Casey dabbed a wedge into her concealer and applied the make-up to her face. She stared at her reflection in her vanity and sighed. It was the summer before her first year at college, and the last she would spend with any of her high school friends. A bittersweet moment, but she didn't think about it much. What she thought about was Sam's party tonight.
Her ex-boyfriend was notorious for throwing the best parties every summer, and since he only threw them once a year, they were always blowouts. Anyone who wanted in on the high school social scene would be there. And Casey, well, she decided since it would be the last one, it would be worth partying it up with all her classmates one last time.
Sam's parties were always themed; it kept the aesthetic factor of the party a lot more interesting year after year. Not that she would know, of course. She only attended the one between her junior and senior year; it had made sense when she was dating Max. Last summer, Sam held a Masquerade Ball and it came as no surprise it was the hit of the summer. All the attendees were still talking about it when September rolled around, and the party was held in July.
That's how big Sam's parties were.
This year, Sam thought it would be a kick to have a 20's theme. So Casey and Emily shopped around at specialty costume stores before they each bought a dress, a pair of heels and a set of satin gloves. They decided to ditch the cigarette holder – Casey thought it sent out a bad message.
As she picked up her lipstick, she put a determined look on her face. She was going to have a ton of fun with Emily tonight, and she was going to throw away her inhibitions and just enjoy herself. With positive thoughts in mind, she slipped on her costume, and continued to get ready.
Casey tried to not think about who she needed to avoid (her dreaded exes), or who she needed to accidentally "bump" into (the captain of the lacrosse team; boy was he hot), but not think altogether. She could manage no thought for one single night, right?
--
Derek arrived at Sam's house at three in the afternoon: well early enough to help him set up for the last summer bash Sam would ever host at his house. It was part of the male code or something; duty for a best friend to aid the party host to set up and sadly, clean up.
They had spent the entire latter hours of daylight setting up for the poolside speakeasy and stage. Somehow, miraculously, Sam had booked the Jonas Brothers, by some weird impossible chance, to play tonight. Derek didn't know how, and quite possibly didn't want to know how. Right now, the three brothers were soundchecking on the outdoor stage in Sam's backyard. Derek didn't understand why they were so phenomenal, but knowing that all the girls would be there by the flock solely based on the fact that the Jonas Brothers would be here was reason enough for Derek to keep his mouth shut.
"Hey Derek, I'm gonna change into my gangster outfit. I suggest you do the same. The catering company's just about done setting up and the party is gonna start in fifteen minutes. Apparently there are people outside the front door already. Get ready, man! This is gonna be the sickest party ever!"
Sam flashed a smile and pounded Derek's fist before heading up to his bedroom. Derek grabbed his change of clothes and headed instead for the guest bathroom to change.
--
The party headed into full swing, the band was getting hotter, more than hundred people had arrived and there were more at the door. Derek and Sam winked at each other. This was the party no one would ever be able to top in this town. And there they sat, on their figurative thrones, having the time of their lives. The girls were plenty and the booze was never-ending. Sam had already found someone to entertain him; he was chatting up Sarah from the tennis team.
Derek glanced around, looking for his next victim when he saw Emily and Casey enter the scene.
"Hey again, we're the Jonas Brothers and we hope y'all having a good time out here," Joe Jonas winked. The crowd cheered. "Well this next song is kinda new, but I'm pretty sure you guys have already heard it. Here it goes: this song is called Burnin' Up."
--
I'm
hot, you're cold
You go around like you know
Who I am, but
you don't
You got me on my toes
--
Casey took a couple of tentative steps onto the patio. Now that she had seen the actual party, she wasn't so sure anymore and was about to announce a rain check when Emily answered for her.
"Come on, Casey. Let's get out there!"
Casey gulped and nodded as Emily took her by the hand and dragged her onto the dance floor. She spotted Derek on the other side and caught his glance, but as always, she turned away and continued to dance with Emily.
--
I'm
slipping into the lava
And I'm tryin' to keep from going
under
Baby you turn the temperature hotter
'Cause I'm burnin'
up, burnin' up for you,
baby--
Derek quickly decided that dancing in the corner suddenly did not satisfy him, and slowly started for the middle of the dance floor. He could hear the Jonas Brothers in the background, but he couldn't be bothered to pay attention.
He had found his next victim.
--
I fell,
so fast
Can't hold myself… back
High heels; red dress
All
by yourself
Gotta catch my breath
--
There were girls to his left, right, back and front, but at this point, Derek was only concerned with one. He looked back at Sam and Sam nodded his approval and gave Derek the go to zero in. Derek nodded, and convinced himself this was completely possible.
Derek started to dance, slowly navigating his way behind her. He could feel her lean into his body, the warmth enveloping both of them. Derek relaxed, slightly grinding with her. She grinded back as they slowly but surely fell into a comfortable tempo.
-- I'm
slipping into the lava
And I'm tryin' to from going under
Baby
you turn the temperature hotter
'Cause I'm burnin' up, burnin'
up for you, baby
--
"Now what's a girl like you doing, dancing all by your lonesome?"
Casey shivered at the whispered voice in her ear. She could feel a pleasant tingling sensation running through her nerves, making her toes curl and her eyes roll back. Somehow, she magically lost her voice at the sound of his hushed tone. Instead, she gave him a silent confirmation by leaning back into him, falling into ease with her newly acquired partner.
--
I
walk in the room
All I can see is you
You're starin' me
down
I know you feel it too
--
Soon, Derek couldn't concentrate on anything besides the way her hair smelled like vanilla, or how soft her skin felt. He couldn't focus on anything besides her shockingly grey-blue eyes, or how swift she moved on the dance floor. All he could do was wait to get swept up by the tide that she was; the tide that encompassed him from every direction; the tide that carried him to the middle of the ocean where he would drown because all he could think about was how beautiful she really was.
--
As the song ended, Derek and Casey fell back to earth; back to Sam's party, back to reality.
"You know, if your dress had been a couple inches shorter, you would have made me a happy man," Derek's breath tickled Casey's ear.
"And if you stopped thinking about sex every second, you could've enjoyed the moment as it was," Casey huffed.
"Oh yeah, and what was that moment supposed to be, hmmm?"
"A girlfriend and a boyfriend dancing together just to show how in love they were with each other," she sighed dreamily.
"Well, how about I take you home, and you can show me how much you love me?"
"Okay, one more dance and then we can go home, okay Romeo?"
Derek rolled his eyes but nodded and let Casey pull him back for one last dance.
-- I'm
slipping into the lava
And I'm trying to keep from going
under
Baby you turn the temperature hotter
'Cause I'm burnin'
up, burnin' up for you, baby