“You guys would be crazy to give up USC for a crappy apartment and classes at a community college. He’ll see that,” Lexi said.
Mia took her by the hand, and they headed down the driveway. Deep in the woods, they found the small log cabin that was one of the island’s original homesteads. A big bonfire danced in front of the beach. Beside it stood a pair of silver kegs. Over to the left, someone was grilling hot dogs.
Mia and Lexi stood at the perimeter of the party, talking. All around them kids were laughing and dancing and drinking. Out on the water, a pair of Jet Skis buzzed and raced. Music blared out from a boom box on the porch. The air smelled of pine trees and wood smoke and marijuana.
As they stood there, Tyler walked past them. Alaina Smith was draped all over him, hanging on him. He had his hand on her ass.
Mia drew in a sharp breath. Wiping her eyes, she walked over to the keg and got herself a beer, downing it as fast as she could.
“Are you okay?” Lexi asked.
“Just stay with me,” Mia said shakily. “Don’t let me be alone … I might make a fool of myself.”
“I’d never let you be alone,” Lexi promised. She got a beer, and even though she hated the taste, it softened her somehow, and Mia, too, and in no time they were smiling again and making jokes.
When she finished her second beer, Mia said, “We need Zach. I have a surprise for you two. Something to tell you. Meet me on the beach.” She headed into the crowd before Lexi could stop her, and that was cool, because Lexi didn’t want to stop her. As much as she loved being with her best friend, she wanted Zach here, too. This was their graduation party, the last one before the big day, and the three of them should be together.
Lexi headed down to the beach and sat in the sand, waiting.
“There you are,” Zach said a few minutes later, sitting down beside her. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“Where’s Mia? She went looking for you.”
Zach shrugged and handed her a bottle of rum. “Here.”
“Hey, you’re not supposed to be drinking,” Lexi said.
“Last one, I promise. Here.”
She hated to drink like this, without mixers or anything, but she didn’t want to upset him, so she took a sip.
“She doesn’t give a shit about what I want,” he said and lifted the bottle to his mouth again.
Lexi didn’t know if he was talking about his mother or his sister, but it didn’t really matter either way. “Yes, she does.”
He took another long drink, handed it to her. “Maybe I don’t give a shit what she wants.”
Lexi sighed. “Yes, you do.”
He looked at her, his eyes wild. “I love you so much.”
She knew exactly what he was feeling: it was the universe of her own emotions. She was afraid of watching him go; he was afraid of letting her stay. “I know,” was all she could say. She believed him now, believed in his love, and that was everything.
They needed to be strong for each other, and she would be the one to start. “I’ll never stop loving you, Zach.”
In a taut voice, he said, “Come here,” and took her hand and led her deep into the woods.
There, they kissed and undressed and made love in a way that was new; sad, maybe, and a little rough, with their bodies communicating all the difficult words they couldn’t say. When it was over and they lay there, spent, staring up at the starlit sky, Lexi reached for the rum bottle and drank until their future didn’t seem so sharp and a nice fuzziness blurred the edges.
Finally, unsteady on their feet, they left the copse of trees and returned to the party, which was now completely out of control. There were more than one hundred kids there, talking, laughing, dancing. Boys were tossing a football back and forth; a bunch of people were gathered around the kegs; more stood around the huge bonfire. On the cabin, a sign read: Class of 2004—Good Bye and Good Luck.
Mia shrieked when she saw them and stumbled toward them. “Where were you guys?” she said, handing Lexi a half-empty bottle of rum. “This is our night. The three of us. Okay?”
They stood there, a little drunk, staring at one another, an island in a sea of seniors. Mia reached out for Zach’s hand, then for Lexi’s, and, with that touch, the connection returned. They were them again.
“Let’s party,” Zach said, smiling at his sister.
Lexi could see the love between these two, and as much as it hurt to know that they would leave her, she was glad the fight was over. They needed this last summer together.