sharing red plastic cups.
"You should go say hi. Mingle a little." I nodded, having no intention of going there.
"I'll get us a drink." He leaned in, squeezing my shoulders before heading off. The moment he reached the keg, he gave some other burly dude a high five and let out a loud, "Hoo-ray!" Quite a crowd was gathering around the fire, pushing back to the surrounding woods.
Someone had pulled a truck up, turned on the radio, and left the doors open, making it nearly impossible to hear anything. Clutching the shawl around my shoulders, I moved along the edges, looking for a familiar face. Relieved, I saw Dee standing with the Thompson triplets. Beside them, Carissa and Lesa shared a blanket.
Daemon was nowhere to be seen.
"Dee!" I called, weaving out of the way of a girl teetering in high heels. "Dee!" She turned, and then seconds later, she waved her hand wildly. I took a step in her direction, and Simon appeared out of nowhere, two cups in hand.
"Oh my God," I said, stepping back. "You scared me."
Simon laughed, handing me a cup. "I don't see how. I was calling your name."
"Sorry." I took the drink, wrinkling my nose at the distinct smell. Taking a sip, I learned it didn't taste much better than it smelled. "It's kind of hard to hear with all the noise."
"I know. And we haven't had a chance to talk at all." Simon draped his arm over my shoulder, stumbling a little. "And that sucks.
I've wanted to talk to you all night. Did you like the corsage?"
"It's beautiful. Thank you again." It was pretty, a combination of pink and red roses. "Did you get it in town?"
He nodded and then downed the contents of his cup as we moved away from the truck. "My mom works at a local florist shop. She made it."
"Wow. That's pretty cool." I plucked at it, careful not to spill any beer on it. "Does your dad work in town?"
"Nope, he commutes into Virginia." He tossed the cup to the side and pulled out the flask. "He's a lawyer," he boasted, unscrewing the lid with one hand. "Handles personal injury claims. His brother is a doctor in town, though."
"My mom - she's a nurse and works in Virginia, too." All of his movements were pulling on the shawl. It was halfway off my shoulders. "Do you know where you're going to college yet?" I asked, struggling for something to say. Friendly hands aside, he was sort of nice.
"Going to WVU with the buds." He frowned at my own untouched drink. "You don't drink?"
"Oh, no, I do." I took a sip to prove it. He smiled and looked off, talking about which of his friends were planning on going to Marshall instead of WVU. When he wasn't looking, I dumped half the cup out.
Simon kept on asking questions, interrupted every few minutes when one of his friends would swing by. I dumped most of my drink out, which earned me several refills. Simon told me to stand wherever we were as he hustled back and forth between the keg. By my third pretend cup, Simon was probably thinking I was a lush but at least he was getting a great workout.
Before I knew it, we were a good distance away from the bonfire, among the first cropping of trees. Each step became more difficult. Partly due to the uneven ground and my heels, and even the slightest bit of Simon's weight was hard to support.
Simon straightened and pulled his arm off my shoulders, taking the shawl along with him.
It fluttered somewhere behind me, quickly blending in with the shadowy ground and thick undergrowth.
"Crap," I said, turning around, squinting.
"What?" he slurred a little.
"My shawl - I dropped it." I took a couple steps back toward the fire.
"Mmm, you look better without," he said.
"That dress - dayum."
I shot him an annoyed look over my shoulder before returning to staring at...everything that looked black. "Yeah, well, it belongs to my mom, and she'll kill me if I lose it."
"We'll find it. Don't worry about it now." Suddenly, his arm was around my waist, pulling me back. Startled, I dropped the cup of beer and let out a nervous laugh as I twisted out of his grasp. "I think I need to find it now."
"Can't it wait?" Simon took a step closer to me, and I took one back. He was standing in front of me, and I realized I was trapped between him and