Seeing Stars
01: Crash My Party
“Swing on by, I’ll pour you a drink… Baby you can crash my party anytime…”
“Knox, you better get your ass over here and take a shot with me!”
Cassidy Knox looked up and grimaced. She had never been much of a drinker, partly because today was the first day she was actually legal to. But she couldn’t say no to a shot, even if it were just for Kennedy’s sake.
Kennedy had been Cassidy’s best friend since middle school. They both vowed that they’d somehow make it out of Nashville, Tennessee, and hopefully head west to Los Angeles. And they did go west, although as fate would have it, they only made it to Dallas. They had decided to go to college here, and hoped that within the next year, after graduation, they could finish off their journey and end up in California.
Cassidy stood next to Kennedy at the bar, taking a deep breath in as her party-going friend flirted with the bartender in the hopes of getting free shots. In Kennedy’s defense, she did look good. Her tight black dress and plunging neckline left nothing to the imagination, and the bartender was getting a kick out of the young girl in front of him.
It resulted in two rounds of free Fireball shots. Cassidy cringed after each of them, looking around for the other friend they had come with, Emma. After a moment, Cassidy spotted her on the other side of the bar in the middle of a circle of men. It was typical for her, and Cassidy turned back to Kennedy.
“Kennedy, how about we get out of here soon. Save Emma from the embarrassment she’ll feel tomorrow.” She pleaded with her oldest friend. In reality, the only thing Cassidy had planned on doing for her birthday was cuddling up with a blanket and watching Netflix all night.
“’Knoxious, among being a virgin in many respects, you are a life virgin.”
Cassidy looked back at the bartender as he had now become intrigued with their conversation. At the word “virgin”, his eyes began wandering over Cassidy’s chest and she crossed her arms, looking back at Kennedy.
“I’ve tried to deflower you over and over again, but you’re still shy little Knoxious, hiding in the corner like the wallflower you are.” She picked up the martini glass that the bartender had put in front of her. “You just need to find yourself a boy… Not a relationship worthy boy, just a fling boy; do the dirty and start living! What do they say? Get busy living or die?”
“Get busy living or get busy dying…” Cassidy chimed in. As she did so, the bar become exponentially louder and she turned towards the bar’s entrance.
A group of young guys had just walked in and were already becoming rowdy. As four of them made their way towards the bar, Cassidy turned back towards her friend.
“If I wanted a boy to do the dirty with, I’d get a serious and steady boyfriend.”
“And that’s why you’re still a virgin.” Kennedy took another sip of her martini.
“You say it like it’s a bad thing. Dear Lord help me for not opening up for every boy that looks at me. Trust me, all the sex you’re having is practically enough for both of us. It’s almost not healthy. Don’t worry, I’ll call Dr. Ruth for you.” Cassidy smiled and reluctantly picked up the beer the bartender had placed in between her hands.
“Hey ladies,”
Cassidy spun around, looking at one of the four boys that had approached the bar. He seemed confident and borderline cocky, while two others talked quietly to each other, and the fourth stood back. His hands were shoved in his pockets as he glanced around the bar, and a backwards baseball cap kept his hair away from his face.
Kennedy smiled at the confident one’s introduction and nudged Cassidy in the arm, winking. “Hey yourself,”
The boy smiled and leaned against the bar, his bicep flexing as his eyes wandered over both of their bodies quickly, “you both sure look pretty tonight.”
“It’s her birthday! We’re celebrating.” Kennedy smirked, as she conjured up a sneaky plan in her head.
“No shit! Happy birthday!” He leaned over and touched Cassidy’s arm quickly.
“Knoxious just turned twenty one!” Kennedy yelled over the music that had become much louder.
“Who?”
“It’s just an embarrassing nickname she gave me,” Cassidy murmured into the boy’s ear.
She didn’t do it because she was into him, trying to get closer, she just didn’t want to yell over the music. But Kennedy took advantage of the situation and pushed Cassidy until she fell into the boy’s chest, and he wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Okay, that’s cool. My buddy here has a nickname,” he said pointing to the quiet boy. His eyes now glanced at his friend. “We call him Chubbs.”
