No one could see us there, so I let him back me up against the brick wall and kiss me again. It didn’t feel as weird the second time, and I think I’m getting better at it.
I smile, happy that I’m no longer in the “never been kissed” club. Now that I know how great it is, I wish I hadn’t waited so long to do it. I wet my lips in anticipation, hoping the new Chapstick I bought at Dox made my lips as soft and kissable as the label promised.
My phone buzzes so I fish it out of my pocket and see a text from Beau. I put it back without reading it. I’ll text him back tomorrow when I have something really good to tell him.
“There she is,” Bella says as I walk into the kitchen. She gives me a big hug even though we’re not close friends. “You were so good tonight.”
“Thanks.” I squeeze behind her to open the fridge. I’m not sure why she’s there since she wasn’t in the cast or the crew.
“Did you guys really kiss? Onstage in front of everyone?” Bella whispers. “Or did you fake it?”
“There was nothing fake about it,” I say, not bothering to whisper. I grab two beers and close the refrigerator door with my hip. “I’ve got to bring these to Liam.”
Before I go, I crack one can open and take a big sip as if it were just a Diet Dr Pepper. It doesn’t taste as bad as I remember, and I swear I can feel a buzz the second it flows past my lips. I finish it quickly and grab one more before going back to Liam.
I find him in the hallway, still talking to the bearded guy.
“How long did it take you to grow that beard?” I ask, trying to join the conversation.
The bearded guy gives me a look as if it’s the strangest question anyone has ever asked him, but I don’t care because I’m drinking beer in Liam’s house with Liam, and so far, everything is going according to plan.
Tonight, I’m going to get a do-over. My stomach does a little flip in anticipation as I pop the top of my second beer, because this time, Liam and I will be the ones slow dancing and making out like we’re the only ones in the room. Maybe it’s a good thing that Bella’s here so she can see it all happen and report back to Sofia.
Liam “cheers” his beer against mine, then walks into the living room, leaving me alone with the bearded giant. I don’t have anything else to say about his beard, so I take another big sip. And another. I love the way it makes me feel, a little woozy and light-headed, kind of like how I felt when Liam was kissing me.
The thought of his lips is enough to make me smile again. I tilt the can up to take another sip, but it’s almost empty, so I head back to the kitchen.
“Baby girl!” Jen, who played my mom, calls out as soon as I walk through the door.
“Hey, Mama.” I stumble into her outstretched arms.
“You got a head start, huh?” She laughs.
“Why’d you say that?”
“Someone get this girl another beer,” her boyfriend, one of the stagehands, says.
Bella is closest to the refrigerator, so she opens the door and hands me a beer without taking one for herself.
“Aren’t you drinking?”
“Nah,” Bella says. “I don’t like the taste.”
“I didn’t, either,” I whisper. “But you get used to it.”
She scrunches her nose as if that would be impossible. I shrug. More for the rest of us.
Back in the living room, someone has finally turned on the music and people are starting to dance. This is my opportunity. But Liam isn’t there. I spot him back in the hallway talking to his sister and some of her college friends. They look beautiful with their tight dresses, big boobs, and perfect makeup, smiling and laughing like they just stepped off the pages of a sorority catalog.
I move close and slip my arm around his waist. “Let’s dance.” The sorority girls laugh, so I laugh, too, even though I’m not sure what’s so funny.
“I’ll be back,” Liam tells them before following me to the dance floor. The song isn’t a slow one, but that doesn’t stop me from throwing my arms around his neck like it’s where they belong.
My arms and my shoulders and my hips feel loose, and I’m ready to pick