Blame It On The Alcohol
Geplaatst: 27 jun 2013 21:20
Hallooo. Best een tijdje geleden dat ik iets gepost heb hier. Geloof ik dan. Anyway, dit is het eerste hoofdstuk van een langer verhaal wat ik aan het schrijven ben. Nee Saskia, niet dat waar wij voor aan het plotten waren, mocht je dit lezen. Dus daarom is het misschien een beetje vaag allemaal, maar ik ben een beetje slecht in het afmaken van dingen en ik wilde wel graag weten wat jullie hiervan vonden. Het is volledig in het Engels, omdat ik nu eenmaal tegenwoordig in het Engels schrijf. Als het te vaag is, of jullie begrijpen iets niet vanwege het Engels... Gewoon vragen. En laat alsjeblieft een berichtje achter als je het gelezen hebt - met commentaar op schrijfstijl of gewoon als je grammar nazi bent. Of spellings nazi, ook goed. Veel leesplezier (hopelijk)! 
Noah’s hand tightened around my arm as he tugged me along the beach. Had I not been willingly walking along with him, it would have probably been painful. I didn’t understand why he was in such a hurry. For as far as I knew it wasn’t so much of a real party – more like a small get-together with people I didn’t even know. I’d been told they all went to the same high school as I, so it would be likely I’d recognize some of their faces.
After a while a small campfire came into sight, and half a minute later we were standing in a small group of strangers. Noah raised his hand, telling me their name’s as he pointed at them. There were four others besides us. Two girls and two boys – how nice. I didn’t really pay attention, so when Noah grabbed my arm again I was a little startled. “–And this is Tylah,” he said, gesturing at one of the girls. Following his gaze I had to stop myself from gasping – this girl was stunning. Well, for as far as I could see she was. It was dark and the only source of light was the campfire, which caused shadows to dance on everyone’s faces. But Tylah looked very pretty. Her hair seemed to be some kind of brown, and her lips were curved up into a small smile. When our eyes locked I almost gasped again. Hers were glistering under the flickering light of the flames, yet they expressed quite some curiosity.
“Who’s your friend, Noah?” she asked, being the first one to speak up. “She seems familiar, but it could be entirely my imagination.”
“It’s not,” I replied before Noah could. “You used to go to Kelvyn Park, right? I’m a senior there.” I waved my hand in the air, feeling the air move as Noah left my side to plop down next to one of the other guys. Copying him I sat down as well, next to Tylah, and nodded when he offered me a drink. Expecting something different, I was surprised when a can of coke found its way to my hand. Abandoning my conversation with Tylah I frowned. “Don’t you have anything stronger?”
Several laughs sounded, and Noah nodded. “Of course. How about beer?”
“Sounds good enough,” I grinned, catching the can he threw at me. I opened it carefully, making sure nothing of it was spilled. Then I turned my attention back at Tylah, who was looking at me with a slightly amused look on her face. A surprised smile tugged her lips, and I nudged her in the ribs. “Just because I’m still in high school doesn’t mean I’m as innocent as I may look.”
In return, Tylah raised her hands, palms facing forward as if she was saying, “Don’t look at me.” Instead she stole the can out of my hand, taking a sip herself. “So you’re an Aussie, and you go to Kelvyn Park, and you managed to charm Noah into bringing you here.”
“Pretty much,” I confirmed with a nod, putting on my best American accent. Failing miserably at that I sighed playfully, acting disappointed. “I was waiting for that comment. It’s always one of the first things people notice about me.”
“Yeah well, it’s kind of hard not to. Unless you’re, like, deaf, or something.” Tylah grinned, taking another sip of my drink before handing it back. “And I happen to be very good at recognizing accents when I hear them.”
“Is that so?” I teased. “What if I told you I was actually from New Zealand?”
Tylah’s eyes grew wide and I was almost waiting for her jaw to drop. But then she recovered and shook her head. “No, you’re from Australia. I’m almost sure of that.”
Placing the can to my lips I shook my head. “I was born in New York, so you’re wrong, even though I lied about the New Zealand part.” Tilting the can backwards I drank the last few sips of the beer, waving my hand in the air to catch Noah’s attention. Soon enough I got another can of beer, opening it immediately. Tylah tried to grab it again, but I held it out of her reach. “Oh no, this is mine. Get your own damn beer if that’s what you want.”
“Oh no,” Tylah mimicked me, exaggerating the accent. “Yours tastes better.”
I raised my eyebrows, and opened my mouth to say something. Suddenly someone took the can out of my hands and I heard Tylah laugh. Turning around I saw a flash of familiar blonde hair – Alex. He was a senior like me, and we had a few classes together. We didn’t talk much though, so it surprised me a little when he acted like we were best friends.
