Strange Days Ch. 33-41

I hadn't forgotten that happening. Sarah and I had just signed the lease for the apartment. Sarah, Violet, Paula and myself had taken advantage of the shower, instead of using the tiny one in the RV. Trevor had come upstairs, not realizing our current state of undress and walked into full view of all us naked as the day we were born. He'd truly gotten an eyeful of hotness.

He glanced at me, but I only shrugged, interested to see how he would respond to her challenge. He narrowed his eyes at Sarah, then turned to face her and dropped his towel on the bed. To her credit, Sarah didn't balk. She just looked him up and down, thoroughly.

"Nice," she gave a nod of approval and walked away, calling over her shoulder. "Now tell her about the party."

"Party?" I asked him.

Trevor watched Sarah walk away, then shook his head and turned to me, picking up a pair of shorts and slipping them on. "Your friend Phillip called me yesterday. Said ya'll were throwing Tabitha's birthday part tonight."

I balked. "We are?"

Shit! How did I not know about this? I hadn't planned anything! I started to panic a little, then remembered that Phillip was in charge. Tabitha hadn't been overly excited about turning eighteen, just as I hadn't been. She didn't care about having a party, but Phillip wouldn't hear of it. He pretty much insisted we celebrate.

Trevor nodded. "He should be coming over about noon to start getting ready."

Violet came over to join us, leaning against the dresser beside me. "I'm gonna grab a shower and pick up Paula. We're in charge of the food."

Trevor picked up his shirt, and Violet watched him put it on.

"What?" he asked, realizing she was staring at him.

Violet smiled. "You know, if I wasn't so into girls..." she trailed off, then she gave me a level look before heading off for the shower. "Oh, and fair warning, Paula is bringing Johnny tonight."

I appreciated the warning, but I had high hopes for Johnny, to be honest. At his big brother's frat party, Johnny had actually been on good behavior around Paula. He was polite, respectful, even attentive to her. He didn't parade her around, nor did he brazenly grope her, like his asshole brother Todd had.

"Violet," I called after her.

"Hmm?" she poked her head back around the corner, only she was naked, from what I could tell. She was holding a towel against the front of her.

Trevor quickly averted his eyes, blushing furiously, and muttered, "Dammit."

I grinned briefly, then asked Violet, "Did Paula say anything about Todd yesterday?"

She nodded. "Said he's been really sweet. He took her to a play, Phantom of the Opera, and they had a nice dinner afterwards."

I raised an eyebrow at that. Violet looked at Trevor. His back was to her, and his shoulders were stiff.

"Something wrong, Trevor?" she teased.

"Nope," he replied quickly, still not looking at her.

With a chuckle, Violet left for the shower.

"Jeezus," Trevor sighed when she was gone, then said to me, "I don't know if I can handle the three of you."

I patted his arm, speaking from experience. "I don't know that you could handle just two of us, baby."

When we were dressed, we rejoined Sarah in the kitchen, though Trevor pointedly kept his eyes away from the shower. I didn't. I made certain I got a good long look at Violet's ample glistening curves. In the kitchen, Sarah was mixing cake batter.

"Do you need us to do anything?" I asked her.

"Actually, yeah," she set down a whisk and tore a sheet of paper from the notepad by the phone and handed it to me. "Could you pick up the helium from Party Depot? We have a lot of balloons to fill."

"Sure."

She smiled. "Thanks, sweetie." She leaned forward, put her hand on the back of my neck, and drew me in for a kiss. "Drive safe," she whispered against my mouth, then kissed me longer, deeper, until my toes curled.

When she drew away, my legs were almost wobbling. She turned back to her work and I glanced at Trevor to see how he was reacting to Sarah's brazen kiss. He was grinning. Previously, he'd gotten possessive, but he didn't seem bothered at all now.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

I nodded, then remembered Trevor drove down here. "Oh! Can we take your car?"

He laughed. "Sure."

I loved the throaty rumble of Trevor's car. It was a beautiful 1978 King Cobra. Trevor and his dad restored it themselves. I smoothed my hands over the soft leather seats, smiling at the masculine feel of the car. The thought drew my gaze to Trevor. I watched his arm flex as she shifted gears, muscles cording beneath his tan skin. His hair glowed golden in the morning sun, and his blue eyes glittered. Gawd, he was handsome. The corner of his mouth turned up as I stared.

"What?" he asked, keeping an eye on traffic.

"Nothing," I shook my head.