Cassidy frowned slightly as the quiet one began to turn red, obviously embarrassed and mildly frustrated with his friend for exposing that situation.
“But what’s your real name?”
“Her name’s Cassidy, and I’m Kennedy!”
The boy smiled and clutched onto Cassidy’s waist tighter. “It’s good to meet you both. I’m Tyler,” he pointed over to the two guys who still spoke quietly to each other, “those two guys in the bromance are Rich and Jordie,” Tyler nodded his head towards the quiet one, whose attention was now on the girls. “And ‘O Captain, My Captain’ is Jamie.”
Cassidy smiled as Jamie pulled his hands from his pockets and reached forward to grab the bottle of beer the bartender was holding out.
“Are y’all from around here?” Cassidy asked quickly, her southern accent more prominent now than it had been before. Jamie chuckled at her accent as he brought his beer up to his lips.
“No, we just work out here. Are you guys from Texas?” Tyler leaned into Cassidy’s ear, making sure she could hear him over the music.
Cassidy shook her head and looked up at him, “no we’re from Nashville. We just go to school here.”
“Right, twenty-one. Still a student.”
Cassidy began to blush as Tyler’s fingers ran up and down the sides of her dress. She tried to brush it off coolly, “how old are you?”
Tyler smiled and glanced at Jamie, who simply responded with another chuckle. “Well I’m twenty-two…”
“And you’re not in school?” Cassidy interrupted.
Tyler just shook his head and continued, “Rich is thirty-two. Jordie is twenty-seven. Chubbs is…”
“It’s Jamie… and I’m twenty-four,” Jamie interjected, cutting off Tyler.
Cassidy’s eyes flicked between them, trying to figure them out. Before she could ask any more questions, Tyler tugged on her hips, leading her towards the center of the bar where people had gathered to dance. As she was getting tugged away, she looked back at Kennedy who simply nodded and winked as she moved in closer to Jamie. Out in the center of the bar, Cassidy looked up at Tyler as he held his beer in one hand and one of her hands in the other.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” Tyler murmured into her ear as he spun Cassidy around so her back was pressed tightly to his chest. “Not that I care; I’m still gonna grind on you anyway.” He lowered his hand from hers, placing it on her hip, tugging her back against his waist as he began to move to the beat of the music.
Cassidy took another deep breath in, praying that this wouldn’t turn out of be awkward like things normally did. She had a tendency to become socially inept when she was around boys. “If I had one, don’t you think he’d be here in your place?” She moved in sync with him, very aware that her ass was rubbing against his crotch. And as she took a second to think about it, she closed her eyes and felt her cheeks become hotter. This was definitely something Kennedy would do.
When she opened her eyes back up she saw a slight smirk move over Tyler’s lips before he leaned in and kissed her neck, grazing his teeth over her skin softly. Cassidy made a mental note to remember that she probably wasn’t the first girl he’d done this to. Most likely, he’d gotten many girls this way.
“I’m going back to Jamie and Jordie’s house, you should come with us,” Tyler leaned into Cassidy, his breath hot on her ear as he spoke. It wasn’t loud in the bar anymore, but he still insisted on whispering to her.
She looked up at him, “I don’t know. I really should get back to Kennedy…” she looked over at her best friend, who was now helping Emma towards the bar.
“No, go on. Emma’s gonna blow chunks. Go enjoy your birthday; I’ll call to check up on you later.” Kennedy smiled and walked past the boys, exiting the bar and then getting into a taxi waiting out front.
A second later, Cassidy was being led out to a dark gray SUV, three of the guys in front of her as she and Tyler walked behind them. Somewhere between the bar and the parking lot, Rich took off in his own car and Cassidy sat down in the backseat with Tyler as Jordie and Jamie climbed into the front.
As they began to drive, Tyler and Cassidy picked back up where they left off on the dance floor. With them making out in the backseat, Jamie and Jordie were forced to make small talk amongst themselves. And although Cassidy knew she should be focused on Tyler, she couldn’t help but let her mind drift to the senseless conversation between the two in the front seat.
