12. Stay Longer

Sky took one sip of her drink and immediately regretted it. “Ugh, gross!” she winced.

Charlie was right again. Fuck him, honestly.

She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth, swallowing hard.

She tipped the cup, half-tempted to pour it into the dying fern by the window.

And now, she was bored.

Where was he? He still hadn’t gotten back from the bathroom. What the hell was he doing with her?

He’d been gone WAY too long. She tapped her foot. Fast.

“This is stupid,” she huffed. Knowing Elisa, she was probably offering herself to him like the Sunday morning breakfast buffet.

Slut…

Her annoyance spiked.

She waited.

One minute.

Two.

Her foot tapped faster.

“Okay, seriously,” she whispered. “I am not playing Where’s Waldo with my own bodyguard.”

Finally she shoved her way toward the hallway, muttering, “He better not be having fun with Elisa after ruining my first kiss.”

Her eyes narrowed.

Bathroom door still closed.

Sky marched toward it, hands clenched, temper brewing like a thundercloud.

She didn’t even think and flung the door open.

“Charlie?” she hissed.

Both heads snapped toward her.

Charlie stood frozen beside the sink, shirt open at the front, revealing part of his naked chest.

Oh…

For a second, her mind went blank.

She stared at Charlie. His shirt hung open, revealing his chest still sticky with blue punch. He looked uncomfortable, his shoulders tense as he stood there with his shirt half off. The fabric clung to his skin in places where the punch had soaked through. She noticed a muscle in his jaw twitch as their eyes met.

It affected her more than she expected. The sneak peak of his chest that is.

His chest was toned, defined in that quiet way that boys who actually work out. His skin was warm golden under the terrible bathroom light, marbled with streaks of electric-blue punch.

A droplet rolled down his collarbone.

Sky watched it fall.

Her brain short-circuited.

Oh.

Oh no.

No nope absolutely not…

Her mouth went dry.

Charlie’s raised an eyebrow the moment he saw her staring at his chest.

Sky snapped out of it a second too late. Her jaw clicked shut.

“Wha…” she coughed, voice cracking, “what the hell are you doing?”

“Cleaning up,” he said tightly. “Because someone dumped an entire punch bowl on me.”

Elisa piped up, still holding a towel, cheeks pink and lips pouty. “You have the worst timing, Sky.”

Oh right. Elisa existed. Sky had forgotten her for a solid ten seconds.

Maybe twelve.

Her eyes flicked back to Charlie’s chest before she could stop herself.

God.

Why did he have to have muscles?

He spent all day looking like an annoying golden retriever, so why did he have to be built like that underneath?

She yanked her gaze away so fast her neck cracked.

Sky’s mind was a frantic, malfunctioning slideshow of toned chest, punch droplets, and Elisa’s annoying little towel-holding face.

She forced her eyeballs up and cleared her throat aggressively. “I…I wasn’t looking at you.”

Charlie blinked. “I didn’t say you were.”

“Well, I wasn’t.”

“Great.”

“Good.”

“Perfect.”

Sky huffed, cheeks burning. She crossed her arms and glared at Elisa.

She wanted to punt her out a window.

“Sky,” he muttered, “Let’s just go home.”

He stepped past her toward the door, stopping just inches from her shoulder.

Close enough she felt the warmth radiating off him.

Elisa gasped dramatically, like she’d just witnessed someone cancel Christmas.

“Wait…hold on,” she squealed, rushing forward in her sparkly heels. “You’re leaving? Already?? Sky, that is literally so lame.”

Sky’s head whipped around.

“Excuse me?”

Elisa folded her arms, hip popping out with Olympic-level smugness. “You just got here. And you’re gonna dip because your babysitter got a little messy?”

Charlie closed his eyes like he was preparing for impact.

Sky took a dangerous step forward. “He’s not my babysitter.”

Elisa blinked. “Oh… right. Your bodyguard.” She made air quotes, flipping her hair. “Same difference.”

Sky’s jaw clenched so tight she could’ve cracked a tooth. “Why don’t you focus on your own business, Elisa?”

Elisa laughed. “My business is making sure my party isn’t ruined by people leaving after fifteen minutes.”

Charlie muttered, “Sky, ignore her.”

But Sky was already vibrating with offense. Her pride had her by the throat.

Elisa shrugged innocently. “But if you wanna be the girl who bails early because she can’t handle a little punch spill, that’s totally fine. People will just…talk.”

Sky’s spine snapped straight.

People.

Will talk?

No.

Absolutely not.

Sky would rather swallow the entire bowl of glowing-blue gasoline punch than be labeled the girl who dipped early from Elisa Campbell’s house.

She lifted her chin. “No one’s bailing.”

Charlie looked at her sharply. “Sky…”

“We’re staying,” she said firmly.

Elisa smirked. “Great! Because I am about to announce that we are playing truth or dare and you don’t want to miss it.”

“Truth or dare?” Sky repeated. “Wow. Really reinventing the wheel there.”

Elisa blinked. “Excuse me?”

Sky narrowed her eyes. “Truth or dare is what fifth graders play at sleepovers when they’ve run out of Oreos,” Sky said sweetly. “This is a high school party, Elisa. We should play something actually exciting.”

Elisa sputtered. “It IS exciting! It’s a classic!”

Sky tapped her chin thoughtfully. “So is solitaire, but you don’t see anyone begging to watch that.”

Charlie pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sky…”

“No,” she said, holding up a finger. “I’m saving this party.”

Sky straightened, eyes sparking. Charlie stiffened next to her.

“I propose,” Sky said, loud enough for the hallway to hear,

“that we summon a spirit.”

No one said anything for a while

Someone in the living room dropped a cup.

Another whispered, “Bro, what?”

Sky flashed a grin. “You want excitement? You want a party people will talk about for years? Then we’re ditching truth or dare and playing.” She paused for effect.

Elisa leaned forward, suspicious. “What are you talking about?”

Sky spread her hands like she was unveiling the secrets of the universe.

“Midnight Séance.”