The Landlord

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Hey, you coming?

Handling my cigarette with one hand, I texted him back with the other. I'm here... parked on the side of the road behind a thousand other cars.

It wasn't a thousand, but might as well have been. Which was why I was still sitting in my car. I wasn't excited, I was nervous, and I was already tempted to drive home.

Blake texted back a good counter point. Well, you can't let all that make-up go to waste. I'm sure it took ya hours to get ready.

He wasn't wrong. How often do I get the chance to really dress up? And with Blake present? Not often. So, I was wearing one of my favorite open-back sundresses from Nordstrom. It was dark blue with a simple white dotted pattern; it had a tight bust and spaghetti straps. The fabric flowed down freely from just above my waist almost to my kneecaps. It wasn't over the top, but it was pretty – which was what I aimed for my make-up too. I also pinned my hair up, making it look full on the top, and curled some of the loose locks. To say the least... he was right. No way I was going to waste all that work.

After taking a puff, I released the smoke towards my cracked window. True lol. Better be worth it, I texted back.

It will be. Stop stalling, you're already late.

Where are you?

In five minutes, it will be hard to miss me.

What the hell did that mean? Guess I'd have to find out. With that, I took a deep breath, and headed towards the party a few houses down. Walking in my white open-toed sandals, I was confident I looked nice, but I already felt vulnerable.

Despite all the socializing people in sight, I couldn't help but admire the house once I reached it. It was beautiful, tan, and three-stories high. I was a picky person, but it was nice enough even for me (if it wasn't located in the middle of nowhere). Just as impressive was the backyard when I rounded the house, trying to find Blake.

The yard was huge, with trees on each side. Beyond the backyard was a large open field. Probably where the fireworks would be shot off. A near-by radio added background music to everything. Including the huge white tent centered in the yard. It housed several tables, many occupied by people chatting and eating already. Kids were running around, some of them playing yard games set up. Some kids, and adults, were towards the back of the yard, throwing themselves on blue tarps. Yes, Blake's hillbilly slip-and-slide was in attendance like he mentioned. The man did not tell me there would be a dunk tank though! Yeah. A dunk tank! It was on the other side of the white canopy tent with maybe a dozen people scattered around it.

Just then, I understood what Blake meant. It was hard to miss him. Smiling to myself, I walked over to where the people were gathered around the clear tank of water. Blake was sitting on the board above the water, shirtless with dressy khaki shorts. He was also still dry, but there were a few kids in a line hoping to change that. Pausing among the few people watching on the side, I was already amused.

Blake was taunting the boy currently holding the ball. "You sure you want to miss again, Brady?"

He looked maybe 10 or so. "You sure you want to get water up your nose?!" the boy called back. Then, he threw the ball as hard as he could. It missed the metal target next to the tank, hitting the cushion behind it. He scrambled, grabbed the ball, and stood back to try again.

A man standing a few feet away (probably his dad) said, "Last turn, bud, then give someone else a chance."

Focusing this time, he threw the ball again, and... nope. Blake didn't fall into the water, earning him an aggressive stuck out tongue from the kid.