Danny says that I don’t have to change myself to fit any sort of expectation, but it’s easy to tell other people “don’t change” when you’re the one everybody wants to be.
“Hey, DT! DT is here, everyone! Hell yeah, the party can start!”
Some of the guys cheer, and Danny receives pat after pat on the back. He gets a “good game, dude” from an athlete with huge muscles and dirty blond hair. “You’re the man!” a guy wearing a varsity jacket shouts.
Danny’s popularity is not limited to the male contingent of partygoers. A group of girls dressed in short denim skirts, tank tops lined with lace, and branded jackets saunters our way.
“D, it’s so good to see you! I feel like we haven’t hung out in forever.” I recognize the girl speaking as one of Tori’s friends—one of the nicer ones. She’s wearing the top of her cheerleader uniform with a frayed jean skirt. Her straight brown hair hangs down her back, and her caramel-colored highlights match the shade of her fleece zip-up almost perfectly.
I’m happy to be with Danny, but I can already tell he’ll be pulled in a million different directions all night long. I wish I’d forced Ben to come to this party with me, but he’d rejected my offer as soon as it came out of my mouth. He works at our local arboretum and has an early morning shift tomorrow.
“Hey, Alicia. Yeah, I’ve been kind of busy with football…and with my girlfriend. Have you two met?”
“Susannah, right?” she asks, her tone overly bright.
I wince and give her a quick nod. I hate my given name, but it feels too awkward to change it senior year of high school.
“D! You don’t even have a drink in your hand yet. Do you need me to get you something? You’re a beer guy if I remember, right?” she asks, at his beck and call.
Danny rubs the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable by her offer. “Uh, I’ll get myself a drink after we settle in for a sec.”
“If you’re sure,” Alicia hedges.
“Yep. Nice seeing you, we’re just gonna go say hi to some of the guys.”
Danny tugs on my hand and leads me to a guy with reddish-brown curly hair who fist bumps him.
“DT, ‘sup dude?”
“‘Sup, man. This is my girlfriend. Baby, this is Sean, he plays cornerback.”
“Hey, nice to meet you…” His eyes dart to the ceiling as if he’ll magically find my name there.
“Susannah. You too.”
Danny turns to face me. “You want anything? Pop? Gatorade? If you want something stronger to drink, he usually has hard lemonade or something.”
“Just water, I think. Thanks.”
“Cool. I’m going to grab us drinks from the cooler outside before it gets crazier.”
Craning my neck, I try to find the deck. “Oh, where is that?”
“It’s just off the kitchen. I’ll be right back.”
“Sounds good.”
I really don’t want Danny to leave, but I also refuse to be clingy. The last thing he needs is to babysit me. Hell, when he’s in the league, I’ll be by myself all the time. Better get used to it.
“Hey, Susannah?”
I swivel my head and see Kyle, the quarterback, approaching. He’s wearing a long sleeve, striped rugby shirt in Titans colors. Holding a red solo cup in one hand, he uses the other to turn his baseball cap backward.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Danny’s friend?”
“Um, his gir?—”
