The beautiful thing about dancing is you don't have to talk much, you just let your body move to the beat, and fall into the embrace of your partner's arms. Don't get me wrong, I love talking, but something about the way Toby has me wrapped in his arms, something about the way he's moving so slowly, the way it feels like it's just us, no alcoholic dads, no unpaid bills, nothing, just us.
I hate to admit it, but I love these parties, most of the time I forget I'm a teenager, I work most of the time, and when I'm not working I'm at school, so it feels nice to remember that I'm a teenager once in a while. Toby and Tony make me feel like a teenager, you know, they're reckless, yet so caring, they want to make it in life, but they also know that tomorrow isn't promised to anyone. For some reason that makes me feel safe, and secure.
"Dom, I need to talk to you, if you don't mind" Toby says, I snap back into consciousness immediately, the red cups under my feet amd the sticky floors all come back into mind. "yeah, anytime, what do you need?" I lead us outside, to a spot I noticed last time I was here, the garden close to the cement wall. "DeAndre asked you out huh?" he says, he looks concerned for some reason, "yeah, he did" I take a step closer to him, the ferns next to us ruffles a bit, and we both laugh. "just, be careful, Dom, me and Tony, we care about you, a lot, and if that dude ever hurts you, we'll give him a lesson he'll never forget" he runs his fingers through my braids, looking pleased when he hears the beads clank against each other.
For a moment I feel in sync with him, I feel like there's a spark, but that all ends when he says "you're freezing, let's go back inside and find the others" You know that feeling, when your heart just shattered into a million different pieces and you don't know why, that's me right now. Part of me wanted him to kiss me, but who cares man.
"there you are, come here" Tony says when we walk up to them. He's sitting with Tokyo, Delilah, Heather and Adelaide, my girls, they look mad comfy. "is that couch even legal? Has the health department checked that shit out" I point to the red couch they are all sitting on, and they all laugh. "come on man, come sit with us" Ade says, I roll my eyes before making my way to the couch. Toby takes the last seat available, so naturally, i sit on Tony's lap.
He places his hand on my hip and shifts uncomfortably, but then he smiles, which reassures me. "Let's play truth or dare, but if you don't want to do a dare, you take a shot" Tokyo points to the bottle of vodka on the table, in what seems like a good idea, but honestly isn't. "I second that notion" Tony says from underneath me, a few other people join in, and finally, I'm left with no choice. What could go wrong.
"Sure, why the hell not" I say, knowing I've been outvoted anyway. "alright, Tony, truth or dare" Heather shifts closer to us as she says this, "Dare, mama ain't raise no pussy" he says back, I'm sure if I turn to look at him, he'll have that smug grin on his face. "I dare you to kiss Dom" she says back. He pulls me back with his hand and I turn to face him. Our lips are close, but instead of kissing me immediately, he whispers into my ear "are you sure you want to do this?" I nod, basically saying yes.
He goes slow, well at first. His lips touch mine and he pulls me in closer, I let out a silent moan, which seems to fuel him, his tongue slips into my mouth. It tastes like vodka, but a strange mix of vodka and peppermint. He let's out a slight moan too, and without warning, he bites on my lower lip, it feels good. "Woah woah woah, she said kiss, not make babies." Toby says, looking irritated. We pull away, and it's Tony's turn to dare someone, "hey Toby, truth or dare?" Toby turns his head up in surprise, almost like he was zoned out. "Truth" we all giggle a bit before Tony says "who do you like?" Without hesitation, Tony reaches for the bottle of vodka and takes a drink, a rather big swig.
"hey Delilah" Toby says after swallowing, "truth or dare?" she stops for a second before saying "dare, definitely dare" he looks at her for a second, almost like he's studying her face, "I dare you to tell Tony he's an asshat" he finally says. Tony shifts uncomfortably from under me.
"what did you call me?" Tony says, he sounds mad, mad is never a good thing with Tony. "I said you're an asshat you dingus" Toby stands up, struggling to find his balance for a minute, but finally finding it. "I'm not interested in being spoken to like that" Tony says, deciding he's not going to invest in this. Toby picks up the vodka bottle and throws it at the wall, barely missing my head. He walks up to where Tony and I are sitting and pushes Tony's head into the wall, hurting me in the process.
"did you just hurt Dom?" Tony says, lifting my hips with his hands and standing up. He holds Toby by his shirt and pushes him up against a wall, "apologize to Dom" Toby's stubborn, so of course he shakes his head and laughs. "I said apologize to Dom you bastard" Tony punches Toby in the lip, creating a slight rip in his lip.
At this point we're all scared, and a little shocked. "Tony" I say, hoping I'll be able to get his attention, which thank god I do. "Let's just leave, please" I say. He looks back and forth between me and Toby before deciding on me and grabbing his bracelet from the couch. We head outside in silence, what I'll call shock, that he has a bad side.
"I'm sorry, for you having to see that" he says when we reach the car, "it's ok, I'm just glad you didn't get hurt, heaven knows I'm not one to clean knuckles" I joke, it must be funny enough because he laughs a little. "listen, Dom, I meant what I said, no one will ever hurt you and get away with it, I promise you"