Babydoll Page 2

  None of us had boyfriends. Haley said the guys at our school were just too immature for her but I knew she was really just pining away for Luke. Lucy and I just rolled our eyes whenever she started talking about how Lucas did this or Lucas said that.

  Lucy was just as selective but less talkative about it. The only boy I ever saw Lucy take a second look at was Gavin but he was so wrapped up in band that he hardly ever had time to hang out. Besides that, Haley said that if Lucy started dating her cousin she owed her big time. That didn’t really make sense to me. Even though Haley had been my best friend since we were in kindergarten sometimes I still didn’t understand how her mind worked.

  I did agree with Haley that all the boys in our school were just too immature. Even the eighth grade boys were always teasing and calling names. I remembered an incident with Lane’s trouble maker friend Drew Thomas when he started whistling at me in the hall saying "what's up, sexy Sweeten”. I just flipped my hair in his direction the way Haley taught me and made it really clear that I was ignoring him. He started to say some more but then Lane grabbed his arm and pulled him off down the hall to do whatever delinquent stuff it was they did.

  I thought it was funny that you could spend the whole summer around someone but not realize they were a bad kid. Lane was always getting in trouble for mouthing off to teachers and pushing kids around. Not any of the girls, of course. No way. All the girls thought Lane Campbell was the cutest boy in school. I could see where they were coming from if you were just looking at those eyes but to me he was still annoying, smart-acre Lane.

  I would have never told Haley or even Lucy but sometimes I just wanted to say screw it all and keep my head buried in a book. I wondered if maybe I didn’t even want to be popular and cool. Then I would think of laughing so loud at lunch and staying up all night at sleepovers and the way people actually moved out of the way when Haley, Lucy, and I walked down the hall with our arms linked and I’d forget about all that. So, I worked hard to keep up with my friends. I worked at perfecting my curling iron skills. I tried to convince my dad that Lucas was a perfectly safe driver so I could ride to school with him and Lucy. Most importantly, I wrote every little detail of life down in my notebooks so I would be able to remember them forever and ever.

  B

  No matter how hard I tried not to, I couldn’t help but hate Lindsay Stanton. I hated her more than I had ever hated anyone in my entire life. I didn’t use the word lightly but she was a real bitch. I didn't actually want to invite her to my birthday party but my dad said I could only have a boy girl party if I invited everyone. I didn't even really want to have a boy girl party but Haley said we were too old to have baby sleepovers and we needed to start having real parties.

  "Yours is the first birthday party of the year, Baby-doll," Haley said. She didn't really like that nickname at first. She rolled her eyes and said it was a baby name but as soon as she heard Luke using it, she was all about it. "It has to set the standard."

  So, we went to work planning the perfect party and convincing our parents. The perfect party being a boy girl, pool party at Haley's since her mom and dad had the pool heater turned on. That would be followed by a sleepover for just our girls.

  An October pool party. Nothing could be cooler than that. My Dad wasn't crazy about the idea at first. He said that having a pool party in October was just ridiculous but I begged and pleaded and promised chores and good grades for the rest of the semester. And Mr. Elton, Haley’s dad, told him that they could use his super huge, gas grill to cook up all the party food. I'm pretty sure that was what did it.

  The weekend started amazing when the best birthday present ever was waiting on me when I got home from school on Friday. My very own computer. With internet access! Even Shakes, my cat, was happy about it. He was snuggled up next to the tower which Dad had situated under my desk.

  "But I don't want you on it all the time, Bailey," Dad cautioned. He was smiling. Happy that he got me the perfect present. He knew it was perfect because as soon as I saw it, I screamed my head off and ran to turn it on. "And you can't use the internet all the time and tie up the phone line. And I want it off by nine o' clock every night."

  I wasn't paying a bit of attention. I was too busy listening to the beautiful sound of the internet connecting. It was music to my ears! I was so excited to see a document program. No more hand cramps from too many hours writing!

  I was still on cloud nine when we headed over to Haley's the next morning. I told Haley and Lucy about my amazing present. Haley said it was cool but I could tell she wasn't very impressed. Lucy was super excited for me though. She started telling me about all the cool tricks and stuff she could teach me.

