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“Hey, this is my first party ever,” I said, reminding them of my previously cloistered lifestyle. “Can I at least get a beer in first before I’m tossing my virginity at random guys?”
All the girls laughed, but I was serious. I was okay with baby steps, and while I wouldn’t mind some flirting and conversation, there was no way that I was going to sleep with a guy for the first time at some drunken house party. Even if I wasn’t particularly attached to my virginity, I didn’t need the whole school knowing that I had given it away.
“No one said that you had to auction off your virginity,” Julie said, still chuckling a bit. “But there’s nothing wrong with a little finger action.”
Even though it wasn’t any of their business, it wasn’t like my social life was a secret. Everyone knew that Talon had kept a tight lid on my life, so I didn’t feel embarrassed saying, “I haven’t even kissed a guy yet. Finger action is still a little too advanced for me right now.”
“Holy shit, are you serious?” Macey asked. “You’ve really never even kissed a guy.”
“You say that like you don’t know who Talon Draven is, Macey,” Calliope drawled out.
Macey grimaced. “That’s a fair point.”
“Okay, let’s leave the girl alone,” Deidra announced. “She’s here to have a good time, and we should let her.” She threw me a wink. “Besides, Edie’s smart enough to know what she wants and doesn’t want. She doesn’t need us in her ear about anything.”
“Thank you,” I mouthed.
“You’re welcome,” she mouthed back.
However, before anyone could agree or disagree with Deidra, three guys came walking up to our little group, and I recognized them as Martin Nordstrom, Max Halford, and Julius Quant. They all played baseball, and they all looked like they’d played baseball. There was just something sexy about athletes, though I didn’t really have a kind. Had Lars not scared off Danny Mason, it might be him approaching our group right now. However, much to my stinging disappointment, Larshadscared him off, proving his point about the cowards at Lakeside.
“Hey, ladies,” Max greeted, his blue eyes twinkling mischievously. “What do we have going on over here?”
Max settled in between Julie and Macey, while Martin and Julius had made their way in between Deidra and Tiffany. Since we were in the backyard, there was plenty of room for everyone, but my inexperience made things feel a bit suffocating. I had no flirting skills, and I’d sounded like a thirteen-year-old earlier when I’d been confessing just how inexperienced I really was. None of these girls were virgins, and I had admitted to having never kissed a guy before.
I was such an idiot.
“Just hanging out and girl talk,” Julie answered coyly, and I wondered if she practiced that flirty response or if it just came naturally to her.
“Going for the hard stuff there, Draven,” Martin teased, and I could immediately feel my cheeks pinken with embarrassment.
“I have…to get up early in the morning,” I replied like a total nutjob.
Max must have sensed my unease because he walked over, threw his arm around my shoulder, then said, “You’re probably the smartest one at this entire party, then.”
I smiled, grateful that he wasn’t making me feel like an idiot. “You mean the boringest?”
“C’mon, Edie,” he said. “Let’s go find some place to talk.”
Holy shit.
Chapter 9
The surprises that don’t feel wise.
Edie~
Without protest, I let Max Halford lead me over by the back porch, and I had blood rushing through my ears so loudly that I could barely hear what he was saying.
“Edie!”
Both Max and I turned to see Calliope looking at us, and she looked worried, which was sweet as hell. Again, we weren’t close, but it seemed like we were really becoming good friends. Like a simpleton, I threw my thumb up in the air, letting her know that I was okay. While she still looked concerned, she just gave me a terse nod, and I knew that she was probably going to check on me if I stayed away too long.
When Max and I got to the back porch, there were a couple of trays of party favors on the patio table, and I did my best to act like it didn’t bother me. While I didn’t have any personal experience with drugs, I wasn’t naïve enough to believe that they didn’t happen at parties like this one. I also did my best not to judge what was happening back here. Almost everyone had shit in their lives, and you never knew who was drinking and partying for the fun of it, or who was drinking and partying for an escape.
“Did you want to try anything while we’re back here?”
I looked up at Max’s face, and he didn’t look like he cared about my answer one way or the other. He was just staring down at me with those crystalline blue eyes of his. He looked to be around six-foot, had light blonde hair, startling blue eyes, and he had a face that reminded you of the quintessential baseball star from somewhere like Nebraska. No doubt about it, Max Halford was pretty, and his body was honed from years of playing sports.
