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Chapter One
Erica
"Canyoubelievewe'llfinally be at one of the cool parties?"
Amanda turned around from the passenger seat to look at me as we parked by the trees next to hundreds of other cars. I didn't know who owned the land and hoped they wouldn't find us all and call the cops before I did what I'd come to do.
I looked down at my short black and pink dress, fishnets, and Converse, hoping it would be enough for him. Finally, I was going to tell Aaron how I felt. I was going to kiss him and show him how I felt. We were both single, and we would leave together.
"Earth to Erica!" Amanda said, popping gum in her mouth.
"Enjoy it while it lasts," I said, smiling at her. "I don't plan on being here that long."
She shrugged and went off, struggling to navigate the terrain in her heels. We'd come as a group of four. None of us were super close, just convenient to each other. All misfits in some way. Not rebellious enough to be with the troublemakers and not popular enough to be with the popular group. But we weren't nerds, either.
We were just us.
Aaron and I crossed those stupid high school boundary lines anyway. Of course, we were neighbors first. Our parents were cheesy, always discussing how we played in diapers together. On the other hand, I preferred the idea of us playing in an entirely different way.
Aaron was hot. A troublemaker. The kind who toed the line. He got in just enough trouble to seem cool and rebellious but not enough to ruin his future.
I pulled out my phone and texted him, hoping to find him quickly. I was a little paranoid about the whole party-in-the-woods-and-underage-drinking thing. It was graduation, and we deserved to celebrate, but I had a scholarship to college. I wasn't looking forward to losing my scholarship over a party. There would be plenty of those in the dorms.
Stay put. I'll come to find you.
I smiled at the text and turned my flashlight on so he could find me more easily. I leaned against a tree, with the music from a couple of cars and the shouting of some drunk teens reaching my ears. Lights and people were dancing in a clearing ahead, but I hung back. The darkness could be like an aphrodisiac.
Who was I kidding? Wouldn't Aaron have kissed me after all these years if he wanted to?
I shook my head. I couldn't think like that. I had to be confident. Besides, underneath his calm exterior, he was a bleeding heart. I had sat by and watched no less than three girls destroy him in the past two years.
I felt him before I saw him. He wrapped his arms around me before I could even say hello. His blonde hair was perfectly spiked, and his tux was covered in embellishments here and there, like studs around the pocket where a black rose stuck out. He smelled amazing. Like a concert hall, bubblegum, and the woods all mixed into one.
"Hey, you."
"You're not drunk, are you?" I asked him.
I wanted him to be sober for our first kiss. It wouldn't do for him to be too drunk to remember what happened between us tonight.
"No, not yet." He pulled away but took my hand.
I wanted to see it as a sign of intimacy, but we were always like this. Our hands swung as one as we made our way into the house where the main party was going on. If it weren't for Aaron and I, I knew people would think we were together by the hand-holding, but that's just how we were.
"Don't you two look cozy?" Amanda called out as she flipped her long hair over her shoulder.
I tried not to flush at her words, but I spared a glance at Aaron. He smiled as he dropped my hand and wrapped his arm around me instead.
"We're the coziest," Aaron replied, pointing his tongue out at Amanda.
Amanda shot me a look with raised eyebrows as I leaned into Aaron's embrace. His arm fit around my shoulders perfectly, like I was molded for him. I wanted to keep the goofy grin off my red-painted lips, but I couldn't help it. I was giddy.
Aaron and I continued to walk farther into the party. Everyone said hi to Aaron or nodded at him as he passed. While he had a bad-boy rep, he was popular and well-liked by everyone in our school.
"Hey, Aaron, nice arm candy," William Dean yelled.
William was an asshole who constantly made jokes about me to Aaron. I had no clue why, but Aaron always had my back.
"She is quite gorgeous, ain't she?"
