the last great american dynasty

august

  People in St. Louis, Missouri, were usually satisfied with their lives, despite their state name sounding similar to "misery". In a small town near the river, the saline air of the ocean tends to follow the wind and gush up to the shoreline. While it would awaken people's minds and spirits, repainting rusted steel doors became the usual for residents nearby. One house, in particular, hadn't reapplied the denim blue paint to their door, and that was where she stood, in front of the door that separated him and her.

  Leah Patterson was suddenly flooded with memories of both of them. That night at Fred Davis' party on the last day of July. Glasses with alcoholic beverages spread all over the kitchen counter, some even made their way to the wooden floors. With the only source of light coming from the moon slipping its way into Fred's house, "never have I ever" was the game played by a few people who were gathered in a circle. After a few rounds, giggles from her tipsy classmates that didn't have high alcohol tolerance echoed around the basement who decided that the fuzziness for their vision of their friends was funny.

  Throughout the whole night, she felt a set of eyes on her back. Up until the game, all she knew was that they were in a striking shade of ocean blue. The rest of his features were hazy, difficult to see with the standout shade. Those eyes couldn't have wanted her, they belonged to someone else, she thought and tried to avoid them for the rest of the night.

  When the group made a unanimous decision soundlessly to abandon the game and turn it into a kissing game, a shiver went down her spine because the feeling of those eyes on her was too intense. She looked up, and saturated ocean blue was the only thing she saw. Realizing who those blues belonged to, her skin began to flush and she felt like she was suffocating all of a sudden. She wanted to tear her gaze away from him... or maybe not. Her mind told her to move, but her heart said to stay still. The light from the window played with the curled blonde hair of his, highlights of silver and gold married with the blue light somehow made his eyes bluer.

  Her classmate was making out and drunkenly laughing with the girl that sat beside her and accidentally bumped into Leah, bringing her back to the room, forcing her gaze off of him. They didn't even bother stopping to apologize. She lightly shook her head and decided to move herself to where the rest of the attendees were, partially to avoid seeing him because she knew her body would work against her will, and partially so that she wouldn't get caught in between a bunch of wild teens in a debauch. But before leaving the room, she looked back at the boy. She felt his eyes on her, watching her every move. All he did was give her a smirk, and that was enough for her heart to melt.

  "I would ruin myself a million times for him", she thought.

  Five shots of tequila were enough for the colors she saw to mash together and everything started moving in slow motion, the music started to sound weird as well. Blinking rapidly didn't work, so she was stuck inside a sea of people to the point where she would drown if the people were bodies of water. Unable to escape, the only option she had was to join in and dance herself to the rhythm of the melody.

  A set of hands found their way to her hips when a slow dance song came on. Turning around, she was about to place her hands around the boy's neck when she saw him again. She gasped lightly, surprised by him. Her heart picked up speed and she awkwardly stood still on the dance floor, the only reason why she was moving was him leading her through the dance. Her body moving against his, she could only focus on his eyes - the blues that had been staring at her the whole night. The hairs at the nape of her neck and arms rose and a shiver went down her spine in the best way possible.

  The dance sluggishly sobered her up enough to acknowledge the fact that their lips were touching and tongues were intertwined. The kiss felt exhilarating - no sparks, no electricity, only pure lust. Their touch felt like a drug. She knew he was bad for her, but despite not knowing what he looked like, everything about him gave her a sense of relief. She felt his hands gradually explore her body over the black dress she wore with confidence. She wondered why she didn't feel uncomfortable and slide away like most girls would when put in the same situation. She wondered if he was the one who leaned in first, or if she was the first one to do so, but it slipped out of her mind when she felt his hands sliding onto her butt.