10. ten

Chapter ten

“Furr” - Blitzen Trapper

T he temperature plummeted while Lena and I were in the shed together. As much as I enjoyed the way she clung to me on our way up the drive toward her car, I was happy to take off my hoodie and put it on her instead.

“Thank you,” Lena said with a little giggle. She lifted the collar to cover the bottom half of her face with it, and after a deep inhale, she said, “It smells like you.”

“Oh. Is that… good?”

“Yes, of course,” she said with an enthusiastic nod.

“Okay, good. Keep it.”

“I planned on it,” she said with a grin as I put my hands on her waist.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” I slid my hands lower, grabbing her by the hips. I could barely believe I had this girl naked underneath me just twenty minutes ago. It felt like a fever dream.

And it was incredible.

Even when it could have been awkward, we just laughed and carried on, putting that cot’s flimsy metal frame to the test. I took Abigail’s advice, ensuring Lena was comfortable and having a good time. I didn’t want it to be anything at all like her first time.

She’d been smiling ever since.

“Why do you look so serious?” she asked me on the driveway.

I couldn’t wait any longer. “Will you go to prom with me?”

Lena’s laughter rang out through the trees over the sound of the music drifting down the hill from the party. “Yes. Took you long enough to ask me, Owen."

“Hey, I tried, but you distracted me,” I said, leaning down for a kiss. We only pulled apart when a car came down the path and we had to get out of the way.

Lena’s car was wedged between two others. Some asshole had pulled up just inches from her rear bumper. It took me a few minutes, but I tracked the guy down and made him move his car. It was a senior guy I’d never spoken to, and he was reluctant to take orders from me, but I glared at him until he got the message.

“See you Monday?” Lena asked, pulling her keys out of her purse next to her car.

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

After one more long-lasting kiss, we pulled apart. I watched her leave, standing in the driveway until her taillights disappeared over the hill.

With Lena gone and Beth a distant memory, I didn’t know what to do with myself. There were still a few people inside the cabin and just one shadowy figure in front of the fire up ahead. I recognized that silhouette.

I took a deep breath, the words I spewed at Xander earlier that night echoing in my mind again and again. Sure, he was the one who acted like a dick first, but mentioning his dad was such a low blow. I couldn’t even recall everything else I’d said, but I’d never forget the look on his face. Could he ever forgive me for that?

There was only one way to find out.

I made my way toward the dwindling fire, where Xander was seated on a hay bale, poking at the logs with a long stick. He saw me approach, but he quickly turned back to the fire, refusing to acknowledge me.

But I wasn’t going to give him a choice. I sat beside him and folded my hands between my knees, staring at the glowing embers until they made my eyes burn.

He spoke first. “Thought you left.”

“No,” I said, and I cleared my throat. “Someone’s got to help you clean up in the morning.”

Xander still wouldn’t look at me. “Your brother was looking for you.”

I shook my head, grateful Jake hadn’t found me. “Where’s Abigail?”

“Haven’t seen her in a while.”

How long had he been sitting out here alone? We were quiet for a moment or two, just staring at the crackling fire. Finally, I turned to him again and said, “Xan, I didn’t mean what I said. You’re nothing like your dad.”

“Yeah, I am. It’s in my blood.”

“No it’s not,” I said, resting my hands on the edges of the hay bale. “You’re the one who’s going to break the cycle.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Every time I look at him, it’s like I’m getting a glimpse of my future, and that scares the hell out of me.”

“I know you’re better than that. And I’ll keep pushing you, just like you push me, until you see it, too.”

Xander blew air from his nose in a silent laugh. “I can’t even help my friend get laid. I’m worthless.”

“Well…” I opened my mouth before promptly closing it, deciding in that moment I wasn’t ready to talk about Lena with him just yet. That could wait.

He lowered his stick to the ground and turned to face me, finally looking me in the eyes. “Hey, I’m sorry for being really forward with Beth. I wasn’t trying to steal her away from you. I don’t think I fully realized what I was doing. I could stand to be a little more self-aware.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “As it turns out, she’s not right for me, anyway. It’s fine with me if you want to date her.”

Xander shook his head, staring at the fire with a crooked grin. “That’s not happening. I tried to get her to stay, but she blew me off.”

“Guess we both struck out with her, then.”

