Wow, my baby bump was already beginning to show. Or maybe I was just getting fat... Regardless, I stood in the mirror wearing a cute red dress with a heart shaped top, lace details, and ending around mid thigh. Conservative yet cute. I touched the little hard spot right above my pelvis bone. Would anyone notice? Probably not.
Sitting in Josh's Mini Cooper, the nearby sea wind tangled in my already wavy hair, making me smell like an ocean breeze- or so I hoped. The night sky was filled with the milk of a thousand stars, and I stared up at them as Josh sped down the highway toward the party at Crystal's mansion. My tummy flipped. As I sighed, I felt Josh squeeze my hand in a comforting gesture.
"Hey, it's going to be fine," said Josh soothingly as he turned into a neighborhood. I shook my head. My armpits were already beginning to sweat I was so nervous; in fact, my temples were already coated with little rain-droplets of sweat. I wiped my brow with a frown.
"I don't know. Didn't turn out so great last time," I mumbled. Josh darkened, letting go of my hand to give a brooding stare as he turned down another street. I bit my lip. Oh no! Why do I always seem to say the wrong thing? I dipped my head down into my chin and played with my nails as Josh sat there in silence for a few moments. After a while, Josh sighed.
"I'm really sorry about that, Adira," he said with a frown "I promise it will be better this time."
I nodded, trying to play it cool. Josh may be right. Aside from Crystal, his friends seemed genuinely nice. Aside from Cally, I didn't have any friends. It would be cool to be part of a crowd, especially the mysterious "in" crowd.
Josh pulled up the a mansion that was just as big as his, but twice as tacky. Whereas Josh's family stuck to cool tones and smooth lines, Crystal's mansion, which actually still was run by two living parents, was all color and flair. The front door was introduced by a circle drive surrounding a gigantic golden statue of an eagle, and the front door was almost shrouded by a gigantic American flag. Up the front marble steps, teens sat with beer cans, joints, and cigarettes. Inside, flashing lights showed the silhouettes of scantily clad teens. My mouth dropped open- on the front lawn, a group of rowdy boys were doing beer pong, chugging, and general binge drinking next to a gigantic keg. Rising up from the front steps was a huge white paned house. Each window revealed a different scene of teenage debauchery, in which I saw a naked girl in one dancing with several topless boys, darkness and slinky figures in a few, and a girl hanging out one and flashing herself to the boys on the lawn beneath who cheered. I turned to Josh who chuckled.
"And you wonder why I need the solace of books," he said with a cheeky grin. I bit my lip to hide a smile. He was so sweet sometimes. That smile could make almost anyone forgot the Dante's Inferno of teenage mischief in front of me. His strong chin, sweet puppy-dog eyes the crinkled a bit, his white teeth....
I shook my head, trying to snap out of it.
"Josh, where did they get all that alcohol and drugs?" I asked with a white face, I'm sure. It was horrible! Josh's party had drinking at it, but not like this. This was full-on spring break college partying! My stomach felt like the rolling sea we drove past and it took everything to keep tears from forming in my eyes. No matter what, I was still, underneath it all, shy, nerdy Adira. All I wanted was to go home to my books. This was a stupid idea.
"Crystal still has parents. Parents who will give her everything, and I mean everything. When the plague broke out, they retreated to a private cabin in the woods. They're there right now," Josh said with a frown. He didn't seem so thrilled by this. Actually, he looked down right disgusted.
"They never treated Crystal right," Josh said blatantly. I had never heard Josh really talk about Crystal before, especially not sympathetically. It made me wonder the nature of their relationship. Did they ever date? My stomach boiled at the thought. There was still so much I didn't know about Josh. Like, he was known as a player, but he never really told me how many girls he did actually sleep with. I wanted to ask, but as soon as Josh gave me that stupid smile again, I shut my mouth. Stepping out of the car, he ran around to open my door for me and hold out a hand. I took it gingerly and didn't say anything as he led me into the hell that was Crystal's party.
Once inside, I was assaulted by the smell of alcohol and, ahem, something else. Someone offered me a drink but I waved them off, telling them I was pregnant.