I smiled and set my hand on his forearm, feeling his muscles work, so hard, and so unlike my girlfriends. The scent of leather and his manly musk surrounded me. I wasn't sure what brand of deodorant he used, but it smelled like leather too, with a hint of something spicy, maybe cinnamon. My gaze was drawn down to his legs, watching the muscles there flex as he worked the pedals. So many memories of his tightly muscled body hit me at once, his strong legs between mine, flexing as he moved his hips, working his hard length inside me, his arms tight around me, and in sharp contrast to the rest of him, his so soft lips on mine.

I glanced over my shoulder at the back seat.

"You're thinking about sex, aren't you?" he asked.

I flicked my gaze to him, caught red-handed. He was wearing a knowing grin.

"Guilty," I chuckled.

He smiled. After a while, he said, "So, you and Sarah. You two really are together, aren't you?"

I nodded. "We haven't officially declared anything, but yeah, I guess we are."

"You guess?" he raised an eyebrow.

I shrugged. "Well, she isn't seeing anyone else. That's kind of exclusive, isn't it?"

"You're seeing someone else though."

I was. Him. Was he concerned? "Does it bother you?"

"Actually, no," he said, though the lift of his eyebrows told me he was surprised at by the revelation. "I mean, the last time I was here, when she kissed you in front of me, yeah, it did." He was quiet for a moment, then he shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know. I'm not sure what changed. I showed up at your apartment a couple hours before you woke up. I sat with Sarah for most of it, just talking." He smiled then. "It was nice. She's cool."

I'd had no idea they'd been alone that long this morning. "What did you talk about?"

He gave me a grin. "You, mostly." He shrugged a shoulder again. "Well, actually, we talked about us, how both of us are with you. That it's complicated, but it doesn't have to be."

I had to agree with him, it certainly was complicated. Granted, it wasn't the over-the-top One Tree Hill or kind of complicated, but still. "It doesn't have to be?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. Sarah and I agreed that things would be a lot easier if we got to know each other better. So, we did." He took a breath and let it out, smiling, happy. "We talked about how we felt about you, how important you are to us, how it hurts to be away from you."

I wasn't sure what to say. I was just suddenly overwhelmed, hearing him say how much he cared about me, how much I meant to him, and to Sarah. I felt my eyes welling up.

Trevor pulled the car into the parking lot of Party Depot, parked the car, then looked at me and grinned. "And we talked about how fantastic you are in bed."

I laughed and slapped his arm playfully.

Trevor's smile widened, then he leaned over to me, so sincere. He took my chin in his fingers. "You don't have to say it back. You really don't. But I love you, Amy Carter."

I smiled warmly, thankful that he didn't expect me to say it back. I still wasn't sure how I felt about him. I mean, I knew that whatever I felt for Trevor was getting stronger, and I'd missed him terribly since I last saw him, but Sarah and I'd had so much more time to further our relationship, to let it develop. Maybe I would never love Trevor like I loved Sarah. Or maybe my relationship with Sarah was just that far ahead of my relationship with Trevor. What I did know, with absolute certainty, was that I loved the way he made me feel. Oh, and the sex was fucking fantastic.

I leaned towards him, closing the distance, and I kissed him. It was soft, sweet, full of feeling, how we felt for each other.

"Let's go get that helium," he whispered against my mouth, then leaned away and grinned. "I can't wait to hear you sound like a munchkin."

Chapter 35

Everything was ready to go. Balloons filled the apartment, some tied to furniture, but most of them were floating at the ceiling, practically covering the entirety of it. It was like a colorful cloud bank rolled into the apartment. The cake, a three tiered affair, was set up on the dining room table. Streamers were everywhere, and a huge "Happy Birthday Tabby" banner was hung from the ceiling in the corner of the apartment, over the stage.

I was hunkered down behind the kitchen counter with Sarah on one side and Phillip on the other. Violet was behind us, with Paula and Johnny. The apartment was almost pitch black, except for the soft glow of streetlights coming through the windows. There were so many people here. It amazed me how quickly some of us made new friends since college started. Everyone had made at least two new friends, if not three or four, and through them, even more. Almost a quarter of the people here, about forty in all, could be claimed by Tabitha alone.

Me, I couldn't claim any of the new faces, except for Phillip and Mona, the latter of which was around here somewhere. I think Phillip put her in charge of setting off one of the confetti launchers.

