Getting Over Garrett Delaney(56)
Author: Abby McDonald

Dominique. Giggling.

“What the . . . ?” I blink, wondering if my Popsicle was spiked. I must be hallucinating, because the Dominique we all know and loathe would never make an ass of herself in public, let alone give a stripper a run for her booty-shaking money.

But no. It’s her. And she’s utterly wasted.

“What happened?” I ask, fighting to be heard over the braying pack of ass**les.

“I don’t know!” LuAnn yells back. “I left her for, like, twenty minutes.”

“She works fast.” Kayla gazes at her with a strange look of admiration.

“What should we do?”

LuAnn shrugs. “I don’t know. She’s legal. I guess just make sure she doesn’t do anything crazy?”

“Crazier than this?” Kayla yells.

That’s when Dominique whoops, “Who wants body shots?” A great roar goes up from the crowd.

And then she takes off her shirt.

24

LuAnn and Kayla deal with the re-clothing Dominique situation while I go call for rescue. But forty minutes after Garrett says he’ll come get us, there’s still no sign of him.

“Where are you?” I press my cell phone to my ear and try to block out the party noise. Garrett’s voice is distant on the other end.

“See, now she wants to hang out!” Garrett teases, but I’m not in the mood.

“This is an emergency, Garrett.” I try to stay calm. “Kayla and I need to get back home before her parents ground her forever!”

“I know, I know.” He laughs, as if amused by my panic. “Don’t worry. I got caught up here, but I’m on my way.”

“You said that ages ago!” I exclaim.

“Relax. I’ll be there,” Garrett promises. “I just have to —”

“You know what? It’s OK,” I say, catching sight of a guardian angel in jeans and a gray sweatshirt, emerging from the dark woods. “Josh is here. LuAnn must have called him.”

“I told you, I’m on my way —”

“It’s fine. See you later.” I hang up, going down to greet Josh. “Thank you so so so so much,” I tell him fervently.

He shrugs, nonchalant as ever. “Where’s the party girl?”

“She’s sleeping now, thank God.” I nod toward Dominique, fully clothed again and passed out cold with a sweater tucked under her head. “For a while, she wanted to go on a night hike in the woods.”

“So you knocked her out just to avoid physical activity?” Josh jokes. I manage a smile.

“You know me so well.”

He peers at her. “Is she going to be OK?”

“I don’t know — I’ve never inhaled half a bottle of tequila.” I exhale, worn out. “Thanks again for coming. LuAnn was drinking, and we have to be back before curfew.”

“No problem.” He shrugs again, as if I haven’t dragged him out of bed and into the back of beyond. “Where are the others?”

“Looking for Dom’s purse and keys.”

“Then I guess it’s time to get her in the truck.” Josh assesses her quickly. “Which end do you want: top or bottom?”

“Just take an arm and drag. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

We manage to hoist Dominique into an upright position. “Wha . . . ?” she murmurs, squinting as we carefully maneuver her down the steps. “Stop spinning.”

I meet Josh’s eyes over her head. “Remind me to never drink. Ever.”

We manage to get her down the path to his truck with no more than a few minor bumps. Sliding her into the backseat is a bit trickier, but Josh is surprisingly strong; he lifts her all on his own and gently sets her down on the bench seat. She slumps, unmoving, and begins to snore. It would almost be cute, if there wasn’t drool dribbling down her chin.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize again. “I had no idea she’d let loose like this.”

“What happened, anyway?”

“I don’t know. It was like she was possessed. A completely different person.” I sigh, leaning against the truck. “She’s usually so controlled.”

“Those are the ones you have to watch for,” Josh says. “I knew this math whiz in high school — never says a word all year, then downs ten beers at a party and starts yelling the value of pi to fifty places.”

“Those math guys, they know how to party.”

We wait in the dark, the lights and noise from the party drifting out to us in faded bursts — the sound of people having the time of their lives. I sigh. “I guess nothing turned out the way I expected tonight.”

“Why not?”

“I thought it would be a fun, girl-bonding thing. No boys allowed — I know, right?” I laugh at my foolish optimism. “And then Dom decides to stage her one-girl strip show, and I tried flirting with this guy. . . . They all say I need to move on,” I explain quickly.

He raises an eyebrow. “How’s that working out for you?”

“It’s not. The flirting, I mean. The moving on is fine. Good, even.” I laugh, self-conscious. “Sorry, I’m kind of incoherent. It’s been a long night.”

There’s the light of a cell phone glow through the trees, then Kayla and LuAnn arrive.

“Angel!” LuAnn launches herself at Josh in a hug. “Sweetheart! Darling! You’re a doll, helping us out like this.”

He laughs. “Yes, yes I am. Feel free to reward me with massages and undying devotion.”

“You know, I might just do that. You’re saving our asses here. Or rather, these two cute underage asses,” LuAnn corrects herself. “I only had a couple of beers, so I’m going to wait here a while, then drive Dom’s car back. Can you take Dom home with you tonight?” She directs that last one at me.

I nod reluctantly. “I can stash her in my bedroom and try to sneak her out when Mom’s at Pilates.”

“Then we have a plan.” LuAnn claps. “It’s been a blast, ladies.”

There’s a groan from inside the truck, then Dominique sticks her head out the door and vomits onto the ground.

“And there’s my cue.” LuAnn backs away. “Laters!”

We stay until Dominique has evacuated the entire contents of her stomach, then head home. We pull into our street with minutes to spare before Kayla’s curfew. “Sorry I can’t help,” she apologizes, leaping out of the front seat. “I’ll call tomorrow, OK?”