Soundtrack: "Would I Lie to You?" by Eurythmics
Natty found the party, after driving for miles figuring she'd missed the right spot. "A patch of trees around the bend," he'd told her. "Look for the fire." So she finally saw the fire, small as it was, and she parked behind a row of bushes. She didn't see anyone she knew, a couple guys playing kicky bag. "Whoa," one of them said, dropping the bag. "Girl just came out of the woods."
"Whoa," the other one said, and then they both started to laugh hysterically. They were drunk already, and maybe high too. It smelled like campfire and the earthy smell of rain, and she didn't see Josh anywhere. She considered maybe this party was a bad idea, but then the first one of them came over and greeted her.
He looked at her with warm, hazy eyes. "Do you kickybag?"
What was it with these people and their kicky bag? "Josh invited me," Natty said.
"Joooosh," Benny laughed and called out at the same time. "He's back there, somewhere, I think. I'm Benny, this is..." he stared at the guy he was just playing kicky bag with, but couldn't think up his name.
"My girl, Sophie is over there." He pointed. "And Leo -- hey, what's that asshole Leo doing here?"
He left her then to go pick on the guy he called Leo.
Natty found a ring of chairs around the fire and sat down, tucking her backpack underneath one of the chairs. The night was a comfortable chilly, warmer around the fire. She felt welcome, almost -- like they would have welcomed anyone who came here tonight, and it just happened to be her. At least she didn't feel like she needed to leave anymore.
"Hey," Sophia said, coming over. "Natty, right? Is it short for Natalie? I've never heard that name before."
"It's Natalia, actually," she said. "Nobody ever calls me that though." Natty was a long story -- Charlie made that up when they were twelve. He named her, Natty-Patty-Pie-- everybody picked it up after that, losing the "pie" part, thankfully.
"You guys are quiet. Where is he, did he come?"
"No, not tonight he... wasn't feeling up to it."
"Maybe another time then," Sophia said. "And you guys are just a couple houses down. You should come over and hang out some time."
Natty nodded, already doubting she'd get Charlie on board with the idea. "How long have you and Benny been together?"
"Going on two years now," Sophia said. "He's a pain in the ass sometimes."
“Don’t I know it,” Natty said. She didn’t mean Benny—she meant boyfriends. She didn’t even mean Charlie, specifically, she just meant being tied to someone. But then, she couldn’t see herself tied to anyone but Charlie, so maybe she had no idea what she meant. She just hadn’t had a girlfriend to talk to in a really long time. Not since Hilary left.
“People need air,” Sophia said. “You can be too close, smother each other. You two always seem so close. How long have you guys been together?”
Natty cringed a little. This was always so awkward to tell people because it just wasn't something people did most of the time. At their age, she and Charlie had been together almost half their lives. “Ummm, eight years.”
“Well, hell,” Sophia gasped. “Then I guess you know what I mean better than I do. Hey, let’s go get you something to drink.”
Sophia poured them a couple cups of lukewarm beer. Natty wasn't old enough to drink, but that didn't seem to stop anyone there. It wasn't her first time. Her first time was with Charlie, when they were sixteen, she snuck a bottle of scotch from her dad's liquor cabinet, and it shocked them both so much in its strength that they didn't try drinking alcohol again for two more years.
She'd had so many first times with Charlie that she didn't know what she'd ever done on her own. What did that mean for a person, to never have a "first" of any kind that was just her own?
"Josh," Sophia called out to her brother. "Don't throw so hard. You're gonna take her head off."
There was Josh, finally, taking a stocky stance to receive a flying frisbee. Natty almost forgot that he'd been the one who invited her. He glanced over at her once, twice, and smiled gently, seeing she had someone to talk to, he nodded a 'hello' and carried on with his game of frisbee.
Natty learned that Benny was a Pre-Med major like she was, and she even remembered having him in a few of her classes before. Sophia was a Music major, and Josh was studying Culinary Arts.
It wasn't very late yet when Leo looked at Sophia and said, "I'd better head out."
"I'll walk you to your car," she said.
"I was glad to see you here." She hadn't seen him since Freshman year, hadn't spoken an actual word to him since the day she was dumping him for Benny. "It was good catching up again. I just... you look different."
He laughed. "I was a freshman. Nobody should be judged on how they look as a freshman."
"And I guess I'm glad you're not mad at me, or anything."
He waved a hand at her. "It's nothing. We were hardly dating."
"Well we were... dating." If kissing for a month straight counted as dating, then they'd dated. He'd been the first person she knew when she came to college.
"I'm actually really glad you thought that," he said.
His eyes went dreamy and nostalgic, and then he leaned in closer. Too close. Like he was trying to smell her hair. She took a step back. "Benny is right over there."
"So what? Are you guys really serious? Does he even know you?"
"What kind of question is that? He's my boyfriend, of course he knows me. How many beers did you have?" She smirked at him.
Figuring he was probably just drunk and a little over-eager, she hugged him, which he accepted enthusiastically. "Good night, Leo. You be careful driving home, okay? We'll catch up again soon."
Ha, I can see why you made that soap opera tweet this morning! Natty's being tempted by Josh, Sophia's being tempted by Leo and everyone is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBetter written than soap operas generally are though, I have to say!