Light Me On Fire

The house was packed. I had to hold on tightly to Nick’s hand as we maneuvered through the dozens of bodies in the room. I was grateful that everyone else seemed to be in their prom attire; otherwise I would have felt like a fool wearing my dress to the party.

“Whose house is this?” Nick yelled over the music.

“I think Jamie’s!” Kelsi yelled back as we finally made our way to the kitchen.

I grabbed the first bottle my eyes landed on, and poured a hefty amount into a cup before adding a bit of coke to the mix. Nick arched his brows at me and I gave a shrug, not really feeling like explaining myself. I took a chug of the drink, letting my eyes wander around the room.

“Dude, this chick has everything,” Kennedy smiled, glancing over the dozens of liquor bottles lined up on the counter.

“Hey, take it easy, babe. We have the whole night to go,” Kelsi smiled.

Jared poured a drink for him and Alaska before handing her a cup. “I know everyone says prom is an important part of your senior year, but it wasn’t too exciting for me,” he stated.

Alaska nodded her head. “I agree. I think dancing was the best,” she laughed as Jared wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“What do you want to drink, babe?” Garrett asked, looking at Becca.

She shrugged. “Just a beer, I guess.” He nodded his head and began digging through a cooler set on the ground.

“Are you okay, Soph?” Nick whispered into my ear, his hand around my waist.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Nick,” I lied, slapping a smile onto my face.

He sighed but nodded his head, not pushing the subject. He grabbed a beer and we all stood around, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. It wasn’t until we heard someone shout “JohnO” that we all turned to the foyer of the kitchen.

I scoffed under my breath as he came into the room, smiling and laughing. Kelsi and Becca gave me a knowing glance, and I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You know you’re going to tell us sooner or later,” Becca laughed.

I knew she was right, but at the moment, I didn’t exactly care. I chugged what was left in my cup before refilling it.

“Hey, guys,” John said, approaching our group, his hand attached to Kylie’s.

“Sup, John. Hey, Kylie,” Kennedy smiled.

John grabbed himself a beer and I almost wanted to laugh at Kylie’s facial expression when she saw he hadn’t grabbed one for her. She rolled her eyes and pursed her lips before grabbing a Corona.

“Can we go outside?” I whispered to Nick, who nodded his head before grabbing my hand.

He led us out into the backyard, and I immediately reached into my purse, pulling out a cigarette.

“Sophia, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

I looked at him as I lit the stick in my mouth. “There’s nothing bothering me, Nick,” I said, exhaling the smoke.

He rolled his eyes and took a sip of his beer. “You’re lying, but I won’t bug you about it.”

I smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, placing a peck on his lips. “You’re so cute.”

He laughed. “And so are you, baby,” he smiled, giving me another kiss.

I pulled away, though, to continue smoking, and he began talking about how excited he, Halvo and Justin were to be hitting the road this summer. Although I kept nodding my head and smiling, the news made my stomach turn. It made me think about how lonely I was going to be this summer with all my boys gone. Sure, I would have Kelsi, Becca and Alaska, but they were bound to have their own things going on. It was sad to know that the last summer we would have together before each of us began college and “real life”, wasn’t going to be filled with road trips and making memories. Instead, we’d all be separated.

“ … Sophie, hello! Baby, you there?” Nick asked, waving a hand in front of my face.

I shook my head, blinking my eyes. “Yeah?”

He laughed. “You spaced out on me.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry, Nick. What were you saying?”

“Just that-“

“Sophie, we need you!”

We both turned to see Kelsi standing near the backdoor. “What?” I asked, confused.

“Just come here!” she yelled.

I looked at Nick who gave me a smile. “I’ll go find John and the guys,” he said.

I nodded my head and followed him back into the house, before Kelsi took my hand and dragged me into the living room. “What’s going on?”

“Someone spilled their drink on Alaska’s dress!” she told me.

“Where is she?”

“In the bathroom!”

She pulled me through the room and down the long line that was waiting for the bathroom. Dirty looks were given to us as we cut to the front, knocking on the door. “It’s us!” she shouted. The door opened a few inches and Kelsi and I slipped inside.

Alaska’s face was flushed red and she looked as if she were trying not to cry. “This dress cost me so fucking much!” she said before sitting on the toilet seat.

Becca was working furiously with a wet rag to try and get the stain off of the bottom of her dress. “I’m sorry, Alaska. I’m really trying to get it off.”

She sniffled and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Becca. It’s no use, but thank you for trying.” Becca stood up and gave her a sad smile.

I felt bad. “I have an idea,” I blurted out. They all turned and look at me. “You can take my dress, ‘Laska.”

