Fearless (The Story of Samantha Smith #1) (18 page)

“That is
so
gag!!” I shouted.

“When Freud coined the term Superego, I think he had Adonis in mind,” Madison said.

Jake swung an arm around Christos’ shoulders. “That’s my boy!”

“Where are the brews, man?” Christos asked him.

“Out back.”

“Let’s go grab some beverages, Samantha.”

Madison stayed with Jake. I waved at her. “See you guys later.”

The backyard was huge. People crowded the wood deck that surrounded a big pool. No one was swimming but it was almost warm enough if people were in the mood to get wet.

Their were two kegs next to a table covered with various bottles of hard alcohol.

“What’s your poison?” Christos asked.

“Oh, I don’t drink,” I lied. Spending the day with Christos had left me feeling alive. Despite the downer phone call with my parents, most of my afternoon good mood remained. I didn’t want to dim it with drinking.

Christos filled a cup of beer from the keg. “You gotta drink something. It’s Halloween!”

“I thought Halloween was for candy.”

“You want something sweet? You’ve got me for that.” He chuckled when I eye rolled him. “How about a vodka cranberry?”

I wasn’t getting out of it. One drink wouldn’t undo me, would it? I could nurse it all night. I reluctantly agreed and Christos made my drink. We circulated the party while I sipped it. How many sips did it take to get to the center of a vodka cranberry? Hopefully more than one, two, three. I was shooting for at least fifty.

As I had expected, whenever I turned around, another random hot girl was falling all over Christos. I heard a constant string of female voices extolling “Adonis this” and “Adonis that.”
 

Why did all of them have to be taller than me? I felt like a midget. I think the fact that most of his admirers wore mini-skirts and six-inch stripper platforms was part of it. But they were all so damn leggy and clearly card-carrying members of the Hourglass Figure Club. Consequently, I felt lucky to have Christos’ attention for more than a minute at a time.
 

But it wasn’t just the girls. The guys were bombarding him as well. I’d never seen so many man crushes and bromances at one time.
 

Everyone wanted Christos’ attention. He seemed happy to oblige.

I couldn’t blame him. He was having a blast, laughing and joking with everybody. I watched it all from the sidelines, stuck inside my own head.
 

So I turtled further into myself, my favorite destination. I’d been a certified loner for the last two years of high school. I had mapped out the territory of loneliness in depth during that time. No big whoop.

Some time later, I left Christos to his many conversations. I wandered through the house until I found a bathroom. The line was long. I waited while the people around me thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Maybe I needed to drink more. I pounded the rest of my vodka cranberry. I’m pretty sure Christos had gone easy on the alcohol. I don’t think I had more than a minor buzz. Was he being a gentleman? Or overly protective? Considering his absence, I’d say neither.

I finally had my turn in the bathroom. I hovered over the bowl while I peed. So many people had used the toilet before me, I wasn’t taking a chance. When I walked out, the music cranked up.
 

“Yay,” I mumbled to myself sarcastically. “Dancing. Just what I need. Not.”

I wandered into the dining room.

“There you are!” Christos said, his hand on my shoulder. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Did he miss me? Maybe he was just drunk.
 

“Come on, Samantha. Let’s dance.” He grabbed my arm.

I resisted. “Is dancing appropriate for a mentor-mentee relationship?” I quipped.

“Who gives a fuck! Let’s dance!”

Yeah, he’d had a few. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was totally hammered. That didn’t stop him from dragging me into the middle of a bunch of swirling bodies.

No matter how hard I tried to be a stick in the mud, Christos wouldn’t let me remain stuck. He put his arm around my waist and took my hand. He twirled us around. I had no choice but to go with the flow.
 

“How much have you had to drink?” I said into his ear.

“I don’t know, two beers?”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah. I’ve been busy dancing. Why?”

“You just seem so, I don’t know, carefree?” Christos was so cocky-cool most of the time, I guess I never imagined he could cut loose like this.

“Remember those kids we helped at the library? I try to act like them, when the moment calls for it. This is a party, after all.”

He was right. I envied his free spirit at the same time I wanted to run away from it. But that’s what I’d done back home. Did I have to keep doing it forever?
 