  The party started off great. We knew we planned the perfect party when we saw how many people showed up. Almost the whole class was there. Luckily, it was a bright cloudless day so it warmed up just a little. Still, it was crisp enough so that you wanted to get right back in the pool as soon as you got out. Kids were everywhere, splashing and yelling and generally having an awesome time. I couldn’t help but be excited about how high the gift table was piled.

  "Look at all that loot!" Lucy exclaimed, laughing. "Spoiled Baby-doll!"

  Halfway through the day my dad whistled a couple of times and got everyone's attention. Food from the grill was ready and it was time for me to open my presents. Just like Lucy said, I was super spoiled. Cute t-shirts, make up, and CDs galore. It was everything a girl could possibly want. After the unwrapping extravaganza was over and everyone was eating or getting back in the pool to warm up, Cameron came up to me with a little box wrapped in blue. Aside from Haley, Cameron was my oldest friend. Cameron and I had been friends since we were in diapers. Our dads were fishing buddies.

  "Blue's your color, right?" He asked. He looked nervous, which was weird.

  "Yeah," I said, with a smile, nodding toward my blue swimsuit and shorts. I took the pretty, little box from his hands. "How'd you guess? What's this?"

  "Find out," he said, with a smile.

  I opened it, carefully, and gasped when I got to the present inside. It was the prettiest silver charm bracelet. I lifted it off its cotton bedding to inspect it. There was a book charm and two best friend charms attached.

  "One for Haley and one for Lucy," he explained, as I touched each one of the pretty pieces. "You like it?"

  "I love it!" I cried, happily, giving him a huge hug. He hugged me back, even though I could tell he was embarrassed. "You’re the best, Cam."

  He shrugged.

  "It's whatever. I just thought you would like it," he said. A red blush had settled in his cheeks.

  It was weird, knowing each other as long as we had. There’d never been an awkward moment, but suddenly, it was setting it. I laid the bracelet back in the box and set it on the table. Then I grabbed Cameron's hand.

  "Cannonball!" I said, grinning at him. Just like I hoped, all the weirdness fell away and he grinned back at me. Together, we took off running and splashed into the deep end.

  * * *

  Chapter 3

  * * *

  After everyone but my girls and Gavin left, Mrs. Elton assigned cleaning duties. Once we had our assignments she and Mr. Elton headed off to the see friends with a bottle of wine. Gav was the only boy who got to stay because his mom couldn't pick him up until she got off swing shift. We made quick work of the cleanup and decided to hang out on the deck around the fire pit. We all changed into hoodies and jeans since the sun had long since set, leaving the air chilly. We were listening to the new Dashboard Confessional disc that I got while Gav picked along on his guitar. The calmness was broken when we heard Luke's voice booming through the gate.

  "Happy birthday to Baby-doll, happy birthday to Baby-doll, happy birthday Bailey Baby-doll, happy birthday to you!" He sang, at the top of his lungs.

  I invited Luke, and even Lane, to my party but they both said it wasn't really their scene. I didn't really think a high schooler or a too cool eight grader would want t
o come. I just invited them to be nice, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me happy to see them.

  Luke swooped up on the deck and snatched me into a big hug, spinning me around. Lane followed behind him shaking his head at his older brother.

  "Happy birthday, Baby-doll!" Luke cried, as we spun. Over his shoulder I could see the green eyed jealousy monster eating Haley up so I squirmed away from the big dummy.

  "Thanks, Luke," I said, sitting back down. "There's cake if you want."

  "Of course I want cake. And some of that barbeque I've been smelling all day!" He said, with a grin. "But first I’ve got presents. Where's your mom and dad, Haley?"

  Just hearing Luke say her name made my bestie smile so big.

  "They're gone. They won't be back for a while," she told him.

  "Hell yeah," he said, grinning even bigger, as he pulled two bottles of Boones Farm Wine out from under his hoodie. "Birthday Boones."

  He handed the bottles over to me. I looked them over curiously; one was bright blue and one was bright pink. Blue Hawaiian and Strawberry Hill.

