17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Thanks for picking me up, Nance," Jessica said as she plopped onto the passenger side seat. "Steve still doesn't know I'm coming."

"He's gonna be super happy you're there."

"Yup."

She didn't want to go into details with Nancy about Steve. Even though Nancy hadn't been with him that long she had still been with him, so it would be weird talking about him with her.

"So, are you staying for the game?"

"Mm-mm. Mike's been going through some stuff. He's been going into the basement every night trying to contact El."

"I knew that."

"He's been getting in trouble, too, though."

Jessica had not known that part. Dustin hadn't said anything and Mike hadn't either. He obviously didn't want her help with this.

"So . . . how are you and Jonathan doing?"

"Uh . . . we're not . . . I mean, we talk a little, but that's it. He's honestly been more worried about Will and his mom, which is understandable. He talks about them and asks about Mike and all, but we don't really talk about anything else."

"Those are important things to talk about, though."

"Yeah, they are. I feel like I don't want to get into anything right now."

"Valid lifestyle choice," Jessica said.

Nancy smiled and then turned the question around. "What about you and Steve?"

"Uh-uh," Jessica said and laughed. "You're his ex. It would be weird."

"Not unless you make it weird. I mean, I was with him for maybe three weeks. We parted on good terms. I knew he was in love with you. I knew he thought he never had a chance with you and was trying to move on with me."

Jessica didn't know what to do with that. She'd been so worried that she was going to lose Steve to Nancy when he'd been with her, and now she was learning that he'd been in love with her the whole time.

"Well, we're good. I'm . . . he's great. He's good to me. That's all that matters, really, but we have fun together too. Dustin is beginning to like him and trust him."

Nancy nodded. "Good. Um . . . I overheard Dustin telling the others that Steve spends . . . a lot of time at your house."

Jessica grinned. "You mean he spends the night a lot."

Nancy shrugged but stayed silent.

"It's okay, Nancy. It's not such a big deal. I mean, not in the way you're thinking. Mom knows he's there. It's not like he sneaks in. He stays over and we leave the door open. Nothing happens."

"Oh." Nancy let out a quiet laugh. "For a minute there I thought maybe your mom was just letting you guys . . ."

"No!" Jessica laughed with her. "My mom lets me have a lot of freedom, but she draws the line at that. Like, he's allowed to sleep over whenever he wants – we're even freeing up the guest room for him so he can always have a place to put his stuff – but I am not allowed to sleep over at his place."

Her mom had never specified that she couldn't, but the whole point of Steve staying over was because he almost always had the house to himself. She never even thought to try to ask if she could stay at his place. Her mother would know they would be alone, most likely, and if they had to keep the door open when he stayed over, that implied she was not okay with them moving to the next level of their relationship.

"So you guys haven't –"

"No." For some reason, Jessica felt she had to explain why. "Steve told me he made a lot of mistakes with you, and he doesn't want to make them with me. He's been very good about it. He's my first boyfriend and my first kiss that actually meant something. He's being careful."

And she loved him for it. As much as she loved being kissed and touched by Steve Harrington, no matter how hot and bothered she got by those things, she knew she was not ready to be with him. She couldn't even imagine undressing in front of him yet, let alone being completely bare and vulnerable like that. She didn't think she would know what to do with a bare and vulnerable Steve, either.

Well, she would know what to do, she just wouldn't be ready to do it yet.

"We haven't even discussed it really. He's just . . . happy with how we are right now."

Nancy smiled. "I'm glad. You guys are good together."

The school parking lot was packed when they got there. It was a good thing Nancy was just dropping her off because they may not have been able to find a parking space.

"Thanks again, Nancy. See you tomorrow."

Nancy had committed to coming to their movie night, so Jessica was holding her to it. Jonathan would be there as well. Neither Nancy nor Jonathan were planning on staying the night, but they were going to be there pretty late.

Jessica had to squeeze through the claustrophobia-causing crowd once she reached the gym doors – mostly because some people wouldn't move from the opening. Everyone was so tightly packed together and it was so loud that Jessica's tension levels automatically went up. This was exactly why she didn't go to the sporting events in school. There was too much going on at once and it drove her crazy.

Steve knew that, which was why he never bugged her about missing games. Also, she was usually working, so that was also a factor.

In the spring, when baseball started, Jessica was more likely to turn up at a game. It was outside and not as crowded or as loud. Some of the games were on the weekends, too, so it was easier to get to them schedule-wise.

