Finding You (By You #3) (24 page)

"So, we were thinking..." Sarah began. "There's this party tonight, and it might be fun if we all went to it."

She gave Jeremy a hopeful look, and Oz erupted in a fit of excitement, nearly slamming his hands onto the table.

"A party sounds like fun. Is it one of the frats? I know many of the other fraternities, we can get in anywhere!"

"It's the Rave Fest," Billie said, flippantly. "It's probably not your thing."

He frowned at her. "Any party is my thing. It sounds like a great time."

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "You like raves?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I? I like seeing people having a good time, and that's one of the best places to find them."

Her other eyebrow rose, and she looked genuinely surprised by his answer. Jeremy wondered how much time they actually spent talking with each other. Clearly not very much, if she didn't know that Oz liked to have a good time. He hadn't been the biggest partier of their group back in high school, but he had definitely liked to have his fun, and some things never changed.

"What do you think?" Sarah asked, putting a hand on his leg. "Sound like a good time?"

He gave her as good a smile as he could manage, hoping she didn't sense the nervousness he was feeling.

"If that's where you'll be, then I'll be right next to you."

His thoughts flashed to Becca for an instant, considering what she would have to say about the matter, but he tried to push them as far out of his mind as possible. He had to be able to live his life without wondering what she had to say about everything.

The smile on Sarah's face spread even wider.

"It's supposed to be a really good time. Tate has been talking about it nonstop for the last few weeks."

"Who's Tate?" Jeremy didn't remember her mentioning the name before, he was usually pretty good with things like that.

"Just one of Reagan's friends...he's harmless. He says this is supposed to be the biggest party of the year. Apparently they keep the whole thing pretty secret so it's only the people that really want to be there that get to go."

"Like a private party or something?"

Billie choked out a laugh. "Yeah sure, if private parties are held in huge warehouses packed with half naked people tripping on alcohol and anything else they can get their hands on while a famous DJ blows everyone's mind." She fixed Sarah with an indignant stare. "Relax, they're not really half naked. Well, not all of them." She added the last part under her breath while taking another sip of her drink.

Sarah shook her head, as if disregarding most of what Billie had just said.

"Anyway, it's supposed to be this big thing, and I promised Reagan we'd go so she wasn't alone."

Jeremy frowned. "I thought she had Tate?"

That must have been the funniest possible thing he could have said, because Sarah erupted in a loud laugh. "Just wait until you actually meet Tate. He's a good guy, but
no one
wants to be stuck with him all night."

"Well it sounds like fun, so why not?"

He was an adult, and he could be responsible. And besides, going out dancing with Sarah sounded like it could be fun all to itself. There would be plenty of other nights that they could spend rolling around in his bed. A night out with their friends sounded like a great change of pace.

She beamed a grin at him, and he felt his heart skip a beat. Even if he didn't want to go, how could he possibly refuse this girl anything?
 

As they walked out of the restaurant, Billie told her they were going to swing by campus real quick so she could change and get ready. Sarah suggested that she and Jeremy tag along so they didn't have to split up, but Billie gave her a look that let her know she wanted some alone time.

Sarah said they were going to head out to meet up with Tate and Reagan, and they'd text Oz to let him know where the rave was, when they found out. She and Jeremy climbed into her Volvo and pulled out of the parking lot, heading to the address Tate had given her for the meet up.

The meeting spot was a vacant lot on the corner of campus. Well, Sarah assumed it was
normally
vacant. That night, it was jam packed with other cars, and people walking between them. Even with the windows up, they could hear the steady thumping of dance music coming from all around them. A couple girls walked past her car, each of them wearing the thinnest straps of clothing possible, covering only the barest of essentials. Sarah's jaw dropped open in shock, and she was happy that Jeremy didn't even seem to notice them.

"Looks like this is going to be quite a party," she said, a nervous smile on her face.

"If it's not, I can think of a few things we can do to pass the time."

