Today was the last day of school. I’m officially a senior. The entire school is here for one last hoorah at the lake, even though we all know everyone will still be going to the same parties at the same houses, hooking up with the same people all summer long. Everyone, that is, except me.
“Not everyone sweats like a farm animal, Sav,” I snap back, and she rolls her eyes while our friends try to hold back their laughs. The truth is, I can’t wait to burn this uniform and be done with our dance team. I forgot my change of clothes at home, and I don’t have the gas money to get all the way there and back to the lake for the party. Plus, home is a place I avoid almost as much as the people inside it these days. But they don’t know that. No one does. They only see what I want them to see, with the exception of my only genuine friend, Drew.
“Oh, I keep forgetting,” Chloe, the peacemaker of the group, interjects, trying to change the subject, I’m sure. “My mom keeps hounding me to ask you if your mom changed her number. I guess she’s been trying to get ahold of her for a couple of weeks and she hasn?
?t heard back.”
“Huh,” I say, feigning confusion. “She’s just been super busy lately. I’ll tell her to give her a call.” Lie lie lie. Well, not technically. She has been busy with work and dealing with our entire family imploding. Chloe nods and smiles, her platinum curls bouncing with the movement.
“Are you still coming to Cabo with us?” Savvy asks, already knowing the answer.
“I told you. I’m going on vacation with my parents all summer.” Another lie. I’ll be spending my summer working my ass off in the next town over. Honestly, I’m not even sad about it. It’s a relief knowing I’ll be able to end the charade soon. Savvy eyes me warily, looking for clues of deception. I raise a brow, staring right back, daring her to call me out. She backs down, like always. Until the next round.
“Hey, baby,” a voice I know to be Ethan’s coos into my ear. A red plastic cup in his hand, he wraps his arms around my waist. I can smell the beer on his breath, and I casually slip out of his embrace. Ethan wants me—and just about every other girl with a pulse. He’s not my boyfriend, not really. But I let him play the part. After months of making out with every pretty face that came along, I decided Ethan would do. Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t and all that.
Ethan keeps other guys off my ass and keeps me warm on the nights when I need to feel some sort of human connection. I like to think of it as recycling. You know, keep the number of hookups to a minimum. It’s a win-win. That is, until he gets too drunk and handsy and pushes for more. More, meaning the thing I won’t give up. Not anymore, at least. I think our time is coming to an end. I know he feels it, too, but instead of letting it go, Ethan holds on tighter.
“You’re drunk,” I accuse, crossing my arms over my chest.
“And you’re hot.” He chugs the remainder of his beer before tossing the cup into the bonfire and pulling me in close again.
“I’m bored. Get off me,” I say, shoving away from him. He looks at me like he doesn’t recognize me, but whatever he’s going to say is interrupted by the sound of dirt bikes.
Even after a year, the sound still gives me goosebumps every time I hear them pass by. It’s this weird mix between dread and excitement. Anger and exhilaration. Both the best and worst night of my life. Only this time, the bikes aren’t just passing by. They’re coming straight for us.
“Who the fuck are these guys?” Ethan slurs.
“The Sons of Eastlake,” Jenna, one of Sav’s groupies, pipes up, toying with the dainty silver chain around her neck. She’s practically salivating. “They’re back.”
Oh my God. The Sons of Eastlake. That’s what the flyer at the carnival said. It finally dawns on me why Eastlake sounded familiar. It’s a small town about forty-five minutes away. I’ve never been there, of course. I’d have no reason to, unless I was looking to get mugged or kidnapped.
“Ew, Jenna, you’re into carnies now?” Savvy asks.
“What, they’re hot.” She shrugs.
“Agreed,” Chloe adds. “There’s just something about them that’s so…”
“Dirty?” Savvy supplies. “That’s because they don’t have showers on the road.”
I’d come up with some witty comeback if I wasn’t about to pass out from shock. Five bikes come to a stop across the bonfire, and the one in front removes his helmet, revealing the face of the boy who gave me my first kiss. Sebastian. Eros. Tres. Lathan. Even the new guy. Elliot, I think his name was. Huh. Seems they eventually accepted him into their little unit.
All eyes are on Sebastian as he lifts his leg over his bike, then stands with his arms crossed over his chest, daring anyone to say something about crashing our party. Eros is next, but he grabs a thirty pack of cheap beer that’s bungeed to his seat before ripping the pack open and tossing a beer to Justin, the resident tough guy, as a peace offering. When Justin cracks it open, everyone goes back to their conversations, satisfied nothing juicy is going to happen.
I glare at Sebastian through the flames of the bonfire, still not fully comprehending that he’s here. In my town. At my beach. His eyes look mischievous—almost wicked—even from here as he surveys his surroundings.
“Is that what you like?” Ethan whispers close to my ear. He slips an arm around my waist and squeezes my ass. “Because we can role play, if that’s what you’re into.”
I shove him off me once again, and when I look back toward Sebastian, he’s locked onto me. I see nothing in his eyes. No trace of surprise or even recognition. Just two soulless, green orbs looking right through me. Rage bubbles up inside me. A year ago, my world changed forever. And Sebastian was the catalyst that set it all into motion.
I’ve thought about what I would do if I ever came face-to-face with him again. Most of my fantasies included punching him in the face—maybe even kneeing him between the legs for good measure—but I never thought I’d actually see him again.
“Sav,” I snap. “I’m thirsty. Get me a drink?” Her mouth drops open. If looks could kill, I’d be deader than a doornail, but she rolls her eyes and stomps toward the keg anyway. Sometimes you need to out-bitch the main bitch to avoid being usurped. The old Evan was weak. The new me does what it takes to survive high school politics and a crumbling home life. When she returns with a red cup, I take it and give her a plastic smile before walking away.
I sip my beer as I walk, mentally cursing Drew for being late. He’s the only one who knows what happened last summer. I dig my phone out of my bra and send him a text asking where he is. A few seconds pass before I get his response.
Drew: Everything good? Be there in 5.
“Little girls shouldn’t wander off by themselves at night.”