I grit my teeth and turn to face the window. I really didn’t want to go to this party in the first place, and now I’m wondering how long it will be until someone throws up. I can feel someone’s eyes boring into me, so I turn back from the window and find that Eden is looking at me over her shoulder among all of the commotion. Our eyes lock, but all she does is flash me a wide, goofy smile. She issodrunk, and I’mnot sure how she is going to handle tonight. I can’t bring myself to smile back at her, because I’m worried. I turn back to look out of the window, tuning everything out.
It’s not a long drive down to the beach, and I can see the party raging as we’re pulling into the pier parking lot. As soon as Jackson slides open the door, we can hear the music thumping from the stage across the beach. The crowd is thick and energetic, and I have never seen the oceanfront look so busy. There are people milling around absolutely everywhere, and we all pile out of the minivan to join them.
“If any of you morons get us kicked out, I’ll personally kick your ass,” Jake warns us as we all huddle around one another. The girls are still giggling, and Dean can barely keep his eyes open. “Unless you’re a girl. If you’re a girl, you’ll get the silent treatment.”
The nine of us head across the boardwalk and make our way down onto the beach. I feel like I have to keep an eye on everyone as they stumble across the sand, unable to relax in fear that someone will face-plant on the ground. There are a lot of security guards around, but as per usual, they are so distracted by the DJ performing over on the stage that they aren’t actually doing their jobs. We sail straight on past them, and that’s when we decide to split up. The girls head off in one direction, and us guys head off in another. I’m glad to get away from Tiffani, but I’m anxious about letting Eden out of my sight. She is with her friends though. Or rathermyfriends. And although they are all drunk, I’m sure they will look after her. I doubt they do beach parties like this in Portland, so I hope Eden will be alright.
Jake weaves a path through the crowd, fearlessly elbowing people out of the way while we all flank him. We are fighting our way toward the stage, and Dean is too light on his feet because he keeps swaying into people. I throw my arm around his shoulders, firmly supporting him.
“Woah,” he says.
“What, Dean?”
“Woaaah,” he says again.
Goddamn. Maybe Ishouldhave gotten as wasted as the rest of them so that I didn’t have to bear this, because I only end up babysitting the guys. TJ disappears from sight after fifteen minutes, and I have to keep apologizing to the strangers Jake keeps knocking into as he jumps around to the music, and I keep having to haul Dean up from the floor and check if he’s alright. It is such a drastic change from last year, and although I hate being the sober one, I’m at least proud of myself.
I try to relax into the music, to somewhat enjoy this party, but I just can’t get into it. We are in the thick of the crowd and we are being shoved around, and the guys are yelling unintelligible shit into my ear and everyone is laughing but me. I stand with my hands in my pockets, constantly checking the time, but we’ve only been here for an hour. The sun hasn’t even fully set yet, so it’s going to be a long night.
I am watching the stage when out of the corner of my eye, I spot Tiffani nearby. She is on her own, weaving her way through the crowd; her head swivels as she searches for something. And I know exactly what she’s looking for, and that’s me. I really don’t want to deal with her right now. I don’t need her drunkenly trying to kiss me, so without saying a word to the guys, I turn and throw myself into the crowd in the opposite direction from Tiffani. I quickly make my exit, using my shoulders to nudge by people, desperately trying to put some distance between Tiffani and me. I head away from the stage, toward the back of the crowd where it begins to thin. It’s much more chill back here, and just when I think I have escaped Tiffani, I discover I have a new issue at hand.
In front of me, I see Eden. She is alone, still drunk, and in tears. Iquickly glance around, but neither Rachael nor Meghan are anywhere in sight. Eden’s hair is no longer straight but rather tangled and wavy around her shoulders, and she is hugging her sweater around her while staring down at the sand. Her cheeks are smeared with mascara, and she is barefoot. Her Converse are tied around her fingers by the laces. What the hell has happened?
“Dammit, Eden,” I say as I rush over to her aid. Why the hell is she alone and upset? I’m glad I’ve found her. Who knows how long she has been left like this?
“Tiffani is looking for you,” she sniffs through her tears as she looks up at me from the sand. Her eyes are swollen and she dabs at them with the sleeves of her sweater. “Your girlfriend.”