He gave her a devilish grin that sent a familiar fluttering sensation through her stomach.

"You're bad."

"I thought you said I was good?"

Her cheeks burned red as she shook her head, a wide smile on her face. He really knew just how to push her buttons to make her think things she shouldn't be thinking about.

Sarah circled the lot twice before she saw Tate and Reagan leaning against a car in the far corner. She would have missed them entirely if Tate hadn't started jumping and waving like a mad man when he saw them pull around. He pointed out an open spot behind the car they were leaning on, and she pulled in behind it.

"
That
is Tate," she said, nodding at him.

Jeremy's eyes were wide. "I think I see what you were talking about, earlier."

"Oh, just wait. He's a one man show..."

Sarah didn't know just how true her words could be. She hadn't even made it all the way out of her car before he started giving her an earful.

"What took you so long? Are you
trying
to give me a heart attack?"

Tate gave her a frantic look. Reagan was standing behind him, and had a decidedly relieved look on her face.

"We're here, now," Sarah offered.

He gave her a puzzled look, as though that didn't quite make up for it, but when he caught sight of Jeremy getting out of the other side of the car, his whole outlook changed.

"Well, who's this lovely treat we have here?" he asked, tapping a finger to his lips.

"I'm Jeremy," he said. "You must be Tate." Jeremy walked around the car, and thrust his hand forward. Tate placed his loosely on top of it.

"Charmed."

Sarah had to bite back a laugh as Jeremy shot her a nervous smile, and she was thankful that Tate didn't appear to notice. He
did
notice something else, though.

"Wait a second, wasn't your gem of a roommate supposed to be tagging along also? Please tell me you found a way to ditch her--I wouldn't want her foul mood ruining the night."

Sarah waved a hand. "Come one, she's not
that
bad. You just have to get to know her."

Tate cocked an eyebrow at her. "I heard she
tased
your ex... Can you say
unhinged
?"

A smile spread across Jeremy's face. "I don't see anything wrong with that."

Tate turned his hungry eyes back on Sarah's date, looking him up and down, a surprised grin appearing on his face.

"I think I like this one," he said. "You better watch out or I might steal him."

"Easy, now," Sarah said. "He's already very spoken for."

Tate rolled his eyes and waved a hand. "You're such a spoil sport."

He spun around on his heel and stalked off to another group of people without another word. Reagan and Sarah both let out little barks of laughter as they watched him.

"I take it you haven't gotten any updates about the rave?" Sarah asked.

Reagan shook her head. "He's been freaking out for the last half hour. Thankfully he's easily distracted."

They let out another laugh as they saw his hands flailing toward another group of people. He really was quite animated, and could be a little offensive, but his heart was in the right place. Sarah didn't think she'd ever seen him so excited before, and that was saying a lot about Tate, who might be the most easily excitable person she'd ever met.

Reagan turned to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you so much for coming out, tonight. I don't think I could handle it without you."

Sarah waved a hand. "You don't have to thank me, you know I'm here for you."

"By the way, is it okay if we get a ride with you? Tate wouldn't let me drive us over because he said he doesn't want me walking straight by the end of the night."

Sarah let out a little laugh.

"We might be in trouble, then," she said. "Billie said almost the exact same thing to me."

Reagan's eyes went wide as both girls shared another laugh. Jeremy watched with an amused look on his face, and Sarah hoped they weren't making him too uncomfortable. Not that she had any real intention of drinking that much--if anything. More than going to the rave, she was looking forward to when she and Jeremy could leave and have some of that alone time he kept teasing her with.

She didn't get to spend much time thinking about that, though, as a shrill scream erupted from the group of people Tate was with. The three of them whirled around to look at him, seeing his hands raised in victory as he scrambled back to Sarah's car.

"We've got it! Let's go," he screamed. "Come on, let's go, let's go."