As she entered the gym, she headed to the entrance to the boys' locker room. She didn't go in, obviously, but she knew Steve was usually the first one out, so she decided to just wait for him there.

She would have just found a seat on the bleachers, but if Steve saw her in the middle of the game, his jaw would probably drop and he'd mess up whatever play he was in the middle of, and she didn't want that.

Even over the noise of the crowd Jessica heard the coach tell the boys in the locker room to hurry it up. The coach came out first, stopped short when he saw Jessica. Even he knew she didn't come to the games.

The coach was also the gym teacher. He knew how Jessica felt about anything even remotely sports-related.

"You're not here to distract my boy, are you?" he asked, though he wasn't being offensive in the slightest. He was actually teasing her.

"No. Just . . . being supportive."

"They're all decent," he said. "You can wait in the hall, catch him before he comes out here. Keep it quick, though."

Jessica smiled. "Thanks, Coach."

The hallway leading into the locker room was long enough that the team could line up single file before going into the gym. They were just now lining up. Steve was in front, but he was not the first one to see her.

A few whistles and cat calls aimed her way was what made Steve look. He actually did a double take, like he hadn't believed it was her the first time. She grinned even as she blushed from the attention she was receiving. She hadn't wanted to cause a scene, but she'd known she would, seeing as she was in the hallway of the boys' locker room.

"Hey," she said, stopping in front of Steve. "I, uh . . . Jonathan is covering my shift so I can be here."

Steve's smile was lighting up his whole face. It was beautiful.

"You hate basketball," he said.

"Yeah, but you don't. I'm being a supportive girlfriend."

Steve's teammates were staring at them as if they'd never seen a couple who were happy together.

"Uh . . . Coach said to make it quick, so . . ."

"Right." Steve gestured for the rest of the players to go on ahead. "You heard her. Make it quick."

The guys went by them, most smirking or outright grinning, and then there was Tommy, who was obviously still bitter about being benched. He was decidedly not grinning or smirking. He actually looked resentful.

"Keep moving, Tommy," Chris said from behind him.

Jessica sent him a thankful smile. He'd always been good to her.

Steve's lips were on hers as soon as they were alone. Her back hit the wall as he backed her into it, and then she felt his hands on her waist. He squeezed his fingers against her in a way that made her gasp. He took advantage by slipping his tongue past her lips to slide against her own.

She placed her hands over his chest and shoved half-heartedly against him.

"Steve . . . I promised I wouldn't distract you."

He kissed her cheek, her jaw, her neck.

"I'm not distracted. I . . . am totally . . . focused." He kissed her again between words.

"Not on the game."

Steve stopped kissing her but continued holding onto her.

"Okay, okay. I'm just glad you're here. I know you don't like the crowd and the noise. I thought I was supposed to pick you up after, but this is so much better."

He squeezed against her waist again.

"You look great."

"Thanks."

She'd chosen the same tight, black, long-sleeved shirt she'd worn on their date. He'd eyed her appreciatively when he'd seen her in it, so she knew he liked it on her. She was wearing black leggings also, because it was freezing, but a neon pink twirly skirt was over them and it reached to about midthigh. The skirt had frills and layers; it was probably the most girly piece of clothing she owned.

Since they were going to be dancing later, she'd chosen to wear flats rather than boots or heels. Plus, the gym floor was not a good place for walking in shoes that didn't have traction.

Her jacket of choice had been her leather one – her favorite thing in her closet.

She gave Steve one last lingering kiss before gesturing for him to go. She didn't want to get him in trouble.

Steve was almost deliriously happy that Jessica had come to the game. He knew how tense the loud noise and the crowd made her, how it could make her shoulders draw up against her ears until she was able to leave. It was one of the reasons she didn't go to a lot of parties, and yet she was doing both that night. He knew it was for him – especially the basketball game – so he'd have to find a way to make it up to her later.

Steve did not play better or harder just because Jessica was there – this wasn't a movie. He did, however, have something to look at between plays. Jessica didn't seem miserable to be there, at least. She was smiling and applauding with everyone else. Steve knew, though, that she was probably hating being in the middle of the crowd.

Steve wasn't an aggressive player by nature. He just tried to find the best way to get the ball into the net. That usually didn't involve knocking people over. He wasn't the only one on the team who thought that way, but he was one of the few. He let the others be aggressive; he just got the ball where it was supposed to be.

Steve's main advantage was that he was fast. His reflexes were sharp, definitely on point, and he had a strategic mindset. He knew how to make a plan and then execute it. It was something he was very good at.

