Chapter 49: Lorelei bonds with the friends...

"She needs a little more persuasion in her drink if you know what I mean," Tucker winked as he leaned against the bar in the kitchen.

"I got'choo, bro," Drew winked. He took the red plastic cup from the other young man. "Lemme fix this up. She won't even taste it in there."

"Alright, thanks man," Tucker nodded. He slapped his hand into Drew's, leaving behind a five-dollar bill before walking away.

Drew looked at the green likeness of Abraham Lincoln with a mixture of amused surprise and indignance. "The fuck...?" he mumbled.

"You have a fan," Lorelei grinned.

"Yeah, I guess," Drew said, nodding to her to acknowledge her return. He flicked the fiver onto the back counter of the kitchen. With any luck, the hostess of the party would find it before anyone else did. She would deserve it, and more, for putting up with all these people into her house. Her parents' house, really, but nobody was going to look down on that while she was still throwing parties when they went out of town.

"A bartender shouldn't be so quick to turn down tips."

"Bartender's supposed to be a little older than I am, too," Drew chuckled. He turned to fixing the drink for whichever Britney it was that Tucker had brought to the party, smoothly ensuring that it was fruitier and less alcoholic than the weakest wine cooler.

"You could be good at that," Lorelei offered. They didn't have a lot of "customers" in the kitchen at the moment. She busied herself throwing out empty bottles and cups. "Have you given it any thought?"

"I always figured I'd probably just go into bouncin'," he mused. "Not sure I want to work behind a desk all my life. I'm basically nocturnal, too. And I'd like to go all the way with college, but none of the majors I'd be interested in lead to real jobs, y'know what I'm sayin'?"

"I do," she nodded.

Drew glanced at her with a curious frown. "You know I got this, right? I mean, if you wanna go hang with Alex, I'm okay."

Lorelei smiled. "He's having fun on his own. I'm enjoying myself. I rather like your company. And staying back here with you means I have to make much less of an effort to deter suitors."

After a moment's consideration, Drew nodded. "I got you."

"I am also very, very grateful to you," she said quietly, not wanting passing partiers to hear, "for standing with Alex the way you did. For being his friend. And for being so kind to me, given what you now know."

He wasn't sure what to say to that at first. Finally, Drew just mumbled with a shrug of his thick shoulders, "You ain't gotta be grateful. I did it 'cause he's my boy. They're all my boys. You be good to him, I'll be good to you."

"How did the two of you become friends?"

"That's... heh. Nobody ever really asks me that. I was the new kid in school. Alex just decided we were gonna be friends and that was basically it. I mean, we're interested in totally different things. He's always been into all that star stuff. Star Trek, Stargate, Star Search," Drew explained with amusement as he passed Britney's drink off to a passing Tucker. "But yeah, I was the new kid, and he was just like, 'Hey, I'll show you around at lunch or whatever,' and I thought, 'Cool.' I mean I was literally the token black at that school at first. Like, literally. An' little kids can be shitty even when they don't mean it, but Alex was cool. Then we turned out to be livin' nearby each other and we were always at each other's houses."

"But you were a year ahead of the rest in school?"

Drew nodded. "Yeah, but they did this whole reading group thing in elementary where they mixed kids up. I was in the top group in my grade level, but that nerd was in it, too, and he was a year younger."

"You just decided to be friends," Lorelei said matter-of-factly.

"He did, yeah. Me, too, I guess. I mean I got pretty popular as we got older, and he didn't exactly fit in with my crowd, but I never let anyone shut him out if he wanted to be around. An' it's not like he had no social skills or somethin', just... he was different. Hell, sometimes it was like he was just older than everyone else. More mature. Didn't wanna do the same stupid high school drama shit as the rest of us is all. Made him a drag to be around within a few situations, but I got where he was comin' from. An' just, you know, different interests. Different hobbies."

"I suspect you have at least one hobby in common at this point," Lorelei suggested. There was a sly tone in her voice and a naughty grin on her face.