  "What, Baby-doll, never had Boones before?" Lane piped in, sounding superior. He was leaning on the deck railing with the hood of his Ramones hoodie pulled up over his messy hair. He was making fun as usual. At least he was finally wearing a shirt.

  "Shut up, Lane," Lucy told him, so I didn't have to.

  Haley and I had snuck tastes of her mom's rum before but it burned my stomach so bad I said I'd never do it again. Now, with all my friends looking at me expectantly what else could I do? I gave Lane a dirty look and cracked open the blue one.

  "Do we need cups?" I asked the group.

  "Shit, girl, this is Boones," Luke said, grabbing it from my hand and taking a gulp straight from the bottle. He smacked his lips to let us know how tasty it was and passed it back to me.

  The whole time Lane watched me like he was wondering what I was going to do. Probably wanting me to say no. To be a good little baby so he could make fun of me some more. No way was I giving him the satisfaction. I didn't even give him another look before I took a great big drink. It tasted like coconut soda! It was super sweet and didn’t burn at all! I couldn't help but laugh.

  "It's like candy!" I exclaimed. Luke let out a great big laugh.

  "That’s the good shit, kiddo," he said, giving my shoulders a squeeze. Then he turned to Haley. "I need some grub, Haley Jo."

  She was on her feet in a second.

  "Don't call me that," she said, wrinkling her nose playfully. If it had been anyone else she would had reamed him out for using her middle name, but not Luke. She just took his hand and led him into the house so he could demolish some leftovers.

  "I wanna try some," Lindsay chimed in, motioning to the bottle in my hands. “I’ve never tried it either.”

  "Damn, are all of you good little girls?" Lane asked, rolling his eyes. "What is this a daycare party?"

  "Not everyone is a delinquent like you," Lucy told him. I couldn't help but laugh.

  "I'm not really a good little girl," I heard Lindsay murmur, as she crossed the deck to hand the bottle to Lane. That was when I noticed she was looking at him all sweet eyes and her head cocked to the side. Apparently, she thought she looked cute like that. Great, another one gone boy crazy flirty. Over Lane, no less.

  For some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off the two of them. Lindsay made sure their fingers touched when she passed the bottle. Lane was smirking his bad boy smile at her but for just a second his eyes flickered over to me. I looked back to the fire, quickly, embarrassed to be caught staring. Not like I could help staring. They were just so obvious.

  Abruptly, Lane walked over to the circle we formed around the pit. I glanced over at Lindsay and almost laughed at her pouting. Lane handed the bottle to his little sister and dropped down in the chair between us.

  "Not like you’re really a good girl, Little Lucy," he said. "I know who's been sneaking mom's wine coolers."

  For once, Lucy smiled her impish little smile at Lane.

  "The Fuzzy Navel ones are yummy," she said, with a giggle. She sipped from the wine bottle and passing it to Gav.

  Haley and Luke finally found their way back to the deck and we all chatted about music and stuff while Luke chowed down on BBQ. The bottle of Boones went round and round. It didn't take us long to finish both bottles and I was feeling fuzzy and giggly. I was feeling happy too. Happy to have the most awesome friends and the best birthday ever.

  "We should play a game or something," Lucy suggested.

  "Truth or Dare!" Lindsay yelled. The more she drank the louder she got. It was like someone keep pushing the up button on her remote.

  "Hell yeah," Luke agreed. "I love me some dares."

  "I'll go first," Lindsay declared, jumping up. Apparently, she thought we all needed to hear and see her. "Lane, truth or dare?"

  "This is stupid," he said, rolling his eyes.

  "Don't be a douche!" Lucy told him, reaching over to smack him in the arm.

  "Damn it, Lucy," he cursed, smacking her back. They tussled back and forth while the rest of us watched, laughing. Finally, Lucy caught his ear and pulled until he gave in. "Fine, shit, lemme go you brat."

  "Truth," he told Lindsay.

  "How old were you when you had your first kiss?" she asked. Even in the firelight I could tell she was blushing.

  "Eight," he said, rolling his eyes like it was no big deal. "Truth or Dare, Little?"

  Lucy looked hard at her brother for just a minute.

