Full Moon (15 page)

When the chatter and laughter resumed,
much to my relief, I
nudged Julie. “We should leave. I don’t feel comfortable
here.”

“Oh, don’t be a party-pooper,” Julie said.
“Look at all these hot college guys. Maybe I’ll even snag one.”

“Really, Julie, I think it’s best we
leave.”

She put her hand on her hip and turned to
face me, then actually stomped her foot like a spoiled toddler.
“Seriously? You wanna go back to your boring house? Let’s just have
a drink and chat a little. If you still want to leave then, we
will.”

I looked around uneasily and swallowed hard.
“I already know I want to leave now.”

“Well, you didn’t drive.”

My lips pressed into grim lines. I didn’t
like being forced into such a situation, and she knew it.

“Oh, all right. If you wanna leave, we’ll
go,” she said over the loud music. “But we got all dressed up, and
one drink would be nice.”

She shot me that stupid puppy dog face and
stuck her bottom lip out.

Just like that, I caved. “Fine. One drink,”
I said, “but then we’re heading back to your house.”

She smiled at the compromise. “I knew you’d
see it my way,” she said smugly.

I was sure one drink wouldn’t kill us, but I
still couldn’t wait to get out of there. The stench of smoke wafted
past me, and I stepped away from the girl who was blowing at me. I
jumped when another girl hurled right beside my feet. I frowned
when Julie pulled me away and into the crowd.

“You ladies want a drink?” asked a blond guy
in his twenties.

Julie grinned. “Sure.” When he walked away,
her grin grew even wider. “See?” she said. “We fit right in.”

“I guess it’s better than sitting on the
porch and listening to frogs and crickets,” I said with a
shrug.

“That’s the spirit!” She suddenly grabbed my
arm. “Hear that?”

What? The loud music or the
roaring laughter?
“Hear
what?

“Only my favorite song in the whole wide
world!” She started swaying her hips to the beat of the music.

The music pounded louder as the guy finally
returned with our drinks.

“Thanks,” I said.

As I opened it, he slammed his bottle
against mine in some kind of impromptu and uninvited toast, and
beer splattered my face and started to fizz all over the place.

“Ah! What was that for?” I asked, trying to
wipe my face.

He winked. “Gotta pay better attention,
little girl,” he said, then began to laugh.

I didn’t see what was so funny, and in a
rage, I turned to Taylor. “I’ve been here less than five minutes,
and I’m already soaked with beer, smelling like a smokestack, and
almost got puke on my shoes!”

She pulled me into the crowd. “Don’t pay him
any mind. He’s drunk. Your shirt won’t take long to dry, and then
no one will even notice. C’mon. Let’s have some fun.”

A tall guy with pretty green eyes reached
for Julie, and she giggled flirtatiously as he twirled her around.
“I see you love to jam,” he said, eying her up and down. “Wanna
dance?”

“I’d love to,” she said. “This is my
favorite song.”

“Mine too.”

She glanced at me. “Do you mind?”

I couldn’t possibly refuse to let her go
because the invitation to dance with a college guy had her looking
like she’d just won the lottery. I didn’t see the harm in letting
her bask in the light for one dance or two. “Have fun.”

“You’re the best!” she shouted.

After she shimmied off with the green-eyed
goon, I glanced around and swallowed hard again when I realized I
didn’t know a soul other than her. Eager to claim my role as an
unnoticed, inconspicuous wallflower, I made my way to the corner
and waited for the dance to finish. I leaned against the wall, I
sipped my drink.

The next song that came on was a slow love
song, and I felt uncomfortable all over again, standing there by
myself as couples snuggled close all around me. I decided it would
be better if I made my way through the crowd and headed out to the
deck for some fresh air.

Just as I spun around to leave, a towering
figure with brown eyes smiled at me. He looked to be in his early
twenties with short cropped hair. “What’s a pretty girl like you
doing here without a date?” he asked.

“Like the old song says,” I said with a shy
smile, “girls just wanna have fun.”

“Well, dancing is fun. Would you like to?”
he asked.

“Sure,” I said with a shrug, as if I wasn’t
flattered at all.

