She was pretty drunk now, a little wobbly. She wondered where Parker and Acacia—
Well, okay.
Cassie had totally done her job, Parker’s phone still clenched in her fist. There was no way Parker had texted Sam any inappropriate things she wanted to do to her. And yet there the two were, doing some pretty inappropriate things against the wall in the living room. Cassie shook her head. They were disgusting. But, like—also kind of hot, Parker’s hips pushing hard into Sam’s and Sam’s hand on Parker’s neck. They were going to be so embarrassed tomorrow. Cassie was embarrassed for them already, even though no one seemed to be paying any attention. Cassie went back outside to avoid looking at how much tongue was involved in their kisses.
She stumbled out the front door, narrowly avoiding tripping over some kids making out on the stoop. Apparently everyone but her was getting some tonight.
She shot off a text to Acacia.
Cassie [Today 12:43 AM]
If Parker starts having sex in the living room, you’re in charge of putting a stop to it
There. Responsibility passed on.
She leaned against a car parked at the edge of the driveway. You’d never know the size of the party from here—she couldn’t see the kids on the stoop, and the music wasn’t loud enough to even tell what song was playing.
Cassie looked up at the stars, her eyes finding the W of Cassiopeia in the northern sky, like always. A matching pattern was tattooed on her right shoulder. She followed the line of one of the Ws to a small star above it. For Acacia’s sixteenth birthday, Cassie had bought it and named it after her, so they could be by each other’s sides forever. Acacia had called her a sap, but she had also teared up, so who was really the sap?
Cassie could stare at the night sky for hours. Parker joked about her becoming an astronaut, but she thought about it sometimes—what it’d be like to be up there, closer to the stars and yet still so far away. Space might as well be endless. It made her feel inconsequential, in a good way. Like all the ways she fucked up down here didn’t matter. The stars wouldn’t mind. She could get hammered and get Parker’s mom’s number and the universe wouldn’t ever stop expanding.
She didn’t share Parker’s habit of drunk texting. Never had. Tonight, though, she was looking at the stars and thinking about Erin and feeling reckless. And so what if she was feeling a little turned on, too? You try drunkenly watching hot girls make out.
Erin didn’t even have her number, so it wasn’t like she’d know it was Cassie texting. It wouldn’t be a big fuckup. Just something fun to do instead of wondering if Acacia had separated Parker and Sam yet.
（336） 555-0157 [Today 12:55 AM]
I can’t stop thinking about your tits
As soon as she sent it, she was overcome with the giggles. She’d drunk texted Parker’s mom. She was just leaning against this car, cracking up to herself. Her night could not have gotten more ridiculous.
Aaron [12:56 AM]
Excuse me?
Shit. She texted back?
Cassie stared at her phone, felt like the text stared right back at her. She could imagine Erin glaring at her. She could imagine the look in her eye, angry, but not uninterested. Cassie’s fingers moved before her brain could catch up.
（336） 555-0157 [12:57 AM]
They’re so fucking nice. You’re so fucking hot
Before Cassie could even think about what a bad idea this was, her phone rang. It actually rang. Erin was calling her.
She couldn’t let it go to voicemail—she’d set it up when she started applying to internships and graduate schools, all professional Hello, you’ve reached Cassie Klein. She couldn’t let Erin know it was her. Her phone was vibrating in her hand and she had to make a decision, if she waited any longer it would be made for her, and shit, this was why you should never ever drunk text anyone, she swore she was never going to do it again—this felt anything but inconsequential now. She took a breath and accepted the call.
She didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. She pressed mute and listened.
“Who the hell is this?” Erin’s voice sounded tired and gravelly and pissed. Cassie’s head swam. “Why would you think it was appropriate to text me at one in the morning? Why would you think I give a fuck if you can’t stop thinking about my tits? Go ahead and jerk off to them, because you’re sure as hell not going to see them. I’m not interested in some coward who can only send me creepy messages in the middle of the night.”
Cassie wasn’t a fucking coward. Okay, it might have been creepy to send a message like that to someone who didn’t have her number—shit, now that she considered it, she’d probably come across as a complete jackass. But she was no coward. Erin was still breathing angrily on the other end of the line, and Cassie was about to unmute and show how brave she was. She wasn’t sure if it was fortunate or unfortunate that before she got the chance, Parker and Acacia came traipsing down the driveway. Cassie frantically hit end call and fumbled to put her phone away.