His team ended up winning by only a few points, but it was still a win. The team went crazy and so did the crowd. It had been a good game.

As soon as Steve could get out of the huddle his teammates had made, he went to Jessica, who had made it down to the floor. He swept her into his arms even though she fussed about him being all sweaty. She still giggled when he tugged her close.

"I brought my clothes so I could shower and change here. Do you mind waiting?"

"No, go ahead."

Steve left her with the group of girls she'd been sitting with during the game. Not everyone stayed to shower, so it didn't take long for him to get done. He wouldn't have taken long, anyway, because he didn't know how long Jessica's group was planning on staying and he didn't trust Tommy not to start anything if he found her alone.

As much as Steve hated to leave his hair undone, he never did his hair in the locker room. He'd never live it down if he did.

Jessica's group stayed with her until Steve came back. They'd talked about the game the whole time and she hadn't really followed, but she was glad they hadn't just left her.

Steve came out of the locker room wearing a red sweater, blue jeans, and Nikes. His hair was parted the way it normally was, but it hung down rather than being coiffed. He still looked amazing.

This time she was the one who hugged him when he reached her. He was sweat-free and fresh from the shower, his hair still a little wet.

"Congratulations," she said. "On the win."

"Eh," he shrugged. "Wasn't just me."

"Yeah, but I only came for you."

She tugged at his arm, which had his personalized Hawkins High sweatshirt slung over it. Once they reached the exit and went outside the cold hit Jessica enough to make her shiver, so she leaned even more into Steve than she had been.

"Steve . . ." she whined playfully. "It's so cold."

"It is." He slipped his arm beneath her jacket and around her waist to share his warmth with her, which she appreciated. "You want my sweatshirt?"

"I'll be fine when we get to the car. Plus, it'll clash with my skirt."

As predicted, she was fine. Steve turned the heat on, and she was warm within a minute. She hated Steve's car, though, because it was so hard to get close to him in the front seat. Sure, she could kiss him, but she couldn't get right up next to him like she wanted to.

"So, are we just gonna crash at Tina's, or . . ."

She didn't know if Steve planned on drinking, but if he did, he definitely was not driving them home, and she kind of wanted to drink at least a little, enough to where she felt loose and giggly.

"If you want to. There will be plenty of room."

That was true. Not only did Tina have a huge house, but most of the people there would choose not to stay even if they were falling over drunk.

"Are you gonna do the keg stand tonight?"

Steve shrugged. Jessica didn't mind if he did want to. Steve could handle his alcohol, and he was never a mean drunk. He was actually goofy and lovable – even more so than usual. She didn't understand how he could just chug and chug like he did, but he could.

"If you're drinking, I think I should watch out for you."

"I'm only drinking enough to take the edge off. I'm not getting drunk. Tipsy me can handle drunk you. So we'll crash there. Mom already knows I probably won't be back tonight."

It was close to ten when Steve and Jessica pulled up to Tina's house. It was a large ranch-style house with a wrap-around porch. The driveway was a dirt road, trees on either side. A field was behind the house. Jessica would always go out and look at the stars if it was warm and Tina was throwing a party. It was sort of a place for Jessica to escape to when the noise and crowd got to be too much inside.

Some people were parked in the back because there wasn't enough room in the front and, despite the cold, some of the people were hanging out on the porch rather than going inside. Steve and Jessica went straight inside, where the rest of the team greeted them. Most of them were already on their way to being drunk. A few people were crowding the bottom of the stairs and some were even on them.

The girls Jessica had been sitting with at the game flocked toward them. There were only four of them, but they tried to drag Jessica back into the mass of people and to the punch bowl. She went willingly enough and Steve followed her.

The punch was a dark red, and once Jessica got a cup of it, she sipped it first before taking a larger swallow. She had been testing just how much alcohol was in the punch. It must have been to her satisfaction because she didn't make a face at the taste, and Steve had seen her make a few before when someone had made the punch way too strong.

Suddenly music began playing. It had been at a bearable level so people could talk over it; now they would have to yell to be heard. Jessica would get tired of that very quickly, at least until she'd had a few drinks.

They were soon ushered outside, though, where most of the jocks were now around one of the kegs that had somehow found its way to Tina's backyard. Once people began noticing they'd come outside, everyone began chanting Steve's name. They knew he was about to do a keg stand, because that was what he did at parties.