“Wh – what? But – but then what will you wear?” she asked, wiping her eyes.

“I, uh, I have a pair of shorts on. I can just borrow Nick’s shirt or jacket or something … I mean, you can’t walk around with your dress like that.”

She beamed a smile and jumped up, giving me a hug. “Thank you so much, Sophia!”

I laughed. “It’s no problem. I’ll be right back!”

I hurried out of the restroom and ran straight to the kitchen, seeing Nick with the guys in the corner of the room. When he saw me, he smiled.

“Everything okay?”

I nodded my head. “Can I borrow your shirt?” His brows furrowed, obviously confused. “I’ll explain later, but I just need your shirt.”

“Uh, okay,” he said before taking off his jacket. He unbuttoned his dress shirt, still having on a plain white tee, and handed it to me.

“Thanks, babe!” I smiled, giving him a quick kiss before running off again. When I got back to the bathroom, Alaska and I immediately began undressing.

I didn’t exactly have real shorts on; it was merely a black, spandex material that was meant to smooth out my curves and suck in my tummy for me, but it would have to do. I slid on Nick’s white shirt, buttoning it up. It fit loosely, but it worked. My dress was also a bit big on Alaska, but it looked stunning on her.

“I owe you big time, girl,” she laughed.

I waved my hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay, I think we all really need a drink now,” Becca sighed, going to open the door.

We all nodded our heads in agreement and I pulled down the ends of my shorts as much as I could before following behind them. When we made it back to the kitchen, the guys raised their eyebrows at Alaska and I.

“Someone spilled their drink on my dress,” she explained.

“Oh,” Jared said.

Alaska tossed her dress to a corner of the room, and I laughed as she made a face when it fell to the floor. Nick wrapped his arms around me and placed a kiss on my cheek.

“You’re too kind, love,” he smiled.

I laughed. “Hardly. It was just a dress.”

He eyed me up and down. “I can’t lie and say that I don’t like this outfit better, though.”

I blushed and I gave him another kiss before grabbing a drink. “Let’s enjoy tonight?”

He nodded his head. “Of course.”

_________________________________________________________

I couldn’t stop giggling as Nick’s lips explored my neck. We were in a secluded corner of the living room, and my back was against the wall, with his arms on both sides of me. As his tongue flickered over my collarbone, an involuntary moan escaped my mouth and I felt his lips smirk.

“I want you so bad, Sophia Lyric,” he sighed, his forehead resting on my shoulder.

I grinned and took another chug of the drink in my hand, although my head was already spinning. “I want you, too,” I said seductively.

He lifted his head, looking me in the eyes. “You want to head out?”

“We don’t have a car,” I reminded him.

“Fuck,” he muttered before widening his eyes. “I have an idea. Wait here,” he rushed before running off.

I laughed and continued sipping on my drink, before I felt a pair of eyes on me. I glanced around the room, and when I caught sight of who it was, I wasn’t exactly surprised. I bit down on my bottom lip as I saw him making his way towards me.

“Having fun?” I asked, not looking at him.

“Yeah, but obviously not as much fun as you're having,” he spat, jealousy in his voice. I gave a shrug and he placed his hands on my cheeks, turning my head so I was looking at him. “Sophia, what are we doing to each other?”

“I don’t know, John. Why don’t you tell me?”

A look of anger flickered in his eyes. “Actually, I think you need to tell me! You’re the one who told me our kiss didn’t mean anything!”

I groaned. “I was lying, John! I was confused already and then you fucking kissed me! As much as I did like it, I couldn’t do that to Nick! He doesn’t deserve it!”

“And you think I want to hurt my best friend!? Sophia, we’re in love with each other, and it’s obvious to everyone! Fuck, even Nick knows, but do you think he’s going to give you up if you don’t say anything?” he questioned, his facial expression softening.

I licked my lips and averted my gaze, feeling tears prick my eyes. “You kissed Kylie,” I said quietly.

A small smile graced his lips and his thumbs brushed the tears in my eyes away. “It didn’t mean anything … I was jealous that you were dancing with Nick.”

I laughed. “I was jealous that you were dancing with her.”

The smile fell from his face and was replaced with a look of hurt. “Are you going home with Nick?”

I nodded my head slowly. “He’s my boyfriend, John.”

He sighed and let his hands fall to his sides. “Are you going to sleep with him?”

“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully.

He nodded his head. “I love you, Sophia.”

I smiled, feeling more tears hoard my eyes. “I love you, too, JohnO.” He gave me a sad smile before hugging me tightly. Nick returned, holding a ring of keys in the air.

“I got a car,” he chuckled.