“Give it back,” I said, holding out my hand as if he would just give it to me like that. Of course he didn’t. Instead he gave it to a dark haired boy, with fancy clothing. Everything about him seemed expensive, except for his behavior. Playing along he took the can and tilted it back. Meanwhile Alex grabbed my waist to keep me from jumping at the other guy, and despite my effort to act mad, I couldn’t stop laughing.
Eventually I managed to escape from Alex’ grasp, but by the time I reached the dark haired boy he reached over the campfire to give the can back to Tylah. She put the can to her lips and let its volume spill into her mouth. An exaggerated sigh escaped from my lips and I let myself slump into the guy I was standing next to. He caught me around the waist and pushed a strand of hair out of my face. “Why hello there.”
I smiled at him – he was handsome. There was a pair of sunglasses hanging on his shirt, and his perfect teeth seemed to glister in the dark. When I poked his stomach I could feel his abs, and I shook my head. He was clearly a stud, and a rich one too.
“I’m Liam,” he said, a crooked smile on his face.
For some reason I felt awfully comfortable around these people. I had met most of them less than thirty minutes ago, but I felt more in place than I ever had. If Tylah and Alex hadn’t stolen my beer, I would’ve blamed it on that. But maybe it was just because they were so accepting, pretending like they’d known me forever. Except for the introduction part, of course.
“Hi, Liam,” I smiled back, before dropping my gaze. I was now sitting straight opposite of Tylah, which made it a little easier to stare at her without people noticing. She did though, and a small smile crept up her lips as her eyes locked with mine. I copied her expression, leaning my head into Liam’s shoulder a little more. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me even closer. He smelled like Abercrombie & Fitch perfume. It was nice.
For a while, nothing interesting happened. Everyone was basically drinking and talking in little groups. Someone handed me a new can of beer and this time I got to finish it – and a few others – without anyone taking it away from me. Liam’s shoulder was a nice pillow, and we talked about every day stuff like pets and school. Apparently he didn’t go to Kelvyn Park like the rest of us, but to some fancy private school. His parents were ‘filthy rich’, and they wanted him to have the best education possible, but he wasn’t even sure about college. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to go – he would just like to take a year off to travel around the States or even further away. “I guess I’ll just have to wait until I’ve finished college for that,” he said, forcing a smile upon his face. Part of me understood where he was coming from, but he was also really lucky he could afford such a fancy college. I wasn’t even sure I could go yet, and I would be a senior in the fall. There was definitely a lot to think about.
“So, Aussie,” someone said, interrupting my train of thoughts. “How exactly did you end up being dragged here by Noah?”
I looked up, right in Tylah’s face. Her eyebrows were raised ever so slightly, indicating she was the one who’d asked the question. My thoughts were a little slow because of the few beers I had, so it took me a while to wrap my head around it. “Um... I was on my way back home about a week ago, when I ran into him, I think. Right, Noah?”
The boy nodded to confirm what I just said.
“Well, he walked me all the way back home and then he asked for my number. I thought he lost it, until today,” I finished the story. It probably wasn’t half as exciting as Tylah had been hoping for, but it was true and the truth was never really exciting.
“You actually gave Noah your phone number?” Tylah asked with a smirk. “I thought he was always exaggerating when he’s talking about ‘a hot chick whose number he has’.” I was probably the only one noticing her subtle wink, and suddenly I felt my face get hot. I blamed the campfire for that, but deep down I knew that wasn’t the only reason.
A low, “Ooh,” sounded, but I wasn’t sure who said it. But Tylah obviously did. For a second she looked a little embarrassed, and then she jabbed the blonde girl sitting next to her in the ribs. Her lips moved, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. No one probably could, except for the girl she was talking to. I forgot her name.
The girl rolled her eyes and replied something, but everyone around started talking to me, so I couldn’t really focus on Tylah and the girl next to her. She seemed pissed. A strange feeling spread through my body, and I really just wanted to get up and hug her. That would probably make me look really weird though, so I stayed where I was, glancing at her and politely pretended to listen to whatever Liam was saying. He wasn’t all that interesting anymore, though. Not now something else caught my attention.
Even though I’d been watching Tylah pretty closely all the time, I didn’t expect her to get up all of the sudden. I think nobody did, because they all looked pretty shocked when she flipped her middle finger at the blonde. She muttered something under her breath, before walking towards the sea.
I felt my face screw up with concern, and then I pulled out of Liam’s tight grip. He didn’t even try to stop me. No one else was getting up to check up on Tylah – it made wonder why. Maybe she was just really difficult to handle when she was upset, or they were mad at her for putting up her middle finger at their friend. But she was their friend too. Letting out a sigh, I started chasing the brunette down the beach.
She was walking quickly, but I was faster because I was running. I caught her wrist, forcing her to stop. She half-turned around, trying to see who I was without me seeing her face. She was probably crying, or something.
