The drive home_(2)

This wasn’t the type of party Steven would usually find himself on a Saturday night, but he was having a good time so far. He spotted his brother across the patio and excused himself from his conversation with the group of old guys who were giving him golf tips. Steven walked across the patio, past the pool, past the group of adults laughing hilariously, past the old banker with a bottle of wine in each hand, filling the glasses of everyone he passed. So this, Steven thought, is how rich people party. Not bad, he thought.

His aunt was turning 50 this weekend and her friends had thrown her a party at one of their houses. Looking around, Steven figured he was the youngest person there. His brother was also there with his girlfriend, who were both 21 and in college together. And his cousin, Laura – his aunt’s daughter – was also there. She was 23 and had just graduated from the college that Steven would be attending come September. The rest of the party guests were all a good twenty or thirty years older than them.

Steven’s and Laura’s moms were close, so they grew up seeing each other several times a year growing up. They got together a little less frequently since Laura started college four years ago, but the whole family still gathered at least a couple times a year. Although Steven was four years younger than Laura, they had always been close. About the time Laura started college, Steven had begun to notice how attractive she was. It seemed every time he saw her since then she had gotten even hotter. Steven always enjoyed his time with her, both because he thought she was hot, and because she was one of the few attractive girls that he also considered to be a good friend.

Laura and Steven’s brother and his girlfriend were all legal and were drinking as hard as the rest of the adults. Though Steven mainly floated around the party with them, chatting and catching up, he was frequently pulled aside by some older folks who wanted to chat and joke with him and give him advice. More than one would slip him a beer, probably thinking they were the only one to do so. Steven was getting a pretty good buzz after a couple hours.

Laura caught up with him close to midnight. Her day of travelling had caught up with her, and she decided she had better call it a night. She was also a bit drunk, so it was decided that Steven would drive her back to his aunt’s house, which is where he and his family were also staying for the weekend. His aunt gave him the keys to her Lexus.

Laura took Steven’s arm in hers as they exited by the side yard and walked to the car. Steven fired up the Lexus and pulled out of the drive.

“Thanks so much, Steven. Sorry I’m making you leave the party early. I just had such a long day, I’m ready to hit the sack” Laura apologized.

“That’s cool. I’ll have my share of parties this fall, I’m sure,” he replied.

Laura lit up. “Steven, you’re going to have so much fun! College is great. I wish I could redo it all… Take it from me – go to all the parties you can, meet all the people you can. It’s amazing.”

Steven smiled, looking forward to the fall. “I know, I will. What are you going to miss most about college?”

Laura laughed. “God… everything! I did so much growing up. Your first semester, you’ll learn so much. I know I did.”

“Yeah,” Steven asked, “Like what?”

“Everything. How to live on your own… laundry and cooking and all that. About parties and drinking and where your limits are.” Laura grinned. “And about sex, of course…” she said more quietly.

Steven glanced at her while driving down the back roads.