Exhale (7 page)

“Sorry about that, ladies, how’s it going?” Kyle asked, flashing us both that sexier than sin smile he’d perfected over the years. The smile that I didn't deserve to have directed my way anymore, not after everything that had happened between me and Derek, and especially not after the conversation I’d just had with Missy.  There were too many secrets between us all now, too many secrets that didn’t used to be there, too many secrets we were all hiding from Kyle.

“Great, just soaking up some rays,” Missy said with too much enthusiasm, as she adjusted the tiny triangles of her leopard print bikini top, begging for Kyle's attention. I rolled my eyes and looked away.  Jerking my hair tie free from my messy bun, I raked my fingers through my hair and scraped it back into a neater bun on top of my head.

“Hi,” Kyle said pointedly to me, his warm hand squeezing my knee closest to him. Missy's body visibly tensed beside me from his action and I couldn't help the slight sense of smugness that trickled through me because of it. Make him forget all about me, huh? Fat chance.

“Hey,” I replied, finally looking in his direction. Movement behind him caught my attention. Derek stood a couple of feet behind Kyle with the others, his eyes staring fixedly at Kyle’s hand resting on my knee.

“Come on, Kyle.  You ready?” Derek shouted. His lips pressed together into a thin line as his eyes bored into Kyle’s back.

I bounced my knee so that Kyle would take a hint and remove his hand. He did, but I still wished that I hadn’t felt so self-satisfied with his hand there in the first place. It wasn't right and I never wanted to see that look of insecurity on Derek's face again. A sickness churned through me. Missy could have Kyle. In fact, they had my blessing.

“We’re headed down to Skullies for something to eat, you guys wanna come?” Kyle asked.

“Yeah sure, that would be great. I could go for one of their smoothies,” Missy said without missing a beat.

“Kat?” Kyle prompted, his elbow bumping against my calf when I didn’t answer right away.

“Yeah, a smoothie sounds good.” I smiled and hoped it looked genuine enough.

“Cool, I’ll tell the guys to wait up a minute.”

I stood up as Kyle walked away, tossing the football lightly between his hands, and began shaking out my towel before shoving it in my beach bag.

“What’s your deal?  Are you pissed or something?” Missy asked in a hushed whisper as she did the same with her towel.

“No, why would I be?” I lied.

“Okay…” she said, dragging the word out. “If you don’t want me to try to get with Kyle then just tell me and I’ll back off, but at some point, you’ve got to realize that you can’t have them both.”

“I don't want them both,” I said honestly.

“Really, you seemed pretty damn happy when his hand was on your knee and not mine.”

My face flushed. “Well, I wasn't.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, go for it.” I flashed a slight smile her way. “Really.”

Missy's plump lips stretched into a wide smile as she tossed her beach bag over her shoulder. “All right then!” She started for the guys with a little pep in her step.

I scooped up my bottle of water and followed. My stomach fluttered as I watched Missy practically jog to Kyle’s side and press up against him. I looked at Derek to distract myself from the inner turmoil I was feeling, and saw the corner of his lips twist into a little smile as I met up with their little group.  Butterflies swarmed my stomach at the sight. His fingertip brushed against my thigh ever so slightly as we all began walking in the direction of Skullies. My lips parted from the sensation it caused to jolt through me, and all I wanted was to press my lips to his. I forced my desires down, promising myself that I would be able to do just that at some point tonight one way or another.

I shifted my gaze to the others, wondering if they had noticed what had just happened between Derek and me, but they all seemed oblivious. The change that had occurred between the two of us was both exhilarating and frightening all at the same time, but I loved every minute of it.

“Anyone down for a bonfire party here tonight?” Kyle asked, tossing the football he held in his hands high into the sky and then catching it.

“It’s Sunday,” Derrick said, eyeing him. I noticed how scruffy his jaw was and had a sudden desire to smooth my hand across it. “Don’t you have to work tomorrow morning?”

“And what?  There’s only three weeks left of summer… I for one,
brother
, plan on enjoying them.”

