Page 81 of Rewind It Back

“Do your parents have a liquor cabinet?”

“Oh, we aren’t drinking,” Hallie tells him.

Grant’s smile turns mischievous. “Have a little fun, Hallie. It’s your birthday, after all. I need to take you to one of our senior parties soon. It’s a little more...livelythan this.”

There’s a collective laugh among the crowd, and people are hanging on every word that comes out of this guy’s mouth like he’s a fucking god. But he’s not. He’s just a douchebag who’s genetically blessed.

Hallie eventually joins in and laughs too, but it’s fake and forced and her smile is flat on her lips. She’s embarrassed.

“We’re not drinking, Grant,” I say confidently. “We’re having a good time without it.”

“Or we could,” Luke pipes up at my side. “I know where my parents keep it.”

“Hell yeah, Hart!” Grant cheers, and for some reason his enthusiasm resounds around the entire room, and suddenly everyone is completely on board to start drinking.

I jog after Luke to stop him. “What are you doing?”

“Getting some alcohol. It’s not a big deal, Rio. Grant’s group is cool, and they want to kick it with us. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is that you’re being actively recruited, and I just signed my letter of intent to play for Michigan. If we get caught underage drinking, our scholarships are fucked.”

Luke rolls his eyes, grabbing two bottles of clear liquor out of the back of a cabinet. “We’re not going to get caught. We just need to keep quiet because our parents are right next door at your house.”

When I follow him back to the dining room, Solo cups are being set out on the table and beer is being poured into them.

“Hallie, you’re on my team,” Grant says.

“Oh, no. That’s okay. I’m not going to drink.”

“I’ll drink your share,” Luke offers.

“Perfect. Thanks, Hart.” Grant slings an arm over Hallie’s shoulders. “It’s settled then. You’re on my team, birthday girl.”

Her eyes dart to me for a moment, but it happens so quickly, I can’t tell if she wants to play and she’s apologizing to me, or if she wants an out. And soon enough the entire party migrates to the dining room to watch whatever drinking game is about to go down.

Someone turns on a speaker and the music starts bumping as the game begins. Hallie and Grant don’t have much to drink because, annoyingly enough, they make a good team. But whatever alcohol his sister is supposed to drink, Luke does it for her.

They keep playing round after round because they can’t lose. Luke stays close to Hallie, but that’s mostly because Grant is close to her and my buddy is clearly obsessed with the guy.

Which only makes me feel like shit. Luke would be cool with Hallie dating him, and I’m over here too scared to tell him about my feelings in fear he’d end our friendship over it.

But she’s genuinely having a good time, laughing and dancing to the music with all her friends, with the most popular guy in school giving her all his attention.

I’m glad she’s having fun. I am. I just wish that guy next to her was me.

Music is blasting through my headphones as I lie in my bed with my eyes closed, trying my hardest to find sleep. The headphones aren’t comfortable by any means, but I needed to drown out Hallie’s and my parents’ laughter filtering in my room from downstairs, and the music coming from her house.

I actively focus on shutting off my brain because that’s the only way I’m successful at falling asleep. That, or I work my body so hard at practice or the gym that I’m too tired to stay awake. Or alternatively, I crash in Hallie’s room.

With the last two options off the table for tonight, I concentrate on the first. But it feels hopeless knowing she’s next door with someone else.

A familiar song starts playing from my iPod that’s sitting on my nightstand, and I hope that’s enough to lull me to sleep, but then the beat is interrupted by an unfamiliartap, tap, tap. It’s strange and off tempo, and it happens again, this time in a different part of the chorus.

Tap, tap, tap.

Tap, tap, tap.

Only then do I realize it’s not my music at all.

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