We danced through the slow song, which was a
bit awkward with a stranger, but when the fast music came on, we
danced some more. Julie and I did shots, but all in all, she drank
far more than I did. After the drinks loosened me up a little, I
danced with a few guys at the party and made lots of small talk as
the hours waned on.

After a while, she leaned on my shoulder in
a drunken stupor and slurred, “He wants me to go upstairs with him.
Should I go? I mean, I’m totally turned on right now, and—”

“You’re drunk,” I said, snatching the drink
out of her hand. “Consider yourself cut off,” I scolded, “and
you’re definitely not going upstairs with him or anybody else on my
watch.”

“What!? Why am I cut off?”

“Because you have to drive us home. I can’t
drive a stick.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I’ll start trying
to sober up. Besides, the last thing I need is a bad reputation
already. I just got here!”

“Exactly.”

When she leaned on me with all her weight, I
almost stumbled. “I’m so glad you’re here to watch out for me,” she
said. “You’re my new best friend. We girls gotta stick together.
And you know what?”

“What?”

“Where’s the guy who promised to bring me
coffee? My head feels like there’s a thunderstorm in it.”

“I didn’t know somebody was getting you
coffee.”

“Not just somebody. An angel. The caffeine
angel.”

I almost laughed at her, but I didn’t feel
that would be appropriate. “You’re so wasted.”

“Really, a blue-eyed angel offered to bring
me a cuppajo. Blue eyes like Heaven, where he comes from.”

Wait…light blue eyes?
Maybe….periwinkle eyes?
My heart began to thump in excitement that I hoped wouldn’t
be for nothing.

In the next second, she turned to a guy and
smiled. “You’re back…and you really did bring me coffee. How sweet.
Thank you.”

When I could muster up the courage to glance
up at her hero, I found myself staring right into the eyes of my
own, the one from the forest. My heart pounded a symphony all its
own as I stared into his intense, vivid blue eyes. I couldn’t pull
my eyes away from his high cheekbones and that sharply chiseled
face. I’d never seen such a beautiful face before, such a
masterpiece of strength, contours, and beauty, like something off
the cover of a romance novel or some dapper leading man in a
classic romance movie. This time, he was wearing a white shirt,
dark blue jeans, a well-worn bomber jacket, and I immediately began
to envy that cotton, denim, and leather.

He held out his hand and smiled. “Hi. I’m
Jesse.”

“Taylor,” I said, unable to put a whole
sentence together.

“Nice to officially meet you. Mind if I get
your picture?” he asked, holding up a camera.

“Um…sure, okay. But…why?”

“To prove to my friends that angels do
exist.”

It was a ridiculous line, like one some
cliché some sleaze-bag idiot would say in a bar, but coming from
his lips, it seemed sincere. I couldn’t help but smile at his
blatant flirtations, and the heat in my blushing cheeks scorched my
skin. With him, it wasn’t just a pick-up line. He was trying to
break the ice, and it worked; again, I was absolutely melting.

“Well, in that case, I need to take yours
too,” I said.

“You’re more than welcome,” a buddy nudged,
“but he doesn’t show up on film.”

Jesse nudged him back. “Stop it! You’re
talking crazy.”

“Am I?” the guy said walking off.

Jesse looked back at me. “That’s Tom. Once
he’s had a few beers, he talks all stupid. So just ignore whatever
moronic stuff he comes up with.”

I laughed again.

Another slow song began, and Jesse casually
took off his jacket and smiled. The fabric of his long-sleeved
shirt clung to his broad shoulders and muscular chest, and the
white cotton made his shoulder-length hair stand out even more.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked like a gentleman, offering me
his hand.

I grinned. “I’d love to.”

He shot me his leading-man smile and wrapped
his arms around my waist as I placed my arms on his shoulder. My
heart jumped into a new rhythm of excitement, dancing to the music
drifting around us as we stared intently into each other’s eyes. I
was nervous, but at the same time, I felt comfortable and safe;
scared but happy. I’d never felt such a strange mix of emotions
before, and I couldn’t stop smiling. There was a thrilling,
rushing, euphoric something going on between us, and for that one
timeless moment, everything in my life seemed perfect.