Maybe I could channel joy like Christos did. I didn’t want to live life as a straight-laced accountant. I wanted adventure. I wasn’t going to find fun by avoiding opportunities like this.

I did my best to loosen up. I twisted my hips and shook some booty. I actually started getting into it. I didn’t have much dancing experience, but I managed to have fun.
 

Eventually, I was breathless from exertion. “I need to rest for a minute,” I shouted at Christos. I motioned toward the house.

“Okay.” He kept dancing.

Did that mean he was coming with me, or was I on my own? Again?

When I started out of the bustling dancing area and turned back to look for Christos, I watched the crowd swallow him up.

It was a pattern for him. Life seemed to have a hold on him in a way that no one person, and certainly no one woman, ever would.

I went inside the house, needing to get away from Good Time Christos. I ended up in the kitchen where a Quarters tournament was in progress at the kitchen table. A bunch of very drunk guys bounced their coins into a shot glass.

One of them looked up at me with bleary eyes. “Hey, babe! Join us!”

Uh, no.

The guy wearing a football jersey stood up. “Have my seat.” Such a gentleman. He was as drunk as his friend, but in this moment, possibly more thoughtful than Christos.

“Sorry, I’m looking for someone,” I lied. I really just wanted privacy. Where was I going to find it in this zoo?

I turned around and went into the living room. A bunch of surfer looking guys sat around a huge TV playing one of the Call of Duty games on the xBox. It somehow involved drinking while shooting things. Surprised? Nope. Men? Yup.

The surfers paid me no mind so I dropped onto a corner of the couch. A bunch of people stood behind me, chatting on and on about random stuff. I was ensconced in a cocoon of people having fun without me. Worked for me.

Some time later, I heard Jake’s voice emerge from the chaos behind me. He was talking to someone. I turned around on the couch, but couldn’t see him through the huge guy standing directly behind me.
 

“Dude,” Jake said to his mystery conversationalist, who was a guy, “Adonis is flipped for that girl.”

“The one he came in with? The hot one?”

I perked up. Were they talking about moi? I shouldn’t have been listening. Eavesdropping always turned out badly. Okay, maybe I would listen a little.

“You mean Mads’ friend?” Jake asked.

“Yeah. She’s hot. Adonis hooks up with the finest chicks in town, man. He’s so fucking lucky.”

Hooks up? Was I detecting the birth of a rumor? Because this was how it usually started. Gossipy bullshit. I hated being the subject. Fuck.
 

I turned in my seat, wanting to intervene, but the gigantic guy was still blocking my view behind, and I was trapped between several of the Call of Duty tournament players. I wasn’t going anywhere without yelling “Fire!” or calling in a bomb threat to 911.

“They haven’t hooked up,” Jake said to his buddy. I liked Jake. “He just totally digs hanging with her. Says she’s some kind of natural artist. He’s showing her all kinds of stuff at his studio.”

“I bet he is. Showing her all kinds of stuff.” I distinctly heard Mystery Man suggesting dirty deeds. “I know I would.”

“No, man. Not like that. Adonis is a real artist. Have you ever seen his work?”

“No.”

“Dude, he’s amazing,” Jake said enthusiastically. “The real deal. And he says that girl Sam has a gift. He wants to help her develop it. Be like her own personal coach and shit.”

“Fucking lucky,” Mystery Man said, suddenly sounding sincere and envious.

“Who? Adonis?”

“No, bro. That girl. Having someone help you out like that? Doesn’t happen every day.”

“No it does not.”

Whoa. What? My stomach tilt-a-whirled. Jake and the Mystery Man moved away from where I sat, and the sound of Call of Duty drowned them out entirely.

Had my assessment of Good Time Christos been too hasty?

I decided to find out. I went looking for him.

Chapter 13

The obvious first place to check was the deck in the backyard. There were now more dancers tearing it up than before. I was surprised the cops hadn’t shown up yet due to all the ruckus.

I circulated through the writhing bodies, searching for Christos. Drunk college kids surrounded me. I could smell alcohol in the air. Was it in everyone’s sweat? How much had people drunk? I bet the kegs were empty and the alcohol table was cleaned out.

I felt stupid strolling normally through the crowd while people danced around me, so I put my arms up in the air and tried to rekindle some of my dancing enthusiasm from when I was shaking it with Christos earlier. Several guys tried to dance with me, but I kept moving. They were too drunk to successfully fondle or follow.
 

