“Have you ever been so excited about something in your whole life?” Heather asked, being her usual dramatic self. She was rummaging through my closet, looking for something to wear. “Jackie, are you planning on wearing this, or can I?”
In her hands was a shirt my mother gave me from one of her fashion shows. The flashy colors weren’t my style, and back home it sat in my closet untouched. Like my sister’s dress, it had somehow gotten from New York to Colorado.
“Knock yourself out,” I told her with a nod. Then I added, “So what’s the big deal about this party?” My friends were acting like they had been invited to Cinderella’s ball, but it was just another party.
“Oh, Jackie,” Skylar said, looking up from a Cosmo. He rolled his eyes and dropped it on the ground before getting up out of my computer chair. “Sometimes I forget how little you know.”
When I hung out with the girls and Sky, I was always asking questions. They knew so much more about the Walters, and boys in general, which was ironic since I was living with what felt like a million of them.
“The big deal is that we’re friends with you,” Riley said.
“Okay?” I still didn’t understand.
“You live with the Walters,” Heather said.
“Yes,” I said, starting to feel frustrated. “We’ve covered that before.”
“So, that means we’ll get an invite to the VIP party,” Skylar explained.
“There’s a VIP section?” I asked in surprise. I could see Cole being exclusive and only inviting a select group of friends to a better party, but it didn’t seem like something the rest of the Walter boys would do.
“Everyone from school is invited, so a crazy amount of people show up. The backyard fills up until the place is packed. Last year, you could barely move around the deck because it was so full. There’s not really room for everyone, so the guys always invite their friends out for a more private event,” Skylar told me.
“My older sister, Dee, was friends with Will when they were in high school,” Heather added. “She’s told me some insane stories about how amazing it is.”
“What’s to stop people from crashing?”
“From what she said, I think they go somewhere else on the ranch,” Heather explained as she pulled the top I’d lent her over her head.
“It’s at the waterfall,” Kim said suddenly. Like always, she had a colorful comic grasped between her hands. “The guys use four-wheelers to take guests out.”
“That makes sense,” I said, nodding my head. There was plenty of room on the beach for a small group of people.
“How do you know that?” Riley asked as she spun around in a circle, checking herself out in the mirror.
“Alex took me out last year,” she said sheepishly.
“And you never thought to tell us?” Heather gasped, insulted. Kim just shrugged and went back to reading.
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation before Heather and Riley could attack Kim with another round of questions. “Jackie?” Alex asked, sticking his head in.
“Yeah?” I said, looking over my shoulder at the door.
“Oh, I didn’t know you guys were already over,” Alex said, and he swung the door all the way open.
“I texted you,” Kim said, her eyes still glued to the page.
“Sorry, I’ve been getting ready for the party,” Alex said. “I came up to grab Jackie. We need help putting up decorations.”
“We’ll all help!” Heather said, volunteering the entire group. “What’s the theme this year?”
“There’s a theme?” I asked.
“Yeah, we all take turns picking one. I wanted to do a super hero costume party, but the guys shot me down,” he explained. “This year we’re having a luau. Danny just got back from the store with about a million different-colored leis, tiki torches, and a blowup palm tree.”
“Bikini party!” Heather giggled.
“Yeah,” Alex said, rolling his eyes. “Guess who picked the theme this year?”
I didn’t need to guess.
Chapter 15
The clearing was lit up with torches and the trees lined with Christmas lights. The water sparkled as the flames danced across the surface, and the pumping music gave the whole scene a hypnotic feel. As people jumped into the pond, water droplets sprayed across the surface, making it look like they were swimming in diamonds.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“Thanks,” Danny said, coming up next to me. “Worked on it all afternoon. Had to bribe Jack and Jordan into climbing the trees to wrap the lights.”
“It was worth it.”
“Good. It cost me two weeks’ worth of allowance.”
Riley, Heather, and Skylar, who had never been to the waterfall before, quickly stripped down to their swimsuits. Knowing how cold the water was, I decided to skip the swimming and instead found Alex and Kim talking with a group of friends at the picnic table.
“Greetings, magnificent lady,” said one of the boys as I approached. His hair was long and hadn’t been washed in quite some time. Greasy bangs gleamed in the flicker of the tiki torches.
I looked to Alex for direction.
“Malcolm,” Alex said, as he pulled me down onto his lap, “this is my girlfriend, Jackie.” He made sure to stress the “girlfriend” part. “Jackie, this is Malcolm and the rest of my guild.”
Besides Malcolm, the GoG guild included two other boys—one with scrawny arms and a long, hooked nose, and another with hair dyed a shocking shade of blue.
“It is an honor to make the acquaintance of our fearless leader’s fair maiden,” Malcolm said, taking my hand and kissing it.
“Dude, are you trying to embarrass me?” Alex asked his friend, and Kim burst out laughing.
“Could be worse,” blue-haired boy said. “At least he didn’t greet her in Sindarin.”
