Drift (Drift Series) by Michael Dean Page A

or do next, I did nothing but smile at her.
    She released my arm. “I guess I ’ll catch you later, Leo. Bye.”
    As she strolled away, Scruffy’s nagging voice replayed throughout my brain—what do you have to lose? Before she could get out of range, I went for the gusto and jogged a few steps, catching up to her. “Shade, would you like to get together sometime and hang out…or something?”
    There it was, dangling in limbo nakedly. Seconds felt like days as I awaited her response.
    She looked away for a second, then back with a smile. “Th-that would be nice. I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”
    I looked at her , stunned, not sure what to say next. Shade seemed to be in the same boat. Neither of us spoke, only chuckling in a nervous sense of release, like we were both waiting for this moment.
    “Well, uh, cool then. I guess we can talk at school or something. We’ll figure it out.”
    “Yeah, we can talk at school. We’ll make a plan to get together sometime.” Her face lit up in reply.
    I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, not even if I was hit with a dirty sack full bricks right in the kisser. “Okay, see you then. Bye for now.”
    “For now,” she added, strolling away.
    I stood in place, watching her mingle back into the party. Then I tore myself out of daydreaming, realizing what I had just done. What was I thinking? After tonight, there w ould be no tomorrow when it came to Shade and I. Even if there was another day with her, it was against everything that I am to act in such a manner, not to mention this would completely infuriate Christian and he could have me banished I needed to remain focused and make sure I stayed on point. No matter what I felt.
    Suddenly, I sensed a swell of fury, breaking me from my inner turmoil. I surveyed the area and found a piercing glare fired at me with pin-point accuracy from the other side of the crowd by a drunken Darryl. Jealousy rolled off him like a septic stench. I was certain he would confront me about Shade.
    Out of spite, I urged on another confrontation by exchanging his de fiant stare with one of my own. I was surprised to see him turn away. Maybe somewhere in his alcohol-diluted mind, he determined that this wasn’t the right time for drama. I couldn’t help but remember him telling Shade that he was going to cut down, even quit his drinking. Either way, it was a smart move for both of our sakes, he didn’t need to get beaten again, and I didn’t need to get sidetracked.
    Darryl casually disappeared into the throng. I happened to notice Scruffy out of the corner of my eye waving at me. He seemed to be the center of attention in a small crowd. I strutted toward him, exuding a little more confidence than usual. We chatted about everything from my victory the night before, which I didn’t mind being praised about, even though Scruffy did most of the bragging, to what this year’s prom would be like, who’s dating who now, who broke up with who, what was flowing through the current rumor mill, and so on. It felt good to feel normal, just for a little while.
    This was pretty much the norm for the rest of the evening, the chatter seemed to always be the same while we continued to knock back drinks. Occasionally an inebriated teen stumbled around or got loud and entertained the masses for a while. Again, the normal happenings of a Mountain View High School party, nothing strange or out of the ordinary. Yet.
    A tipsy Scruffy was doing his best cool guy routine in a vain attempt to wow some of the available ladies. A few yards away, Darryl cut through the crowd, making a beeline toward Shade. This pulled my attention from the cornball antics of my bud and lured me back into the ongoing saga that was Shade and Darryl. Being too far away to hear their conversation, the only thing I could do was attempt to read their body language. It looked as if Darryl was pandering to Shade, seeming apologetic as he struggled to maintain his balance. Shade looked