Alice has offered to be our driver tonight, which is comforting, considering the whole rear-ending Edward Cullen incident. We're all headed to The Clubhouse to get started before we ride out to the coast.
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Huddled inside the walls of The Clubhouse, I follow behind Angela and we nestle into a booth in the back with Alice and Rose.
Rose is Angela's best friend and I've only met her once before today, but I already adore her.
Rose is unapologetically blunt and observant yet slightly oblivious at the same time. She's edgy... full of that punk vibe. Larger than life tall, and super feminine... Rose has long, dark silky brown hair that hangs in beachy waves with highlighted caramel and platinum strands mixed in.
Tonight, her blue eyes are heavily lined and shadowed in black. She looks effortlessly cool in her shredded Iron Maiden tank with a mini skirt and Vans.
I've decided that she's cooler than anyone I've ever known. Her shiny tanned legs go on for miles and her lustrous, nude lips turn me on and I'm not even the least bit bi. After two drinks at Alice's earlier, I'm already in rare form and I'm pretty much obsessed with her.
The first time I met Rose, I came into Alice's house, to find her in full-on conversation about how she couldn't believe her friend, Nicole, was dating a coke dealer.
She was sitting down in front of the coffee table and rummaging through her purse, pulling out a tiny plastic bag, saying, "Like, how low can you go, you know?"
Immediately after sharing her distaste of her friend dating this coke dealer guy, she sprinkled a neat little rail of white powder onto the table and sucked it straight up her nose without pausing... saying, "She can do so much better."
After cleaning the counter with her fingers and rubbing the remnants onto her teeth, she dropped the tiny white bag back into her purse and moved onto the next subject on her mind- parking meters and how disgusted she was with the ones on Bennington. She spilled out a non stop rant while I looked on.
"No backing in, no parking on Thursday from two to eleven, no parking Monday through Friday, five am to six am, two hour parking Monday through Friday, nine am to six pm. I mean, what the fuck? All of those signs, how do you even? It's like they put those signs there with hidden cameras strapped to them, just to make fun of you, sitting there in your car, pulling in and backing up with each sign you read further. Why don't they just post a sign that says walk, skate or bike to this motherfucker next time."
The irony of the situation amused me, but knowing Rose better now, I understand her. She doesn't do coke on the regular, at least not to my knowledge, and she has a lot of depth, despite my first impression. The best part about her though, is she is electric with life. She's fun.
Once the waitress with the smallest boobs brings us our drinks, I notice Briggs come through the silver door behind the bar. My heart flip flops in my chest with excitement as he walks to the guy sitting at the bar and bumps knuckles with him.
He's got this thing with black, white and one word on his shirts. Tonight he's wearing a white t-shirt with the word 'nope' written in large, black, lowercase letters.
Rose yells, "Whew! You comin' with us tonight?" and he looks our way with a small smile. She clenches the cherry between her white teeth as she pulls it from the stem, while looking at him, and a tiny pinch of jealousy mixed with disappointment bubbles up.
She tosses back her drink and calls the waitress back over, "Hey, candy lips," the waitress turns to her as she finishes up with the table next to us, "Can I get three shots of tequila and some lemons please?"
Angela blows a pink hair out of her eye, smiling and saying,"It's gonna be a long night," while resting back against the booth, tangling her fingers into Alice's.
Alice sips on her cherry coke, watching the three of us cheers and toss back tequila. We let the clear liquor fill us with fun while Rose shouts with an accent, "Arrrrrriba! Arrrrrriba!"
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About twenty minutes later, I decide my doubt that Briggs would want Rose over me, isn't going to hold me back.
Or maybe it's the alcohol making me brave, but either way, when I lock eyes with Briggs for the fourth time since we arrived, I excuse myself from our rowdy booth and make my way over to him.
He's standing against the bar, scrolling through his phone while the girls around him hustle to get drinks out.
He looks at me when I get closer, like he knew I was coming to him.
He smiles. I smile.
His hair is combed to one side and it's shiny. I like how it's grown.
