Kim Pritekel - Outcome

"Well, maybe then he has something special in mind, eh?" My mom shrugged with a smile.

"Maybe."

Downstairs I heard the doorbell.

"Your limo’s here." My mom said, turning on the seat.

"Yeah." I stood, kissing her on the cheek. "You guys have fun and be careful."

"You, too, honey. I love you."

"Love you, too."

Haley stood on the front porch wrapped up in a heavy winter jacket.

"I take it you’re a little cold." I grinned as I opened the door.

"You could say that." She looked me over, seeing the heavy, hooded sweat jacket covering the tank. "Are you going to freeze in that?"

"Nope. I’ll be fine."

"Okay. Ready?"

As I’ll ever be. "Yep."

The Martin house was large, which was not a surprise. Brad’s parents were some of the wealthiest residents of Winston. Cars lined the streets, and loud music could be heard pounding out of every possible crevice. The first two of the three stories were completely lit up as figures moved in front of the windows, people milling about outside, or heading in.

People we passed said hi to Haley, or stopped to chat for a second, all the while looking at me with unasked questions in their eyes. I was actually shocked by how many times I got looked up and down and leered at. That was new.

Finally we made our way into the house, bodies pulsing everywhere, dancing, talking, laughing, drinking.

Here we go.

"Hey, girl! There you are." Haley’s arm was grabbed, and I turned to see it was Kelly. She smiled at her friend, then looked at me, brows drawing in confusion. She looked at Haley, but before she could say anything, Haley chimed in.

"This is Andi Littman. She came with me." Eyes still narrowed and suspicious, Kelly nodded and turned to the group she was talking with. "Come on," Haley said, tugging me with her to join in. I looked around the group, recognizing all the faces who seemed to find mine most interesting. Tommy Gauna smiled at me, his blue eyes twinkling. He’s always seemed nice to me, though as gay as the day is long. He knew more about fashion and dressing than Ivana Trump. Brad Martin stood with his arm around his latest squeeze, Katie Heinz, also with eyes on me, though they seemed to travel a bit further down than Tommy’s did.

"So, are you new here?" I turned to see Heather Michaels standing next to me, a beer in her hand. "I mean, I’ve heard you’re a transfer."

"No. I’ve been around." I shouted, trying to be heard above the newest song, three times louder than the last.

"Wow. I’ve never seen you before." I just smiled. Losing interest, she turned to the crowd, joining in whatever they were laughing about. I looked to Haley, not wanting to hang on to her like a puppy, but it felt better knowing where she was at all times.

"Are you okay?" she asked after awhile, bending down to be heard. I nodded. "I’m sure this is boring as hell, why don’t you go mingle? There’s plenty of people here." She indicated the full house, and more people pouring through the door as it got later. I nodded with a forced smile.

Truth of the matter was I was bored out of my mind! I walked around with the untouched drink that someone had handed me, in my hand. I had no idea what it was, and sure as hell wasn’t about to find out.

Throbbing bodies were everywhere, getting more and more amorous with the larger intake of liquor. My god. Did these things eventually turn into super-sized orgies? I just wanted to find a place where only I was, and not a bunch of sweaty, smelly bodies. I was also tired of getting propositioned by guys I’d never seen before. I was beginning to think wearing these clothes was a mistake. Better to hide it all.

I found my way up the stairs and saw a slew of closed doors on either side of the hall, and figured that just about any one of those would make a great hideaway.

Reaching out, I tried the knob of the first door to find it locked. Okay, one down, seven to go. The next was unlocked, but when I opened it, I was struck dumb. A girl lay completely naked on the bed, the guy trying to quickly tug at his shirt, his pants already halfway down his legs, his intent quite clear, and quite large.

Oh, god.

I quickly closed the door, trying to not bring any attention to me, or disturb the lovers. I didn’t want that guy anywhere near me with that thing. I made my way to the very last door at the end of the hall when it opened and a girl stepped out. She gave me a crooked, sloppy smile as she stumbled past me. I watched to see if she’d even remain standing to the stairs or if she’d collapse into a pile of alcoholic goo. Nope, she made it. Darn.

I walked into the room, clicking the light on to see I was in a bathroom, empty, peopleless, and vomit smell free.

With a sigh, I sat on the toilet, setting my cup of whatever on the counter. I didn’t have to go to the bathroom, but what a great way to hide. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the shower door. This was madness. Why did anyone come to these things on purpose? It was pointless, was absolutely no fun, and was very destructive from what I’d seen done to Brad’s house so far.

I heard the knob rattle, thanking every god I could think of that I locked it. Then the person began to knock.

"Busy," I yelled. The pounding stopped for a minute before I heard someone whine.

"Come on, I gotta go." I chuckled. Why on earth hadn’t I thought to bring a video camera as blackmail? Such a lost opportunity.

"You’ll have to wait. Gotta big one on the way," I yelled again. Let them try to decipher that in their drunk mind.

I finally made my way downstairs, figuring a half an hour was about all I would get away with. I spotted Haley and her entourage and walked over to them.

"There you are. I’ve been looking for you," she said. "Are you okay?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I’m fine. What’s up?"

"Well, my friend Ryan was looking for you."

"Who?"

Haley turned away, and began to scan the crowd. She spotted whoever, and yelled over to him. Within a few moments a tall, good-looking blonde guy was looking at me.

"Hey," he said with a grin. I gave him a small wave. "I saw you earlier, and um, wanted to know if you wanted to dance?"

Oh, boy. I looked at Haley to see her grinning at me like a proud mother. She gave me a thumbs up. Yay, she approves.

"Um, sure." He grinned again, and lead me to a somewhat clear spot of the floor. He began to dance, and I stood there feeling like an inept idiot, and looking much like one, I’m sure, but soon enough I found the beat and joined in. He actually was a cutie, and a nice guy. He told me all about playing on the baseball team for Winston, and how great it felt to win "the big one" last year, and how much he looked forward to training come spring. I also heard all about how he had just bought himself his dream car, a 1983 Camaro and how he was rebuilding it with his dad, and that I should go for a ride in it sometime. I nodded politely, absolutely no interest in riding in his anything.

"Can I have your number?"

"Sure." What!? Shit. I had only been half listening to him. Now I was stuck.

"Great!" He reached into his back pocket to take his wallet out, and brought out a receipt to write on. "Do you have a pen on you?" I looked down at myself.

"Where would I keep it?" He grinned, nodded, holding up a finger to tell me he’d be right back. I stayed where I was, beating myself for not the first time that day. Within a few seconds he was back.

"Okay, what is it?" Instead of attempting to yell over the party, I took the paper and pen from him and wrote it down, grimacing with every number.

"Here you go." He looked at it, then smiled.

"Thanks. I’ll call you soon." I nodded with a smile. Yeah, you do that.

He told me he was leaving, offering to take me home. I quickly got out of that trap, and headed back to Haley. She still stood with her friends, all of them, except her, getting more and more loaded. Heather actually looked sick. When I joined the group, Haley turned to me with a grin.