“Knox, you better get your ass over here and take a shot with me!”
Cassidy Knox looked up and grimaced. She had never been much of a drinker, partly because today was the first day she was actually legal to. But she couldn’t say no to a shot, even if it were just for Kennedy’s sake.
Kennedy had been Cassidy’s best friend since middle school. They both vowed that they’d somehow make it out of Nashville, Tennessee, and hopefully head west to Los Angeles. And they did go west, although as fate would have it, they only made it to Dallas. They had decided to go to college here, and hoped that within the next year, after graduation, they could finish off their journey and end up in California.
Cassidy stood next to Kennedy at the bar, taking a deep breath in as her party-going friend flirted with the bartender in the hopes of getting free shots. In Kennedy’s defense, she did look good. Her tight black dress and plunging neckline left nothing to the imagination, and the bartender was getting a kick out of the young girl in front of him.
It resulted in two rounds of free Fireball shots. Cassidy cringed after each of them, looking around for the other friend they had come with, Emma. After a moment, Cassidy spotted her on the other side of the bar in the middle of a circle of men. It was typical for her, and Cassidy turned back to Kennedy.
“Kennedy, how about we get out of here soon. Save Emma from the embarrassment she’ll feel tomorrow.” She pleaded with her oldest friend. In reality, the only thing Cassidy had planned on doing for her birthday was cuddling up with a blanket and watching Netflix all night.
“’Knoxious, among being a virgin in many respects, you are a life virgin.”
Cassidy looked back at the bartender as he had now become intrigued with their conversation. At the word “virgin”, his eyes began wandering over Cassidy’s chest and she crossed her arms, looking back at Kennedy.
“I’ve tried to deflower you over and over again, but you’re still shy little Knoxious, hiding in the corner like the wallflower you are.” She picked up the martini glass that the bartender had put in front of her. “You just need to find yourself a boy… Not a relationship worthy boy, just a fling boy; do the dirty and start living! What do they say? Get busy living or die?”
“Get busy living or get busy dying…” Cassidy chimed in. As she did so, the bar become exponentially louder and she turned towards the bar’s entrance.
A group of young guys had just walked in and were already becoming rowdy. As four of them made their way towards the bar, Cassidy turned back towards her friend.
“If I wanted a boy to do the dirty with, I’d get a serious and steady boyfriend.”
“And that’s why you’re still a virgin.” Kennedy took another sip of her martini.
“You say it like it’s a bad thing. Dear Lord help me for not opening up for every boy that looks at me. Trust me, all the sex you’re having is practically enough for both of us. It’s almost not healthy. Don’t worry, I’ll call Dr. Ruth for you.” Cassidy smiled and reluctantly picked up the beer the bartender had placed in between her hands.
“Hey ladies,”
Cassidy spun around, looking at one of the four boys that had approached the bar. He seemed confident and borderline cocky, while two others talked quietly to each other, and the fourth stood back. His hands were shoved in his pockets as he glanced around the bar, and a backwards baseball cap kept his hair away from his face.
Kennedy smiled at the confident one’s introduction and nudged Cassidy in the arm, winking. “Hey yourself,”
The boy smiled and leaned against the bar, his bicep flexing as his eyes wandered over both of their bodies quickly, “you both sure look pretty tonight.”
“It’s her birthday! We’re celebrating.” Kennedy smirked, as she conjured up a sneaky plan in her head.
“No shit! Happy birthday!” He leaned over and touched Cassidy’s arm quickly.
“Knoxious just turned twenty one!” Kennedy yelled over the music that had become much louder.
“Who?”
“It’s just an embarrassing nickname she gave me,” Cassidy murmured into the boy’s ear.
She didn’t do it because she was into him, trying to get closer, she just didn’t want to yell over the music. But Kennedy took advantage of the situation and pushed Cassidy until she fell into the boy’s chest, and he wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Okay, that’s cool. My buddy here has a nickname,” he said pointing to the quiet boy. His eyes now glanced at his friend. “We call him Chubbs.”
Cassidy frowned slightly as the quiet one began to turn red, obviously embarrassed and mildly frustrated with his friend for exposing that situation.
