I came out of the restroom to find Harper at the counter with a stack of pizza boxes. I handed her my bag, picked up all the pizzas, and carried them to the Jeep. We drove in silence to the party. When we got there, she stopped me from getting out of the Jeep.
“Are we okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, let’s go meet your friends and have a good time,” I said, forcing a smile on my face.
I don’t think she believed me, but what was she going to say at that point? We’d stopped at an apartment complex. It was obvious which unit was having the party. We walked into the small living room that must have had fifty people in it. We had to push our way to the kitchen. The counters were covered in empty and half-empty beer cups.
As soon as Harper made room enough for me to put down the pizzas, a sea of people decimated them. I could tell by the smell, people were getting high. I was more than a little irritated I didn’t even get a slice.
I then looked around and Harper was gone. I like a girlfriend who doesn’t feel like they have to hang out with you every minute, but this sucked. I didn’t know anyone here except Harper. I thought she’d brought me here to meet her friends.
I made my way back through the living room and out the front door. I went and sat in my Jeep. That turned out to be one of the smartest things I’d done recently.
I was contemplating just leaving to get something to eat when the police arrived in force. I was able to have a front-row seat as the drama unfolded. The police were much more organized than our hometown force. I sent Harper a text to tell her the police were about to raid the party. I watched as they knocked and then several rushed in. I would later learn those officers went to the sinks and bathrooms to prevent the destruction of evidence. They also had officers at all the windows, so there was no sneaking out that way.
These guys had done this before. They would take one person out at a time and search them, determine if they’d been partaking in anything, and verify their age. Of course, they were all high school kids who’d been drinking and getting high. I was surprised when I recognized a couple of girls from Tami’s old floor. This was when I decided I might inquire if some of the offenders might be let go.
I walked up and a female officer stopped me.
“How may I help you, sir?” she asked.
“I’m here to pick up some of my friends. They were at a party where they felt there was a bad element. Would it be possible to take them home?” I asked.
“And which ones would those be, sir?”
“To begin with, those two,” I said pointing them out. “I’m sure there are a few more here.”
About that time Jennie Wesleyan came out, and she looked scared. Harper was brought out a moment later.
“I take it you know those two also?” she asked.
“Yep, one is Jennie Wesleyan. The same family the school’s named after. The other is Harper Mass. Her mother is the State’s Attorney for Cook County.”
Turns out the police in this town do not release minor girls to minor boys.
I liked our police a whole lot better. It might have had something to do with them knowing me all my life. That, and I helped them score free food at football games, and gave them half a keg of beer last year. Oh, and my brother went to school with some of them. My family wasn’t rich, but our name was well known, partly from my football successes. I guess these police didn’t know who they were dealing with.
The night went downhill from there. I called Beverly Mass to tell her where her daughter was. I met Harper’s dad at the police station. It was not one of my top choices as to where to meet the father of the girl I was dating. I was happy to see Jerald and Abigail Wesleyan. They let Jack Mass know I wasn’t a mass murderer. I was sure we’d all laugh about this someday.
THE ONLY GOOD THING that came out of tonight was Abigail invited me to stay at their house. Jack also decided to stay, since it was close to two in the morning. I was starved.
“Abigail, do you mind if I make something to eat?” I asked when we all arrived.
“Help yourself, David. I’m not sure there’s anything in the refrigerator.”
The convicts had all been sent to their dorm rooms, so it was just the four of us. They all followed me into the kitchen. The refrigerator didn’t have any bread or anything, so I checked the freezer. I found some ground beef I could cook up. I looked in the pantry and they had mac and cheese. I had the makings for a late-night meal.
I began cooking when the inquisition began. I smiled to myself. This group was a bunch of amateurs. Either my mom or Bev Mass would have eaten them up.
“Why weren’t you arrested with everyone else?” Jack asked.
I’d learned to keep it simple. Sticking to the truth was also a very good idea. Spilling your guts was not always helpful, as I’d learned the hard way.
“Harper told me she needed to drop off some pizzas at the party.”
Abigail gave me a curious look. She might be a problem. When Jack and Jerold weren’t looking at me, I slightly shook my head. She gave me a look that said we’d talk later.
“I still don’t see why you weren’t with her,” Jack pressed.
“She went there to talk to some of her friends. Once the pizzas were delivered, I went back to my Jeep.”
“So you were inside the party,” Jack pounced.
Crap! I just ignored him as I plated everyone some of my mac-and-cheese-with-hamburger creation. I sat down and focused on eating. Abigail decided to bail me out.
“This is actually pretty good,” she said.
“Who knew?” Jerold commented.
OMG! Have these people never had this before? It looked like Jack wanted to continue the interrogation.
“Okay, guys. Why don’t you go to bed and we’ll pick this up in the morning? David, will you help me clean up?” Abigail asked.
We put everything in the dishwasher and started it. I wiped down the counters and stove. Abigail waited until we were done before she led me into their office. She called Bev and put her on speaker phone. I was surprised when she and a couple of her people were on the other end of the line.
I spent the next ten minutes being interrogated by a professional. She broke me like a twig in winter. I told her everything I knew. I think five minutes of the conversation was taken up with both moms explaining to me what a big baby I was. It turns out women are allowed to change your plans, and I was to suck it up and go with the flow.
I was worn out and finally called a halt to it.
“Bev, I’m about to fall asleep on you,” I said.
“Sorry, David, I want to thank you for everything you did tonight. The girls were lucky you were there and you were brave enough to go talk to the police and then call us. Most boys would have just left. This could have been very messy if we hadn’t been able to get involved early in the process.”
I had no idea what she was talking about and was sure I didn’t want to know. If good looks and charm weren’t enough to get by on, what were we coming to? The good news was they let me go to bed.
Chapter 11 – Season Starts
Saturday March 7
I woke up to two teenage girls bouncing on my bed.
“Get up!” Harper ordered me.
My eyes cracked open to see Harper and Jennie smiling at me. I glanced over at the clock. It was only ten. I had barely gotten eight hours of sleep. They were killing me. I crawled out of bed and heard both the girls squeal.
“See, told you,” Harper said.
I turned back and they both stared at my crotch. You would think they’d never before seen a naked boy with a piss hard-on. I needed to take care of my condition and take a shower. I came out with a towel wrapped around my waist to find both girls lounging on my bed.