“Um—it’s nice to meet you as well,” I told Malcolm, pulling my hand away from him. I had no clue what language Sindarin was, but as I wiped his kiss off on the back of my pants, I knew I already wanted to get away from this conversation. Maybe I should have gone swimming…
“Ah, the lady speaks, and in such a pleasing tone.”
“Seriously, man,” Alex said, slugging his friend on the shoulder. “If you don’t cut it out, I’m never going out in public with you again.”
“Want me to go grab some beer?” I asked Alex as I untangled our legs from beneath the picnic table and stepped over the bench. I wasn’t going to drink, not after last time, but at this point I was looking for any excuse to get away.
“That’d be amazing.”
I was gone before Malcolm could mutter another uncomfortable word. The keg was situated near the edge of the clearing, right at the line of trees. When I finally reached the front of the line, I found Nick running the tap.
“Hi,” I said, trying to be as brisk as possible. There was something about him that made me feel uneasy. Maybe it was the fact that he was Cole’s best friend, or maybe it was just because most of the time, he was so unfriendly. “I need two.”
“One at time,” he said, thrusting a single beer in my direction. “House rules.”
“Considering I live here and you don’t,” I said, putting my free hand on my hip, “bending the rules shouldn’t be a problem. And the second cup is for Alex who, if you didn’t know, also lives here.”
The people behind me in line snickered.
“All right, whatever,” he said. The air was tense for a moment as I waited for him to fill the second cup, and as soon as he handed it to me, I moved away from the keg without a thank-you.
“Hey, psst!” Someone yanked me into the trees, sloshing beer all over my arm.
“Cole?” I said when I straightened up and spotted him. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Can we talk?” he
asked, gesturing behind him with a nod.
“I’m getting beers for Alex and myself,” I told him.
“This is important.”
“That’s nice, but I’m in the middle of an interesting conversation,” I lied, glancing back at the table where Alex and his friends were sitting.
“With whom? The Dungeons and Dragons freaks?”
“Do you always have to be so mean?”
“Do you always have to be so stubborn?”
“I am not.”
“I just need ten minutes. Is that really so much of your time?”
I thought about Malcolm, who would be waiting at the table when I returned. “Five,” I said, grumbling.
“That works,” Cole said, grabbing the beers out of my hands and tossing them to the ground. “Let’s go.”
“Hey!” I complained, glancing down at the now-empty cups. “I stood in line for those.”
But Cole wasn’t listening. He was tugging me through the undergrowth, pushing tree branches out of the way as he went.
“What’s so important that we need to trudge through half a jungle just to talk about it?” I demanded as we quickly moved deeper into the forest.
Ignoring me, he continued to plow through the vegetation until we broke through into a small clearing.
“Wow.” It was all I could mutter.
The moonlight poured over the tops of the trees and onto the small expanse of grass, bathing the area in beautiful white light. However, it wasn’t the moonlight that made me catch my breath. There were hundreds of little white flowers growing everywhere. I could feel Cole watching me as I took in the sight around me.
“Dicentra spectabilis,” he said.
“What?”
“The flowers.” He gestured with his head. “The common name is ‘bleeding hearts.’”
“They’re beautiful,” I said as I cradled one in my palm. They really did look like hearts.
“Most are normally pink,” he told me, grabbing my hand and directing me to a boulder in the middle of the clearing. “But some types are white.”
“Do they always bloom at night?” I asked, tucking my legs in as I sat down.
Cole shook his head. “They like shade, so they normally open near the end of the day. These guys just haven’t closed up yet.”
“Since when did you become a flower expert?” I asked.
“I know lots of random facts about plants. My mom loves gardening. Just wait until she starts working on her flower beds this summer.” He was smiling at me, trying to scoot closer.
“So what did you need to talk to me about?” I asked then, realizing that the five minutes I’d given him were already up. He was quiet at this, looking away as I tried to catch his eye. “Cole, why did you bring me here?” I demanded. I didn’t want to play any of his games.
“Jackie…” He scraped his hair back, the look in his eyes regretful, and I knew he was trying to apologize for the night we went TPing.
“No,” I said and took a step back from him. “No, no. You can’t do this, Cole. You don’t get to do this.”
“Will you just listen to me?”
“Why?” I asked. “Everything you told me at Will’s was a lie.”
“That’s not true!”
“Bullshit. You gave me this crap speech about being a jerk because you were jealous of Alex, but as soon as we get home, what do you do?”
“Jackie, please—”
“No, Cole,” I snapped. “I’m so done with your shit. You don’t get a second chance.”
“What about Alex? You’ve given him two!”
“You’re right, Cole. I did. But the difference between you two is that what you did—that was out of spite. And want to know what I think? I think that you enjoy being an asshole.”
“God, Jackie!” he exploded. “What did you expect after I opened up to you? I tell you my feelings, and then you turn around and date my brother.”
“What feelings, Cole? You never said anything about your feelings!”
“That I like you, Jackie! I didn’t know I had to spell it out, considering everything I’ve done for you.”
“Oh, so now you care about me? If that’s true, why would you try to get me in trouble like that?”