Yes, I said "launchers". His dad sent him the designs, and Phillip had some engineering buddies build them. There were four of them. Part of me felt sorry for Tabitha. The poor girl was going to be blasted with about eight pounds of confetti when she walked in.

Oh, and in case I didn't make this clear by pointing out that I was hiding in my own kitchen, this was a surprise party.

Almost right on time, we heard the elevator working its way up from the ground floor. The heavy doors slid open.

"Damn, it's dark," Trevor said nonchalantly.

The lights flicked on, and everyone jumped up and shouted at once, "Surprise!"

There was about half a second to see Tabitha's shocked expression, then...

Boom!

Clouds of colorful confetti exploded from either side of the elevator, raining down on both Trevor and Tabitha, who squealed with surprised laughter.

"Oh my gawd!" she called out, turning to hug her brother. "You ass!"

Trevor laughed and let her go, so that the crowd could get in hugs too. When Phillip approached Tabitha, she narrowed her gaze at him.

"You did this, didn't you?" she pointed at him.

"Happy birthday, Tabby," he smiled and gave her a hug. I was close enough to hear him say, "Now I'm definitely going to try to get into your pants."

Tabitha chuckled.

"Hey!" Trevor growled playfully and slugged Phillip in the shoulder. "Big brother right here!"

Phillip laughed, rubbing his shoulder.

"Thank you, Phillip," Tabitha smiled and kissed his cheek.

Trevor came to stand beside me as Tabitha was pulled into the crowd. He slipped his arm around my waist, just as Sarah did too. I glanced at them, saw them grinning at each other, and they adjusted their arms so they could both hold me. I smiled to myself, comfortable to be with both of them. We waited by the elevator until the tight crowd began to spread throughout the apartment.

"Want some punch, baby?" Sarah asked me.

I nodded. "Sure."

Sarah asked Trevor too, but before she left to get us punch, she kissed me, and not like a friend would. Her tongue slipped into my mouth for a moment, a little moan of both surprise and bliss escaping me. She flashed me a grin as she walked away. Seemed Sarah had gotten over any hang-ups she had about being with me. When I looked around, I saw a few people staring at me, or at Sarah, a mix of surprise and amusement.

Trevor leaned close to ask quietly, "She isn't worried about what the others will think?"

"I guess not," I chuckled.

As Sarah was coming back, I spotted Violet near her bed. She was showing Johnny one of her newest pieces, still on the easel. It was a lovely painting of a nude woman, from neck to hips, using a bright palette of only a few colors. Nobody knew but us, but Sarah had been Violet's study for that painting, which was one of the reasons why I wanted to buy the piece from her. Johnny seemed genuinely interested in her art too.

Trevor and I thanked Sarah for the punch. She looked at both of us and opened her mouth to say something, but Phillip and Mona came over.

"Hey, chickie," Mona grinned at me. "I hear you got the job."

"I did. Thank you for your help," I told her, and then Phillip. "Both of you. I'm not kidding when I say it got me in the door."

"Happy to, sister," Mona smiled.

Phillip leaned in. "Hey, can we get a copy?"

I laughed. "Sure."

"What you are guys talking about?" Trevor asked, looking at all of us.

I turned to him. "I got accepted for an interview at Dangerous Angels, but the guy who got me the interview suggested I spice up my portfolio." I gestured at Mona and Phillip. "They let me shoot them for it."

"Spice?" Trevor grinned and raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did that entail?"

Phillip waved his hand casually. "Oh, you know, standard couples shots."

Mona laughed. "Except for the bein' naked and havin' sex part."

Both of Trevor's eyebrows went up at that.

"Actually, it was very tasteful," Phillip told him, blushing.

"And beautiful," Sarah added.

"My first day was yesterday," I told Trevor, then I frowned. "Well, technically, it was my first night."

He smiled at me and gave me a squeeze. "I knew you'd get a job out here."

I laughed. "Believe me, I didn't."

Trevor wanted to know all about my first day, so I told him about Darren, how helpful he was, and about Rose, my first official exposure to a professional model, and a quite eccentric model at that. When I told him about the concealing pad she used, and how she tried to get me to put it on her, his eyebrows went up in amusement, and Sarah leaned in.

"You didn't tell me about that."

"Oh, yeah," I turned to look at her. "By the way, my model tried to seduce me."

"Hmph," she snorted and rolled her shoulders. "Girl better watch herself or I'll kick her ass."

Sarah left to get us more punch. Her tone had been playful, but there was seriousness to it at the same time. It made me smile affectionately, seeing her being so possessive.