I don’t care about Tiffani right now. I only care about her. I step closer, tilting my head down so that we are at eye level. “What the hell are you crying for?”
“Everyone left,” she says, and her lower lip trembles as her shoulders sink. She glances around at the crowd surrounding us, but it only makes her lose her balance. “Tiffani, Meghan, Rachael… My phone’s gone.”
I reach for her arm and hold her still, but she is still swaying slightly, unable to focus on me. “How drunk are you?” I ask her, frowning. I should have stayed with her. Iknewshe was drunk. This party was such a bad idea.
She cocks her head to one side, her damp cheeks glistening as the strobe lights from the stage hit her face. “Are you drunk?”
“Not anymore,” I say, even though I was never drunk in the first place. How the hell do I fix this? I’m never usually the one who has to sober anyone up, because I am usually the one who needs sobering the most. I look down at the sand. There are crushed cans all overthe place, and I’m surprised she hasn’t cut her feet yet. I reach for her shoes, untangling the laces of her Converse from around her fingers and dropping them down onto the sand in front of her. “Put them back on,” I order. My voice adopts a new strict, firm tone. “There’s trash everywhere.” Eden immediately steps back into her shoes, and she grins up at me despite the fact that she was just in tears a second ago. “Your dad is going to kill you,” I mutter under my breath. Dave would have a heart attack if he saw his daughter like this. There is no way I can take Eden home, but I also can’t let her stay here.
Suddenly, she darts off, spinning across the sand until she is a small distance away from me. She pauses and turns back to face me again, her expression playful. Oh, God. What is she doing now? I watch her closely, trying to gauge her next movements. When there is a break in the crowd, she clumsily drops herself down onto the sand and somersaults her way toward me, ending up in a giggling heap. The people around us are watching. They’re rolling their eyes at her, laughing at her.
“Get off the ground,” I snap, reaching down and grabbing her arm. I pull her straight back up onto her feet and fix her with a disapproving look. This isn’t funny. “What did I just tell you about the trash?”
“I looove this beach,” she slurs, and suddenly, she has gone from crying her eyes out to smiling wide. She must be dizzy because she sways to one side again, and I grab her shoulders with both hands. This time, I don’t let go of her; I just keep holding onto her, refusing to let her fall. “I’m going to come back next summer just for this party!”
“Are you coming back next summer?” I ask quickly. It’s something I haven’t actually thought about too much. I keep forgetting that in a couple weeks, Eden will be heading home. I wish she didn’t have to leave.
“I don’t know,” she says, shrugging beneath my grip on her shoulders. “It depends on if my dad wants me back or not.”
“I hope he does,” I say.Please, Dave, invite the damn girl back again. “I know I do,” I add quietly.
Eden’s mouth curves back into a smile and she fights against my firm hold, breaking out into what I think may be dance moves. She isn’t even in sync with the music, and when I glance around us again, I can still see people laughing. “You’re drawing attention to yourself,” I hiss into her ear. I drop my hands from her shoulders to her waist, firmly grabbing her body and holding her as tightly as I can, keeping her still. “You’re gonna get us kicked out.”
“But I’m twenty-one!” she screams through a fit of giggles, and even more heads turn in our direction.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, releasing a groan. This is getting bad, and I need to think fast about how I’m going to get her away from here. I close my eyes for a second, thinking through all of my options, and I realize that there aren’t many. I inhale as I open my eyes again, then I quickly bend down and slide my hands under her legs, swiftly pulling her onto my back. I straighten up again as I begin to carry her across the beach through the crowd. “You need to sober the fuck up.”
Eden rests her head on my shoulder, wrapping her arms around my neck and holding onto me just as tightly as I’m holding onto her. Her legs are locked around my waist, and she is breathing deeply against my neck. I wish she knew that it was turning me on, but I fight hard to keep my mind focused on the situation at hand, which is making sure she is okay.
I don’t even know where I’m heading, but I spot TJ among the crowd. He looks even drunker than he did at Dean’s place, and I don’t even know how that’s possible considering none of us have had a drink in hours. He also has two much older, extremely attractive girls on eitherside of him who he is chatting to. Normally, I wouldn’t interrupt, but I know that he has an apartment nearby.