A few of Steve's teammates helped hold his legs up when he went into a handstand. Steve controlled the hose. He'd learned his lesson about that after only one mishap when he let someone else control the flow of alcohol being squirted into his mouth.

He lasted thirty-five seconds before kicking his leg gently to let the ones holding him up know he was done. He could hold his alcohol, which was something he prided himself in, and he didn't even feel dizzy or nauseated when he was back on his feet.

The people around him were shouting their praises. Jessica, however, was playfully rolling her eyes. She was also smiling at him. The grin he gave back was wide and open. He was feeling a buzz already, but it had nothing to do with the beer he'd consumed. This had everything to do with the fact that he was at a party with Jessica. This was their first party as a couple, and they were going to have fun.

He wrapped his arms around Jessica when he reached her, but he refrained from kissing her because he knew she despised the taste of beer.

"You get that out of your system?" she teased.

"I'm good for the night."

He'd never done more than one keg stand in a night. He was known for being able to handle his alcohol, not for getting blackout drunk. Besides, Jess still had more than half of her drink left. He didn't want to outpace her by too much.

Jessica grabbed his hand, then, and began dragging him back toward the door.

"Come on, I wanna dance."

Steve knew she wouldn't really let loose and move with the beat until she'd had a few cups of punch, but she loved music, so he followed her anyway. Besides, dancing was mostly just bouncing around in place, especially at a party as crowded as this one.

One hour and two cups of punch later, Jessica was finally feeling the amount of tipsy she had planned on feeling in the first place. She felt warm and her body was loose. She smiled and laughed easier this way than when she was sober, which was why she didn't drink a lot; she could easily become addicted to the feeling that came with drinking, and she didn't want that.

The thing was that Jessica had never had a boyfriend while being tipsy, and it made her clingier than she normally was. She wanted to be closer to Steve and she wasn't embarrassed to just fall into his lap when they were seated, she wasn't self-conscious about standing closer to him when they danced. Luckily, Steve liked her being closer.

She was working on her third cup, just sipping now. She and Steve were just sitting on the couch, his arm around her. She was playing with his fingers. Steve hadn't had anything else to drink since the keg, but he didn't seem to mind. He was just enjoying the party and her company. It was nice, and now that she had a buzz going, she was enjoying everything too.

The music wasn't as loud now and everything seemed more mellow. There was more than alcohol floating around – cigarettes and weed, nothing heavier – but she hadn't touched either. Steve hadn't either, but Jessica thought that was only because she was there.

People started leaving around one, even the ones that shouldn't have been driving at all. It was also around one that Jessica began to fall asleep against Steve's shoulder. Naturally, Steve got up and began leading her to one of the guest rooms upstairs. They'd both been in Tina's house many times, so they knew where everything was.

It wasn't until Jessica almost tripped going up the stairs that she realized she'd maybe had one too many drinks. Her alcohol tolerance was apparently low. She was able to laugh at herself and didn't get mad when Steve laughed with her.

"Lightweight," he teased before just picking her up and carrying her the rest of the way.

"Hm." She was silent until they got to the room they were going to use. "I have to pee."

Steve made sure she was steady on her feet when he put her right way up and then she went a little down the hallway to the bathroom.

Steve waited in the hallway for Jessica to come back. He wasn't worried, exactly, but she had tripped coming up the stairs, so he wanted to make sure she was okay. It turned out that he had nothing to worry about. She was fine. She was missing her skirt, but she was fine.

They went into the room together and Steve pulled the sheets down to the bottom of the full-sized bed. He noticed that Jessica was now trying to push her leggings down to take them off, which would have been fine if she'd ever done that in front of him before, but she never had. She'd always changed in the bathroom, and she'd always had shorts to sleep in. She didn't have any for that night.

"Whoa, maybe you should leave those on."

She looked up at him, brow furrowed. "Why?"

"Uh . . . because we're not at your house."

"But we're going to bed . . ." Her voice had a whining lilt to it, kind of like the one she had when she complained about it being cold.

"True. But . . . I think it would be best if you kept them on. For my sanity."

It took her a few seconds, but eventually a look of realization came across her face, which was already a little flushed from the alcohol, and the pink tint to her cheeks darkened.

"Oh. Okay."

"Yeah."

Now that they'd agreed she should definitely keep her pants on, they settled in the bed. She placed her head on his chest like she normally would. Steve trailed his fingers up and down her back until she went to sleep. All in all, Steve thought that the party had been a success. They both had had fun, and nothing bad had happened.

Steve thought that it was exactly what they'd needed.