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Next evening, I close my curtains, just in case Tyson was actually being wise about something as he was overwhelmed by whatever he drank. There are tests that prove your smarter when you drink you know.
Or maybe I just made that up at one point in my head. I honestly don't remember.
And what did he mean when he said, "In a way, it's my first kiss, too"?
Does that mean that it was his first time being someone's first kiss?
No way. Tyson must be at least five girls' first kiss, I'm sure. I mean, seriously, everyone is in desperate love with him. Except me, of course. So that's not what he meant, I guess. Oh! I know. He probably meant it was the first time kissing someone that dislikes him.
That makes sense. That's what he means, right? If that's what he meant, why do I have this weird feeling that.. it's not it?
Maybe he said it just because he knows it'll bother me! That's it! I roll my eyes. I cannot believe I let him get to me like that.
After school, Massie calls me. Not that I have a cell phone. She called me at my house phone.., or, um, her guesthouse phone.
"Yeah?" I ask, wondering what she could possibly want from me. If she asks me for my homework, I'll just give her all the wrong answers.
"Claire?"
"Yeah?"
"I have a party tonight at my house, ah-bviously you know about it."
"Yeah?"
"Uh, Kuh-laire?"
"Yeah, Mah-ssie?"
"Do nawt pop out the first syllable of my name like that. You do nawt do that to my name. You see, I only get to do it. That's my thing. You go get your own thing." I hear her scoff, "LBR."
"This LBR is going to hang up now," I say.
"Don't you dare," Massie sounds like a porcupine would when it's bristling its spikes in anger.
"What do you want?" I ask, impatient.
"It's nawt like you have anything better to do than talk to me, so don't pretend you have a life," Massie says and I just roll my eyes. She continues, obviously pleased I don't say anything, "You have to be at the party. My Mom is making me invite everyone. She wants you there, especially. It's our way of 'bonding'. But you stay away from me there, okay?"
"With pleasure," I say, "I don't even want to go."
"If you don't, my Mom won't let me have the party," Massie snaps, "She'll think I didn't want you there, which I don't, but she's not supposed to know that."
"Fine, fine!" I wince, "If your voice gets any higher, I'll have a seizure."
This is so stupid. I didn't know Massie invited boys, but then again, it's probably her brother's party too. Everyone is dancing with each other, and I think games of Dirty Dice, Are You Nervous? and Spin the Bottle are popping up. I'm uncomfortable when guys try to invite me in the game. I ignore them.
Okay, I'm leaving!
And then I spot him... not Tyson. Josh. I almost shout my name at him, but then we aren't close like that so he'll probably think I'm a stalker. But then he spots me, and waves me over. I walk over to him, and he's with all his soccer buddies. "Claire, hey!" When Josh smiles, it's extra bright against his tan skin.
"Hey, Josh," I try not to giggle.
"Hey, hey, now who's this?" some guy looks at me with suggestive raising of his eyebrows.
"Shut the hell up, Kemp," Josh says, "You're freaking her out."
"I don't bite," Kemp reassures, and then growls, "Unless you're into that kind of thing."
"And who says I'm not?" I ask, with a wink, and I could tell Kemp didn't expect that by his sudden nervousness. "Being perverted is not a talent, okay? So don't be so full of yourself."
"Whoa, she got you there, bro," Josh laughs, and I glow with pride when I could see that he admires me. We stare at each other for a moment, and then I get embarrassed and look away.
"I'm, um, thirsty," I murmur.
"Oh, I'll get you soda, it's over there," Josh quickly offers, and I nod gratefully. He shoots a warning glance at Kemp, and says, "Watch it."
"What? I'm not going to touch anything," Kemp says, raising his hands up.
"I can handle him," I assure Josh.
When Josh leaves, Kemp hands a drink out to me and says, "Oh, whaddaya know? There's a drink right here." I cautiously take it. "Yeah, yeah, it's spiked, okay?"
"Uh, not okay," I say, holding it away from me and remembering that this same exact drink made Tyson kiss me, "You guys could go get wasted, while I just.. sit back and laugh!"
"What, are you scared?" Kemp says, with a sneaky grin, "You're not afraid to stand up to me but you're afraid of this? See, I admit it, I bite, but a cup of this won't." I make a face at the drink anyway. "I knew it," Kemp says, "You make yourself out to be tough, but you're squeamish at one little cup of a drink. You're all talk, and no action... Watch me drink it-" I swipe it away from his hands.
"No way, why do you get to have all the fun?" I say. I see the glint in his eyes that tell me this is exactly what he wanted me to do and what he expected of me. I should just throw the drink in his dumb face. But I don't. Because when there's a dare, Claire Lyons will be there to do it. I throw my head back and gulp the whole thing down. "Yeaaah! That was sweeeet!"
Tyson's POV:
The party is okay. I've had better. Alicia is going crazy with the drinks and even though everyone else is, I don't want to drink. Tyson Block does not make a fool of himself.
Except in front of Claire.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?! I ignore that thought, and then I find her, dancing on top of the table. Whoa. I blink a few times. Maybe I did drink. I can't have made her appear in front of me just by the thought of her!
The lights of the room makes her gold hair glow. Her cream-colored skin was tinted red in the cheeks from excitement. She's a skilled dancer, but she's swaying in a way that I know she was drinking. I come closer to her, tempted. Claire's ponytail is loosening. She grabs her headband and pulls it off her hair in a seductive way and shakes her hair free.
Whoa. Suddenly, Kemp comes up behind her and holds her hands up in the air.
