Dirtbag

Forty minutes later thirty nameless people arrive at Hanson’s. I’m puzzled as to why he would throw a party while being away. Mostly, I don’t know what to do.

“Dolly, what the hell is going on?” I shout over the loud music. I thank God he lives in a house and not an apartment. “Do you know why all these people are here?”

“Of course I know,” Dolly says. The edge in her voice is mischievous. “I did invite them.”

“What the fuck exactly are you pulling,” I hiss in her ear. I love Dolly but I don’t love her enough to get murdered by Hanson. Or end up in jail. She steps back from me and gives me one of her signature smiles. She’s pretending everything is okay.

Finally she says, “Jack, calm down. This is nothing serious, just a little—” She is interrupted by the sound of a crashing vase. I curse under my breath. “Don’t worry, I can pay for that.”

“Yeah? While you’re at it pay for everything else that’s going to get fucked up.”

“Jack? Is that you?” Over Dolly’s right shoulder I see Casey Reed. She’s wearing short shorts that reveal her long legs. I can’t stop staring.

“Hey, Casey,” I say once she makes her way over. “What are you doing here?”

“I came with Gus,” she says. My jaw clenches at the mention of his name. “I think he’s off with some other girl already, though. Dolly, what in the hell are you doing here?” I am about to ask why her boyfriend is with another girl. Instead, Casey leans over and hugs Dolly as if they’re really close. For all I know, they could be.

“I’m chaperoning this little shindig,” explains Dolly.

“Hanson is going to kill you,” I cut in.

“Wait a second,” Dolly suddenly says, “how do you know Jackie Boy? He doesn’t have any other friends than the stoner and dickwad. And, well, of course—me.”

“We met at a parking garage and he helped me take care of Jules,” says Casey. “God, you know how she can be. She’s only, like, eighty pounds, but when she drinks her body weight triples. It’s ridiculous.”

Dolly raises a brow and asks, “What were you doing outside a parking garage, exactly?” I swear she acts like my mom sometimes. Always concerned and pestering.

“Hanson and I were at Night Riders.”

“Wait, you’re on the bike again?” Dolly whisper-yells. She thinks me riding a bike is like some kind of myth. That the past is the past.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” I mumble. I shouldn’t have taken Hanson. I shouldn’t have been so nice—or such a horndog—to Casey. I shouldn’t have gone to Night Riders. Now it’s screwing everything up.

“I never thought I’d see the day that Jack Trenton got on a bicycle,” Dolly says.

“People nowadays call it a ‘bike’,” I say for the second time. It doesn’t even matter. I just want to avoid the direction my friend is headed towards.

“What, are you not supposed to ride?” Casey inputs. I almost forgot she is here, with Dolly’s interrogation and whatnot. I only shrug in response.

“It’s a long story,” Dolly groans, even though it’s really not. She doesn’t have the knack for building up suspense. She only enjoys exploiting the ending.

Casey gives me a smile, just like the very first one. “You’ll have to share it with me sometime.”

It’s a promise. I am willing to make just for Casey Reed.