“Tylah...” I said, trying to give her a hint about who I was. She stiffened immediately, only to relax one second later. Turning around she forced a smile. “Aussie. For a second I thought you were someone else.”
“The blonde girl you’re angry at? No, she’s still at the campfire,” I shrugged. I still hadn’t let go of her wrist, and part of me didn’t want to either. “You just seemed really upset, so I thought I’d check on you... None of the others did.”
“Thanks, Aussie. But I’m okay. Dianna just said something nasty.” She pulled her hand back to rub it against her brow. “It doesn’t matter. Do you want to go back to Liam?”
My eyes narrowed. “Liam?”
“Yeah. You seemed to like him?”
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh, which made Tylah look kind of hurt. “I don’t like Liam like that. He seems like a great guy but... no. No, thanks.” A smirk spread across my face as I shook my head. “Don’t worry about me and Liam... You can have him, if you want.”
Now Tylah was the one trying not to laugh. “I don’t like him either. I-Never mind.” She bit her lip, and then she looked out to the sea. “Do you want to go for a swim?”
The sober me would probably have looked at her funny, but after a few beers I didn’t think it could hurt. So I nodded, and started taking off my clothes. I noticed Tylah raising her eyebrows, but once she realized I was wearing a bikini underneath, she relaxed. “Noah told you it was a beach party, didn’t he?”
“Something like that,” I nodded, kicking off my flip-flops. “He literally texted me, ‘Wanna hang out on the beach with friends and drinks?’ So I replied yes, because otherwise I’d be sitting inside watching lame ass TV-shows all night long.”
I waited until Tylah had stripped down to swimming clothes as well, before casually grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the water. At first she protested weakly, but once we reached the water she started running.
It was freezing, but neither of us wanted to give up first. The first few minutes we just stood there, freezing our asses off, but after that Tylah splashed water in my face. Of course I did the same back, and before we knew it we were wrestling, trying to get the other to fall over. I was a little taller than her, but she was definitely stronger. In the end she pushed me under water, but I dragged her along with me.
Swimming at night was really strange. Everything was twice as dark under water, and even though I felt like an ice cube, it was still super fun.
For a while I was disoriented, trying to find my way back up. When I finally managed to do so, Tylah was standing over me with a meaningful look on her face. I locked my eyes with mine, a grin tugging my lips, and I stepped a little closer. “What are you looking at?”
She lifted her hands in the air, palms facing forward, mimicking innocence. “Nothing. You just look like absolute crap. Your make up is all smooched and stuff.”
“As if you look any better,” I said back, pushing her in the shoulder. Her skin was even colder than mine, and for a second I narrowed my eyes with worry. I knew I was cold, but she literally felt like ice. “You’re cold.”
“I am. But you are too.” She smiled a little, and even though I could barely see her face properly, I could swear her lips were a pale blue color. Suddenly there was a lump in my throat, and I had to swallow multiple times. It didn’t go away, though.
I stepped a little closer, spreading my arms lightly. “Do you want me to warm you up?”
She let out a shaky laugh, but then she nodded without a word. I wrapped my arms around her body, pulling her close to my chest. I buried my face in her damp hair, letting my eyes flutter closed. Somehow it felt really good to hold her like this. But our hug didn’t help much – we were both still freezing after what felt like five minutes.
“Maybe we should just get out of the water,” she said with a small frown on her face. “I mean, I don’t want us to freeze to death... People might think I’m a bad influence on you.”
“You’d be dead. You wouldn’t care about what other people think of you,” I shrugged, but in my head I already agreed with her. As much fun as this midnight swim might be, it was definitely not warm enough for that yet. I made a mental note we had to try again sometime later this summer.
“Probably. But still.” She smiled, turning around. Her hand slipped out of mine, and suddenly I felt a lot colder. Without thinking, I stepped forward and grabbed it again. She stopped walking away from me, and I could barely see her move again until she was standing just inches away from me. We were so close to each other our foreheads were almost touching.
I swallowed at the sudden closeness, but closed my eyes nonetheless. Everything I was about to do I blamed on the alcohol. Without a warning I closed the gap between our faces, but right before my lips would touch hers, she turned her face. My reaction time wasn’t so great anymore, so my lips crashed with her cheek instead. For a few moments I stayed there, and then she pulled away once more.
Within seconds she had left the water and picked up her pile of clothing still lying on the beach, leaving me behind in the water. It took me a while to realize what just happened, and when I did I wanted to punch something. Hard.
“Shit,” I muttered, making my way out of the sea as well. I grabbed my clothes and slipped my feet into the flip flops, running to catch up with Tylah again. I called her name – twice. The first time she pretended not to hear me, but the second time she turned around. It almost seemed scripted.
“Yes, Aussie. What do you want?”