"So?" said the guy, wearing pretty much a toga. What was this, a college frat? "All the other preggers girls drink!" At that, the guy gestured to the dancing girls with bellies more noticeable than my tiny bump. In each of their hands, they held red cups. Were they crazy? Before I could say anything, Josh pulled me aside onto the dance floor.
"Come on cutie, let's dance!" said Josh with a laugh. I rolled my eyes and stood still. I had never danced before except that one and only time I got drunk! I would look stupid.
"No, I don't dance," I said with a frown. Josh pouted.
"Sure you do, just copy everyone else sweetheart," he said, taking my hand and swinging it to the beat. I looked around. All the girls were grinding on the guys, some were even twerking, and there was no way I would be able to manage any of that with my bony body. I shook my head like a little kid, feeling stupid. This was so not my scene, there was a reason Cally was the social one. At this, Josh frowned, so he took me by the waist and pulled me to his body. I blinked rapidly, shocked. What was he doing?
"What are you-"
"I'm teaching you to dance. Just stay close. Here," Josh took my arms, putting a hand on each of his shoulders like we were kids at a middle school dance. Unfortunately, it wasn't a slow song; in fact, "Anaconda" was playing through the speakers, making the girls twerk in double time. I blushed a deep red and looked down at my little heels. Suddenly, I felt a familiar hand on my hip. When I looked up, Josh gave a boyish grin.
"Sway your hips to the beat. Keep close to me, I'm your man" said Josh with a wink. I couldn't help but roll my eyes- he could be such a player sometimes, even now that he was married. Josh awkwardly pushed my hips so I would move to the beat until I started doing it myself. Before I knew it, Josh swung me around so my backside was on his front. I continued to move my hips awkwardly as I felt his arms snake around my waist. Leaning close to my ear, Josh whispered loud enough that I could hear him over the music.
"There you go baby girl. You got this," he said, biting my ear gently. I felt my whole body tingle in a way he could only make it. Now dancing didn't seem so bad. I could see why animals did courtship dancing- it could be quite sexy. We danced for sometime to various songs until a slow song came on, then we did the familiar slow dance I had seen on television so many times. It was nice. I laid my head to his chest like I did every night before bed now. Now that my mom was gone, he was the closest thing to family I had left. It was comforting to be so close to him.
"Adira," said Josh gently, as I laid against him, lost in thought. I looked up and saw his amazing eyes staring deep into mine. His chiseled features looked so serious right now, reminding me of the day he proposed to me when we barely knew anything about each other. Still, he remained such a mystery.
"I love you, Adira. I'm so glad we were brought together, even if at first I was scared. There is still so much you don't know about me, and I intend to find out more about you," he said, looking me dead in the eyes. I was stuck staring back at him, probably looking quite awkward, because I was mesmerized by his stare that was so full of love and dedication. He didn't even seem like the same Josh I had known in school before. It all just seemed like such a dream.
Before I knew it though, the perfect moment was ruined by the song "Booty" coming on the loud speakers. With a laugh, Josh took my hand and led me into the kitchen. He left me by the counter, going into the garage to go grab a beer. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Cally, her belly bulging inside her shirt more than mine. Happily, I ran up to her.
"Cally!" I squealed. Instantly, she twisted around, abandoning the person she was talking to to hug me. We jumped up and down, squealing like two little girls.
"Adira! Oh honey, I haven't seen you since your mom died. Girl, your texts aren't enough, I miss you!" she said with joy. I stepped back, giving her body an up-down look. Same old Cally- still as beautiful as ever, even more so now with her pregnant "glow." In her hand was a soda- I was relieved that my party girl friend was smarter than the other girls there- and she smiled at me like it was Christmas. Man, I missed her!
"I've missed you two, Cal. Wanna go outside and have some virgin-drinks with Josh? I'm sure he could make us some fake-margaritas," I said with a grin. Cally nodded and said goodbye to her friend, following me outside. We weaved our way through the drunken crowd, but no where did I see Josh. Finally, we gave up, heading outside to the back porch and finding a spot away from the smokers to have our sodas. Sitting down on the porch steps, we faced the pool, which was filled with kids looking a little strange. In the pool, people swam around with glowsticks, giving the back yard a weird glow of orange, pink, and green. Tiki torches surrounded that lavish area decorate with American flag mosaics on the water fountain, jacuzzie, and lap pool.
