Change of Hart (Wells Ranch, #3)(12)
“Do you think there will be older boys at this thing?” Cass mused as she thoughtfully twirled a piece of hair around her finger. She sat on the edge of my bed, waiting as I debated between outfits for the thirtieth time.
“I think there has to be. No way she invited the seventh graders, and I hope it’s not just our class there.” I wriggled into a pair of black skinny jeans and eyed my scrawny, tall body in the full-length mirror hanging from my closet door. “Why? Is there a certain redheaded boy you’re hoping will be there?”
“Gross. No,” she said, quickly dropping the hair from her clutches and pretending to be engrossed in the magazine on her lap.
With a snort, I shook my head and returned to layering my tank tops—tugging on the hems to stretch them enough for my long torso—then spritzed myself with body spray and gave a nod of self-approval in the mirror. “I think we’re a good amount of fashionably late. Let’s go.”
We walked the two blocks to Megan’s house with a spring in our step, and it wasn’t until the front door closed behind us that I realized Denny would be there. Kicking my shoes off inside the foyer, I heard his laugh carrying up the stairs from the basement, and my stomach fell into my butt.
“Just ignore him.” Cassidy squeezed my forearm, tucking her sneakers neatly against the wall.
Easier said than done. I’d survived the first week of the school year by keeping my distance, but that would be impossible at a party in Megan’s basement unless I spent the entire night in the corner. Not that anybody would be surprised by Blair Hart tucked away somewhere petting the Barlow family dog instead of interacting with humans.
As we reached the bottom of the basement stairs, Megan immediately pulled Cass into an embrace. “Oh my God, I’m so happy you made it. There’s a ton of food and drinks over there.” She gestured toward the basement bar, which was covered in a spread of food. “Of course the usuals—pool table, arcade games…oh, and my dad hooked up Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero in the theater room.”
“Wow, sounds like fun.” Cass smiled politely at her, taking in the chaotic scene before us.
“So much fun.” Megan clapped her hands together before turning to me, her smile wavering. “Hey, Blair.”
I awkwardly gave a wave, lips pressed together in a pained smile. In the movies, you can reinvent yourself when you start high school. But in a town as small as Wells Canyon, the reputation you earn as a little kid tends to follow you for life, unless you do something really gossip-worthy later on. Though I preferred being a generic “weird girl” over being Garrison the nose picker.
Cass grabbed my hand, tugging me through the sea of teenagers to the bar fridge. Cans of root beer acquired, we cracked open the tops and each took a long sip while surveying the land. For the next hour, she and I took up residence on a hot pink sofa close to the candy bar, making up pretend conversations for other party guests and consuming a concerning amount of gummy bears. Cassidy chatted with people as they perused the candy selection, and I became well acquainted with the Barlows’ corgi, Gordon, through a shared love for Cheez-Its. I was doing a fantastic job of avoiding Denny, maintaining my loser status, and giving myself a stomachache, when Megan popped up out of nowhere.
“A bunch of us are going to play a game in the next room, if you guys want to join.” She slipped her straw between her lips and took a long swig of fruit punch.
“We should probably participate in something here.” Cass grabbed my hand, yanking me to my feet.
With a groan and a longing glance back at Gordon snoozing on the couch, I followed my bestie across the room and through a wide archway. The Barlows’ basement was likely bigger than my entire house, with doors and hallways heading off in every direction. Based on the yoga mats propped up against the wall, I assumed the room we’d been summoned to was their very own yoga studio.
Who has a yoga studio in their house?
The other participants were already seated in a perfect circle, which suddenly gained an awkward lump when Cassidy and I forced our way in.
“What are we playing?” Cassidy asked, shifting on the floor to get comfortable.
The circle shrugged in a wave, rocking into Megan.
“Well, my suggestion was charades, but some people think that’s too boring.” Megan rolled her eyes. “So, if you have any suggestions.”
Cassidy’s squinted gaze moved around the circle and she opened her mouth slowly. “Well, we could play…” Her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip, leaving space for the last words to tumble out. “We could play Seven Minutes in Heaven.”
I spun so hard to look at her, my neck cracked. Eyes wide, I mouthed, “What the hell are you thinking?”
Neither of us had kissed anybody yet. I’d thought about it a lot over the summer while hanging out alone with Denny, but it never happened. And I was absolutely not about to let the first time be in a musty closet at Megan Barlow’s party, with some random boy I didn’t like.
Apparently, that didn’t matter anymore. I was outnumbered. The boys were all eager to participate. The girls were meeker about it, but they clearly wanted to play, too. An older girl—Jessica, I think—explained the rules while Megan left in search of paper to write our names on.
Sitting in uncomfortable silence, breathing in the noxious mingling of Victoria’s Secret perfume and Axe body spray in the air, I waited as pairs of names were drawn from two metal mixing bowls. With the number of tiny, crumpled strips of printer paper dwindling, my heart rate was exponentially increasing. And in the midst of drying my clammy hands on the tops of my jeans, I heard Megan announce that Denny would be heading into the hallway closet.