I let out a soft sigh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have... done that.” I waved my hand in the air, as if that would make any difference. “I’ve had a few beers and... I wasn’t thinking properly. Can we just forget it happened?”
Despite the darkness I could see her blink a few times, before she nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“Okay,” I smiled, relieved I was forgiven this easily. I had to remember not to try to kiss her again.
As if she was trying to show nothing was wrong she held out her hand, wiggling her fingers in the air. I stared at it for a second or two, before grabbing it. She still felt really cold. I probably did too.
We started walking again. Apparently we’d gone pretty far off, because it took us a good few minutes before we got back to the campfire. It was pretty silent, since everyone seemed to have fallen asleep. Well, except Noah. He was playing games on his phone, probably bored out of his mind.
Tylah nudged him with her foot and he looked up, seemingly surprised. “Back already?”
She shot him a warning glare, and he wiggled his eyebrows. Her foot hit him in the ribs again, and then he sighed. “Okay. I’ll shut up.” He glanced at the bright screen of his phone, before looking up to us again. “It’s past midnight, so I figured we’d wake all these lazy asses up and get them all home?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tylah nodded. Her hand slipped from mine, but this time it wasn’t as bad as before. She was just going to wake up her friends.
As it turned out, ‘waking everyone up and getting them home’ meant throwing water in their faces and laugh while they were coughing. The campfire had almost gone out as well with all the water being thrown, so it was easy to extinguish the rest of it. I wasn’t even sure campfires were allowed on the beach.
After everyone gathered their stuff, we started walking back to the city. I loved Chicago by night. It wasn’t as noisy as normally, but as is normal in a big city – it was never completely silent either. And I loved all the lights and just everything else as well. Easily said, I loved Chicago as a whole.
Most people lived in Kelvyn, and we decided to walk there because the L was really scary at night sometimes. Even if you were with a group of people, like we were.
Liam was the first one to leave us, since he lived in another part of the city than the rest of us. I felt Tylah staring at me when I hugged him, and slipped him a note with my phone number on it, but somehow it felt really good. She didn’t like me hugging him – that was good sign, right?
Eventually it was just me and Tylah. We decided to go to my place first, because hers was just a few blocks away and she didn’t want me walking around on my own at night. I didn’t want her to do that either, but because she was older and definitely a lot stronger, I decided not to make a scene.
Somehow our hands found each other again, and we walked the last few blocks in silence. I think the pressure of the whole evening made us both feel a little awkward.
“This is me,” I said, pointing at the house we were standing in front of now. Without a word, we walked all the way to my doorstep before she let go of my hand. I pulled out the key to my front door, and turned it around. The door opened without a squeak, and turned around with a sad smile. I didn’t want to say goodbye yet. I didn’t want tonight to end.
“Good night, Aussie,” Tylah whispered, obviously trying to be silent for any sleeping people in my house. It was just my parents and Cameron though, and they all slept like the dead. So did I, by the way.
“I have a name, you know?” I said with a smirk, suddenly realizing she hadn’t once called me by it.
“Tell me,” she smiled. Didn’t she even know my name? I quickly flipped through my memories of tonight, but I didn’t remember anyone saying it. Not even Noah, to introduce me. It was always just, ‘Aussie’.
I took her hand and shook it. “I’m Britt. Nice to meet you.”
“Tylah,” she said with a smile. “But you already knew my name... Britt.”
I loved the way it sounded when she said it. It was just an average name, but when it rolled off her lips it was the most beautiful thing ever.
“I did,” I replied with a subtle nod. I looked up into her dark eyes, which seemed even darker now than a few hours before. Suddenly I didn’t really care about anything anymore. I just had to kiss her. So I did.
I probably caught her by surprise, leaning and pressing my lips firmly against hers. But unlike last time I tried to do that, she grabbed my neck and started kissing me back.
Kissing Tylah was the best thing ever. Her lips tasted salty like the sea, but at the same time sweet like... Tylah. They were soft and fit perfectly with mine. My eyes fluttered closed, and I pulled her as close as possible. Feeling bold, I parted my lips slightly and let my tongue run over hers. She didn’t seem to mind anymore. In fact, she smiled into the kiss and opened her mouth as well. I could feel her teeth clash softly against mine.
The kiss was gentle but hungry at the same time. It was perfect. She was perfect. She made me want more. I was out of control of my body, so when my hands slipped under her T-shirt I surprised both of us. She froze for a split second, and then she continued kissing me in the perfect way she had been for several minutes already.
Eventually I had to break away, gasping for air, but a smile on my face. I pulled my hands from underneath her shirt and ran the fingers of my right hand through my hair. One single laugh found its way up my throat, and I took a deep breath. “Do you want to come in?”
My question seemed to surprise her, but she replied almost immediately anyway. “Yeah.”