"Where are you ladies headed when you leave here?" He pinches my side, eliciting a squeal from me.
He smiles with his teeth when he hears my giggle and I answer. "Some girl Rose knows is having a party, so we're headed out there."
His teeth are biting his bottom lip and he's still smiling when he replies, "Uh huh... and what are you doing afterwards?" He tugs me closer by my dress.
Looking up to him, I poke him in the stomach and say, "Coming back here to see you, of course." I break a soft flirty smile at him.
He nods his head, clearly pleased. He steps back from me, looking at my dress and I watch his hand as it moves closer to his crotch, and he grabs there and says, "It's the bike isn't it? You like my bike, don't you?" His hand trails back up to his belt, where he grabs and holds on and I'm nothing but turned on.
"It's definitely your bike." I nod and agree with him, looking down to where his hand just grabbed his crotch, with a serious look on my face. Dazed by how forward we've become.
"So I'll see you later then?" He's serious too now, but there's a tiny gleam of happiness in his eyes.
I hear my name being called from across the room and I see my three friends headed towards the door, waving me in their direction.
"You'll definitely see me later." I don't care how cheesy I look, I wink at him before I smile and he laughs in return.
He calls, "I'm holding you to that."
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The drive to the coast is fun as we sing together, with the music up loud, turning it down every other song to chat about stupid shit here and there.
When Rose points and directs us into a driveway blocked by two large gates, we pull to the code box and Rose hangs out the window punching in the numbers that she reads from a text she got earlier.
We weave our way up a steep drive and come to a large mansion on a cliff. A manicured lawn that's littered with tons of cars, sprawls out before the ginormous house.
We pull to the closest spot.
As we walk, Rose grabs my hand and I ogle the block shaped mansion made of champagne colored stucco. We come closer and I gawk at how enormous this house is. It's four stories tall and boasts wide geometrical shapes that give way to each portion of the home.
We make our way around, toward the lights and the sounds of people talking, laughing, yelling and we hear the music pumping.
My heels click on the stained and stamped cement path that leads us around the side of the house. Rose is so tall that even with her wearing flat vans and me in heels, we are the same height.
When we curve around the top of the hill and come to steps leading down, we can see that the party is in full swing.
With each careful step I take, clutching onto Rose, I ogle the beauty of the property.
Glass walls coat the back, revealing the white marble floors, large paintings, and huge floral arrangements placed throughout. Beyond the tall glass walls, shiny floors accent the pristine look of the inside, which is lit up on all levels with people moving in and out.
The pool is full of people floating with drinks in hand. One guy in the pool, stands wearing a bandana tied around his head with raybans framing his face. He holds onto a pretty brunette dangling in the center of a rubber ducky float, arms lobbed over each side of the duck face, splashing him playfully.
Girls are dressed in bikinis and cut out one-pieces, some with more on... short shorts, long tanks... some less- topless.
People huddle in groups and a few mingle in between.
We're welcomed with smiles, nods and hands on our shoulders.
Angela and Alice seem to know a few people, Rose happens to know everyone we pass, which is why it takes us a good while just to make it to the bar set up closest to the house.
I don't know a soul but the three I came with, so I just want a drink.
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We each bang out two tequila shots while Alice looks on, wishing she didn't agree to drive us the one hour stretch back home.
The liquor burns it's way down as the chills spread from the yummy warmth. A steady breeze blows and the music is up loud, as well as all the voices around. Multiple conversations carry on all around us. Guys notice us from across the pool and two of them are headed this way.
The beats vibrate through my chest and I smile at Angela. She's got Alice snuggled up to her, hugging her from behind, laying a kiss on her temple. Rose grabs my hand and we spin, dancing free.
I haven't had this much fun in months.
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I've been having fun talking to this guy they call Sake. He's kind of short and skinny with longer, shiny, black hair. When I ask him if they call him that because he's Japanese, he looks at me like I'm crazy and tells me no, "It's because my last name is Shibasaki." Relief floods over me as he smiles and I'm glad I haven't offended him with my dumbass question, because I was right, he's clearly Japanese.