  "Dare," she said. Her tone of voice told him to do his worst.

  "I dare you to put some of every condiment in the fridge on a piece of bread and eat it. I'm talking mayo, mustard, jelly, relish. Everything," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

  The rest of us groaned for Lucy. So gross. She narrowed her eyes at Lane.

  "Oh my God, so disgusting!" she said, reaching out to smack her brother again. This time he just caught her hands.

  "I mean you could just say you’re scared little baby and you don't want to do it," he taunted.

  "Screw you Lane! I'm not scared of shit!" she yelled, pulling out of his grasp. We all followed, laughing, as she stormed into the house.

  Sure enough, my crazy friend squeezed a little bit of every single condiment onto a bun from earlier and scarfed it down. She made gagging noises the whole time and as soon as she finished she ran upstairs to brush her teeth twice.

  "My turn, Luke, truth or dare?" she asked, when we all reassemble outside.

  "Dare. Duh," he said, with a grin. Knowing Luke he was probably hoping she'd dare him to eat something crazy just so he could have a snack.

  "Strip down buck naked and jump in the pool!" she said, giggling. Lane and Gav both made faces and groaned.

  "Done!" Luke declared, jumping up. He started stripping immediately. You could call Luke a lot of things but shy wasn’t one of them.

  "Oh my God, you want to see your brother naked?" Lindsay squealed.

  "I’m covering my eyes, you twit," Lucy said, looking at Lindsay like she was braindead. Lucy didn’t like her either and it was hard for her to hide her feelings with all that Boones in her system. She slapped her hand over her eyes when Luke went to undo his pants. "Tell me when it's over, Baby-doll!"

  That meant I had to look. I kind of didn't want to because Luke was my adopted big brother, but on the other hand, I'd never see a real, live, naked boy before. We saw illustrations in health class but a real live guy was different. I didn't really have time to think it through because it took Luke no time to get down to his birthday suit. Then, there he was, completely naked running toward the pool. I caught just a glimpse of his thing as he ran by. It looked just like in the health book! He splashed into the pool and hopped back out just as quick.

  As he ran past the deck my curiosity got the better of me and I took a longer look this time. His thing just bounced up and down as he moved. But it didn't look nearly as big as I thought it would be. I'd hate to be a boy and
have to deal with that all the time. I thought that would drive me crazy! I was so caught up in checking out his goods I barely realized he'd headed back through the gate to his house.

  "What the hell?" Lindsay yelled, watching Luke disappear through the back door.

  "Can I look yet?" Lucy asked.

  "Yeah, I think so," I replied. "I think he quit… he went home."

  "What the hell?" Lucy echoed Lindsay, dropping her hand.

  Meanwhile, Haley looked like she was going to have a heart attack. She had just seen her crush naked as the day he was born. I had no doubt she'd have plenty to say later once the shock wore off.

  "Does someone else want to go –"Lucy asked, trying to get the game back on.

  "Don't you skip me, Lucy!" We heard Luke yell before anyone else could volunteer. He was heading back through the gate wrapped in a beach towel. "I'm playing. I just wasn't running through Haley's house butt naked. And don't any of you say a word about shrinkage. It's cold as shit out here!"

  That set us all off laughing. We waited until Luke redressed, as discreetly as possible around his towel, then he looked at me.

  "Truth or dare, Birthday Baby-doll?"

  I weighed my options. I didn't want to be a scared baby but I didn't want to do any of that crazy stuff either.

  "Truth," I finally settled on.

  "Awe, come on Baby-doll, truths are bo-ring." Luke goaded.

  I shook my head with a prissy smile.

  "My birthday, I do what I want," I told him, sticking out my tongue.

  "Fine," he said with a chuckle. "How old were you when you laid one on a boy?"

  I felt my cheeks flame hot. He would ask that.

  "Uh… maybe dare after all," I back-peddled.

  "No way, birthday girl," Lindsay teased. I hated her so much.

  "I...um…" I hedged.

  I knew it wasn’t big deal to have never kissed a boy but I just felt so young and babyish knowing that all my friends had. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to kiss a boy. The opportunity just hadn't presented itself yet.