At one point, I passed a guy dancing with a girl shorter than I was. She had a huge pile of dark hair. For a moment, I was stuck behind her, so I scanned the crowd for Christos. The guy dancing with Short Girl, who had a shaved head and tattoos on his scalp, kept looking at me. He was making me nervous. I did my best to ignore him while trying to peer into the crowd beyond him.

A moment later, I felt a stiff finger jamming into my shoulder.

“You gotta problem?”

I turned around and discovered Short Girl scowling up at me. The anger in her eyes took me off guard, so did her huge boobs. I think each one was larger than my head. I didn’t know what to say.

“You looking at my boyfriend?”

I was confused. “Who’s your boyfriend?”
 

“Cassandra, calm down, “ said the guy with the shaved head, the one who had been dancing with her.

Cassandra went from zero to bitch in less than a second. She flashed her teeth at him. “Shut up, Emilio. I wanna know why this skank was checking you out.” She turned back to me. “You eyeing my man, ho?”

Whore.

“What? No! I’m looking for my friend!”

Cassandra must have sensed my fear, because she went on the attack. “Don’t be looking at my boyfriend, bitch.”

Bitch.

“I’m not!” I tried to squeeze past her, but her boobs were in the way.

Tease.

“Where you going, slut? I’m not done talking to you!”

Slut.

“Easy, ladies,” Christos said, suddenly standing beside us. “No reason to get all worked up.”

Cassandra glared at Christos. “Who the fuck are you?”

Christos put a protective arm around me. “I’m her boyfriend. Who are you?”

Boyfriend? Had I missed something?

Cassandra didn’t know how to answer Christos’ question. Her face wrestled with itself. Eventually she puzzled out an answer. “Stupid bitch was checking out my man!”

Christos cocked a dimple at Cassandra. “Relax, sweetheart. She wasn’t trying to steal your man. Why would she, when she’s got me?”

“Yo, player. Don’t be calling my lady your sweetheart,” Emilio said.

The next thing I knew, Emilio and Cassandra turned to face Christos and me as a team. The surrounding dancers noticed the tension. A circle was widening around us. Great. Was I going to have to fight Cassandra while Christos fought Emilio? It would give new meaning to the phrase “fighting like cats and dogs.”

“Relax, you two,” Christos said calmly. “I’m not trying to take your girl, and my girlfriend’s not trying to take your man.”

“I see how you be looking at my woman,” Emilio snarled.

“Why would I be looking at your woman when I’ve got my own hot girlfriend?"

“You saying my Cassandra isn’t hot enough for you?” Emilio growled. “You saying your girlfriend’s all that?”

What? I couldn’t follow Emilio’s logic.

“I didn’t say it,” Christos chuckled. “You did.”

Cassandra turned on Emilio. She put her fists on her hips. In a low voice she said, “What did you just say?”

Emilio’s eyes widened in horror.

“Nothing, baby.”

“What did you just say, Emilio?”

“I didn’t say anything, baby. I swear!”

“I heard you! You think this bitch is hotter than I am? You do, don’t you!”

“No, Cassandra! I swear!”

“You do!”

I was dumbfounded. Christos had just turned Emilio and Cassandra on each other. Cat-Clawed Cassandra had been ready to slice my eyes out mere seconds ago. Now she had her sights set on her own boyfriend!

Cassandra erupted like a swollen volcano. She started slapping at Emilio like a psycho hyena. He ran into the crowd of dancers, all of whom had stopped to watch the drama. Cassandra chased him across the deck, hot on his heels.

Emilio dodged around a group of people standing near the pool. He tripped and plunged headlong into the water. Cassandra dove in after him without a second thought.
 

“Get back here, Emilio! I always knew you were a dog!” She thrashed in the water, trying to reach him. Her pile of hair clung to her head like a wet mop.

He dog-paddled away from her as fast as he could.

“Come back here! Emilio!”

The crowd laughed at the crazy duo.

“If I get my hands on you, Emilio, I’m going to cut your balls off!”

I stifled my laughter.

Christos chuckled. He smiled at me and squeezed my arm. “You okay?”

“How the hell did you do that! It was like a freaking Jedi mind trick!”