Drew smiled, made a bit of a shrug and without thinking about it even took a shy step back. "Well, I don't wanna sound disrespectful or anything, but I'm clearly glad the boy's finally getting 'a little booty. Clearly. Just sayin'."

Lorelei nodded, looking a bit chagrinned. "It's been very difficult getting him to let go and have a good time."

"Yeah. He's like that. Always been waitin' for the other shoe to drop. Probably part of why he's never had anyone before you. Alex seems to always be waiting for things to fall apart. Almost like he was used to it. It's kinda nice to see him finally gaining some real confidence after all that's gone down this week."

Hearing the note of appreciation for her in his voice, Lorelei seemed to almost blush for a moment. Then the self-consciousness faded. "You do alright for yourself, I'd imagine?"

"I do. I do at that," Drew agreed. She was staring. He liked it, of course, but he wasn't entirely comfortable with her looking at him like that. For all Drew's social acumen, even he could be put at a loss for words. He didn't really know how to handle this.

The other thing he didn't know was that Lorelei had put them under a mild aspect of her power of her concealment. They were still visible, but no one would really notice them.

"If I flirt with you, it is because I enjoy it and am being friendly," Lorelei said in a husky voice as she slid up against the well-built, well-dressed young man. "You need never worry that I will betray your friend, or your friendship with him. But I am your friend as well," she added before drawing him into a long, deep, lusty kiss that included considerable grinding against his groin. His cock swelled more than it ever had before she backed off on him.

"Forget that kiss," she breathed across his lips. "Forget my touch. Forget these words. Do not burden yourself with desire for me. You will find your own treasures."

************

"We're not supposed to be upstairs," Alex noted calmly.

"I'm not supposed to do a lot of things," Jocelyn said. She closed the bedroom door behind him. The lights were on a dimmer knob, which Jocelyn used to create just enough light for them to see by. It also turned out that Jocelyn knew how to lock the door.

"This is Sherri's room?" Alex blinked.

"Yeah," Jocelyn nodded, stepping closer to him. "Had a quick talk with her while you were in the bathroom just a bit ago." She slid one hand up along his chest, curling her fingers over his shoulder and leaning into him. Her big brown eyes looked up into his. "I'm kinda used to guys being a little more aggressive," she mused.

"I can't imagine a guy ever honestly thinking he was in charge while he's with you," Alex shrugged coolly. He was, in fact, a little thrilled at being so relaxed in this situation. A year ago, he'd have been overjoyed that Jocelyn was even talking to him.

"I like to let a guy have his illusions. But it's good that you know where we stand," Jocelyn grinned meaningfully. "So, as long as we understand each other...I'm not gonna have to make everything happen here, right?"

At that, Alex simply pulled her against him tightly. His kiss was aggressive, but not rough. So were his hands. The kiss broke off only long enough for Alex to unbutton her blouse. Jocelyn hummed a note of appreciation, which soon turned to a gasp of pleasure as his hands slid over her now naked belly and her sides. He kissed her again. His hands slid lower against her skin. The noises from Jocelyn became less appreciative and more pleading.

She was used to having a little more control than this, but his every touch felt incredibly good. Jocelyn wouldn't have stopped him for the world.

************

"So how long have you been with that boyfriend of yours? What's his name? Alex Carlisle?"

"Since Monday," Lorelei shrugged, diligently mixing Carson's rum and Coke.

Her broad-shouldered customer leaned in on the bar, clearly staring in the hopes of making eye contact and then trying to charm her with his smile. "Less than a week? And he's already ditching you at a party? Man. That's not okay."

Lorelei glanced up at Carson as she passed him the drink. Behind him, she saw a pale, brooding young face in stylish black clothing glide past. He seemed to be listening in. She scowled inwardly, but maintained her cool demeanor for Carson.

He took a sip. "So what do you do when you're not tending bar at house parties?" he asked.

"Whatever makes my lover happy," she said coolly.

"Woah. Really, now? So what if he wanted you to --"

"He would not," she interrupted dryly.

