second . . . and so on. Some friends back at school had told me that sex wouldnât always be like that with other people, and I wanted to believe them. But I wasnât all that enthused about test-driving more guys.
So why was my belly pulling with strange need after this bet revelation? Why did it feel like something had been tied into a knot that throbbed and wouldnât let up?
Evie smiled. âIâm simpatico, Shel. The last thing you want is to be a boy-pleaser. And you want to keep a low profile away from the cheerdevils and Rexâs friends, but Micahâs putting you in high-profile territory. But does that necessarily mean youâre going to be a massive blob in every other way this summer?â
She made me sound like no fun at all. Blobs sat on palettes like the ones Evie used for her paints. Blobs quivered and bled color and had no lives.
And even a few days into the summer, I was headed in such a blobby direction.
Evie spun around in the desk chair, then eased to her feet. âWeâre on
vacation
, here, my friend. No more pencils, no more books, no more teachersâ dirty looks. So even if you want to avoid the Rexes and Micahs of the world, you canât hole up in this room or the café for the next couple of months. Am I right?â
God, Iâd missed her. And she
was
rightâI shouldnât care about the bummers of the world. So I smiled, nodding.
âYes!â She clapped her hands together. âThen, listenâthereâs this party out at Jimmy Hollandâs ranch. His dad is at some agricultural business conference and his mom went to visit a sick aunt, so they left him alone. Heâs got a keg, and things should be in full swing right now . . .â She looked at my sudden frown. âWhat? Too soon?â
âWonât the others be there?â
âNo. Lindsey Windsor is having a birthday pool party tonight, and all the cheerdevils and Rex and his boys will be over there. Jimmyâs will be a devil-free zone.â
I couldnât imagine that Micah would be present, either. He probably had better things to do than hang with Jimmy Holland, whoâd been in my grade. Plus, there were a lot of women in town the player hadnât
oo-lah-lah
ed yet, and the night was still young.
But since Jimmyâs ranch was on the âneck side of town, odds were that Lindsey Windsorâs party would be keeping all the upper-class asshats busy, too.
âIâll even be the DD,â Evie said, sweetening the pot. âDonât be a blob, Shel.â
Who was a blob?
My body had forgotten it was tired. âIâll drive. You deserve a drink after putting all that energy into such effective speechifying.â
âThanks for appreciating my efforts.â
I spruced up, then changed from my Angelâs Seat T-shirt into a red-and-white blouse that tied up high, baring my midriff. Evie waited by the empty pool while I shut the sliding door behind me. I led her through the side yard and was just texting Mom so she wouldnât freak out about my location change when Evie brought up Micah again.
âYou know what the best way ever is to make Rex grind his teeth, though?â
I put away my phone, then opened my pickupâs door. âIâm not having sex with Micah Wyatt.â
âGot it.â
As we climbed in, I was thankful my cab light was broken, because if she saw how much I was flushing now, sheâd never let me forget it.
***
Parties definitely didnât get âneckier than this.
A full moon washed over a wide field as we pulled off the dirt lane that stretched from the main road to the Hollandsâ one-story ranch house. A bonfire burned nearby, and there was a keg in the flatbed of Jimmyâs red GM truck, where a circle of guys gathered.
Thatâs not where the rest of the crowd was, though.
As Evie and I walked from my parked pickup toward the Blake Shelton music that
Matt Witten
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