A/N: My apologies for the spacing issues in the past 3 chapters. I'm new to the uploading system, but I believe I have all the kinks worked out now. Read, enjoy, and reviews/criticisms are always appreciated.

"So, tonight's the night." Mindy hurried into her room, locking the door behind her. It wasn't even night yet, really – the hall clock had just rung three o' clock. The party would begin at five thirty, though, leaving the girls with merely – gasp! – two hours to get ready.

"Yeah, I guess." Kiley still didn't quite get her cousin's enthusiasm. From what she could glean, the party would just be a bunch of rich people like her aunt and uncle, and their spoiled children wandering around the country club, eating cocktail weenies and drinking highballs. Shirley Temples for the kids.

Though, she could probably sneak a drink, if she got lucky. Either way, Josh would be all dressed up, and apparently his conceited brother would be there (that was the guy who hit on her by the keg, right? Josh said he was going to perform, and he was definitely the one on stage) to take them to the party, and bring them back.

"Well, Josh and I are going out for coffee afterward. You're welcome to come, but…" Mindy trailed off as she sifted through her dresses. Which would be best for tonight? She couldn't choose.

"But…?" Kiley asked curiously. Checking to make sure Mindy wasn't looking, she quickly stripped off her clothes and pulled on the gold dress. Her hair was already assembled in lose corkscrews that cascaded down her back. It wasn't much different from how she normally wore her hair, just neater, glossier.

"I need to talk to Josh privately. And Drake will be there, so I'd need you to keep him occupied. Which is something I wouldn't wish on anyone, but I'm sure if I give you a yo-yo or a tic tac, you can keep him busy for hours." She turned to Kiley, holding up two dresses. "Which one of these says 'I want to lose my virginity to you'?"

Kiley was taken aback. Mindy seemed the type to go all-out and sign an abstinence pledge, not the type to lose it in the back seat of her boyfriend's station wagon. "Um….the pink one." She indicated a soft pink dress with flowy skirt. The straps were made of little pink rosettes, all marching one by one across her collarbone and down her back. The same rosettes line the empire waist of the dress.

"You think? I mean, it's kind of….innocent." Mindy held the dress against her body. She wasn't sure tonight would be the night, but her parents were leaving on a trip for the weekend directly after the cocktail party, so the house would be empty – except for Kiley. If there was no way to ditch her cousin, she could live with waiting another week or two. She couldn't lie, though – she wanted it to be tonight.

"That's the beauty of it. You love Josh, right?" Kiley toyed with a curl that was dangling in her face, pulling it down and watching it spring back into place, bouncing jauntily in her peripheral vision.

"Well, yes. A lot, actually." Mindy answered tentatively.

"Well then, you don't need to be sexy or seductive, or to look for something slutty. If you're going to view sex as an expression of love, then approach it the same way. You don't want him to be poppin' a boner right there in the middle of the cocktail party, right?"

Mindy was appalled at her cousin's language, and the ease with which she spoke about the topic. She didn't say anything, though, and just nodded. This was all pretty good information, so far.

"Well, then, save the sexy for later. Wear something he'll think you look beautiful in. Wear make-up that makes you feel like a movie star, and wear a sexy little thong or something underneath. So, at the party he's all 'She's so pretty', and when he gets you back to wherever, alone, he'll be all 'she's a sex goddess'."

Mindy fell on her bed, grinning. "Kiley, why are you so good at this? You're like a shrink, or something."

Kiley leaned into the floor-length mirror to do her eyeliner. "Pssht. You can't be a shrink if you have a shrink." She thought disdainfully of Dr. Wessler, who saw her every Tuesday.

Mindy stood up, stripping off her clothes to put the dress on. "How's that going, anyway?" She played with her hair, trying to decide between putting it up and keeping it down.

Kiley shrugged. "Exactly how I thought it would go. She keeps asking questions, I keep giving dumb answers. Shrinks only help if there's something to talk about; I don't really want to talk about anything. Plus, she always wants to play these weird games, and I can tell she's trying to read through the lines. I hate being analyzed." She reached for her lipstick – a bright red that stood out against her skin and brought attention to the cupid's-bow shape of her mouth.