“Okay,” I smiled, reaching for her hand. She had the same smile on her face when she grabbed it. I pulled her inside, crashing my lips with hers again. This time I kept myself under control though. Just enough to close the door and quietly make my way up to my bedroom.
Then we started kissing again, and before I knew it my shirt was gone. Tylah’s was gone too. I pushed her backwards until we reached my bed, and she had to sit down. I grinned at the sight of her sitting there on my bed, trying to unclasp her bikini-top, and I only grew hungrier with every second that passed.
Like I said – blame it on the alcohol.
Edit: Christian's feedback toegepast.
Noah’s hand tightened around my arm as he tugged me along the beach. Had I not been willingly walking along with him, it would have probably been painful. I didn’t understand why he was in such a hurry. For as far as I knew it wasn’t so much of a real party – more like a small get-together with people I didn’t even know. I’d been told they all went to the same high school as I, so it would be likely I’d recognize some of their faces.
After a while a small campfire came into sight, and half a minute later we were standing in a small group of strangers. Noah raised his hand, telling me their name’s as he pointed at them. There were four others besides us. Two girls and two boys – how nice. I didn’t really pay attention, so when Noah grabbed my arm again I was a little startled. “–And this is Tylah,” he said, gesturing at one of the girls. Following his gaze I had to stop myself from gasping – this girl was stunning. Well, for as far as I could see she was. It was dark and the only source of light was the campfire, which caused shadows to dance on everyone’s faces. But Tylah looked very pretty. Her hair seemed to be some kind of brown, and her lips were curved up into a small smile. When our eyes locked I almost gasped again. Hers were glistering under the flickering light of the flames, yet they expressed quite some curiosity.
“Who’s your friend, Noah?” she asked, being the first one to speak up. “She seems familiar, but it could be entirely my imagination.”
“It’s not,” I replied before Noah could. “You used to go to Kelvyn Park, right? I’m a senior there.” I waved my hand in the air, feeling the air move as Noah left my side to plop down next to one of the other guys. Copying him I sat down as well, next to Tylah, and nodded when he offered me a drink. Expecting something different, I was surprised when a can of coke found its way to my hand. Abandoning my conversation with Tylah I frowned. “Don’t you have anything stronger?”
Several laughs sounded, and Noah nodded. “Of course. How about beer?”
“Sounds good enough,” I grinned, catching the can he threw at me. I opened it carefully, making sure nothing of it was spilled. Then I turned my attention back at Tylah, who was looking at me with a slightly amused look on her face. A surprised smile tugged her lips, and I nudged her in the ribs. “Just because I’m still in high school doesn’t mean I’m as innocent as I may look.”
In return, Tylah raised her hands, palms facing forward as if she was saying, “Don’t look at me.” Instead she stole the can out of my hand, taking a sip herself. “So you’re an Aussie, and you go to Kelvyn Park, and you managed to charm Noah into bringing you here.”
“Pretty much,” I confirmed with a nod, putting on my best American accent. Failing miserably at that I sighed playfully, acting disappointed. “I was waiting for that comment. It’s always one of the first things people notice about me.”
“Yeah well, it’s kind of hard not to. Unless you’re, like, deaf, or something.” Tylah grinned, taking another sip of my drink before handing it back. “And I happen to be very good at recognizing accents when I hear them.”
“Is that so?” I teased. “What if I told you I was actually from New Zealand?”
Tylah’s eyes grew wide and I was almost waiting for her jaw to drop. But then she recovered and shook her head. “No, you’re from Australia. I’m almost sure of that.”
Placing the can to my lips I shook my head. “I was born in New York, so you’re wrong, even though I lied about the New Zealand part.” Tilting the can backwards I drank the last few sips of the beer, waving my hand in the air to catch Noah’s attention. Soon enough I got another can of beer, opening it immediately. Tylah tried to grab it again, but I held it out of her reach. “Oh no, this is mine. Get your own damn beer if that’s what you want.”
“Oh no,” Tylah mimicked me, exaggerating the accent. “Yours tastes better.”
I raised my eyebrows, and opened my mouth to say something. Suddenly someone took the can out of my hands and I heard Tylah laugh. Turning around I saw a flash of familiar blonde hair – Alex. He was a senior like me, and we had a few classes together. We didn’t talk much though, so it surprised me a little when he acted like we were best friends.
“Give it back,” I said, holding out my hand as if he would just give it to me like that. Of course he didn’t. Instead he gave it to a dark haired boy, with fancy clothing. Everything about him seemed expensive, except for his behavior. Playing along he took the can and tilted it back. Meanwhile Alex grabbed my waist to keep me from jumping at the other guy, and despite my effort to act mad, I couldn’t stop laughing.