"Now, you don't even know what I was gonna say!"

"I do indeed," Lorelei smiled. She looked at Carson levelly as her voice took on a sweet tone. "Your ambitions are plain as day, and your approach as clumsy as a newborn babe. Come back to me in ten years when you have learned some measure of subtlety and charm. I shall laugh at you then as well, but I will at least give you a round of applause for your efforts."

Stunned and speechless, Carson withdrew. Lorelei wasn't even looking at him anymore. She was still eyeing the darkly-dressed shadow floating back toward the living room. As she did, Drew leaned in to say to her quietly, "Daaaamn. You smack everyone down that hard?"

"When I feel like it," Lorelei grinned back. "I am a demon, after all."

The "bar" had become a bit busier over the last few minutes. Guests had continued to show up as the night wore on. Drew and Lorelei happily mixed and doled out more drinks for more people as the faces became a bit more diverse. It was much more than a high school reunion party; paths had diverged after graduation, after all, and most everyone had made new friends. There were multiple schools, workplaces and social circles present. The underaged drinkers were, before long, distinctly in the minority.

That was a bit of a relief for the host. Sherri hadn't stressed about it a lot, but it was at least a minor worry that was reduced through this dilution. The slender hostess was in fact pitching in to help in the kitchen at Lorelei's invitation. She slipped between the older woman and the younger "bartender," pointedly staying closer to Drew and bumping into him a lot.

Lorelei was pleased to see it. Sherri was an adorable, lithe young redhead, dusted with freckles and classically Irish features from head to toe. She also had an obvious liking for the young man behind the kitchen counter. The scent of Lorelei's lusty kiss upon his lips only left Sherri less inhibited about showing it.

"God, you two are a lifesaver," Sherri laughed as she bent around Drew to grab yet another bottle of juice for mixers. "You can stay all night, right?" The question seemed to be to both of them, but Lorelei knew better. She didn't answer.

"I ain't got anywhere to be in the morning," Drew shrugged. "I can stay or leave whenever."

Sherri stood up straight, very much up against him. There was a confident, taunting glint in her eye. "Or just stay," she suggested.

Drew may have been getting a little extra help because of Lorelei's kiss, but he was certainly able to make things happen on his own. "That could happen," he answered.

Just as Sherri stepped back, though, Drew was struck between the eyes by a flying black hair scrunchie. He blinked and looked up across the kitchen counter. "Stop flirting and make me a drink!" demanded the scrunchie's owner happily. "I'm growin' a beard over here!"

"Aw, it's my girl, whassup?" Drew grinned broadly. "I didn't know you were comin'!"

Taylor just smiled back at him, claiming the fist-bump to which she was entitled over the kitchen counter. She wore simple but flattering blue jeans and a snug black t-shirt. "I'm a rebel," she smirked. "An outlaw. I'm makin' my own rules from now on. Oh..." Taylor blinked.

"Hello, Taylor," Lorelei said, finally turning around from the opposite counter. She passed a glass of something yellowish and a bit foamy off to the woman next to Taylor. "It's good to see you."

"Uh, yeah," Taylor blinked. "Hi, Lorelei."

"Oh, you two know each other?" Drew asked.

"Yeah, we met. Wednesday night, at the mall. And the hospital," Taylor said. She hadn't really taken her eyes off Lorelei, nor had Lorelei turned away from her. The young brunette wasn't hostile, but she seemed a bit unsure of how to handle the moment.

Lorelei took the initiative. She stepped around from the kitchen counter, smoothly navigating through the crowd on the other side to come closer. "Taylor, I've been hoping for a chance to talk to you more," she began. "Wednesday night was so crazy for all of us. I know you just got here, but could I steal you away for a bit? Would you mind?"

Pausing only to glance at Drew, who was already distracted again by Sherri, Taylor nodded. "Sure. But is, is Alex around?"

"He's here," Lorelei smiled knowingly, "but he's in a private conversation right now."