Eskimo Cold

My phone began to ring the standard iPhone tone just as I finished up my make up. I decided to just brush a tiny bit of shimmer eye shadow across my eyelids and a coat of mascara on my lashes for a simple look. There was no use in caking on make up just to go to a party. Nothing looked messier than a drunk girl with black eyeliner smeared across her face.

"Hey babe, where are you at?" I smiled at the comforting sound of my boyfriend's voice. He had one of those smooth voices that sang to your eyes like a lullaby.

"I still haven't left my house," I replied into the phone, accompanied by a sigh, "Emily's probably not even out of the shower yet." Over the chuckle he sounded, I heard his group of friends yelling in the background.

"Be careful coming out, Aly. I don't trust that girl driving." It was now my turn to let out a small laugh.

"We'll be fine," I assured him. "I'll text you on the way."

"Okay, love you." Click. I shrugged, throwing the phone on my bed before grabbing a pair of gladiator sandals from my closet. I never understood why girls wore heels to go get drunk. To me, the state of mind was more important than looking hot.

After my shoes were buckled, I sat down on my bed and gazed out the window as my mind started to drift. I started dating Ricky the second week of senior year. We had spent a lot of time together over the summer when Dani started dating one of his friends. Honestly, I didn't think we would have made it through the entire school year, but we did. I knew he loved me... I just wasn't sure if I loved him in the same way. That always had me feeling guilty, but I didn't want to break his heart so I stayed with him.

Ricky was the guy that all girls dreamed of. He was tall, dark and handsome and his family was wealthy. But he wasn't your typical pretty boy. He was actually a complete sweetheart, and cared for others over himself. I couldn't believe it when he took interest in me. Though I wasn't really that into him to begin with, the girls convinced me that it would be good for me. Especially after the long summer I had.

I missed Mac a lot when he left after graduation. He didn't hesitate for a second to leave town to peruse his music career. Though there was nothing between us, I valued him as a friend. He was there for me when Tyler just randomly found someone new after two years; even more than my best friends were. That was something that I would forever be thankful for. He pulled me out of my funk.

Before my right foot even got past the doorway into the kitchen from the living room, I heard my name being called. My head turned quickly, my already blurred vision following after a few seconds.

"Alazae," he always called me by my full name, "where the hell have you been?!" Mac looked at me angrily. I smirked, and he followed the trail of my eyes where they landed on some cute boy from the senior class. He caught my eye and sent me a wink. Right then I noticed he had beautiful blue eyes. That was something I didn't notice when we ventured into the dark woods twenty minutes earlier.

Mac rolled his eyes before he spoke again. "I'm glad sex is more important than our reputation. I had to give someone our spot on the table because I couldn't find you," he whined, mentioning towards the beer pong table.

"I'm sorry, Malcolm," I drew out his name but I didn't get to continue what I was going to say because a group of guys had already swept him away from me, saying something about a freestyle. Seeing my friend across the room making eyes at me once again, I picked up a random drink and made my way towards him.

I watched out the window as we drove on a dirt road through the woods. It was only about a twenty minute drive from my house to our typical party spot in the woods, which was at a small cabin owned by the family of some kid in our class.

"I just want to get high," Emily whined as she turned onto another dirt road. I laughed from the passenger's seat. Emily was your typical stoner girl. All she ever wanted to do was light up and chill. While I also enjoyed a nice high, I preferred something that would bring me up, not put me down.

It wasn't much longer before we pulled into the large parking area which was completely packed with cars. We collected our cooler of a few different bottles and some mixers, a few hoodies and two flashlights before we made our way down the small trail that led us to the fire pit and cabin. Even from the cars I could hear the festivities that had already begun and I could see the glow of the fire through the trees. We were late, it was already dark; a little past ten o'clock. Tonight we celebrated the fact that we were finally done with high school.

After making a drink, I turned back towards the opening in the trees, towards the fire where I was sure to find my boyfriend. Sure enough, I spotted him immediately, standing close to the pile of wood, laughing with a group of friends. Making my way to him, I smiled warmly. This was my favorite environment to be in. I hated house parties, there wasn't enough room to move freely, and if there was, it probably wasn't that good of a party at all. I loved being out in the woods and the smell of the fire.

There was nothing like a bonfire during a Pennsylvania summer night. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Everyone always talked about how they wanted to get away from this place and the cold winters and mild summers. They wanted to move to somewhere warm with a beach and palm trees. But I loved it here; this was home. I loved the mountains, I loved the winters and I loved the cool summer nights. There was no urge in me at all to leave home unlike all of my friends who were going out of state for college. I planned to stay right here.

I stepped into Ricky's out stretched arms, giving him a quick hug before I pulled away and tipped back my solo cup, taking a long drink of the sweet liquid. That's where I stood for at least the next hour. I listened to Ricky's friends' ditzy girlfriends giggle drunkenly together while I just drank more and more. To deal with them, you needed to be more than drunk. So at that moment, I let my eyes search for my girls. I told Ricky I'd be back in a little bit and with that, I ventured off into the crowd of people. I found both Dani and Emily standing in the middle of a circle of people.

"Listen, I need to get high," I announced, pushing my way through the circle. Emily inhaled her last hit and handed me half of a blunt.

"Just the girl I wanted to see," I heard a voice sing from behind me. My eyes went wide and I turned on my heel quickly. My vision met the smile I was hoping to see.