"What is wrong with every- oh, yeesh," said Cally, peering out at the group of swimmers. She nervously took a sip of her Sprite and I followed her eyes to a guy holding what appeared to be a small bucket, the kind that kids use to make small sandcastles. Squinting my eyes, I saw the bucket was filled with what looked like candy.
"What's wrong, Cal?" I asked. Cally shot me a look, the kind that said "you're being such an Adira right now," which was a look that was both loving yet condescending.
"It's drugs. Like, hallucinogens. LSD, I think," Cally said wisely. My eyes widened. I looked back to the kid and saw others popping the colorful drugs like candy. Nervously, I also sipped some Sprite. Did Crystal's parents let her get that or did someone just bring that? Cally shook her head.
"I'm out of here. That kid has it out for me, so watch your drink. I'm going to the bathroom, don't drink or smoke anything while I'm gone," said Cally. I nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, I'm good," I said. Cally smiled and kissed me lightly on the cheek before heading inside. I played on my phone, texting Josh and wondering where he went. Just then, another guy approached me. I recognized him from my AP English class. He had bright blue eyes and blonde hair that was fluffed up in front. On his lip was a lip ring that he bit nervously as he approached me. I eyed him cautiously, covering my drink with my palm.
"Hey, Adira, right?" he said, sitting beside me on the step. I smiled. Great. Social interaction. I guess this is what parties were all about, huh? It's not that I had anything against this guy, I just hated meeting new people. I smiled nervously.
"Yeah," I said shyly, with a blush already tinting my cheeks, I'm sure "You're Keon, right?" At that, Keon actually blushed, his face even redder than mine. He bit his lip ring and pulled his sleeves over his hands, giggling softly.
"Yup, that's me. Guess we are part of the weird first name club together, right?" he said, not meeting my eyes. I gave a little smile. That was cute. I guess he was right, although the name Keon was pretty close to Leon, which was at least a little more normal than Adira. I wanted to say that, but I was worried it would sound stupid, so instead I giggled too.
"Yeah," I said. There was a moment of awkward silence, the kind that shy people like myself knew too well, and Keon bit his lip ring so hard, I was worried he would pull it off. He sighed.
"So... how do you like the book we are reading in class?" he said at least. I let out a whoosh of air. Books. I could handle this.
"Grapes of Wrath? I love it," I said. I mustered enough courage to meet his eyes, but we both looked away with shy smiles and red faces.
"Me too," said Keon, leading to yet again more silence. Yeesh, this guy was almost as shy as me. Just then, our little talk was interrupted by Cally grabbing my arm roughly.
"Adira, you have to see this, right now!" yelled Cally. Her drink was gone and her hair was wild. I looked over at Keon who looked just as confused as me.
"What's going on?" I asked, standing up as she frantically tugged my arm.
"No time to explain, just come on!" she said, pulling me toward the door. I shrugged at Keon and followed a hasty Cally, who ran faster through the crowd than any girl on heels I had ever seen. Keon followed behind me, holding both our drinks as Cally rushed indoors. Once there, I saw a crowd of teens surrounding and cheering some people on a couch.
Cally turned to face me, her face looking sorrowful. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, not sure what she was so worried about. I jumped on my toes, trying to see over the crowd of people. A flash of blonde hair. A tan arm. Finally, I got through the crowd only to see Josh tangled up with some girl. Not just any girl- Crystal. In one hand was a joint, the other a can of beer. She was on his lap, kissing him and pouring beer into his mouth between kisses, making the crowd cheer. I felt tears well up in my eyes. How could he! After everything we had been through. This was worse than the coffee incident by far, and I felt like my heart was ripped in half on the floor in front of me. Tears ran down my face as I turned, running away from the crowd and back into the night, Cally and Keon following behind me.
A/N- Hey everyone, I am so sorry I haven't updated in over two weeks. I've finally finished college and unpacked my room. Updates will now come every day, if I am good. Thank you all so much for the messages and support, I hope this exciting chapter was worth the wait. Comment below what you think the baby's gender/name should be, as well as how much you hate Josh rn. Ily all, see you tomorrow!