was so close; I could feel his breath on my lips. I closed my eyes in anticipation, just as the balcony door opened. “Tess, doll, you out here? We’re getting ready to head home… Oh! Uh, oops! Sorry, guys! Am I interrupting something?” Lexi stammered, stopping dead in her tracks. She put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows at me. The look on her face was a mix of confusion and amusement. She had barged onto the balcony, looking for me and obviously wasn’t expecting what she found—Blake, shirtless and holding me in his arms, about to kiss me, I think. I hoped.
“Nope. Nothing going on here, Lexi. We were just about to come inside,” Blake said, letting me go and grabbing his shirt off the railing.
“Yeah… sure you were,” Lexi snickered, giving me an ‘oh my God! What are doing look?!’
I looked at her with desperation in my eyes. She gave me a wink as she started back inside. Her long blonde hair was the last thing I saw as she closed the door. Blake grabbed my hand and whispered in my ear, “It’s a shame we got interrupted. Things were just starting to get interesting.” My face turned bright red as he chuckled before pulling away.
We went inside and started saying goodbye to our friends that were sober enough to drive home.
Lexi was getting a ride home from Matt and I swear I saw her blush when he offered. When she gave me a hug goodbye, she whispered, “We are so talking about what I just saw tomorrow, bitch! I will be over in the afternoon to get all the details.” I just laughed at her. There was, unfortunately, nothing to say. If she would have just waited a few more minutes before she came barging outside, then maybe I’d have juicy details to tell her. Damn her anyway!
A very intoxicated Avery decided it would be best to just stay the night, especially after Devin ripped her car keys from her hand when she acted like she was going to leave. Avery was usually the good one out of our group, so the fact that she was so inebriated was a little worrisome. She rarely drank and she was a very level headed girl. She had relationships with guys, but they never got too serious—she always seemed to end them before they got that far. I think Devin liked her, but I wasn’t quite sure. They always flirted, but then again, Devin was a womanizer. He never had a girlfriend, but always had a woman, or two, by his side. But I saw the way he looked at Avery when he spoke to her. He had that goofy look in his eyes. Maybe there was something between them. I shook my head. Way too much had happened in the past 24 hours to be trying to figure out anything at this point.
Just like that, the party died down. It was late and my drunken ass could barely keep my eyes open. I started to say goodnight before I headed to bed. I always got dibs on the second bedroom when there was a party because I was Palmer’s sister and usually the only girl that ever stayed the night. There was no way I would ever drive home considering how much I drank at these parties. I contemplated sharing the room with Avery, but then decided against it. She passed out as soon as she hit the couch. I smiled when I saw Devin place a blanket over her and slide a pillow under her head as I made my way to the guest room. I changed into some shorts and a t-shirt that my sister had lent me and slid under the covers, the whole time thinking about Blake. I couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if Lex hadn’t come outside. The thoughts didn’t last long, though. All the shit I had been through tonight and all the shots I had taken were heavy contributors to my weakened state. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I passed out.
The next morning, I woke up with a splitting head ache. My god, I had a lot to drink last nigh t. I needed Advil and a Gatorade stat. I looked over at the night stand and, lord and behold, there was a bottle of Advil and a blue Gatorade just waiting for me. Blake . He was so sweet. I hoped I wasn’t
Storm Constantine, Paul Cashman