We swayed back and forth to the music,
slow and close, and I rested my head in the crook of his neck. I
never would have imagined myself dancing with someone like Jesse,
someone so beautiful. I couldn’t believe
he
was holding
me
. I
felt I was walking on air. I’d always laughed at that cliché
before, but for the first time, I suddenly knew what it
meant.

Some of the guys I’d been chitchatting with
at the party didn’t seem to be fans of his, and I could feel the
tension like daggers in my back as they shot me glares. As much as
I wanted to be with Jesse, I didn’t want to cause any trouble, so I
thought it was best that we head back to Julie’s house. I had a
nice buzz, but I wasn’t trashed like she was. When I glanced over,
I noticed that she was drinking a second cup of coffee, so I hoped
that would sober her up enough to drive us home in one piece.

“I hope she’s okay to drive,” I said to
Jesse.

“If not, I’m sure you’ll get her home safe
and sound.”

“Do you live around here?” I asked.

“Yes, here in Big Bear Lake.”

Excitement flooded through me when I
discovered he wasn’t merely a tourist who’d be taking off anytime
soon. I smiled up at him, then glanced down and noticed a bracelet
on his arm, leather woven with silver beads and decorated with
weird symbols. “I love that,” I said, nodding toward it, “but what
do the symbols mean?”

He shot me the most beautiful grin, a movie
star smile. “You’ve gotta get to know me better before I can tell
you all my deep, dark secrets,” he said. He smiled when he said it,
but I got the feeling he wasn’t joking.

I gave him my best flirty smile. “Is that a
promise?”

“You have my word…and my word is my
bond.”

I smiled again, then nervously fidgeted with
my hands like some silly little middle-schooler. I really had no
idea how to keep up the conversation with such a hot guy, and every
word was a struggle. “How old are you?” I finally asked, since I
couldn’t think of anything else.

“Seventeen.”

“Really!? Me too.”

“So is this a new school year for you?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe we’ll be in some of the same
classes.”

“Nah, I’m homeschooled. Like I was telling
you a while ago, my mom is a bona fide control freak, and—”

“Taylor!” Julie called. “I feel sick. I
think I’m gonna pass out.”

When I glanced over, she was teetering. I
rushed over, but before I could reach her, she swayed to the left
and toppled over. She tried to grab a side table on the way down,
but it didn’t help; she crashed to the floor, knocking a huge vase
over in the process.

“Oh my gosh! Julie!”

The alcohol was one thing, but I couldn’t
understand why blood was gushing from her neck, trickling down onto
her shirt.

Chapter 4

When I ran over to my friend and looked down
at her wounds, I assumed the shattered vase shards must have cut
her during her fall. I only hoped she wouldn’t need stitches,
because she was bleeding pretty profusely. Someone handed me a
kitchen towel, and I applied pressure to the wound. “She needs a
hospital or a doctor or maybe some stitches and—”

“
No!” said a woman who was suddenly
standing over me, looking down at Julie. “It’s a shallow cut,
nothing a bandage and some peroxide can’t fix.”

I looked up. “Are you sure? I mean, she’s
bleeding really bad, and—”

“Positive,” she said, cutting me off. “I’m a
medic. Let me go get my medical kit from the car.”

I squeezed Julie’s hand. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes fluttered open. “I-I think so.”

“Just lie still and hold on. There’s a medic
here, and she’s going to help.”

“A medic? Wow. Lucky for me. I drank way too
much, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s putting it lightly. Do you
remember me cutting you off?”

She offered a half-smile. “Yeah, but I still
sneaked drinks behind your back.”

Knowing it was important to keep Julie
awake, I engaged her in conversation until the woman came back.

“Can you give me a hand?” the woman said to
Jesse.

“Sure,” he said.

She then went to work to cleanse the wound
and put a sterile white bandage on it.

Once Julie was all fixed up, Jesse and I
helped her back up to her feet.

“See? Good as new,” Julie slurred.

“It’d be best if she gets some rest now,”
the medic said.

“But I-I can’t drive,” Julie stuttered. “I’m
toasted…and now wounded from a pissed-off vase.”

Jesse pulled me to the side. “Can you get
her home?” he whispered.

“This is so embarrassing, but her car’s a
stick shift, and I’ve got no idea how to drive one. I probably
can’t drive any safer than she can right now.”