I spend the next couple of hours working to avoid Nate, Jameson, and now Max, as I politely mingle and discuss high school memories with nearly everyone. I find it ironic that prior to graduating all you heard people talk about at parties was the excitement of graduating and plans for after school. Now everyone reminisces about every last detail of high school, even though we’ve barely left. In some ways I can understand it; it’s hard to move forward and it can be scary as all hell. I ended up unable to bring myself to go any further from home than San Diego, even though I’d been accepted to several schools on the East Coast where I’d always imagined myself going.
“Ace! Holy shit. What are you doing here?” I turn to see Jessica Finley and instantly feel the pull on my cheeks as she rushes toward me and wraps me tightly in her arms.
Jess and I have been friends since the first day of kindergarten. She’d been upset about being separated from her older brother Keith, and I’d offered her my M&M’s and the sage advice that chocolate would help. From there we became very close. Once we reached high school, Jess had become friends with the art and drama clique, who never seemed particularly fond of me, and we began spending less and less time together. Even though I haven’t seen her in over a year, since before we each left for college, our friendship never seems to skip a beat between lapses. It’s not because it’s convenient, it’s because we both understand that as we grow up our lives change, and some of those changes have brought us closer, and others haven’t. Ultimately we both know who the other is and share a love and respect for one another that time and distance has never lessened.
“Gosh, it’s good to see you!” I say, scanning her face and noticing a couple of new piercings: one in her nose and one above her upper lip. She has such delicate features that the jewelry only seems to accentuate her beauty, and rather than making her appear like she’s trying to be unique, it just confirms she is.
“You too! Let’s go outside. It’s getting too loud in here. I want to hear how you’ve been!” She takes my hand in hers, and without waiting for a response makes her way through the crowd toward the back door. I follow close behind her, scanning the room for Kendall. It only takes me a moment to catch sight of her, she and her headband of a skirt have attracted a small crowd of admirers but appears to be safe, dancing and giggling with some girls I know from her class.
“Is she totally wasted?” The deep voice startles me, and I turn to see Jameson staring in Kendall’s direction. A grimace painted on his face shows he’s more concerned than annoyed. We’re blocking the entrance of the back door people attempt to enter, so I nod my head toward the yard.
The air has become thicker with cigarette smoke making my lungs constrict in protest. I follow Jess and glance over my shoulder to see Jameson trailing behind us, looking restless.
“Jameson, this is my good friend Jessica. Jess, this is Jameson.” I introduce the two with a wave of my hand.
He lifts his chin to acknowledge her and immediately turns his attention back to the house. “She’s testing you,” I explain, brushing imaginary lint from my right thigh. I don’t know why I feel uncomfortable divulging this information exactly when I want to help Jameson. It’s not as though I’m even stating anything that isn’t fairly obvious, but she’s my sister and my best friend, thus causing guilt to whittle through me, making my hands feel restless like they do anytime I’m uncomfortable. I hardly even realize I’m doing it. Generally they seem to have a mind of their own and absently work to occupy themselves until the awkwardness, or in this case guilt, subsides.
“Why in the hell do you girls play with our heads like this?” he demands, obviously unaware that I’m being a bit of a traitor at the moment—that, or not caring.
“Kendall?” Jess asks, and I nod turning to see her pulling out a cigarette.
“No! You don’t smoke!”
She laughs, ignoring my protest. “Kendall’s trying to see if you’re going to be worth the effort. Ace should learn a little from her.” Jess replies, lighting her cigarette and taking a long pull before blowing the smoke away from us. Her quip about me makes me frown at her, before I turn my attention back to Jameson.
“She’s right; she wants you to fight for her attention.”
“I told you.”
I turn to see Max approaching us, his gaze locked on me, and I sigh in annoyance before I can stop the reaction.
“Max!” Jess cries out his name with adoration, shocking me even more than the cigarette, which she carefully holds out in an extended hand as she gives him a small hug. How did I not know they were friends?
“Hey, Jess.” He greets her and the warmth in his tone annoys me for reasons I’m not interested in dissecting at the moment. I turn my attention back to Jameson again.
“Blondie giving you some good advice on what to do, or you ready to bounce?” Max asks, as if I’m not a foot away hearing every word that he’s saying. His dismissal intensifies my irritation with him.
“Blondie wasn’t offering advice,” I reply snidely. I have to tilt my head up slightly to look at him, and as I do I catch his blue eyes that seem too familiar peering back at me and wonder who he is and what he did with the Max I was introduced to just a few days ago. This conflicting side reminds me that I have no clue who in the hell Max Miller is, regardless of the fact that he’s been my neighbor for the past ten years.
“Max, do you know Ace?” Jess asks, taking a drag of her cigarette. I know her well enough to realize she’s trying to diffuse the situation because I also know she knows me well enough to realize I’m pissed.
Max nods, raising an eyebrow as if the answer is apparent.
“Obviously not very well,” Jess says, tapping the end of her cigarette with a delicate finger. She eyes me and I see her silently prepare me for what she’s about to say, warning me that she’s about to compare me to one of my sisters, something I despise. “Kendall’s the spitfire, Ace is the chill one.”
“Nate hit on me,” I explain quietly. She knows the history. “Max thinks I should just sleep with him, to make things easier for myself.” Sarcasm drips from my words.
“What in the hell’s wrong with you?” Her hand flies out, making contact with his chest. “Just because she’s nice doesn’t mean she’s going to take your shit! And why in the hell are you trying to set anyone up with Nathan Hudson? You hate him.”
I don’t bother to allow Max to respond, I’m not sure I want to hear it after all that I’ve heard him say tonight. “Thanks for defending my honor,” I tease, batting my eyelashes several times before she rolls her eyes at me and grins, “but I should check on my spitfire sister, make sure she doesn’t need a reminder on her limits. Plus, if she finds out I’m being all Benedict Arnold, she’ll take her vengeance out on my shoes.” I turn to Jess. “Call me, I want to see you again before you head back to New York.”
“Hell yes! You’re one of the few people I was hoping to see. I’m just shocked to see you here of all places.”
“Yeah, I’m still paying an old debt, otherwise you wouldn’t have.” I wrap my arms around her, and the lingering scent of cinnamon that always seems to follow her tickles my nose.
“You should quit with the cancer sticks,” I say, raising my eyebrows as I watch the toe of her black heel rub it into the cement. “You’re too pretty, and you’ve got a great laugh without the guttural cough.”
“I’m working on it,” she says with a grin.