“Because you said yes to Alex!” he screamed. And then, as if he was out of steam, he dropped his head. “Why did you say yes?”
He buried his head in his hands, and we were both quiet for a long time.
“Cole,” I finally said as a chilly breeze drifted through the clearing, covering my arms in goose bumps. He lifted his head slowly but finally met my eyes. “I don’t understand you. One minute you’re making out with the entire cheerleading squad, and the next you’re mad at me for dating Alex? That’s not fair.”
“This was not how I imagined our conversation going,” he said, ripping a clump of grass from the ground. He started to shred the long green slices into tiny slivers.
“Lots of things don’t turn out how we plan,” I responded. After everything I’d been through, I’d learned to understand that.
“But I didn’t even plan for this to happen.” He moved his hand back and forth in the foot of space between us, indicating something more. I knew he meant me and him, and this thing going on between us, whatever that was.
“Look, Cole,” I said. “Neither did I, but I’m still dealing with it.”
And that’s when it hit me—about Romeo and Juliet, I mean. I never figured Cole or Alex into my life, just like Shakespeare’s most famous couple never anticipated falling in love. The Walter boys were unexpected, but I was still managing just like Romeo and Juliet did. Sure their way was unconventional, but what if that was the best they could do given the circumstance? Maybe I hadn’t given them enough credit.
I had been trying to fit my world into a small, safe box for so long. But life didn’t work like that. It could move in and out of the lines. You couldn’t control everything, because it wasn’t all meant to be perfect. Sometimes things needed to be messy.
I got up from the rock. So I couldn’t control the fact that Cole and Alex were in my life, making it one confusing mess. But I could uncomplicate it once and for all. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, I was going to take the easy way out of love. I had already made my decision the night I said yes to Alex. Now I had to follow through.
“I need to go back to the party before anyone starts worrying about me,” I said then. “You should go too.”
Cole didn’t move as I made my way out of the clearing. He just let me go.
***
The backyard was a sea of red cups, and I had to pick them all up.
Will woke everyone bright and early since we needed to erase the evidence of the party before Katherine and George got home. Impressed with how I took charge during his mom’s meltdown, Will employed my skills to organize the cleanup. I quickly split up the chores that needed to be tackled and dished them out to all the boys. I thought I had given myself the worst job, but I could hear Isaac complaining from the deck.
“Too early for this shit,” he said as he yanked his shirt over his head. He was responsible for cleaning the pool. Not only was it murky, but two patio chairs were submerged in the deep end and a swimsuit top was tied to the basketball hoop that hung over the water. With one last grumble, he dove in and the cups floating on the surface bobbed like buoys.
Besides Isaac, Danny was putting the house in order. Even though partygoers were restricted to the backyard, somehow the mess had managed to leak inside. Will and Haley were making sure the front yard was spotless, and for obvious reasons, I sent Cole to clean up by the waterfall.
After our conversation the night before, I’d returned to the party and spent the night talking with Alex and his friends. Malcolm was obnoxious the entire time—hitting on me and saying awkward things—until it got so bad that Alex
pushed him into the freezing water. I didn’t notice when Cole rejoined his friends, but eventually I spotted him, a beer in one hand and his other arm wrapped around Olivia. He kept his distance, but I caught him watching me from across the beach more than once.
This morning was tense. There wasn’t much time for breakfast, so we started a toast assembly line. Danny put the bread in the toaster. When it was done cooking, he handed to Isaac who put it on a paper plate and passed it to Cole. He would spread jam on one piece before sliding the plate to me, so I could butter the second piece. Finally, Alex would cut both pieces in half and move the plate to the kitchen table. I don’t know how I ended up squished between Cole and Alex, but I could feel how uncomfortable Cole was.
I gave him the waterfall job so I wouldn’t have to see him, but as Alex opened his mouth again, I’d wished for a second that I sent him along as well.
“I’m really sorry about last night,” he told me for the millionth time. He was standing a few feet away from me with a garbage bag clutched in his hand.
“Alex,” I said, plucking a cup off the sparkling grass, which was wet with morning dew. I dropped it into my own bag and caught a whiff of stale beer. “How many times do I need to tell you? Stop apologizing.”
“I just feel bad that you had to put up with Malcolm all night.”
I knew he was really worried that I was judging him based on his friend, but I honestly didn’t care that Malcolm was weird. As long as I didn’t have to hang out with him again, I’d be fine. I was anxious about not getting everything cleaned up in time, and if Alex had spent as much time cleaning as he did being nervous, we might be done already.
“He wasn’t that bad,” I lied. “Let’s just focus on getting this done.”
“Are you sure?” Alex asked, and I gave him a death glare. “Okay, I get it! More cups, less talking.”
It was a miracle, but we managed take care of the party mess before Katherine and George returned. By the time they pulled into the driveway, Nathan and I were already studying for our exams. We didn’t have any classes together, but Nathan asked if he could work in my room with me. He was having a hard time focusing in his own since Alex was trying to get in a quick round of GoG before his parents got home.