“But what’s your real name?”
“Her name’s Cassidy, and I’m Kennedy!”
The boy smiled and clutched onto Cassidy’s waist tighter. “It’s good to meet you both. I’m Tyler,” he pointed over to the two guys who still spoke quietly to each other, “those two guys in the bromance are Rich and Jordie,” Tyler nodded his head towards the quiet one, whose attention was now on the girls. “And ‘O Captain, My Captain’ is Jamie.”
Cassidy smiled as Jamie pulled his hands from his pockets and reached forward to grab the bottle of beer the bartender was holding out.
“Are y’all from around here?” Cassidy asked quickly, her southern accent more prominent now than it had been before. Jamie chuckled at her accent as he brought his beer up to his lips.
“No, we just work out here. Are you guys from Texas?” Tyler leaned into Cassidy’s ear, making sure she could hear him over the music.
Cassidy shook her head and looked up at him, “no we’re from Nashville. We just go to school here.”
“Right, twenty-one. Still a student.”
Cassidy began to blush as Tyler’s fingers ran up and down the sides of her dress. She tried to brush it off coolly, “how old are you?”
Tyler smiled and glanced at Jamie, who simply responded with another chuckle. “Well I’m twenty-two…”
“And you’re not in school?” Cassidy interrupted.
Tyler just shook his head and continued, “Rich is thirty-two. Jordie is twenty-seven. Chubbs is…”
“It’s Jamie… and I’m twenty-four,” Jamie interjected, cutting off Tyler.
Cassidy’s eyes flicked between them, trying to figure them out. Before she could ask any more questions, Tyler tugged on her hips, leading her towards the center of the bar where people had gathered to dance. As she was getting tugged away, she looked back at Kennedy who simply nodded and winked as she moved in closer to Jamie. Out in the center of the bar, Cassidy looked up at Tyler as he held his beer in one hand and one of her hands in the other.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” Tyler murmured into her ear as he spun Cassidy around so her back was pressed tightly to his chest. “Not that I care; I’m still gonna grind on you anyway.” He lowered his hand from hers, placing it on her hip, tugging her back against his waist as he began to move to the beat of the music.
Cassidy took another deep breath in, praying that this wouldn’t turn out of be awkward like things normally did. She had a tendency to become socially inept when she was around boys. “If I had one, don’t you think he’d be here in your place?” She moved in sync with him, very aware that her ass was rubbing against his crotch. And as she took a second to think about it, she closed her eyes and felt her cheeks become hotter. This was definitely something Kennedy would do.
When she opened her eyes back up she saw a slight smirk move over Tyler’s lips before he leaned in and kissed her neck, grazing his teeth over her skin softly. Cassidy made a mental note to remember that she probably wasn’t the first girl he’d done this to. Most likely, he’d gotten many girls this way.
“I’m going back to Jamie and Jordie’s house, you should come with us,” Tyler leaned into Cassidy, his breath hot on her ear as he spoke. It wasn’t loud in the bar anymore, but he still insisted on whispering to her.
She looked up at him, “I don’t know. I really should get back to Kennedy…” she looked over at her best friend, who was now helping Emma towards the bar.
“No, go on. Emma’s gonna blow chunks. Go enjoy your birthday; I’ll call to check up on you later.” Kennedy smiled and walked past the boys, exiting the bar and then getting into a taxi waiting out front.
A second later, Cassidy was being led out to a dark gray SUV, three of the guys in front of her as she and Tyler walked behind them. Somewhere between the bar and the parking lot, Rich took off in his own car and Cassidy sat down in the backseat with Tyler as Jordie and Jamie climbed into the front.
As they began to drive, Tyler and Cassidy picked back up where they left off on the dance floor. With them making out in the backseat, Jamie and Jordie were forced to make small talk amongst themselves. And although Cassidy knew she should be focused on Tyler, she couldn’t help but let her mind drift to the senseless conversation between the two in the front seat.
Notes
Hope y'all like it! Thought this site needed more Jamie Benn.
please update!!!!
5/2/16