“I’m in!” Missy shouted.

Eric nodded in agreement at my left. “Me too.”

Chad and Ray seemed to enjoy the idea as well. I thought of the last party I had attended and about how my night had ended with that perfect first kiss. My lips stretched into a smile at the memory, and my mind filled with thoughts of how exciting it would be to sneak off with Derek into the shadows and have a repeat of every kiss we’d shared. I shifted my gaze away from Derek and dropped it to my toes.

“I’ll go,” I said, hoping no one had noticed the blush that had crept up my neck in the last ten seconds due to my vigorous thoughts, and wondered what I was going to tell my parents in order to get out of the house.

“Then it’s settled.” Kyle shifted his glare to Derek. “Party tonight. Here.”

“Fine,” Derek muttered, his gaze meeting mine, but only after Kyle had glanced away. The corners of his mouth twisted up, forming a tiny smile that was meant for only my eyes to see. I reciprocated it with a small one of my own and wondered if Derek was thinking the same thing I was—stolen kisses in the shadows.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“Jane called in. Gwen said it was some sort of a stomach bug. I told her I’d come fill in since she said she couldn’t get ahold of Bobby or Cindy,” I lied, avoiding my father’s eyes at all costs.

Mom had gone to the movies with Kyle and Derek’s mother about thirty minutes ago, which was good and bad for my impending plans. It was good, because Dad was the easy one—the one who let me get away with most things Mom wouldn’t, the one who was slack on punishment, the one who was more about fun than rules, the one I genuinely hated lying to. It was bad, because Mom would be out in town and there was always the risk of her seeing me where I wasn’t supposed to be, or worse, her not seeing me where I was supposed to be.

“All right, what time are you supposed to get off tonight?” Dad asked, his brown eyes the same color as mine, shifting from the TV to look directly at me.

“Ten-ish I guess. Same as always.” The words rolled off my tongue too easily.

He nodded and picked the remote back up to channel surf some more. “Well, be careful and I’ll see you later.”

My insides burst with excitement at my success. It shouldn’t have been that easy and I shouldn’t feel this good, not about lying directly to my father’s face, but I couldn’t contain the exhilaration that coursed through my veins. I stood there for an awkward moment as guilt slowly began to eat away at my excitement.

“You’d better get going,” Dad said, peeking sideways at me with a tiny grin. “Love you.”

“Yeah—I know.” I spun and headed for my room so I could pick out an outfit that would be easy to hide beneath my
Movie Night
uniform. “Love you too.”

* * * *

I pulled my cherry red, Chevy Aveo into the crowded parking lot and cut the engine. Carefully, I changed out of my uniform, revealing a tiny pair of khaki shorts and a white tank top beneath.  Reaching for my purse, I pulled out the blue mesh shirt I’d hidden away in there earlier and tugged it on, carefully placing the wide neckline so that one shoulder was exposed. After smoothing my hair out with my hands, I applied a thin layer of Chapstick, and climbed out.

Music played from somewhere, combining with laughter and the roar of the ocean. My stomach rolled the closer to the noise I got. Normally, Missy and I would meet up someplace before the parties, or else we would use the age-old parent trick of spending the night at the other’s house in order to be able to go to parties like this together. This time had been different though. We hadn’t been able to use each other as an alibi; instead, we’d had to fabricate our own lie because of our little tussle from earlier and the unnecessary tension surrounding it. I wasn’t sure what she had used, but I was positive it was something golden. Missy was a skillful liar.

I crossed the wooden bridge that led over the shrub and sand dunes down to the beach as my stomach fluttered with even larger butterflies. I kicked off my flip-flops and pushed them to the side as everyone else had as soon as I reached the white sand. It was still warm from the hot afternoon sun beating down on it. Sinking my toes in deeper, I pulled in a deep breath and searched through the crowds for any familiar faces.

