holding hands. Something about the live music set our souls aflame.
Before Blink-182 came on, Drew went to get us a couple more drinks. That time, I offered to come with him, despite feeling wobbly from the alcohol. He smiled and motioned for me to follow. I stood a little way back from the bar just in case the bartenders decided they wanted to ID me or question why Drew kept getting two of each beverage.
From where I stood away from the bar, my eyes were free to take in Drew without the worry that he’d get weirded out by me staring at him. Itwaskind of weird how I was so drawn to a person I’d met less than an hour ago—but no matter how hard I tried, my gaze kept wandering back to him. At the bar, he leaned against the table casually and used his elbows to prop himself up. I couldn’t see his face, but the bartender looked amused, so they must have been talking about something. After a moment, Drew ran a hand over the beanie on his head, then stood up and stretched his long arms behind his back. He shot the bartender a crooked smile and placed a couple of dollars in the tip jar, then grabbed our drinks and made his way back to me.
We tapped our plastic cups together in a salute, then took a sip before we trudged back through the crowd. That was the only thing that got to be a bit much—the amount of people. It was stuffy and claustrophobic, especially with the alcohol heating me from the inside out. I did my best to focus on my feet, or Drew, or my breathing so that I didn’t get caught up in the feeling of the walls closing in around me.
It was impossible to get back to the spot where we’d originally been. The people were pressed in too tight in preparation for Blink-182.
