Part 3 in the story of Mel and Di. Best read after 1 and 2 :)
*All characters are intended to be over 18 years of age
Mel was over the moon at the idea of crashing the house party of Brett, the quarterback, and his cool sister, Barb. As soon as Di left, Mel texted her best friend, Rocky.
Mel had known Rocky for most of their lives since he lived near Mel and Di and they all went to school together. In grade school, the 3 of them used to huddle up on the bus and always played together at recess. Once Diana had pulled away from Mel, Rocky and Mel became closer.
Rocky was shorter than Mel by only a few inches, but broad chested with thick arms and big hands. He had dark brown, shaggy hair and a loud, boisterous voice that could be heard clearly even at a deafening rock concert.
Rocky's girlfriend, Tess, was Mel's only female friend. Mel didn't consider them close as she rarely hung out with Tess when Rocky wasn't around, but Mel really liked Tess and thought she was good for Rocky.
Tess was about the same height as Rocky and sturdily built, having played sports all her life. She kept her sandy blonde hair long to just below her broad, muscular shoulders.
"I heard that Brett and Barb are having a house party Friday night. Want to crash it with me?
Rocky replied immediately. "Fuck yeah!"
"Invite Tess and Caleb." Caleb was Rocky's other best friend.
A few minutes later, Rocky replied, "Already fucking did."
The rest of the week went by quickly. Di and Mel avoided each other at school but like clockwork, Di would text Mel when she got home from cheer practice or whatever social event she had been attending.
On Thursday, Di called Mel just after Mel had shut her bedroom light off.
"What's up, Di?" Mel said, yawning into the phone as she pulled the blankets up to her chin. She had spent the night at the skate park with her friends and was sore and tired.
"Hey, Mel. I saw you at the skate park today."
"You did? I didn't see you. Why were you at the skate park?"
"I wasn't. I was driving by with Sheri and we saw you. You looked good out there."
Mel grinned into the phone. "Thanks. I've been working on some new tricks."
"Sheri made some fucked up comment and I told her to shut the fuck up. She can be such a bitch."
Mel sighed into the phone. "Same as you, Di. Or have you forgotten what a cunt you've been to me?"
There was a long pause. Mel was too tired to break the silence.
"Yeah, I know," Diana said softly. "I'm really fucking sorry, Mel. I don't know why I'm like that."
"Yeah, I don't either. Like, seriously, what the fuck happened between us? It's like you got tits and then became the world's biggest asshole."
Diana huffed. "I don't know, ok? I don't really want to get into it now."
"Fine. I'm fucking tired anyway."
Diana paused again. Mel could hear the rustling of Diana's bed sheets as Diana slipped into them. Mel wondered what her friend was wearing.
"Are you coming to the party tomorrow?" Diana asked timidly.
Mel, Rocky and Tess had planned to and were all looking forward to it, but Mel was unsure why Diana wanted her there.
"I don't know, Di. Seems like a bad idea to me. Why would you want me there anyway? So you can make fun of me in front of your friends and make yourself feel better about yourself? Or whatever the fuck you're doing it for."
"Jesus, Mel. That's not gonna happen, ok?"
Mel was leary. "Give me one good reason why you want me there."
Mel could hear Di's breath on the phone, soft and deep.
"I don't have all night, Di. I'm about ready to fall asleep if you don't speak."
"I just want you close to me," Diana whispered into the phone.
Mel held her breath for a moment. "If you say one nasty thing to me, Rocky will throw a fucking fit and make a very embarrassing scene for the both of us. Got it?"
"Trust me. I will not be pissing off Rocky. I know how he can be."
In sophomore year, Rocky had gotten into a fight with one of the football players. Rocky took a good beating but wore his black eye with pride. For 2 straight months after, Rocky tormented the kid; putting cat shit in his locker, taking photos of him on the toilet and posting them all over the school, filling his car with packing peanuts, and many other annoying things. Everyone knew it was Rocky but it could never be proven. Rocky was stealthy like that.
"I will be there," Mel said.
Diana let out a little squeal. "Awesome. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Yup. Good night, Di."
"Good night, Melly."
***
Friday night, Rocky picked Mel up around 9pm then picked up Tess and Caleb. Caleb was tall, 6' 1", and skinny as a rail. He looked a lot older than 18 and he used his fake ID to get some beer for the group. He also had a crush on Mel, which Mel had been trying to ignore for the past year.
They arrived at the party around 9:45 and the guys cracked open beers and started pounding them in the car. Mel and Tess sipped theirs. Mel was too nervous to drink.
After the guys downed three beers each, Mel slyly dumped out the rest of hers and they all headed in.
As Diana had requested after their first sexual encounter, Mel had worn a skirt. She didn't own many skirts and had gone to the mall with Tess the next night to buy a new one.