Mindy's approach to make-up was softer and more subtle, much like the contrast of her muted pink dress to Kiley's bright gold. Her cousin, she could tell, what more experienced, more hardened, and probably more fun than she was. She remembered back when they were kids, Kiley was all about adventures – she was the one climbing up trees, jumping from shed rooftops, chasing butterflies. Mindy was happy just to study something and understand it, but Kiley had to be a part of it. Now, though, she seemed lifeless, as though all the adventure had been sucked out of her. The shell that remained had a dry, sarcastic laugh that seemed to mock the loud, raucous laughter which echoed in Mindy's memories.

"So, if you give Josh your cherry tonight, where the hell am I supposed to go?" Kiley asked finally. She'd been dreading the weekend – not only the party, but her aunt and uncle would be gone, too. While it seemed nice to have the house all to themselves, Mindy didn't work weekends, and Kiley wasn't supposed to be working at all. Basically it would just be the two of them, trying not to feel awkward and failing miserably.

Mindy grimaced. "I wasn't sure of that. Maybe if you meet a group of people at the cocktail, you can go to the after-party?"

Kiley just looked at her cousin. "You and I both know the chances of me meeting people –and liking them – is about nil. So, cocktail party ends at eleven, right? You and Josh meet for coffee, you come back here. He's going to want to spend the night after your love session, and I'm not about to sleep here with the two of you in your bed. And you're not going to go do it in your parents' room or the guest room, because your mom would notice something amiss. So. Where am I sleeping tonight?"

Mindy sighed. Kiley was right – there was just no way they could work this all out. "Okay, so Josh and I will wait. There will be plenty of opportunities for us to spend the night together."

Kiley rolled her eyes. "Mindy, you're not hearing me. I'm not saying I need you to wait. I really just need to know – where am I staying? Do these after parties go all night? Is there enough coffee in this town to keep me caffeinated for a night? Because I can just come back here at nine tomorrow morning and sleep. I assume you'll be making pancakes by then?"

Mindy nodded. "Yeah, we'd be awake – and dressed. And most of the after parties do go all night – and the diner's open all night, and the coffee is 50 cents for an endless cup. So you'd be set, pretty much."

Kiley nodded. "Alright, then. Promise you'll use protection?"

Mindy ran over to her cousin and hugged her. "Thank you so much for doing this. I know it's so weird being in a new town, and the last thing you want to do is bum around town all night, but this means so much to me and I promise you, I'm going to pay you back for it."

Kiley shook her head. "It's fine. I'm going to arrive with your folks, though – I think I'd like to avoid you and Josh for as long as possible, now that I know what you'll be doing tonight."

Mindy laughed. "Understood. And Kiley?"

"Hm?"

She smiled broadly, showing all of her brilliant white teeth. "Thanks again."

Why am I here again? Kiley circled the room for what had to be the fifteenth time. It wasn't even ten o 'clock yet, and she was already ready to kill herself. The main room was littered with adults and catering staff, who continued to circle the room with strange appetizers, most of which involved shellfish or some form of spinach, and cocktails. She'd tried already to get a martini, but had gotten carded.

A room to the side had a DJ and a dance floor, and most of the attendees her age were in there, grinding against one another in the dim light and sweaty heat. Josh and Mindy had disappeared, and she guessed that they were already talking about plans for tonight, though Mindy had wanted to wait until the diner. Plans like that never seemed to go play for play.

Her aunt and uncle would be leaving soon. They and a group of friends were going to a resort for the weekend. They would be taking a limo, so of course, they were both completely trashed. Well, not trashed, but drunk however classy people described it. She hadn't seen them in an hour or so, but she knew they weren't leaving until around ten, and that they would be saying goodbye to both her and Mindy before they left.

"I'll take one." She said to a passing caterer carrying a tray of glasses of white wine. The room was hot, but she couldn't take her shrug off, and she wanted something – anything – to take her mind of the boredom, the heat, and the eyes that stared. Mindy had insisted that it was just the dress, but she felt like everyone could see through that, could see what she was hiding. Maybe her aunt had said something. Maybe Mindy had.

The caterer looked at her. He was young, skinny, and quite dopey looking. He glanced at his tray full of liquor, and then back at her. She glared hard, daring him to card her, and he lowered the tray for her to help herself.

"Thanks, love." She smiled, taking a sip. The wine almost had a citrusy taste, with a smokey undertone. "Not bad." She mumbled, and sauntered across the room.

She was standing near the archway that led to the dance room when Melinda accosted her.

" Kylie! Are you enjoying yourself?" Startled, she looked for a place to set her wine. A table stood against the wall, topped with expensive flowers, and she set it there.