"Yeah, whooo!" Claire is waving her arms. "Turn up the music higher! I can't hear it! C'mon! C'mon!" She giggles and then stumbles off the table. Good thing she was light, because I manage to catch her. Her breath smells like alcohol.
"Dude, you aren't taking the bitch from me," Kemp says, raising his fists, but I don't hit him because he's drunk. Friends don't hit drunk friends. It's not right.
"Kemp, shut the fuck up," I say. He's always trying to start fights when he's drunk.
"I'mgonfowp," Claire mumbles, shaking.
"What?" I ask.
"I'mgonafrowup," she repeats.
"...What?"
"I'm gonna.. throw up!"
"Dammit!" I carry her to the back to the deck. She starts laughing hysterically. "What the hell is so funny?"
"You fell for it!" Claire laughs, "I wasn't going to throw up! Ha! Silly rabbit." She can't stand straight. She starts pulling her shirt off herself. "It's sooooo hot here! Is it, like, summer or something?"
"No, stop!" I say, tugging her shirt back on, reddening. No way. I don't need to see her topless twice.
Not that I didn't want to but...
Seriously, I shouldn't take advantage of her like that. That's like... Kemp.
"I love you, you know that?" Claire says, wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Uh, no, no, you hate me, remember?" I'm uncomfortable, but I didn't push her away like I should have. I just... let her do whatever.
"Do you love me?" Claire asks, pulling me closer.
"Maybe... I don't know...," I say. Why am I answering her anyway? She doesn't even know what I'm saying! She doesn't even know what she's saying! "Claire-"
"Sshhhh," Claire says, putting a finger on my lips, "It's okay. I understand. I forgive you." I freeze as she looks at my face with an intensity I can't describe. What was she going to do? "I love you. I always will." She kisses me.
"...," I don't want to say. For the first time, Tyson Block is speechless.
"I love you, Lucas," Claire whispers.
That's when I push her away. "Lucas? Who the hell is Lucas?!" I demand, a little peeved. For the entire time, I thought she was meaning what she said. No one can resist Tyson Block, right? And now I'm Lucas? I mean, if she said Josh or someone like that, at least I knew who she was talking about. But Lucas? She thinks I'm this Lucas person. No one uses Tyson Block. No one.
Except.. Claire Lyons.
"Who's Lucas, Claire?" I ask again.
"Mmmmm," Claire snuggles against me, hugging me, "I can't believe you came all the way from Florida to here for me." I consider pushing her away. But I can't. I don't know why. Suddenly, she feels heavier than before, and I realize she's leaning on me because she's fallen asleep.
Back to Claire's POV:
I wake up in a bed bigger and softer than mine. I sniff traces of cologne on my clothes. I'm surprised to see I've slept in the clothes I wore yesterday. Where was I? Why does my head hurt? What did I do last night? I see someone sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. It's Tyson. I realize I'm in his bedroom... I try to remember what happened yesterday. Then I scream, "Nooo!"
"Holy shit," Tyson curses, waking up groggily, "Gave me a seizure, thanks."
"What did we do?" I ask, urgently, "Last night?"
"You got drunk as hell and I saved your ass from being molested by Kemp," Tyson answers, burying his head under the sleeping bag.
"That's it?" I ask, "Are you sure? No! You're lying!"
"Why?" Tyson asks, bewildered, "What do you think we- oh, that's sick!"
"I'm in your bedroom," I point out, "That's a big enough clue for me! Why am I in your bedroom?"
"If we did do anything like that, don't you think we'd both be, oh, I don't know, naked?" Tyson asks.
"Oh... um, uh, r-right," I stammer, looking away from Tyson before wrong images pop in my head.
Gah! Too late!
"But... why do my clothes smell like... like... you?" I ask, smelling my sleeves.
"Hey, you hit on me first," Tyson says, defensively.
"What do you mean, I hit on you?" I ask, mortified.
"I don't blame you," Tyson smirks, crossing his arms, "If I were you, I'd be all over me."
"If you were me?" I say, "You're already all over yourself." I grab his pillow and throw it in his face.
"Hey!" Tyson shouts, "Not the face! Anywhere.. but the face!"
"Aww, of course, cause we don't want to wuin Tyson's pwetty wittle face, do we?" I laugh and Tyson shoots me a glare. "Right?" He throws the pillow back at me, but I catch it before it could hit me.
"Ha!" I say, "You throw just like a boy!"
"I was going easy on you," Tyson snaps, with a challenging expression on his face, "But since you think you got the balls to go on a pillow fight with me-!" He jumps on the bed, whipping a pillow at me and I get him back with another pillow. I laugh; a genuine laugh, not like a sarcastic "haha-you're-sooo-funny-not" laugh or a mean "ha-you-suck" laugh. It was a real "I'm-having-fun" laugh.
He hits me with a pillow and I hit him back. I push him off the bed and tackle him. Suddenly, our pillows burst open. Feathers fly out and being weightless, they float around us. I laugh as one tickles my nose, and then I laugh again when I see that Tyson looks half-chicken. "It's like... snow," I say, "oh, yeah, and yay, I win!"
"What are you talking about?"Tyson asks, "I got the last hit!" I'm amused by how competitive he is.
"Okay, okay, just to make you happy, let's pretend you win, okay?" I suggest, clapping.
"I didn't know you wanted me to be happy," Tyson replies with a flirty smile. I've seen that smile before. But it was on a different person. Someone who hurt me badly.. someone who I fell in bottomless love with.
Lucas.
I turn away. "I... should go home."
He's hurt, I can tell. I don't want to know why. "Okay... you sure?" He's wondering if he did anything wrong. He wants me to stay. I can tell. But I don't want him to want me to stay.
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