Chapter 8

BUZZ BUZZ

My phone vibrated in my bag. At least that's what I hoped it was. I cleared the cobwebs from my brain and clumsily dug at my backpack zipper till I could retrieve it. It was Erika.

Eight-fifteen in the fucking morning, are you serious?

I read the text:

So did you get laid?

I grimaced and worked the miniature keypad.

Bitch. No. not evrybody is a cok magnet like you. Oh and did you realize its kinda early???

Isnt sean there??

She was one of the only people I had told about our encounter in the spring. I smiled and laid the bait.

Ya, n he said he wants to help me wit sumthin

What??

He sed he wants to poke my lil hole

WHATT??

We tried it once but it made a relaly big mess. Like all over my face n chest

Shut up. Im never talking to you again

Im SErious! But its not what you think. He def hit on me, and there was sum way crazy shit.

But I will tell you l8r. cant say it all here. I gotta go for now tho.

My phone buzzed at least eight more times while I put on a tank top and shorts. I smiled, delighted that it was driving her crazy wanting to know what was going on.

I'm so wicked sometimes. But whatever. She is the one who's always telling me all her stuff.

Erika had had a few different sexual escapades over the last school year, the pinnacle of which was losing her virginity in the backseat of her sixteen year-old boyfriend's car just over a month ago. I had been jealous of her achievements and was quite happy to report my own, but didn't think that I would be able to share the more recent, taboo developments. She was my best friend and I trusted her, but I still was afraid of freaking her out.

She did know how I felt about Danny though, but to what extent I wasn't sure. I had shared that I thought that his friends were hot and that he was too. I even told her about catching he and Erin having sex and about playing with and tasting the condom. She didn't judge me at all, but was more excited and inquisitive than anything. Still, I was very cautious in what I disclosed. It was too important of a friendship to fuck up.

Most everyone was up eating cereal or instant oatmeal by the time I made it out to the fire ring. The discomfort of sleeping a first night outdoors in combination with the after effects of the alcohol had left everyone groggy and quiet. I glanced at Danny several times while I prepared my bowl and sat next to Maia, but he didn't look my way. I ate quietly, wishing that we had coffee.

Sol came walking out of the woods a minute later. He smiled brightly and whipped his arm up overhead with a clear plastic bag in his grasp.

"Wake and bake children!" he exclaimed.

"You're fucking kidding me. You found that shit!?" Danny reveled.

"Danny, Danny," he said with disappointment, "It found me." He pulled out a pipe and started packing the bowl. "You see kids? What's meant to be always works out in the end."

"Waters of virtue, Sol?" I teased him.

He gave me a wink as he lit the center and inhaled.

Danny turned back to scrapping his bowl, "It was in your backpack, huh?"

He spoke breathily, holding in the smoke, "Yep.," then blew out a large columnar cloud.

Everyone laughed and the pipe started to circulate.

There were really no plans for the day and we carried them out perfectly. We pleasantly chatted and teased each other, with plenty of sexual overtones coming from the guys. The coolness of the morning kept us from the lake, so we tidied up the previous night's mess and just milled around. More pot was shared and I felt floaty and hazed for the majority of the time.

Danny seemed as comfortable as ever, and while he hadn't distanced himself from me, I didn't sense any new spark to how we connected either. I speculated that perhaps the drunkenness had robbed his memory, but thought better of it when I remembered the dumbstruck look on his face after he had kissed me.