Heartbeat

When we came back to my house, I ran upstairs to get changed and Sid went back to Mario’s to do the same and after approximately twenty minutes—which is the quickest I’ve ever gotten ready—we met back down in front of the Lemieux’s house to walk down to Luke’s house.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was excited. Any girl will tell you that showing up at her ex-boyfriends house with a guy like Sid would be a thrilling thing. The guy has a career made and he was only 18 whereas Luke was going to Carnegie to study to be a doctor and had years and years to go. Unfortunately, he probably knew me well enough to see through my bluff and know that we’re not together.

We walked down the street together in mostly silence. I loved the night, especially in the summertime. The air was warm and heavy and the air smelled like cut grass. And everything was so quiet that it was peaceful and perfect. I smiled to myself, I couldn’t help it—the nighttime was my favorite. Sidney looked over at me and smiled, shaking his head.

“What are you so happy about?” he asked as we walked on. I listened to the sound of my heels click against the sidewalk, giving him a lighthearted shrug.

“I like the night. It’s so nice out. “ I said with a smile.

“You like the night? Aren’t you a little scared of being out here?” he questioned with a grin, clearly joking around. I laughed and shook my head, pushing into him a little. We were becoming fast friends and what friends didn’t push and shove?

“It’s suburban Pittsburgh, the only thing to be scared of out here are deer. Why, you’re not scared of the dark, are you?” I teased and he laughed easily, his face lighting up.

“Absolutely not. “ he replied, grinning and putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans as we kept walking along.

I could see the lights of Luke’s house and the noise of people outside coming in and as we neared even closer, I saw Peter Kingston, the class president and valedictorian, roll a keg into the house.

Pon De Replay was blaring as we stepped inside, moving past Jeanie Harris and Gary Grastein drunkingly making out and John Luca throwing up into some pot. I ignored them and moved along to the beat of the music, looking for Lexie.

Lexie Singer had been my best friend since I moved here from D.C. We went to the same elementary school, the same middle school, the same high school and now we were both going to go to the same university. We were so much alike that it was frightening. When the first day of the fifth grade arrived, we both had a similar story to share with the class during introductions. Two girls from another state and ultimately, another country.

Lexie was from Canada, a small fact that is only noticed during two situations. One is hockey season, where she always manages to wear some form of Vancouver Canucks gear on her. Whether it was the hat she wore almost every day during the winter or the t-shirt she wears at least once a week, or even the hoodie. She’s probably the only girl I know that could make the blue and green look fashionable. The other time was when she was drinking.

“We really don’t watch TV in Canada. It’s why all the girls are so pretty there, fresh mountain air—BABY, YOU MADE IT!” I heard a familiar voice say and I looked into the kitchen. I saw Lexie on a counter, surrounded by boys. She pushed her way through them as soon as she saw me.

“Hey! Lex!” I said, giving her a hug. She planted a red cup into my hand automatically and looked at Sid with a confused expression on her face.

“Oh right, Lex. This is Sidney, he’s just moved to town from Nova Scotia. He’s staying with Mario.” I began before turning to Sidney. “Sid, this is my friend Lexie. She’s drunk but it’s okay. She’s from Vancouver! Yay Canada.” I said, taking a sip from my drink.

“I know you! You’re playing for the Pens next season. I saw you on TSN when I went home for winter break. “ she said through slurred speech. Sid just laughed stiffly before catching a beer someone threw at him. Lex looked at me as the music changed and grabbed my hand, giving a little wave to Sidney as we moved out of the kitchen and into the living room swaying along to Don’t Cha.

The two of us began dancing along with everyone else in the living room and maybe if I was sober, I would have noticed the irony of me dancing to a song about stealing someone’s girlfriend while Luke watched with his girlfriend sitting there in his lap. But here’s the thing, I didn’t notice him and I was most definitely not right of mind. And Lexie was even drunker than me. So I just continued to wind to the music, not even noticing as Peter came up and danced alongside us.

And I definitely didn’t notice Sidney watching either.

As the music faded out from Don’t Cha to Bananza by Akon, Lex and I automatically laughed and continued dancing. As the lyrics turned hey ladies, drop it down just wanna see ya touch the ground. Don’t be shy girl, go bananza shake your body like a belly dancer. Lex and I did just that. Except while she got to finish the dance, I was just about to shake it like a belly dancer as Akon instructed, but was interrupted by Luke standing there.

“Hey Lily.” He said and I frowned.

“Hey, Luke. Uh. What’s up?” I said, taking a sip of my drink. I already felt dizzy and I knew I should have stopped, but instead I kept on drinking. The result wasn’t pleasant, but I preferred it to being around him sober.

“Look, Lil. I’m sorry. Can you just come with me for a second? I need to talk to you.” He said with a grin and I hesitated. Talking to Luke to begin with was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. But I felt liberated by the buzz of alcohol and so I followed him out of the living room and to the dining room. I could barely see back into the living room, but I caught a glimpse of Sidney and Lexie together looking back at me.

Fantastic.