"She might just do it, you know," Trevor said quietly.

I smiled at him. "I don't think there's any might at all."

Phillip took the opportunity to catch up with Trevor, while Mona asked me all about working in a modeling studio. She seemed really interested, even asked if they had any jobs open for models. I told her I'd ask around, but it made me think of Jean Pierre's interest in Sarah, how determined he looked when I told him she didn't model, like he knew he could get her to, if he wanted.

Sarah came back with punch, and with Paula. She looked so pretty in her simple summer dress and sandals. I gave Paula a hug and asked how she and Johnny were doing.

"Oh, Amy," she gushed, putting a hand on her chest. "He is soooo sweet."

She launched into the details of their date, the wonderful play, followed by a romantic dinner at a local five-star restaurant, with everything rounded off by talking late into the night. Johnny didn't leave the Alpha Sigma Zeta sorority house until almost two o'clock in the morning. While she was telling me this, she caught Johnny's eye from across the room, still with Violet, and the smile he gave her was warm, genuine.

Johnny Redding was turning out to be quite a mystery for me. He was never the asswipe that his older brother had been, but still, he was a jock, through and through. I never ran in the same social circles as he did, so I couldn't really claim to know him at all, but he was just as saturated with testosterone as every other guy on the football team back in high school. But here he was, dressed in khaki pants and a dark green polo shirt, dressed up enough to look like he fit with Paula, and he'd pulled it off. More interesting though, was that he actually looked comfortable. He'd always been a jeans and tee shirt kind of guy. Now he looked like he belonged on a debate team, but he made it look good.

I took a sip of my punch. An unexpected flavor made my eyes go wide, and I almost choked. Sarah had just taken a sip of her punch too. She was just as surprised as I was, but she liked the addition. Someone had spiked the punch.

"Keys," I croaked.

Trevor frowned, looked at his cup, and took a sip. He nodded at both of us. Mona and Phillip also noticed the altered punch.

"Keys," Sarah agreed.

All of us shouted at once. "Keys!"

It took some doing, but we managed to find designated drivers for everyone and handed them keys. My mom never minded that I would occasionally drink with my friends, but she insisted I did it at home, and absolutely insisted that nobody drive, under any circumstances. I enforced the rule now. Bad enough that most of us weren't even of legal age to drink, but safety came first.

Besides, once the keys were gathered up and those drinking knew they wouldn't be driving, they really cut loose. The party kicked into high gear. Since we didn't have any neighbors yet, the music blared, base pounding through the floor. I actually got excited when someone spilled a drink too. Why? Because we had a washer and dryer now! Yay!

Much later, feeling pretty punch-happy, and full of Sarah's amazing cake, I heard the buzz of the intercom. Sarah was already closer, so I let her get it. She keyed it on, then went to fetch Johnny. She said something to him. He shook his head, said something back, and took the elevator downstairs. Sarah came over to join me and Trevor on the couch, snuggling up to me on my other side.

"Everything okay?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Johnny's brother is downstairs."

"He doesn't want to come up, does he?" Trevor frowned, and I felt him tense up beside me.

Sarah shook her head and brushed her hair over her shoulder. "No. I told Johnny he could invite his brother up, but he was totally against it. Said he'd find out what he wanted and come back."

Odd. As far as I knew, Johnny had always been pretty tight with his brother, looked up to him as a kind of hero. Had he found out about Todd groping Paula? Sarah interrupted my train of thought.

"You look like you need another punch, Trevor."

"I do?" he asked.

Sarah nodded and got up. "Yeah, you're not anywhere near drunk enough."

He laughed. "Drunk enough for what?"

She shrugged and replied cheerily. "Dunno."

When she went to get more punch, Trevor leaned close to me. "She's planning something."

I chuckled in agreement and looked at him. "She's loosening you up for something alright."

"Like what?"

I snorted. "Knowing Sarah? Beats the hell out of me."

Sarah came back with punch for herself and Trevor, but none for me.

"I guess I'm drunk enough?" I teased her.

"Nah. You don't need to be drunk for what I have in mind."

Trevor and I shared a look. What was she up to? Neither of us got much time to ponder on that. Phillip brought over a group of his friends to introduce them to us. He sure did attract a diverse bunch of people. His friends ran the gamut from brilliantly nerdy to muscle-bound lugs, one of the latter of which I recognized as one of the guys that Phillip got to help set up the stage. His name was Scott.