That night, Nick drove Stephanie and Cody home. It was around 9 pm and Stacie was being put to sleep. Dad sat on his desktop upstairs making phone calls and drinking a protein shake. Mom was quietly sipping on her red wine in the living room reading Cosmopolitan Magazine. Nick whistled to let them know we were home. I separated from Nick and went to my room upstairs. The door of my room was coated with a glossy white and had polaroids of past memories pasted on it. I turned the knob and walked in to see the basic mint walls, they sort of looked like Cody's eyes. The queen size bed with the green silk duvet laid on the left corner of the room. I set my bag in the room and headed for the shower. As I was undressing I noticed I had a slight sunburn. But the weirdest thing was that I had a hand mark around my waist that was not burned. I tried standing on my tippy toes to look in the mirror but I gave up and relaxed in the shower. When I arrived back into my room I overheard Nick on the phone. He was talking about having his friends come over and hang out tomorrow. My mom, dad, and Stacie were all going to a kids theme park with some other toddler parents. "Yeah bro bring the booze", that never sounded like Nick. He hated drinking and hated the feeling of being out of control. I wrapped my towel around my body and walked straight into his room, listening to the conversation. "Yeah, 10 tomorrow, Hennessy and Tequila". "Sounds more like a party then a hangout to me" I snarled. Nick stared me down and laughed, "Sis it's 10 people coming over and Stephanie". I busted out laughing, why was it always me and Stephanie? "You're going to be here tomorrow night right?", there was no way to say no. Nick always made me stick around for his hang outs and parties but I really didn't mind.
I yawned and stumbled back to my room, tripping over one of Stacie's Barbie dolls. As soon as I walked in my phone buzzed 4 times and I turned the screen on. "3 Group chat messages: Kate & Meredith, 1 Message from Cody". First I checked the group chat, but it was a lot of trash about Jackson and Meredith's butt. Then I looked at Cody's text, "Hey Bec, lots of fun today, see you tomorrow :)". I started to text back but decided not to. I didn't want to seem vulnerable. Instead, I texted my before puberty friend Jessica. We had a normal conversation about our 8th-grade year and ended the conversation talking about the future. I laid down in between the sheets and turned out the lamp. I decided to become anti-social and watch Netflix tv shows for the rest of the night. After watching a 40 minute documentary about Identical Twins I decided rest was the best option.
The next day basically flew by. Mom, Dad, and Stacie all left for the theme park along with another young couple. They wouldn't be back until Monday, and it was winter break. I guess Nick planned to have everyone sleepover. The entire night after the family left was spent cleaning. I washed all the dishes, dusted the fans and vacuumed the entire first and second floor. Finally, it was almost 10. Nick's best friend James showed up vaping in his spiked out hooptie mobile. I had ridden in the car multiple times before and there we Snickers wrappers piled on top of Mcdonalds bags. Immediately our house smelled like vanilla. James had brought Sky Vodka and was already unwrapping the lid. Stephanie and her boyfriend walked in carrying a bag of clothes. 7 other people showed up and by the time Cody arrived, Kodak was blaring and teens were already tipsy. Nick didn't really drink so he was gently sipping on a sprite he had mixed with a tad of Sky. "Bec, girl what's up!", Cody was snap chatting his entrance and recorded himself giving me a hug. "That's definitely one for the story", he smiled and clicked, "add to story". Cody giving me a hug was the start of the night. Stephanie had taken her man into the backyard and nobody noticed but me. I wasn't about to go crash that party, though. Cody grabbed some Hennessy and started to pour 1/3 of a glass and mixed it with Coke. I did the same, very unaware of how to drink or how much to.
Nick was dancing with his bro's and screaming the lyrics to Lil Uzi. The party was starting to get lit by now and I was getting texts from everyone asking if they could come over. Of course, I declined it and told everyone to stop snap chatting the party. They did as told and actually put their phones into a basket. Cody was a little tipsy, I guess I was too, and he started twerking on me. I was laughing so hard I actually spilled a little of my drink on me. I didn't notice until Cody picked me up like a baby and carried me to the bathroom. It was really quiet, separated from the others, just like the beach. Cody grabbed a towel and gave it to me to get the stain out. I was putting the towel in the hamper when Cody took my waist and kissed me. I was so shocked but I kissed him back, and I felt my body begin to relax. My shoulders loosened and I wasn't standing on my tippy toes. Cody smelled like the woods, only the grass had been freshly cut and somewhere nearby there was the ocean. Somehow it made the whole event much more pleasing. A few minutes later Cody stopped and smiled really wide. I laughed and opened the bathroom door. Cody and I walked out and joined the rest of the party again. By now everyone was relaxing on the couches watching a horror movie. Cody led me to the middle of the couch where I snuggled in between Kaleb and Cody. Kaleb tried putting his arm around me but Cody gave him a look to back off. We snuggled and his warm arms covered me and we laid like that for the entire movie. Nick was spread out on the sofa across from everyone and James built a small fort on the ground. Marcello shut the movie off and said it would be fun if everyone went upstairs to Nick's room. So, that's what everyone did. Nick's room contained a California King bed, big enough for 6 people at the most, but not 10. Or 8 now, because Stephanie and her boyfriend were busy downstairs. "I hope they aren't doing it on my couch bro that's nasty" Nick blurted and everyone bursted out into a harmony of laughter. It was a disturbing thought because that was the couch my little sister napped on. Cody rubbed my back while we were sitting at the edge of the bed. By now I was the only girl in the room with 7 other males. But it didn't bother me one bit, they all kept their distance. And at the same time, it was a bro's night .
