“What the hell is that bitch’s problem?” Kylie growled. My back stiffened. Yeah, Rachel was a little out of line, but no one could call my best friend a bitch but me.
“Watch your mouth, Kylie; don’t say shit about her like that.” My voice was hard and I gave the smaller junior girl a look of steel. Kylie shrank a bit under my stare.
I turned to Daniel. “Danny, can I talk to you a moment?” I looked pointedly at Kylie. “Alone, please.” Kylie’s face turned red again. It seemed to be her natural coloring tonight. She let out a dramatic “harrumph” and stomped off. Kylie wouldn’t be joining the Maggie Young Fan Club anytime soon, that was for sure.
Daniel rubbed his hand across his face. “Seriously, Mags? I’m gonna get so much flak for this. I really didn’t need all of this drama. I thought you girls were cooler than that.” Daniel’s shoulders sagged and for a moment I felt bad for him. He was my friend and I loved him.
“Sorry, Danny, but Kylie kind of grates on my nerves.” I sat beside him on a large boulder along the edge of the bonfire. “Don’t read too much into Rachel. She’s just mouthing off.” But Daniel knew as well as I did that Rachel didn’t just “mouth off.” When she spoke, she spoke her mind.
“I didn’t realize you guys disliked Kylie so much,” he muttered, hanging his head, his elbows propped on his knees.
“We don’t dislike Kylie so much as we just don’t like how she treats you.”
Daniel just shook his head. He looked up at me and I felt bad that he was so miserable. He loathed any fighting among us as much as I did. “Is there more to this? Is there something you’re not telling me?” he asked me, frowning.
When had Daniel become so perceptive? But there was no way I would tell him about Rachel’s crush. That would be breaking her confidence, and if she had wanted him to know, she would have told him. So I just shrugged my shoulders.
“Not that I know of.” But then I added, “Just be gentle with her, Danny. You know how sensitive Rachel can get. She gets her feelings hurt easily. Just be aware of the things you say and how they affect others, all right?” I put my arm around his shoulders and gave him an affectionate squeeze.
Daniel laid his cheek against mine. “I love you, Mags.” He patted my knee and stood up. “Okay, enough of this girly crap. Let’s go find Rachel and Clay so I can make this right.”
I stood up, ready to follow him, but then paused. “What about Kylie?” I asked, surprised he didn’t choose to go find his girlfriend first.
Daniel snorted. “I don’t feel like hearing her particular brand of bullshit right now. Besides, Rachel comes first.” I grinned. Daniel did have a good heart. Perhaps I’d never given him enough credit. “Let’s go get a drink and find our friends.” Daniel tugged on my hand and I laughed as he pulled me after him. My heart warmed when he included Clayton in our circle of friends, despite his wariness toward him. Danielwasa good guy.
We made our way through the backyard. It felt like trying to part the Red Sea: there were people everywhere. Melissa would have a nasty mess on her hands tomorrow morning. I would have been too paranoid to throw a party like this at my place, although, looking at her huge house, I figured she could afford to have cleaners come in and take care of it for her.
Daniel led the way and we went in through the kitchen. A few kids were mixing drinks with Melissa’s parents’ liquor, sloshing liquid all over the counter. “Hey, Daniel! Maggie! Want a Long Island Iced Tea?” Jake Fitzsimmons asked, pushing a full cup in our direction.
Daniel took the cup and sniffed. “Damn! What did you put in here? It smells like cat piss.” He gagged and handed the drink back.
Jake laughed. “A little of this, a little of that. You know.” I shook my head at the inebriated idiots.
“You want anything?” Daniel asked as we headed down the hallway toward the garage.
“Yeah, I’ll grab a beer. But I’m DD tonight, so I can’t drink much.” We followed the wave of voices that drifted from the end of the hallway. This was obviously the way to the keg.
People crowded around the entrance to the garage. Daniel grabbed my hand and tugged me through the door. “You have got to be kidding me,” Daniel muttered in apparent amusement. He had stopped just short of the keg and I ran into his back.
“Danny! What are you doing?” I called out.
“Get a load of your good buddy Clayton Reed,” Daniel said, pointing in front of him. I moved around Daniel and was stunned to see Clay being held upside down by two football players, with his mouth underneath the keg tap.
It was then that I noticed the people circling him, chanting, “Go, go, go!” Rachel was jumping up and down, clapping her hands and cheering louder than anyone.
“What the hell?” I asked, not as amused as Danny had been. “We have to stop him, Daniel!” I pulled on his arm.
Daniel looked at me questioningly. “Why? It’s not like you haven’t done a few keg stands in your time, Miss Judgmental. Let the boy have some fun—he could use some loosening up.”
I groaned. “You don’t get it, Danny. Clay has a... uh... history with drinking and it’s not a good one. This will end badly.” I was becoming panicked as the keg stand seemed to never end. Daniel looked at me, frowning.
“If you say so. I think you might be overreacting. But whatever. You take care of Clay, I’ll get Rachel.” I smiled in relief, appreciating his help.
Daniel and I parted ways. He headed over to Rachel, who tried to push away from him as he put his arm around her shoulder and started leading her out of the garage. Daniel firmly held her by her upper arms and herded her outside.
I turned toward Clay, who was just now being put back on his feet. He stumbled, and one of the football guys put out a hand to steady him. “You all right, man?” he asked, laughing at my friend’s drunken state. Clayton gave him a thumbs-up.
“I’m fantastic,” he slurred. Good God, this was going to be just super.
