Young

“Where the fuck is Garrett?” I said, looking around the crowded house for the copper-haired pain in the ass. I couldn’t see him anywhere and turned to look at Pat who was frowning.

He tightened his grip on my hand as drunken teenagers screamed and the beat of the loud music moved through us. It was a chaotic scene, and it was the atmosphere I loved. It was the one place where I could get lost, but knew exactly where I was, all at the same time; if that even makes any sense. The parties were where I made my mark. The parties were where people broke up, made up, or just made out. They presented a night of opportunity, and often a night you wished you’d forget.

“You know Garrett,” Pat said now, “he’s probably telling some poor girl that he’s a millionaire.”

“Or a scuba diver,” I said.

“Or a fireman,” Pat laughed. I laughed and stood on my tip-toes to kiss him on the cheek. He scrunched up his face and smiled, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“We’re so adorable,” he said.

“It’s tragic, really,” I said sarcastically, grinning at my boyfriend. He elbowed me in the ribs and I shoved him in the shoulder just as Garrett approached us. We both looked at him like he was an alien from another planet. He’d come out of fucking nowhere.

Garrett was already completely trashed. The look in his eyes gave him away. I knew that look better than anybody. He started talking a million miles an hour about a girl he’d met at the party before last named Kelly. He was hoping he’d see her again at this party. Apparently she was a regular on the party circuit. I snorted in laughter and Garrett stared at me like he was wishing death upon me.

“What?” I said, the face of innocence.

“What’s so funny?” Garrett said, his tone flat.

“Kelly Veneziano? Brown hair, bangin’ body, filthy mouth and an ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude?”

Garrett’s eyes widened. “You know her?” he gaped. I laughed and rolled my eyes. “She’s only my best friend!” I said.

“Then what are you waiting for?” Garrett said. “Introduce us!”