Chapter THREE

Kyler's red car pulled up a few minutes early, so I was glad that I was already outside. Inside, the car smelled like smoke and cherry scented air freshener. I'd never been in a guy's car before. It was dark and the lights on the dash were bright.

   "Hellooooo," Kyler said, already flirting. I should have expected this but I just wasn't prepared.

   "Hey," I smiled, buckling my seat belt.

   "Ready? It's a bit of a drive, but it's seriously the best party of the year," he told me, his eyes wide and excited.

   I nodded, and Kyler pulled back out of the driveway. I was mostly quiet, looking out the window, listening to the radio. I was nervous, and didn't want to say anything to embarrass myself. Kyler made some small talk, mostly about who was going to be at the party. I didn't know many of the seniors, besides him and Kane, Mel and Mandee and Gibson.

   When we finally pulled into the long driveway, I saw lots of other cars already parked on the lawn. The beach house was a huge two-story, and I could see all the lights were on, as I got out of the car. Kyler came around, took my hand and lead me towards the house. My heart was racing as we stepped inside.

   "Yooo, Kyler!" Gibson yelled, almost immediately, greeting us at the door.

   "Hey, bud," Kyler replied, giving him a high five.

   "Dude, you brought Marley? Damn," Gibson went on, and looked at me, up and down, smiling.

   I was blushing, but tried not to show it. I was in awe of the house, my surroundings, the people. My first date, my first senior party - and I wasn't even a senior. I wondered what other firsts would happen that night.

   Kyler led me through the house, past groups of people, all of whom said hi to him. He had been on the football team since he was a freshman, and, I was figuring out, everyone knew him. He had a good grip on my hand as he led me into the kitchen. A few people were standing by the keg.

    Kyler opened the fridge and took out two cans of beer. After handing one to me, he said, "Want to sit out back?"

   I nodded, because it seemed like a good idea. The house was bright and loud and as he pulled me towards the back of the house, it got quieter, but not by much.

   Outside, the beach was close. I could see the water from the deck. A couple was making out at a picnic table that we passed by, two girls were laughing along with some guys, who were playing volleyball in the sand. I could just barely hear the music that was blasting, back inside. We walked down to the water, but stopped a few feet up. Kyler kicked off his sandals and sat down in the sand, so I copied him. He popped open his beer. I didn't.

   "I'm glad you came," he told me, looking out at the lake.

   "Yeah, me too," I agreed, but still felt nervous.

   "I have to admit... I've kind of been digging you for awhile. Like, before your party in the summer," he said, reaching over to hold my hand again.

   "You didn't even talk to me, at my party," I told him.

   He looked embarrassed, just for a moment. "I wanted to."

   "So?"

   "Kane told Gibson and I that you were off limits," he shrugged.

   "He what?"

   "I mean, I knew you couldn't date til you turned sixteen. But then he told us to back off from you altogether," Kyler went on. I was speechless. "I would have totally respected that, too... I mean, my sisters are off limits to my friends-"

   "I am not Kane's sister."

   "I know, but he kind of protects you like one. Anyway, last weekend he slept with my ex-girlfriend, so..."

   "You're using me to hurt him?" I asked, annoyed.

   "No, Marley. Not even close. I've wanted to ask you out, for awhile, but I couldn't."

   I didn't know what to say, so I sat quietly beside him for awhile, digging my toes into the sand, letting him hold my hand. The waves were crashing the water onto the sand a few feet away. I loved the beach, and this was so nice, but I felt like I didn't exactly belong there, with him.

   "You don't like beer?" he asked me, looking at the unopened can beside me.

   "Oh, I don't really drink," I answered.

   "You mean you never have?" he asked. I was embarrassed again, because it was obvious that this was true. "Well, at least try it?"

   So I tried it. It was warm now, and tasted kind of gross. I was nervous with Kyler watching me, so I basically drank the whole can down, fast. Soon I felt warm and fuzzy, and blinked hard, smiling at him.

   "Not so bad, right?" he asked, grinning.

   "Nope."

   "You want another?"

   I nodded, so he dropped my hand and stood up. "Be right back. Don't go anywhere."

   I watched him walk back towards the house, then looked back at the lake. A bigger wave reached my toes, and I dug them into the now wet sand. I heard laughing, from a distance, and a couple of guys ran passed, tossing a frisbee. It was dark and I felt buzzed, but calm.

   "Marley?" someone said, a bit off in the distance.

   I looked in that direction and saw Kane, walking towards me. I blinked, hard, trying to think of what I would say to him. Now that I knew he had told his friends to stay away from me, I really didn't know what to think.

   "What are you doing here?" he asked, now just a foot or two away.

   "Sitting," I replied, looking past him.

   "Marley, this is a senior party," he said, like I was dumb.

   "I know. I came with -"

   "Heyy, Kane." Kyler was back, of course, and forced a smile at Kane, but looked unsure himself.

   "You?" Kane was figuring out what was going on. "You brought Marley here?"

   Kyler nodded, looking pleased with himself. Kane was trying to figure out what to do. I stood up, as Kyler held out another can of beer to me. I took it and popped it open.

   "Kyler... can I talk to you?" Kane said, motioning away from me.

   Kyler paused, then smiled at me. "Kane, you slept with Marisa. So, I'm pretty sure you can't get mad that I brought Marley to a party."

   Kane looked mad - pissed, actually - for a moment, but then glanced at me. His face was calm, docile. He even gave me a slight smile before speaking again.

   "Right. Whatever, have fun." And then he disappeared back down the beach.

   "Well, that went better than I expected," Kyler spoke, once Kane was out of sight.

   "Yeah?" I asked.

   "Oh yeah. I thought he'd punch me," he laughed.

   "I'm glad he didn't," I said, then gulped some of the second beer.

   "Me too."

   "So..."

   "You want to go inside and find somewhere quiet?" Kyler asked me, and the words didn't exactly make sense. I knew what he meant, but I wasn't sure if I was just assuming, or not. I finished off the beer - it was cold and tasted a bit better than the first. Now my head felt foggy, but I squeezed his hand and followed him inside.