Just ask Mary

“Cool,” you say. “You busy tonight?”

“Huh?” she replies. You find it cute how weird she must feel having this shouted conversation from window to window.

“Are you busy tonight? You want to go to this party? I don’t know anybody,” you say, spreading your hands. “Kind of hard to just walk up to it by myself, right?”

“Um,” she replies, looking thoughtful. You feel like you can read her mind. She wasn’t planning to go to this party, but she’s a normal girl. Convincing her to spend the night having fun instead of studying shouldn’t be very difficult. She appears to deliberate for a moment, then shrugs and smiles. “OK. Why not?”

You agree to leave in twenty minutes and get ready. When you both emerge from your houses to climb into your mom’s car, you couldn’t look more different. Mary is done up cute in a skirt and top that are summery and flattering. You just did your usual torn jeans and flannel. If the difference between your styles bothers her, she doesn’t show it.

It’s a little awkward since you don’t know each other at all, but it’s easy to make small talk by asking her about Gurlberg and how it’s changed. Mary’s easy to talk to, and you don’t get that too cool vibe from her. She’s too sweet to be one of the truly cool girls, but she’s hot enough that she can’t help but be a little cool.

The party is in a rich subdivision outside the town. It’s a big house with a perfect lawn, and the party inside is not subtle. There are lots of cars and the music is loud. Rich kids don’t have to worry about noise complaints, apparently.

“Hope you’re not disappointed,” Mary says as you get out of the car.

“No. Thanks for telling me about it.”

Inside, you find what seems like half the high school. These kids skew toward the preppy and wealthy side of things. Stef’s family isn’t poor, so money is not the reason that she doesn’t fit in with these kids. You’re guessing that it has to do with her confidence.

Red plastic cups are everywhere. Beer. You want it.

Mary is immediately stopped by one of her friends, so you slide on by and head for the kitchen, where you find some guys putting nachos in the oven and a tall girl filling a cup from a keg. She’s slim but graceful. Her skin is such a dark brown that it’s almost black, and her hair is in dreads. She wears jeans and a lime-green tube top with glasses that have thick, funky, orange frames.

She turns away from the keg, lifting her cup to her mouth to drink. You are almost knocked over by how insanely cool she is.

And more than that: her top is tight, but there’s something even more interesting to you than the way that it’s stretched across her modest breasts. The letters on it: CCL.

She sees you staring.

“You OK, kid?” she asks.

“Sure,” you reply, coming to your senses. Your plan was to stick to Mary, make some introductions, try to make Mary laugh a little… but that all just went straight out the window. You snatch a cup and fill it with beer, smiling back at the tall girl. “Are you with the sorority?” you ask.

“Is that not obvious?” She gestures ironically at her chest.

A guy bumps into you, but you manage not to spill. “Do you come to a lot of high school parties?”

“Only the ones where rich kids pay out,” she replies, patting the keg.

Aha. So CCL makes a buck on the side by supplying booze to the underage, privileged crowd. You thought that CCL was supposed to be careful about this, but maybe they only care about being careful on their own property.

“I’m Carla,” you say. “What’s your name?”

“Lily.”

“Are you here with anyone?”

“I was just about to leave.”

“But you can’t,” you say. “You can’t drive.” You tap your cup against hers. “Let’s hang out.”

“Kid, you don’t have to suck up to me. If you want beer, just show me the money,” she says with a laugh. She has a pretty laugh. She’s so relaxed. There’s a powerful confidence in that, and you’re reminded of Kris… who is also CCL. You have more confidence than Stef, but that’s not saying much. You want to be like these girls.

“I don’t want beer. I want to party with CCL.”

“Every CCL girl wants beer,” she tells you. “Join up after you graduate.”

“Maybe I don’t want to wait that long.”

“What’s your hurry?” she asks.

You move closer to her, joining her in leaning on the kitchen counter. These drunken football players are making it hard to concentrate on anything. You coax her out of the kitchen and upstairs. There’s a window seat around the corner from the hallway. Someone’s puking in the bathroom, but the walls muffle the music and it’s almost private.

Lily is enjoying your pestering, and she doesn’t seem to mind when you sit close enough that your legs are touching on the window seat.

“I’m just the romantic type. The CCL life calls to me,” you tell her with a straight face.

“Sure, kid.”

“I’ll get into those parties,” you promise her, swigging more beer. “I have an in. My tutor used to be CCL. She says she can get me in.”

“Sure. Sure.” She laughs.

A girl giggles and the floor shakes as two people stumble down the hall. A door slams, and you hear a mattress squeak through the wall. You and Lily exchange a look. A moment later there’s an unmistakable gasp. You both sip, trying not to laugh. Barely a minute later, the squeaking through the wall is pretty obvious. And it doesn’t help that whatever cheerleader is in there getting fucked is making some very cute noises. You’re getting hard in your jeans.

“That could’ve been us,” you say, nudging Lily. She looks surprised, then she looks you over appraisingly. Her eyes stop at the tent in your pants.

“Oh,” she says, lifting an eyebrow. “I see. Put that thing away.”

“It is away.” You’re both a little drunk.

She snorts. “I guess you would fit in with us.”

“I know where else I could… fit in,” you say, leaning against her.

“OK, sweetheart. We have got to work on your flirting game,” she says, **** on her beer as she laughs louder. “Down, girl.” She swats at your crotch.

“Ow!”

But she frowns, then puts her hand back on it. “Oh. That’s bigger than I thought.”

The moment is there, and beer helps you seize it. You put your hand on hers, holding it there, and kiss her on the mouth. She pulls back after a moment, but she hasn’t moved her hand. She peers at you for a moment, no longer laughing.

“Do CCL girls party or not?” you ask quietly as the girl on the other side of the wall yelps and her partner tells her how sexy she is.

It’s only a few steps down the hall to this huge house’s master bedroom. She pulls you through, using her hip to knock the door shut before pulling you in for a kiss. Lily is aggressive, but so are you. It’s a real kiss this time, with tongue and everything. Your hand slides from her hip to her smooth, toned belly, then boldly into her pants. She presses her body against yours, kissing you harder.

Strip naked. Go all the way with her.

Or

Clothes on. Quickie.