Eventually I managed to escape from Alex’ grasp, but by the time I reached the dark haired boy he reached over the campfire to give the can back to Tylah. She put the can to her lips and let its volume spill into her mouth. An exaggerated sigh escaped from my lips and I let myself slump into the guy I was standing next to. He caught me around the waist and pushed a strand of hair out of my face. “Why hello there.”
I smiled at him – he was handsome. There was a pair of sunglasses hanging on his shirt, and his perfect teeth seemed to glister in the dark. When I poked his stomach I could feel his abs, and I shook my head. He was clearly a stud, and a rich one too.
“I’m Liam,” he said, a crooked smile on his face.
For some reason I felt awfully comfortable around these people. I had met most of them less than thirty minutes ago, but I felt more in place than I ever had. If Tylah and Alex hadn’t stolen my beer, I would’ve blamed it on that. But maybe it was just because they were so accepting, pretending like they’d known me forever. Except for the introduction part, of course.
“Hi, Liam,” I smiled back, before dropping my gaze. I was now sitting straight opposite of Tylah, which made it a little easier to stare at her without people noticing. She did though, and a small smile crept up her lips as her eyes locked with mine. I copied her expression, leaning my head into Liam’s shoulder a little more. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me even closer. He smelled like Abercrombie & Fitch perfume. It was nice.
For a while, nothing interesting happened. Everyone was basically drinking and talking in little groups. Someone handed me a new can of beer and this time I got to finish it – and a few others – without anyone taking it away from me. Liam’s shoulder was a nice pillow, and we talked about every day stuff like pets and school. Apparently he didn’t go to Kelvyn Park like the rest of us, but to some fancy private school. His parents were ‘filthy rich’, and they wanted him to have the best education possible, but he wasn’t even sure about college. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to go – he would just like to take a year off to travel around the States or even further away. “I guess I’ll just have to wait until I’ve finished college for that,” he said, forcing a smile upon his face. Part of me understood where he was coming from, but he was also really lucky he could afford such a fancy college. I wasn’t even sure I could go yet, and I would be a senior in the fall. There was definitely a lot to think about.
“So, Aussie,” someone said, interrupting my train of thoughts. “How exactly did you end up being dragged here by Noah?”
I looked up, right in Tylah’s face. Her eyebrows were raised ever so slightly, indicating she was the one who’d asked the question. My thoughts were a little slow because of the few beers I had, so it took me a while to wrap my head around it. “Um... I was on my way back home about a week ago, when I ran into him, I think. Right, Noah?”
The boy nodded to confirm what I just said.
“Well, he walked me all the way back home and then he asked for my number. I thought he lost it, until today,” I finished the story. It probably wasn’t half as exciting as Tylah had been hoping for, but it was true and the truth was never really exciting.
“You actually gave Noah your phone number?” Tylah asked with a smirk. “I thought he was always exaggerating when he’s talking about ‘a hot chick whose number he has’.” I was probably the only one noticing her subtle wink, and suddenly I felt my face get hot. I blamed the campfire for that, but deep down I knew that wasn’t the only reason.
A low, “Ooh,” sounded, but I wasn’t sure who said it. But Tylah obviously did. For a second she looked a little embarrassed, and then she jabbed the blonde girl sitting next to her in the ribs. Her lips moved, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. No one probably could, except for the girl she was talking to. I forgot her name.
The girl rolled her eyes and replied something, but everyone around started talking to me, so I couldn’t really focus on Tylah and the girl next to her. She seemed pissed. A strange feeling spread through my body, and I really just wanted to get up and hug her. That would probably make me look really weird though, so I stayed where I was, glancing at her and politely pretended to listen to whatever Liam was saying. He wasn’t all that interesting anymore, though. Not now something else caught my attention.
Even though I’d been watching Tylah pretty closely all the time, I didn’t expect her to get up all of the sudden. I think nobody did, because they all looked pretty shocked when she flipped her middle finger at the blonde. She muttered something under her breath, before walking towards the sea.
I felt my face screw up with concern, and then I pulled out of Liam’s tight grip. He didn’t even try to stop me. No one else was getting up to check up on Tylah – it made wonder why. Maybe she was just really difficult to handle when she was upset, or they were mad at her for putting up her middle finger at their friend. But she was their friend too. Letting out a sigh, I started chasing the brunette down the beach.
She was walking quickly, but I was faster because I was running. I caught her wrist, forcing her to stop. She half-turned around, trying to see who I was without me seeing her face. She was probably crying, or something.
“Tylah...” I said, trying to give her a hint about who I was. She stiffened immediately, only to relax one second later. Turning around she forced a smile. “Aussie. For a second I thought you were someone else.”
“The blonde girl you’re angry at? No, she’s still at the campfire,” I shrugged. I still hadn’t let go of her wrist, and part of me didn’t want to either. “You just seemed really upset, so I thought I’d check on you... None of the others did.”
