Page 85 of Forget Me Not

“Ohhh snap,” the guy, who Tyler called Nelson, sings. He raises his hand in the air at Rhea and she slaps him a high five.

Normally, I’d be bitten with jealousy hearing Rhea mention sucking another man’s dick, but I know it was just a jab at this little bitch. Instead of being shaken, I smirk in response as the girl turns red-faced.

Rhea curls under my arm like she’s suddenly proud to have me at her side. I place my hand loosely on her hip, ready to take on the whole crowd if necessary. Together we are dynamite.

“Tyler,” one of the girls says, “can we talk?”

He shakes his head, moving close to Heather. “Not now, Tamara. I’m busy.”

She sneers. “Busy with her?”

Heather grabs Tyler’s hand, holding it with her head held high. “Is that a problem?”

The mouthy bitch, standing with an air of superiority, plants her hands on her hips and snickers. “Last party you were with the chick with the old man, and now it’s her. You sure do get around lately, Ty.”

To Tyler’s credit, he only shrugs. “Maybe I learned from you. Except I happen to make sure I’m single before I go out with anyone else.”

A cloud of malice hangs between Tyler and Tamara, and it’s obvious they have history. But Heather relentlessly holds tight to Tyler’s hand and even goes as far to rest her head on his shoulder.

“Come on,” Rhea says quietly, tugging my arm. “Let’s go anywhere but here.”

“Gladly.”

We walk away from the group and we’re suddenly in the midst of another, but this one just gives us a few sly glances as we pass through. Everyone we walk by stops what they’re doing to check us out, but Rhea keeps her chin up and holds on to me tightly.

I tilt my head down and whisper, “Having fun yet?”

“Hardly. But it is amusing giving all these naysayers a show. Everyone's looking at us.”

“Not us, baby. You. You’re the most beautiful girl in this town. How can they not stop and look?”

We come across a fallen tree near the edge of the woods, and we sit down on it, our fingers still locked.

“Tell me something,” Rhea says, grazing my knuckles.

“Tell me something, she says. Hmm…” I tap my chin. “A unicorn is the national animal in Scotland.”

Rhea laughs and it’s the most beautiful sound in the world. One I started to believe I would never earn from her in a non-sarcastic manner. “Not exactly what I meant, but that’s good to know. Is it true?”

“It is. I don’t know the story behind it, but it’s very true.” I lick my lips, lifting my eyes to hers. “What did you actually mean?”

“I meant something about you. You mentioned coming to parties like this when you were younger. Tell me more.”

“You sure?” I search her gaze, not wanting to upset her.

“Yeah. Why not?”

“Okay. Well. You know those girls that were trying to create drama a few minutes ago?”

She sighs. “Yeah.”

“Every group has them. My party crew was no different. When the sun would set behind the trees, bonfires were a must. Beer was constantly flowing and shots were taken. The music was always loud and…”

I look over at her and stop talking when I see that she’s looking at the sky with her eyes closed. When she realizes I’ve stopped, her daydreaming eyes open and land on mine. “And, what? Keep going.”

So I do, and she closes her eyes while facing the sky again. Once I realize what she’s doing, I go into more detail. Helping her relive the experience through my words.

“I’d always ride to the parties with my buddies, Dan and Travis. Back then, we did everything together. I remember one night in particular during my senior year. We had just won the homecoming football game and the forecast was calling for a severe thunderstorm. Dan’s older brother got us a keg. We sure as hell were not going to let that go to waste at our age. We loaded that baby in the trunk of Trav’s car, not letting any weather stop us.” I smile at the memory and so does Rhea.

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