Before they could even respond, he had already leapt into the backseat of her car, and was giving them impatient, confused stares. Sarah and Reagan shot each other nervous, excited looks before Tate yelled at them, again.

"Get you sexy asses in this car, right now," he yelled. "Or so help me I'll make it my mission to drag you around by the hand all night."

That was all the encouragement they needed. Everyone scrambled into the car as Tate hooped and hollered that it was going to be the night of their lives.

On the way to Rave Fest, Sarah had Jeremy text Oz where they were going. According to what they could pull up on Google Maps, the place looked like some abandoned warehouse in the Heights District, not too far north of campus. Sarah didn't think she'd ever been up there, but she'd heard the name mentioned a few times in passing. Jeremy assured her it wasn't very far of a drive.

It felt like there was a ton of traffic the whole way there, but that was only because of all the cars converging on the same spot. It was going to be one hell of a night if all of those people were going to the rave, too.

Tate was practically bouncing around in the backseat during the whole drive.

"Tonight is going to be epic. After tonight, we're all going to be able to die happy."

"I'd rather we didn't," Reagan chimed in, with a laugh.

"I second that," Sarah said, looking at them in the rear-view mirror.

Tate rolled his eyes. "You two better not be Sour Sallies, tonight. We're going to have fun whether you want to or not."

They all let out barks of laughter, though it was hard to tell if they were laughing at him or with him. Either way, it was all in good fun.

When they finally pulled up to the warehouse, the parking lot was already full and there were crowds of people swarming the front entrance. Security was in place, and there were sectioned off areas where a line was already forming. Sarah drove down the block a ways until they found another vacant parking lot that was quickly filling up.

"I guess this spot is as good as any," she said, and they all piled out of the car.

Jeremy held her hand as they all crossed a couple streets to get to the warehouse. The line was already twice as long as it had been when they'd driven by it, but it looked like it was moving pretty fast. A rumor was spreading that the bouncer at the front wasn't checking ID's, he was just asking what year people were born in. Sarah, Tate, and Reagan all calculated what year they needed to be born in to be twenty-one, while Jeremy looked at ease since he was already of age. The whole group was filled with a nervous excitement, mainly thanks to Tate's near constant bouncing around.

Sarah was amazed by all of the girls in line around them. She, herself, was wearing the tiny black dress from dinner that was already cut lower than she was usually comfortable with. But compared to everyone else she may has well have been a nun wearing her full habit. The skirts and shorts on the other girls left
very
little to the imagination, and Sarah was actually surprised on the rare occasion that she saw a girl who had the decency to wear a bra or a shirt that wasn't see-through.
 

The bouncer at the front door reminded Sarah of the guy from the Saloon, back home. He was a big guy with a shaved head and thick forearms. He had a tiny penlight that he shined at people to get a clear look at their face, and he questioned those who didn't look like they were old enough to be getting into the rave. One look at Sarah and at the smile she gave him, and he waved her through without even questioning her. She teased Jeremy when he got grilled immediately after her.

"Apparently they think I look older than you," she said.

He shot her a grin, and then glanced down at her chest. "I'm pretty sure you can thank those."

Her mouth dropped open in mock offense. "I might as well be wearing a sweater and a winter coat compared to all these other girls."

"That's probably another reason he didn't bother questioning you," Jeremy grinned.

"I just like to keep it classy."

He put a hand on the small of her back, pulling her close to him. "Trust me that's a good thing."

A narrow corridor led from the entryway deeper into the warehouse. The walls were lined with the torn bits of what used to be band posters and flyers announcing one show or another. It looked like this place had been used to host parties every night for the last year, but at the same time it was still in pretty good condition, all things considered.

Music thumped loudly from somewhere deeper inside the building, and Tate was all but dragging Reagan at a dead run to make it down the corridor as fast as possible. Sarah was thankful there was still a crowd of people in front of them that stopped him from getting very far. If they got separated in this mess, it was possible they might never see each other again.