She only had tables for four available, so we wouldn’t be sitting together, but I knew she’d put me with someone who was fun, so I agreed.
She took my arm and we went to each table to talk to everyone. I felt like a rock star. She had one of the waitresses taking pictures for anyone who wanted one. She made me out as a big deal, and it was fun. She wanted a picture with just the two of us. When she was done, she sat me down at a table of twelve- and thirteen-year-old girls.
I recognized one as April Lacier’s little sister, Jill. It was Jill’s thirteenth birthday. Jill made one of the girls switch seats with her so she could sit next to me. She was still drop-dead gorgeous and major jailbait. I decided to beat her to the punch on flirting.
“So, are you finally old enough that we can go out?” I asked.
It was amazing how a table full of teen girls could go from constant chatter to dead silence in a split second. They all looked at Jill to see what she would say. Jill got a little pink, and for once, was stumped. I tried to keep a smile off my face. I thought I might have made a small miscalculation when she attacked me. She had me in a headlock and was trying to pry my lips apart so she could shove her tongue down my throat. Luckily Angie came over and pulled her off me.
“He’s not old enough for you,” Angie suggested.
Her comment got all the girls to giggle. I just nodded in agreement. Jill would eat me up and spit me out. I would hate to think what she’d be like when she turned eighteen! I would need to put that birthday into my calendar for future reference. I would have to be careful my senior year because she’d be a freshman. With her looks, she’d be breaking plenty of hearts.
After the initial awkwardness, the girls and I got on great. They reminded me of my freshman cheerleaders. I treated them like they were little sisters and we had a good time. Granny told my dad dinner was on her tonight. Dad wanted to try some other restaurants and see if I could get us free meals. Mom told him not to get his hopes up.
CHEERLEADERS know how to throw a party. I parked out back and found the keg on the patio. I wondered at what temperature a keg would actually freeze. The good news was the beer was cold, and it seemed like this time they’d spent a little extra and had gotten something not completely terrible. I drank one and then poured myself another before going in.
I found Mona at the back door with two empty pitchers. She thrust them into my hands and I was sent back to fill them. I came back in to find she had drunk my beer. She refilled it from a pitcher and then went to play hostess. I found the bedroom where you could dump your coat and then went to see what kind of trouble I could get into.
I was surprised to see my new neighbor talking to Gina.
“David!” Gina called and then gave me a hug.
“You know this cat-killer?” Brit whined.
“David would never kill a cat,” Gina defended me.
“You haven’t met Brit’s cat from hell. It was trying to kill another cat tonight.”
“She was just defending her territory,” Brit said with a huff.
Gina gave me a patient look. A song I liked came on and I headed for the dance floor. I was surprised when Brit was right there and started to dance with me. I hadn’t really noticed her until now. She was tall, maybe five-ten. She looked to have a Nordic heritage. The Vikings had invaded England, back in the day. You would expect that with a name like Callahan, she’d be a redhead. She instead had blond hair and was well endowed. I did a mental check and kicked myself for not checking her out more closely. My only excuse was that she’d been yelling at me almost every time we had met. During the song, I realized how pretty she was when she smiled.
Gina cut in and I danced with her next. Something clicked a couple of songs later when I remembered Pam’s comment from when I called her and realized I had danced with four single girls. Somewhere, someone had coordinated this. I thought I’d found my culprit when I saw Tracy talking to Pam and then Pam was next. I was happy it was a slow song. I suspected Tracy knew what the playlist was.
“How’s my surfer girl doing?” I asked.
“Good. Did you hook up with my sister’s slutty friend?”
“No, but I learned what party hos are,” I shared.
“Oh, I forgot to warn you about them. Did you have a good time?”
“Hell, yes! I wish we had party hos here.”
“We do. We call them cheerleaders,” she said, which cracked me up.
“So, are you my party ho for the night?” I teased her.
“I can be, but Tracy says you have to pick from the single girls tonight. You’re not allowed to pick until you’ve danced with them all.”
“What if I just throw you over my shoulder and haul you off to a bedroom?”
“I’d be happy, but Tracy’s on a mission tonight. Do me a favor and pick Sammie. She’s the only core varsity cheerleader you haven’t been with, and now that Jeff and she are no longer going out, she wants to sample you.”
“Why don’t I take all five of you to a bedroom and we’ll see if I can survive my party hos?”
“I think the five of us would be too much for you, but I can see if they’re willing,” she teased me.
“I’d better not. I’m trying to cut back,” I said, acting noble. “Why don’t we see if we can make a weekend out of it at Tracy’s cabin?”
“You, my friend, are full of good ideas. We could get all the cheerleaders there and have a real party weekend,” she said.
“Speaking of a real party girl, how’s your sister?”
“She’s hooked up with a frat guy. I give it two more weeks until she’s bored with him. You really need to stay away from her. She’s getting to be a little too wild for even you,” she advised.
She was probably right. When the song ended, Kim was my next partner. I ended up dancing with fourteen girls before Tracy let me off the dance floor. By then I’d sweat through my shirt and needed another beer. Mona was being a great hostess and I had an ice-cold beer in a jiffy.
Tracy came up to me to talk.
“So, who’s it going to be?” she asked.
“Does Peggy know about this?” I asked.
“Yes, she’s fine with it. Normal rules apply. No making a fool of yourself and wear a condom. Before you ask, that means no six-somes.”
“When did you become all responsible?” I asked.
“When Tami left me in charge of you until she comes back.”
I laughed out loud. I’d be afraid to leave Tracy in charge of Duke, let alone a human being. Don’t get me wrong, I cared about Tracy a lot. She just wasn’t stable enough to trust with anything that mattered.
“Let me be clear on this: this is the same Tami who threatened to kill you and neuter me when we got together last spring?”
“Yeah, she and I talk about once a week. She misses you quite a lot and regrets going out with Simon. I think she still loves you,” Tracy shared.
If only Tracy knew what a damper she had just thrown on the evening. I wasn’t sure I wanted to sleep with someone new tonight. If Tami was going to wait for me, I could do the same for her. Tracy caught my mood. One consequence from having been so close was we could still read each other.
“Don’t go all moody on me. Tami said you needed to go have fun and get it out of your system. She warned me you might not want to.”
I thought about it for a moment and decided they were right. I wasn’t happy they tried to manipulate me, but I wanted to get laid. I needed to sow my wild oats now before I made a commitment. I just nodded to Tracy and went to find Mona. I needed another beer before I picked my girl for the night. I found a worried Gina instead.
“I, ah, didn’t understand what dancing with you meant,” she began.
“What? How am I going to compare all three sisters if I don’t spend time with the youngest?” I complained.
“You’ve been with both of my sisters?” she asked as her eyebrows disappeared into her bangs.