I laughed and wiped my eyes, hoping he was too inebriated to notice I had been crying. “Great. Let’s go.”

I waved to John and Nick pulled me out of the house, and into a random black car in the driveway. He started the engine and we were off.

When we got to his house, he wasted no time in getting out of the car, and I had to run to keep up with him. As soon as we were in his room, his lips hungrily kissed mines and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, playing with the ends of his hair. We stumbled towards his bed, and he fell back on it, me sitting on top of him. His hands slipped under my shirt, and down the back of my shorts, gripping my butt. It turned me on, and I deepened our kiss.

We began shedding our clothes and as we slipped under his covers, I tried not to think about John. I tried so hard to focus on the boy who was hovered above me, kissing every part of my body as I stared up at the ceiling.

But, it didn’t work. The hurt look on John’s face when I told him I was leaving with Nick kept entering my mind, and tears began falling down my cheeks. It wasn’t until Nick came back up, kissing my jaw, that he noticed I was crying.

“Sophie, baby, what’s wrong?” he asked, worry laced in his voice.

“I – I can’t do this with you, Nick,” I whispered.

“Soph-“

“I’m sorry,” I cried as I sat up, feeling around the bed for my shirt. When I found it, I instantly slipped it on.

I heard a soft sigh escape his lips before he turned and looked at me. “It’s John, isn’t it?” I bit down on my lip, not answering him as I pulled on my shorts. “Sophia, can you just stop for a minute?” he asked, gently grabbing my hand.

I looked up at him, my bottom lip trembling. “I’m so sorry, Nick. I – I wanted to do this with you, I really did. I just – I love John,” I said, smiling softly as the words left my lips. “I love John.”

I could tell that he wanted to be angry with me, but he merely nodded his head and let go of me. “I know you do. I guess I just – I just hoped that you could fall in love with me.”

I gave him a sympathetic smile and looked into his eyes. “I hoped I could fall in love with you, too, Nick, but my heart’s already taken. It’s been taken since the first day I met John.”

He nodded his head and gave me one last kiss on the lips. “I’ll see you around.”

“You will, Nick. You’re still my best friend.”

He smiled. “Of course I am.”

I laughed and gave him a tight hug before running outside. I knew that John lived about ten minutes from Nick on foot, and when my feet hit the sidewalk, I took off running. I ran as fast my legs would carry me, not stopping to catch my breath.

When I finally came to the front of his house, I sat down on his porch and held onto my stomach as I took long breaths of air. I knew John wouldn’t be home, but I was willing to wait for him.

I fiddled with my phone and even counted the stars in the sky, until I finally heard a car coming down the street. I didn’t recognize the car, but it slowed when it came to the front of the house. The passenger door opened and I watched as John’s tall figure got out of the car, before it disappeared down the street.

John kept his head bowed as he walked to the steps, and we he saw my feet, his head snapped up. “Sophia?”

I smiled and stood up. “Hey,” I said shyly.

He gave me a confused look. “I thought – I thought you were going home with Nick?”

“I did.” I stepped closer to him and grabbed his hands. “John, I couldn’t sleep with Nick because the only boy I could think about the whole time was you. Even when I tried not to, you kept creeping back into my mind.”

He smirked, cradling my face in his hands. “It’s because I’m meant to be there, baby. Not Nick.”

I smiled and stood on my tiptoes, pressing my forehead against his. “I love you, John,” I stated, looking into his green orbs.

He smiled lovingly and rubbed his nose against mines. “I love you, too, Sophia Lyric. I always have.”

My heart swelled with happiness as he pressed his lips against mines, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him as close to me as was possible.

I don’t know how long we stood on his front porch kissing, but when we finally pulled away, I found it hard to breathe.

“Stay the night with me, Soph?”

“Of course,” I smiled.

He took my hand and we began making our way to his front door. Just as he was about to turn the knob, he turned around and looked at me. “Oh, before we go inside, I need to ask you something.”

“And what’s that, JohnO?”

“Be my girl?” he grinned. I held back a squeal and pressed my lips against his. “Is that a yes?” he laughed.

“That’s a hell yes,” I clarified.

Even though I was nervous to take this jump with John – to move past our friendship into a relationship – I’d never been so excited about anything in my life. I wanted him and he wanted me.

It didn’t matter that it took us years to get here, because really, all that mattered was that we got here – that we ended up together.

John was the boy whose mere touch set my skin on fire. He was the boy that made my heart speed up and my breath get caught in my throat. He was the boy whose voice created butterflies in my stomach, and whose smile made me smile.

And when you find someone who does that to you, well … you just can’t let them go.