After a few minutes, I realized Kyle hadn’t been the only one with the idea of throwing a party here tonight. From where I stood, I could count three separate fires glowing in the night. People were everywhere—sitting in folding chairs, on towels, or in the sand—sipping from plastic cups or beer bottles. I wondered how long the parties had all been going on here, and if and when they would get broken up by the police.

Glancing around, I took a few steps forward as I attempted to find my group. I didn’t have to search or stand there awkwardly for long, because Kyle’s loud, drunken laughter filled my ears. It was like following a homing beacon and I zeroed in.

“Katie, you finally made it!” Missy squealed, draping her arm over my shoulder, the alcohol on her breath nearly burning my eyes. Guess she wasn’t aggravated with me anymore.

“When did you guys get here?” I asked. I wasn’t that late, was I? Sure I had taken some time trying to think of a lie, but not that much. I looked around. It was a bit dusky out, but not too dark yet.

“Oh, Kyle and I have been here for awhile now,” Missy said, flashing me another one of her famous wicked smiles. “You know that guy Brian, the one who was in your English class last year? Well him and some others decided to have a party here tonight too, so we hung out at theirs for a little while before starting up a fire of our own.”

“Yeah, Chad and Ray and everyone else are here already. We’ve just been waiting for you and Derek to get here,” Kyle said. “Now that you’re here, we can
really
begin the party,” he added suggestively, placing his tipsy hands on my waist.

Missy’s face tightened as she narrowed her eyes at me. She reached for my hand and began tugging me away from Kyle’s grasp. “C’mon, let’s get you something to drink.” She steered me over to where all the alcohol sat in red and blue coolers off to the side. “I almost had him buttered up to me until
you
came along.”

I chuckled at her behavior. I thought by her bubbly greeting that we had passed all of that, but apparently not. “I didn’t do anything. I only walked over to you guys when I saw you because I figured Derek would be close by.” I glanced around once more, but still didn’t see him anywhere.

“He isn’t here yet, but after we get you a drink, I’ll help you look for him again,” Missy said. We stopped in front of an oversized red cooler, beside a couple locking lips sitting on a beach towel. “And there’s Mr. Dreamy now.”

I glanced in the direction Missy had been staring at as I bent down to retrieve a Bud Light from the cooler. Derek was making his way across the wooden bridge. He stopped at the edge, crammed his hands into the front pockets of his cargo shorts, and began searching the massive crowd in front of him the same way I had. I twisted the top off my beer as I came back up and tossed the cap into the metal burn barrel behind the cooler, all without taking my eyes off of him.

“Geez, stare much? The look you’re giving him is creepy. Take a sip and soften your face a little,” Missy muttered. She was one of those boldly blunt people in life who rarely think about how their words will affect others, making her one of those people that you either loved or hated. Fortunately for her, her word usage and condescending tone didn’t bother me like it did everyone else. “Derek, over here!” she shouted as she flailed her arms above her head. My face grew hot and my stomach twisted from her outrageous outburst, but I did as she had ordered, or at least attempted to.

Derek’s eyes snapped to Missy, then shifted and grazed over me, before locking back on her again as he smiled and nodded his head in greeting. I watched him as he walked, noticing how his face was now clean shaven, and I tingled with the anticipation of being able to brush my fingertips against its smoothness as I pressed my lips to his at some point tonight.

“Hey, what’s up?” He grinned when he finally reached us.

“Hey,” I smiled, tapping the metal of my thumb ring against my newly opened beer bottle. “Nothing much.”

“Oh, please, you’re both here now, so you can both be deliciously happy and go find yourself a patch of sand to make out on like the rest of us,” Missy said bluntly, before grabbing two beers out of the cooler and stalking away toward Kyle again.

My face flamed and Derek gave me this look as if he couldn’t believe I had told her about us. My stomach hardened and a tingling sensation entered my chest and spread outward. Did Derek not want me to tell anyone about us? Was he worried Kyle would find out from her? I felt like I had just been caught telling someone’s big secret, when I’d promised not to. I took a long swallow of my beer to avoid speaking first.