Somewhere

Chapter Twenty

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CHAPTER TWENTY

In which Sam realizes the party is over

"I fucking knew it," Gibson half sobbed, cringing up as he downed the last swig of his beer. He smashed the can against his head, but instead of crushing flat, it sort of bent and tumbled off his face. It joined the remnants of dust and hay on the barn floor. He slurred, "I knew if you got a boyfriend, you'd fuckin' abandon me."

It was amazing I could hear him over the music. "Gibson," I laughed, patting my pinkened face friend on the back. "You haven't lost me."

"Don't lie right to face," he shrugged off my hand, still pouting. His freckled cheeks were red like they were sunburnt. "Just promise me it's not gonna be like last time." He met my eyes and it was like the cloud of alcohol parted for just a moment. He raised his pinky. "Promise?"

I locked my pinky with his and smiled, "promise."

What surprised me most was Gibson yanking me into a tight hug. He knocked the air right out of me as he nuzzled the side of my face. He was somehow sticky. Why was he sticky? He sighed. "I always knew it'd be some hot asshole that stole you away. You got one type, Sam Rivera-"

"Alright! We're done!" I cried, motioning Mae over and mouthing to let her know that Gibson was willing and ready to dance. She grinned, yanking Gibson to his feet. She dragged him to the middle of the barn, where they set up the wooden platform from last year's party.

The Meyers Barn was two stories with a high arched ceiling. It was a wonder of handcrafted recycled wood, a summer project Mae's Dad did with a bunch of boys in town, who needed a job to stay out of trouble. The floor was open like a wrap around proch that looked down at the dance floor. Mae strung dozens of twinkling lights from either side like a long wide net. They were all different brands and types with smaller and bigger lights in all kinds of shapes. A mess of sparkling starlight.

The barn was wide as it was long and in the back, a DJ was set up for whatever local wannabe. I'm pretty sure DJ Young Money was just Kenneth Bright from my Chemistry 101 class that ate the frayed bits off his torn composition paper.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my sides and I jumped. I whipped around, smacking Jamie in the chest. He laughed and danced around me. He grinned, "having fun? I didn't realize it was business casual tonight." I still wore the plum suit apart from my blazer sitting in the back of Cooper's car. I rolled up my sleeves at least.

"Hilarious," I said, and he handed me the extra solo cup in his hands before grooving back to the dance floor. He pointed at a random blonde in the crowd, motioning him closer until they were grinding and Jamie was hollering.

Laughing into my drink, I quickly scrunched up my face as I forced the cheap beer down. The warmth that flooded my veins made it all worth it.

"Aw, someone beat me to it," Cooper said, appearing with two drinks. He went to look for Lucinda and Bash. They weren't at the Blackwood party and it seemed they weren't here either. It wasn't like them to disappear. Grinning wickedly, I eyed Cooper as I chugged the beer Jamie gave me. The more I drank, the easier it was to stomach the swill. An incredulous, melodic laugh escaped Cooper and I smiled wider. "Whoa, whoa," he laughed. "I thought I was the animal here."

"Thank you," I said, throwing my empty cup being me and taking Cooper's drink.

With another laugh, Cooper pressed a kiss on the side of my head. Tonight was going to be fun, I decided. I'd save all my burning questions for tomorrow, after the tournament. We'll fight over what he wasn't telling me then. For now, I'd give him one of the best nights of his life. We found our own little corner, sipping our drinks and people watching. I had gotten onto some rant about Gibson and all the times he'd been obsessed with his girlfriends and he should cut me some slack, when I realized Cooper hadn't said anything in a while. He stared at me, unwavering.