"Uhm, yeah. Yes. It's a lovely party." She smiled tightly, and Melinda draped an arm over her.

"Have you danced with any boys?" Her uncle was now approaching as well, and seemed just as tipsy as Melinda.

"Just a few." She answered. This, at least, was true. A few boys had asked her to dance, and she had agreed. It wasn't like she felt a connection with any of them, but one boy – Roger? – had invited her to a party back at his place after the cocktail, so at least she had a place to go.

"Well, we're about to hit the road with the rest of them. Is Mindy in there?" Melinda indicated the dance room.

"Yeah." Kylie answered. Her uncle was just staring at her, quite blatantly, and she had no idea what she should – or could - do about it. Melinda had disappeared into the dance room, and her uncle continued staring stupidly.

"So. I'm pretty toasted." He said, chuckling. She nodded, reached behind herself, and took another sip of her wine.

"Yeah. Yeah, you are." She said. She peeking into the dance room and, not seeing her aunt or Mindy yet, continued with her drink.

When at last Mindy and Melinda approached, she set the wine on the table again. Mindy saw the action and shot her a glare, but she simply shrugged. It's not like she'd been drinking in front of her aunt. Besides, what the hell else was she supposed to do?

"Well, I guess we're off. You girls be good while we're gone. We'll be back…" Melinda trailed off. "Monday morning!" She glanced at Kiley. "Sweetheart, aren't you warm in that shrug? It's so hot."

Kiley shook her head. "No, really, I'm fine."

Melinda put a hand firmly on the shrug. "I know you said you felt the dress was scandalous without the shrug, but almost all the adults are leaving now and it's just you kids. No one will think you're tacky." She began to pull at the shrug, easing it over Kiley's shoulders.

"Really, it's fine." Kiley argued, trying to keep the shrug on. Melinda was strong, though, and kept stubbornly pulling until the shrug had slid off.

When she saw Kiley's back, she gasped. Mindy, who had been standing beside her mother, covered her moth in horror. A large bruise started along her shoulder and spread toward her back, where it exploded in purples and greens like a skin disease. Smaller, finger-sized bruises lined the backs of her arms – how had they not seen them before? Her hair was pulled over one shoulder, and the space of her neck left bare had a series of long bruises on it, almost like a collar. Any one of these would have been excusable, incidental, but all together they told a horrifying story.

Exposed, Kiley felt her eyes prick with tears. She could picture her mother's face, that same sickened reaction as she saw, for the first time in a year, the roadmap of pain her daughter's body had become. Now her aunt and Mindy stared at what was left of the bruises, and saw the rawest part of her, the corner she'd been trying so hard to keep secret.

"I need some air." She made a beeline through the main room and burst out the front door, only stopping to grab a glass of wine off the tray of a passing caterer. She didn't breathe until the doors had shut behind her, and she was alone. Rounding a corner to the side of the building, she leaned against the wall and collapsed into tears.

Drake pulled up to the country club a little after ten. He and his band had been playing a gig at a local teen club – most of the attendees were middle schoolers. The club was the idea of some big wig in San Diego who figured the local high school crowd would get into less trouble if they had a 'cool' place to hang out. Like anything aimed at teenagers, it was rejected by the high school students, but frequented by middle school kids who thought going there made them 'grown up'. Unfortunately, the young age of the crowd meant that the gig ended at 9:45, and so he'd had nothing better to do than come wait for Josh.

What a sucky summer, so far. It seemed like he and the band couldn't find any good gigs, and so they were forced to play places like the teen club. The money sucked, and his parents had cut off his allowance, as well as gas money, so it was looking like he would have to get a job. Summer was supposed to be a time of freedom – hanging with the guys, out all night, playing music and kissing pretty girls. It was starting to seem that he'd exhausted his source of women, as well. All the girls in town he'd either dated or passed over, or, worse yet, they'd heard horror stories from other girls and were too afraid that he would break their hearts.

So, here he was on a Friday night, stuck outside the country club, waiting to chauffer his brother and brother's date around, before finally taking them back to her place to copulate (ew). He was contemplating his terrible fate when he saw something shiny rounding the corner of the building.

Silhouetted by the party inside, a slim figure stood against the window. He couldn't make out much, just the shadowy curves of an hourglass figure, a cigarette in her hand and the blue plumes of smoke that rose. He pulled the keys from the ignition, got out of the car and went. He had no game plan, but he was sure once he got there, he could figure something out.