Page 29 of Talk Swoony to Me
Well, that was easy.
“Rematch!” Seth shouts at me.
I laugh as I take a step back from the table. “Nah, man. I’m out.”
“You give up?” he asks. “I win!”
“You win, I win, too!” I say.
We raise our cups again. “Delta Xi!”
The battle cry echoes throughout the room again.
I glance around, suddenly noticing that someone is missing. “Where’s Heidi?” I ask.
Seth squints, thinking hard. “Air!” he finally says. “She went outside to get some air.”
I pat him on the back as I step around the table. “You should switch to water,” I say.
“Dude…” He admires me. “Always looking out for me. I love you, man.”
I laugh. “I love you, too, buddy.”
As I weave through the thinning crowd, I check my phone for the time. It’s nearly 11 PM already. Man, tonight has gone by fast, but it’s still young. Still full of possibility.
I step outside onto the porch. A few couples linger on the banister, chatting quietly against the smooth music Jack switched on to change the mood. I guess it is about that time that some make their parties a little more private.
One girl sits by herself on the porch stairs.
I pause above her. “Hey, Ms. Fujimoto.”
Heidi glances up at me and chuckles softly. “Hey,” she says.
“Mind if I join you?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.”
She shifts a bit to the right, giving me room to sit down on the step beside her. I take a deep breath of the autumn air, attempting to cool off a bit of my buzz.
“Nice night,” I say.
Heidi bobs her head. “It’s on the surreal side for me, but…” I chuckle. “Yeah. It’s been nice.” She looks at me, then quickly turns her head again. “So, where’s Jenna?” she asks.
“Oh, she’s with Jack.”
“Jack?”
“Yeah, I think they’ll be very happy together.”
Again, a look of surprise. “I thought you two were hitting it off there.”
“Nah,” I say. “She’s not really my type.”
Heidi nods politely then turns away again, this time to stifle an adorable yawn.
“Tired?” I ask.
“It’s…” she composes herself, “a little past my bedtime.” She looks over her shoulder into the house. “If Jenna found herself a new boy toy, then I might be waiting here a while.”