Turning point | Sean and Kaycee

18- I can't believe I was so stupid

The backyard of Ken's house was so well-kept that it looked like the cover of a gardening magazine.

Looking around at the perfectly furnished porch, the freshly cut grass and the thriving plants, I understood why Ken decided to declare the entire zone off-limits.

If put at disposal of a bunch of drunken teens, it would have been thrashed in less than fifteen minutes.

Well, I couldn't be more happy and grateful that this space was people-free. I could finally breathe fresh air, walk without bumping into random strangers every two seconds and I could finally rest my ears from the loud music.

Plus, I could spend some time with Sean. Despite our theatrics a few hours ago I didn't feel angry or tense anymore, the relief of getting out in the outdoors overcoming all the rest.

It was dark outside, since it was nearly midnight. Sean lead the way following the wooden path to the pool side, where a row of loungers was positioned under the light of the lampposts.

He slowly walked to the edge of the pool, blue reflections dancing on his lean figure, then he finally took a seat on one of the last loungers, the farthest from the house.

Having the chance to observe him from a few feet away, I couldn't help but notice how strange it was seeing him this under the weather. Something was definitely off.

Sean Lew was not the kind of guy who went extremely wild at parties, but he certainly knew how to have fun.

Willingly or not, he was a crowd pleaser. Not only in our close group of friends, but even on occasions like these his energy and his exuberance could not but stand out and affect everybody else.

This version of him came out just recently, after the infamous incident, and of course I feared I had something to do with it.

"So I have a question..." he started, breaking the silence we had fallen into since we jumped out of the window. He studied me from head to toe, eventually focusing his attention on my feet. "Where on earth are your shoes?"

Dumbfounded I looked down and realized that, as a matter of fact, I had no shoes on. And I hadn't even noticed.

Great. This keeps getting better and better.

"It'll sound weird, but I think I lost them in the crowd..." I mumbled, trying really hard to recall the last time I had them on. The fresh air was helping a lot with my drunken state, but it couldn't do miracles.

"I remember I took them off in the living room earlier, you know, to dance better, but then I guess I couldn't find them anymore, I don't know."

Tired and confused, I threw myself on the lounger next to Sean's and took a deep, slow breath.

Few things in this world provided a better feeling and sense of relief than lying down after a tiring day. At that point in the evening even an outdoor lounger was heaven to me.

I closed my eyes to enjoy my transcendent moment, but that didn't prevent me to still sense his gaze on me.

"Well, it appears that you drank a lot..." I heard his voice say. "Maybe too much?"

Sean was trying not to be snarky about it, I would give him that, but behind his carefully chosen words and cautious tone resonated a loud "I told you so".

He was right, though. I wouldn't fight him on this. "Agreed, you can say that again..."

I turned my head to face him, reopening my tired eyes and flashed him a weak smile. He looked a little taken aback from my reaction, probably expecting me to take it the wrong way.