A few beers later, I break from the girls and guys to find a restroom.
Inside, just like outside, the house is extravagant. Not like the homes I'm used to, but certainly typical for the SoCal coast.
I walk the halls and try to imagine what it must be like, to grow up like this. Overlooking paradise, not worrying about money, or bills. I wonder about the people who live here. What it's like to be them.
A nice girl directs me down the hall and to the left when I ask where the restroom is.
I pass the large paintings and admire each one.
When I reach the restroom, someone comes out as I'm about to grab the handle to go in.
His eyes land on me and he speaks.
"The f..." He looks both surprised and disappointed.
His hand goes up, running fingers through his wild hair.
He's dressed much more casually than I'm used to seeing him. A Stoli Vodka shirt and swim trunks... not something I would've pictured him in, but he looks good.
To say I'm shocked would be a lie. I always "run into" him when I least expect it.
He eyes the drink in my hand, grabbing it from my hands and taking a big gulp. Looking back down to me after tipping my drink back, "You drive here?"
"No." I reply immediately, with zero emotion.
I study his lips as he talks.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came with friends." Again, I reply with no hesitation. I'm not going to let him get to me this time.
"Whatever. Don't drink out of cups here. In fact, don't drink at all here."
"What are you talking about?" I look at him like he's crazy.
"You don't know the types of guys that are here. Just..." He looks behind me and in the other direction. He shakes his head and gives me a crooked smile before hatefully saying, "You really shouldn't be here."
"Okay, mom... thanks," I say sarcastically while rolling my eyes.
I'm sick of Edward Cullen's shit.
"And give me my drink back." I scowl at him, grabbing at my cup.
He's unbothered by my attempts to retrieve the cup in his hands as he drinks the rest of its contents in two long gulps. After a long breath, he hands me the empty cup, before turning and walking away.
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When I get back downstairs I'm not even tipsy anymore, just pissed off, so I don't even look for Rose or Alice. I go straight to the bar.
The bartender in the purple hat sets out three shots of vodka and I toss them back, one right after the other, asking for a whisky sour with two cherries when I've set the last shot glass on the wooden bar.
A few minutes pass and I don't move, I stay snuggled up to the bar and try to get lost in the warm, tickly feeling tingling through my arms. I love the sound of the music as I wrap my hand around the drink full of icy cold cubes and brown liquid, bringing it to my lips.
A tug from behind sends me a little off balance. The shots have set in and I feel a tiny release from the anger as it starts to loosely uncoil... making me feel a little more light. Rose laughs and grabs me when I fall into her, asking the bartender for another Stella and I hug into her side... laughing at myself with her.
We must really be a sight right now. I just hope I don't break an ankle tonight.
As Rose leads me over to Alice, Angela and a big group of people, we walk hand in hand, holding our drinks. We step over to the stone wall that lines the jacuzzi overlooking the ocean.
I look over the large mass of moving water beyond us and notice it's as black as the night. I feel the music pump through me as I eye the group of people beside our two friends -guys and girls our age both sit and stand along the wall. Girls sitting in guys laps, guys standing with their hats on backwards... some with their hands on girls, some with their hands on guys. One guy, in particular, catches my eye as we come closer.
He's sitting on the wall in the middle of all the people, with a girl nestled in his lap. Her back is to me, but I can see all of him. His wild hair, his watch, where it rests on her knee. When he looks at me, standing here, not hearing a word Rose is saying to me, our eyes lock and the atmosphere around me goes silent.
Edward grabs the girl nestled in his lap by her chin and brings her mouth to his as he stares at me. I stare back at him because I'm already drunk and either A, don't give a fuck that I'm staring, or B, I can't hear all the common sense signals that my brain is sending me right now. Like, look away you idiot, for starters.
His eyes pierce me as he lightly presses his lips to hers, eyes turned to me. He continues softly laying his lips over hers before taking the kiss deeper, never looking anywhere but at me.
