Love's Not A Competition: Senior Year

The day of the party came sooner than I thought it would. Brittney and Katie brought all their things into my room to get ready. Katie changed in the bathroom first. She came out in a one sleeved, black mini dress. Her blonde hair fell down her back with the ends curled. She was wearing black stilettos and was carrying a little black clutch bag. I changed into a leopard print tube dress with black leather ankle boots that had a six inch heel. I left my hair down as well but I didn’t curl it. Brittney changed into a strapless red dress that fell to her knees and flowed around her with she walked. The dress had a small flower pattern near the hem. She wore black stilettos as well and tied her hair up in a simple ponytail.

“We look hot,” Katie grinned.
“Well, not to blow my own horn but I have to agree,” I said.
“Do I look fat in this?”

Katie and I both looked at Brittney before shaking our heads. Katie put an arm around Brittney and led her out of the room. I grabbed my bag and slung the chain over my shoulder. The bag knocked against my hip as I walked out of the room and down the hall after my friends. We met the boys in the lounge and Zeke wolf whistled when he saw me. I did a little turn before he pulled me up against him. I heard Eric pretend to throw up as Zeke kissed me. I giggled and we all walked outside together. We were catching cabs since nobody wanted to be the sober driver. It was safer anyway. I went with Zeke and Katie while Eric, Amy and Brittney went in the other cab. Jesse lived nearly on the other side of town so it was a bit of a drive.

I could tell that Katie was nervous when we pulled up to the house. She was fiddling with a piece of her hair and even Zeke seemed to notice the fidgeting. We piled out of the car and she asked me for the tenth time if she looked okay. Zeke rolled his eyes as he grabbed my hand and we walked up the path to the open front door. Jesse’s house was quite flash. It was one of those homes that you thought would be in Los Angeles. It was white with lots of glass and wooden floors. It was very modern. The front door went up a staircase the second floor and we climbed it. We walked into the open living area. Glass covered most of the wall and the sliding doors opened onto the balcony which had a hot tub on it. People were everywhere and music thumped through the house. Jesse spotted us and walked over.

“Hey guys. Glad you could make it. You look hot, babe,” he said to Katie.

I noticed that Zeke had looked away when Jesse had come over, ignoring him completely. Katie giggled before Jesse kissed her passionately. I looked away, feeling like a peeping tom or something. Zeke pulled me over to the drinks table and handed me a cup of beer. I turned when I heard a loud squeal and we watched as Brittney launched herself at Aidan. They also attached at the mouth and didn’t break away for a very long time. I looked at Zeke and he wiggled his eyebrows at me. I looked around and noticed that we were practically the youngest people here. Everyone was between our age and Jesse’s age.

“I feel like a child hanging out at the adult’s party,” I whispered to Zeke.
“I know how you feel. I mean, I’ve never felt so young at a party. All these kids are college age. Isn’t Jesse like 23 or something?”
“Yeah, around there,” I said.
“I heard some of the girls in my class gossiping about them. They were saying that Katie is too young for him.”
“Do you agree?”

“Well, yeah,” he said. “But if she really loves him then age shouldn’t matter. It’s him I’m worried about. You should hear some of the other stuff those girls were saying.”
“What was it?”
Zeke stepped closer to me and looked around to make sure no one was listening to our conversation. “They said that he was only using her for sex.”
“But that’s ridiculous. She told me that they only had sex during the summer for the first time. And they had been hanging out since after spring break.”

Zeke nodded before sipping on his drink. Eric came over with Amy and they both looked at us funny. I raised an eyebrow.
“I just don’t understand how you two can act like an old married couple all the time. Doesn’t it get boring being all loved up? Where’s the excitement if nothing will change in the next twenty years?”
“Shut up, Eric,” Zeke growled.

Eric just smiled as Zeke pushed past him. I rolled my eyes at Eric and went to follow Zeke but Katie grabbed me and dragged me onto the dance floor. Brittney joined us and we danced together, having a good time. I didn’t tell Katie about what those girls had said. I didn’t think she would want to hear it, especially not now. We were having a good time and I didn’t want to spoil it.

Jesse came over halfway through our third song and grabbed Katie’s hand. He whispered something in her ear but she shrugged him off. He tried pulling her off the dance floor but she pulled her hand out of his. He looked pissed and I wondered if he was going to pick her up and carry her off before he looked around, remembering where he was. He shot us a smile before walking off the dance floor. Brittney continued dancing with Katie but I couldn’t help but questions what I had just seen.

“What did he want?” I asked her.
“Oh, nothing,” she said. “He just wanted to go to his bedroom for a chat.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.

She beamed at me brightly and twisted me around, making me forget about the questions. I laughed with my two friends and Aidan soon joined us as well as Eric and Amy. I looked around for Zeke but couldn’t see him. I hoped he hadn’t been too angry about what Eric had said. I still didn’t understand why he was so angry. What was wrong with being a loving couple? Was he actually bored with our relationship? I shook my head before continuing to dance, not wanting to spoil my good mood over something that might not even be true.

Brittney and I walked over to the drink table and both grabbed a cup of beer. I sipped mine and Brittney was just raising her cup to her lips when Aidan came out of nowhere and grabbed it from her. I raised my eyebrows but didn’t say anything as they started whispering furiously at each other. Brittney finally gave up, her arms crossed over her chest. She pouted but grabbed a cup of water instead. I looked at Katie and Eric who had just came over. They had seen the argument as well. It was really weird. Aidan had never cared how much Brittney drank before.

“What was that about?” Katie asked.
“He took her drink from her,” I explained.
“That’s odd,” Eric said.

Katie and I nodded, still watching as Aidan pulled Brittney away from the drinks table and into a dark corner so they could carry on their talk in private. It ended up with the two of them attaching at the mouth and we looked away.

“Maybe she’s pregnant and he is reminding her that she can’t drink and alcohol because of the baby. She had looked a little chunky lately and she eats like a pig,” Eric said. “So maybe she is pregnant.”