“Guess so.” We sat there for a few minutes in silence again, and I sleepily watched him attempt to stoke the fire. It was hardly a fire at all anymore, just burning embers and ashes. I half-expected Xander to comment on the quiet Coldplay song playing over on Abigail’s speaker, but he didn’t say a word. In fact, I caught him mouthing the lyrics.

Up on the deck, the back door slid open, and Abigail emerged from the cabin with a quilt draped around her body. She made her way over to us, where she stood before the hay bale and said, “Scoot.” We slid apart so she can squeeze between us on the hay. “What a night,” she sighed.

“Where’ve you been?” Xander asked.

“Making my rounds. Taking keys from drunk idiots. Tucking people into your grandparents’ bed.” She turned to Xander. “Someone spilled beer on the carpet in there.”

“Great."

“We’ll get it tomorrow,” she said, pulling the blanket tighter around her arms. Then she turned to me. “Owen, I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Beth.”

“It’s all good,” I said, sitting up a little straighter. “Actually, I finally asked Lena to prom, and she said yes.”

Abigail gasped and punched me in the shoulder. “Owen! Shut up!” She laughed. “You guys are going to look so cute together.”

“Yeah, be sure an’ take lots of pics,” Xander mumbled, “because I sure as hell won’t be there.”

“Why not?” Abigail scoffed.

“I’ve already told you. Prom is stupid. You have to pay for a ticket. And you have to pay for a tux. And girls expect flowers and dinner and a limo and all of that, and for what? A stupid dance where our least favorite teachers stand around and supervise us? I can think of a million better things to do.”

“Would you do all of that for me?”

Xander opened up his mouth to speak, but then slowly brought his lips back together, and the two of them exchanged stares. Could he really say no to her? “You’d have a much better time with literally anyone else.”

“No I wouldn’t. I want you to take me,” she said, and they were locked in a staredown.

Xander cocked his head to the side. “You want me to take you to prom?”

Abigail let out a melodramatic gasp, drawing her hand to her chest. “Why yes, I thought you’d never ask.” Grabbing the edges of the quilt again, she said, “My dress is gold, and you don’t have to take me out to dinner—I’ll cook for you at my house.”

Xander blinked. “I wasn’t–”

“We can double date with Owen and Lena. Right?” Abigail looked at me for confirmation, and I answered with an enthusiastic nod. That sounded perfect, actually.

“I–” Xander began to protest, but he stopped short. I was relieved to hear him let out a defeated sigh. “Fine. I guess you’ve twisted my arm.” Abigail clapped, but Xander spoke again before she got too excited. “But I’m going to complain about it the entire time.”

“You have to dance with me. At least once.”

“We’ll see," Xander said, and Abigail grinned over at me like she knew she'd convince him.

I laughed, wishing it could be May already. Maybe I’d take the rest of the money I had saved and use it for something to make the night special for Lena. For all of us. What if I got a hotel room for the four of us? Maybe we could have an after-party here at the cabin. My mind raced with plans for the perfect prom night.

Xander opened his mouth to yawn, which had a domino effect on Abigail and me. How late was it, anyway? “Where are we supposed to sleep?” I asked as I stretched.

“The guest bed up in the loft.” Xander suggested. “If anyone’s up there, we’ll just kick them out and claim it.”

“The three of us?” I asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Abigail said, standing up with her blanket. “Let’s go. Just don’t either of you get any ideas.”

Xander and I turned to watch Abigail walk toward the cabin, the bottom of her blanket dragging the ground. Although I felt like the third wheel in this situation, I was too tired to come up with a better solution.

And that’s how my night ended: crawling into a full-sized bed with two of my best friends, all of us in our day clothes. Abigail took the middle. “Goodnight, boys.”

“Goodnight,” we told her. I rolled over to text Lena goodnight, too, and she replied almost instantaneously.

Lena: Goodnight ??

I grinned at my phone for a few minutes before rolling over to announce I had, in fact, lost my virginity–I couldn’t wait to see the shock on their faces. But once I saw them, I knew my news would have to wait. They were spooning, eyes closed, with identical smiles on their faces.

Idiots.

I would just have to tell them in the morning. I lay on my back to stare up at the stars through the skylight knowing that after tonight, everything would be different. Could my life ever be any better than this?

Doubtful.