He continues this torturous display and I watch as his tongue slides into her mouth, moving slowly against hers. His eyes still on mine, a pang of need drills it's way to the surface.
He breaks from her mouth to look at her neck, but not without glancing at me first. When he's sure that my eyes haven't moved, he tilts her head back a little and he smiles at me before softly sinking his teeth into her neck, pulling up on her skin just the slightest bit.
Something about the way he's just kissed her and how he grabbed her skin with his teeth, and how he lays his tongue flat on her throat, licking a line, from her throat to her chin, while staring right into me, is so intense that I clench my legs together and my fingers go numb... my drink crashing to the ground in return.
No one notices, except for Edward and Rose, as she looks to the ground where it splatters.
His wicked smile reveals that he's accomplished what he wanted. Toyed with me like he always does. This little game he plays with me is confusing to say the least and I just keep letting him. He's taunted me in a way I've never experienced. And even though this hasn't happened to me before, I know exactly what it is. And only operation get-a-boyfriend is going to remedy this weird thing I have with the guy that drives like a maniac, has wild hair, apple butter eyes, the most confusing and arousing disposition, and a girl on his lap.
I kick my cup to the side and wiggle my fingers at Edward, giving him a playful smile and wave before turning to leave. I pull Rose along with me and thankfully Ali and Ang follow.
Hands grab our asses as we pass each group and I don't give a shit, but Rose clearly gives a shit for me, because she wastes no time shoving the guys as we pass and not hesitating to deck one of them in the nose.
On the ride back to the Clubhouse, Rose immediately brings up the fact that Edward Cullen was blatantly staring at me while kissing his girlfriend.
"That was his girlfriend?" I don't even know why I ask this, because now it makes so much sense.
Rose fills me in that the girl on Edward's lap was not only his girlfriend, but her parents own the house we just left.
What are the chances that I would end up at Edward fucking Cullen's girlfriend's house tonight? Please, universe, can you give me a heads up from now on?
Alice turns the music down when we stop to let Rose grab a six pack. When she gets back in, she hands me and Angela a beer and we all clink bottles before taking long gulps.
I can't help but be turned on by the image of Edward's lips on that girl's mouth. How he kissed her so sexually, while looking at me. And that thing he did to her neck? Biting her there? I hate to admit that I want him to do that to me. I wanted to be the girl in his lap tonight. He makes me mad, he excites me, confuses me, and most of all, he turns me on. And on and on.
And he knows it.
With each minute that passes, the alcohol makes me feel better and better but the images of Edward's lips, tongue and teeth get louder and louder. I'm wound so tight and I'm hornier than I've ever been in my life.
When my beer is almost gone, Rose turns to me, "Show me how you kiss."
"What?" I ask over the music.
She leans in closer, smiling, speaking louder, "Come on, don't be a pussy, I don't even like girls. We're just having fun." She reaches for my face and pulls me into her, "Let's see what you've got."
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A few songs later, I'm not sloppy drunk, but I can't stop laughing and I might have already made out with Rose twice on the drive.
It's nothing sexual. We're both just having fun... being drunk, in the backseat, teasing the two real girlfriends that are in the front.
Alice keeps looking in the rear-view mirror, smiling and rolling her eyes at us.
The thought of Edward kissing his girl, while staring at me, coupled with all the booze has me so horny that I'd probably have sex with anyone right now, but the thought of grabbing Briggs by the jeans and dragging him anywhere private has taken over.
As we get closer, I click the light over Rose and and pull out my compact to check my face. Aside from a little smudge, and no lip gloss left, I'm good, at least my drunk self thinks so. I swipe some gloss on my lips and think about what it will feel like to have Briggs kiss it right back off.
The only obstacle I can foresee tonight is how long it's gonna take me to hike this dress up the minute I see him.
The tall sign that lights up the black letters spelling out, THE CLUBHOUSE, comes into view and I'm literally crawling with excitement, anticipation and at this point, I'm just hoping I don't rape anyone.