“Thanks, Aussie. But I’m okay. Dianna just said something nasty.” She pulled her hand back to rub it against her brow. “It doesn’t matter. Do you want to go back to Liam?”
My eyes narrowed. “Liam?”
“Yeah. You seemed to like him?”
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh, which made Tylah look kind of hurt. “I don’t like Liam like that. He seems like a great guy but... no. No, thanks.” A smirk spread across my face as I shook my head. “Don’t worry about me and Liam... You can have him, if you want.”
Now Tylah was the one trying not to laugh. “I don’t like him either. I-Never mind.” She bit her lip, and then she looked out to the sea. “Do you want to go for a swim?”
The sober me would probably have looked at her funny, but after a few beers I didn’t think it could hurt. So I nodded, and started taking off my clothes. I noticed Tylah raising her eyebrows, but once she realized I was wearing a bikini underneath, she relaxed. “Noah told you it was a beach party, didn’t he?”
“Something like that,” I nodded, kicking off my flip-flops. “He literally texted me, ‘Wanna hang out on the beach with friends and drinks?’ So I replied yes, because otherwise I’d be sitting inside watching lame ass TV-shows all night long.”
I waited until Tylah had stripped down to swimming clothes as well, before casually grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the water. At first she protested weakly, but once we reached the water she started running.
It was freezing, but neither of us wanted to give up first. The first few minutes we just stood there, freezing our asses off, but after that Tylah splashed water in my face. Of course I did the same back, and before we knew it we were wrestling, trying to get the other to fall over. I was a little taller than her, but she was definitely stronger. In the end she pushed me under water, but I dragged her along with me.
Swimming at night was really strange. Everything was twice as dark under water, and even though I felt like an ice cube, it was still super fun.
For a while I was disoriented, trying to find my way back up. When I finally managed to do so, Tylah was standing over me with a meaningful look on her face. I locked my eyes with mine, a grin tugging my lips, and I stepped a little closer. “What are you looking at?”
She lifted her hands in the air, palms facing forward, mimicking innocence. “Nothing. You just look like absolute crap. Your make up is all smooched and stuff.”
“As if you look any better,” I said back, pushing her in the shoulder. Her skin was even colder than mine, and for a second I narrowed my eyes with worry. I knew I was cold, but she literally felt like ice. “You’re cold.”
“I am. But you are too.” She smiled a little, and even though I could barely see her face properly, I could swear her lips were a pale blue color. Suddenly there was a lump in my throat, and I had to swallow multiple times. It didn’t go away, though.
I stepped a little closer, spreading my arms lightly. “Do you want me to warm you up?”
She let out a shaky laugh, but then she nodded without a word. I wrapped my arms around her body, pulling her close to my chest. I buried my face in her damp hair, letting my eyes flutter closed. Somehow it felt really good to hold her like this. But our hug didn’t help much – we were both still freezing after what felt like five minutes.
“Maybe we should just get out of the water,” she said with a small frown on her face. “I mean, I don’t want us to freeze to death... People might think I’m a bad influence on you.”
“You’d be dead. You wouldn’t care about what other people think of you,” I shrugged, but in my head I already agreed with her. As much fun as this midnight swim might be, it was definitely not warm enough for that yet. I made a mental note we had to try again sometime later this summer.
“Probably. But still.” She smiled, turning around. Her hand slipped out of mine, and suddenly I felt a lot colder. Without thinking, I stepped forward and grabbed it again. She stopped walking away from me, and I could barely see her move again until she was standing just inches away from me. We were so close to each other our foreheads were almost touching.
I swallowed at the sudden closeness, but closed my eyes nonetheless. Everything I was about to do I blamed on the alcohol. Without a warning I closed the gap between our faces, but right before my lips would touch hers, she turned her face. My reaction time wasn’t so great anymore, so my lips crashed with her cheek instead. For a few moments I stayed there, and then she pulled away once more.
Within seconds she had left the water and picked up her pile of clothing still lying on the beach, leaving me behind in the water. It took me a while to realize what just happened, and when I did I wanted to punch something. Hard.
“Shit,” I muttered, making my way out of the sea as well. I grabbed my clothes and slipped my feet into the flip flops, running to catch up with Tylah again. I called her name – twice. The first time she pretended not to hear me, but the second time she turned around. It almost seemed scripted.
“Yes, Aussie. What do you want?”
I let out a soft sigh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have... done that.” I waved my hand in the air, as if that would make any difference. “I’ve had a few beers and... I wasn’t thinking properly. Can we just forget it happened?”
Despite the darkness I could see her blink a few times, before she nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“Okay,” I smiled, relieved I was forgiven this easily. I had to remember not to try to kiss her again.
As if she was trying to show nothing was wrong she held out her hand, wiggling her fingers in the air. I stared at it for a second or two, before grabbing it. She still felt really cold. I probably did too.