After trying on several skirts and dresses with Tess, Mel had decided on an off-the-shoulder tight, short black and gray horizontal striped dress with long sleeves. Tess said it made her ass look good and her legs a million miles long, all things that Mel was hoping Di would notice. She had elected not to wear a bra since her shoulders were bare and the cowl at the shoulder was thick enough to hide her nipples. Instead of her usual combat boots, she wore her black Dr. Maarten mary-janes.
As expected, when Rocky pushed open the door and spread his arms wide, the whole crowd turned to look at them.
Before Rocky could bellow out into the crowd, Tess covered his mouth and sternly shook her head. She pointed to the kitchen with her free hand, then grabbed Rocky's arm and dragged him away.
Caleb wrapped his arm around Mel's neck and leaned down into her ear. "Looks like Tess doesn't want him to cause a scene. Shucks. I was really looking forward to him getting his ass kicked again."
Mel smiled up at him, then shook him off and followed Rocky and Tess into the kitchen. She scanned the crowd for Di but didn't see her.
Mel was happy to see that Barb was in the kitchen, and she was already embracing Rocky and Tess. The best thing about Barb, other than being wildly attractive, was that she didn't believe in cliques. She liked everyone and everyone liked her.
"Hey, Mel! Hey, Caleb! Let me get you guys some drinks." Barb smiled at them then walked over to a cluster of coolers in the back of the kitchen. She popped open two of them and started shifting ice around. The tips of her long, red dyed hair dipped into the coolers. Mel caught herself and Caleb staring at Barb's ass as it shifted side to side. She looked great in her tight, high waisted jeans and blue crop tank.
"Beer or seltzer? Or this weird margarita thing that Sheri brought." Barb stood up with an array of drinks in her heavily ringed hands. She wiggled them at Mel and her friends as she flashed her toothy, friendly smile.
Caleb and Rocky grabbed the beers and Tess took one of the canned margaritas.
"I'll take the seltzer," Mel said timidly as she reached out for the cool can.
Barb winked at her then turned to shut the coolers. Mel leaned against the kitchen counter as she took small sips of the fizzy drink. Her stomach was in knots as her classmates strolled through the kitchen and quizzically looked Mel and her friends over, wondering why the class weirdos were mingling with the cool kids.
Barb sidled up to Mel, popping open a beer. "Don't worry, Mel. Stick with me and they wouldn't dare say anything to you."
Mel turned and smiled at Barb. "Thanks. I appreciate that."
"So what made you guys decide to come here anyway? You never seemed like the bunch that enjoyed these social events."
Just then, Di and Sheri walked in. Di made brief eye contact with Mel and Barb, then whispered something to Sheri. Sheri avoided Mel and Barb as she made a bee-line for the cooler. She scooped up 2 margaritas and returned to Di's side then they turned and walked out.
Mel looked down at her feet, shifting her feet side to side. "Um, well, no. But we thought it could be fun to, ya know, turn a few heads I guess."
Barb nodded slowly, like she understood something that hadn't been said out loud, as she stared at the doorway. "And maybe shut a couple of mouths, too."
Barb took another sip of beer then turned to face Mel. "Diana's been pretty tame this past week, don't you think?"
Mel almost spit out her seltzer. "Um, yeah, maybe. I hadn't really noticed."
"Well, she has. I wonder what happened to make her less of a bitch to you."
Mel shrugged. "Maybe she's just finally growing up."
Barb's lips curled into a smirk as she dragged her eyes up and down Mel. "Is that a new dress? It looks good on you. You've got a great body, Mel. I'm glad you decided to show it off."
Mel blushed, tucking her long hair behind her ear. A compliment from pretty, cool Barb was thrilling.
"Uh, thanks. Yeah, it's new. Tess and I both got some new stuff last week."
At the mention of her name, Tess came sliding over. She had been standing next to Caleb and Rocky, who were now engaged in a very heated debate with two football players over which video game franchise was superior.
"Oh god, save me from this." Tess hooked her arm around Mel's and smiled over at Barb as she sipped her margarita. "What are you two talking about?"
Tess was also not one to side with any one clique, like Barb. She and Rocky had only been dating since the beginning of senior year, and having Tess in their group made Mel feel like less of an outcast.
"Mel was just telling me that you got new dresses this week." Barb tugged playfully at the short hem of Mel's dress. Mel's skin tingled where Barb's knuckle grazed her thigh.
"Oh yeah! We did!" Tess did a little spin, showing off her baby pink dress with a lace up back that hugged her athletic body. Tess was one of the school's softball stars and was on the dance team, meaning she was thick with muscle.
"Doesn't she look hot in this? I would kill for her legs," Tess said as she finished her margarita and made an impressive shot across the kitchen, landing it in the overflowing recycle bin. Barb nodded as she finished the last sips of her beer.
Tess flexed her arm muscles then took an exaggerated bow before heading over to the cooler for another drink.