We started walking again. Apparently we’d gone pretty far off, because it took us a good few minutes before we got back to the campfire. It was pretty silent, since everyone seemed to have fallen asleep. Well, except Noah. He was playing games on his phone, probably bored out of his mind.
Tylah nudged him with her foot and he looked up, seemingly surprised. “Back already?”
She shot him a warning glare, and he wiggled his eyebrows. Her foot hit him in the ribs again, and then he sighed. “Okay. I’ll shut up.” He glanced at the bright screen of his phone, before looking up to us again. “It’s past midnight, so I figured we’d wake all these lazy asses up and get them all home?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tylah nodded. Her hand slipped from mine, but this time it wasn’t as bad as before. She was just going to wake up her friends.
As it turned out, ‘waking everyone up and getting them home’ meant throwing water in their faces and laugh while they were coughing. The campfire had almost gone out as well with all the water being thrown, so it was easy to extinguish the rest of it. I wasn’t even sure campfires were allowed on the beach.
After everyone gathered their stuff, we started walking back to the city. I loved Chicago by night. It wasn’t as noisy as normally, but as is normal in a big city – it was never completely silent either. And I loved all the lights and just everything else as well. Easily said, I loved Chicago as a whole.
Most people lived in Kelvyn, and we decided to walk there because the L was really scary at night sometimes. Even if you were with a group of people, like we were.
Liam was the first one to leave us, since he lived in another part of the city than the rest of us. I felt Tylah staring at me when I hugged him, and slipped him a note with my phone number on it, but somehow it felt really good. She didn’t like me hugging him – that was good sign, right?
Eventually it was just me and Tylah. We decided to go to my place first, because hers was just a few blocks away and she didn’t want me walking around on my own at night. I didn’t want her to do that either, but because she was older and definitely a lot stronger, I decided not to make a scene.
Somehow our hands found each other again, and we walked the last few blocks in silence. I think the pressure of the whole evening made us both feel a little awkward.
“This is me,” I said, pointing at the house we were standing in front of now. Without a word, we walked all the way to my doorstep before she let go of my hand. I pulled out the key to my front door, and turned it around. The door opened without a squeak, and turned around with a sad smile. I didn’t want to say goodbye yet. I didn’t want tonight to end.
“Good night, Aussie,” Tylah whispered, obviously trying to be silent for any sleeping people in my house. It was just my parents and Cameron though, and they all slept like the dead. So did I, by the way.
“I have a name, you know?” I said with a smirk, suddenly realizing she hadn’t once called me by it.
“Tell me,” she smiled. Didn’t she even know my name? I quickly flipped through my memories of tonight, but I didn’t remember anyone saying it. Not even Noah, to introduce me. It was always just, ‘Aussie’.
I took her hand and shook it. “I’m Britt. Nice to meet you.”
“Tylah,” she said with a smile. “But you already knew my name... Britt.”
I loved the way it sounded when she said it. It was just an average name, but when it rolled off her lips it was the most beautiful thing ever.
“I did,” I replied with a subtle nod. I looked up into her dark eyes, which seemed even darker now than a few hours before. Suddenly I didn’t really care about anything anymore. I just had to kiss her. So I did.
I probably caught her by surprise, leaning and pressing my lips firmly against hers. But unlike last time I tried to do that, she grabbed my neck and started kissing me back.
Kissing Tylah was the best thing ever. Her lips tasted salty like the sea, but at the same time sweet like... Tylah. They were soft and fit perfectly with mine. My eyes fluttered closed, and I pulled her as close as possible. Feeling bold, I parted my lips slightly and let my tongue run over hers. She didn’t seem to mind anymore. In fact, she smiled into the kiss and opened her mouth as well. I could feel her teeth clash softly against mine.
The kiss was gentle but hungry at the same time. It was perfect. She was perfect. She made me want more. I was out of control of my body, so when my hands slipped under her T-shirt I surprised both of us. She froze for a split second, and then she continued kissing me in the perfect way she had been for several minutes already.
Eventually I had to break away, gasping for air, but a smile on my face. I pulled my hands from underneath her shirt and ran the fingers of my right hand through my hair. One single laugh found its way up my throat, and I took a deep breath. “Do you want to come in?”
My question seemed to surprise her, but she replied almost immediately anyway. “Yeah.”
“Okay,” I smiled, reaching for her hand. She had the same smile on her face when she grabbed it. I pulled her inside, crashing my lips with hers again. This time I kept myself under control though. Just enough to close the door and quietly make my way up to my bedroom.
Then we started kissing again, and before I knew it my shirt was gone. Tylah’s was gone too. I pushed her backwards until we reached my bed, and she had to sit down. I grinned at the sight of her sitting there on my bed, trying to unclasp her bikini-top, and I only grew hungrier with every second that passed.
Like I said – blame it on the alcohol.