Chapter 8

With Hannah’s iPod streaming to wireless speakers, music blared around the room while girls and guys swayed, drank, laughed, and talked. As the minutes ticked away, more and more people piled in. Jenna switched between working the bar and working the floor, ensuring that everyone was having a good time. She chatted with people here and there, swatted away the groping hands of drunk guys, and kept a smile plastered on her face the whole time.

“Great party, Jenna,” RJ shouted to her as she walked by. The electric company worker and his very pregnant wife were dressed in matching toga outfits.

Jenna eyed her nervously before speaking. “Thanks. I’m glad you were able to make it, and thanks again for recommending the guys. They’re doing a great job. Did you get your free round for the table?”

His wife, a short brunette with hazel eyes and rosy red cheeks, jumped at the chance to speak. “Yes, we did! Cranberry juice and seltzer all around. Thank you for that!”

“Good, I’m glad you guys are having a good time. Love the togas!” she laughed awkwardly.

“Yeah, we knew it was tiki, but this is the only thing that would fit me,” RJ laughed, rubbing his belly. The togas weren’t the only thing the couple had in common.

“And he didn’t want me belly-out in a hula skirt. Even though I would look fabulous!” she said excitedly.

Jenna tried to match her enthusiasm. “I have no doubt that you would kill. Hey, I’m going to keep making my rounds. Have a good time guys, and please be safe. Flag me down if you need anything.”

“Will do.” RJ half-saluted her as he picked up his cranberry seltzer to chug it down.

Jenna had barely made it back behind the bar when she felt a light tap on her arm. Turning around, she was surprised to see RJ standing there with an awkward grin across his face.

“Hey, RJ. What’s up?” she asked with a giggle.

“I need a drink!” he panted. “I wanted to come out to party with the fellas, but she hasn’t been out since, ya know, the pregnant thing, and I couldn’t tell her to stay home. But I promised her that I wouldn’t drink because she couldn’t drink. But I need a drink. Can ya give me a shot of something real quick?”

Getting in between a man and his wife—or a man and his drink—wasn’t on Jenna’s list of things to do that night, so she brushed him off. “I, um, actually have to run to the bathroom. You can grab a drink at the bar. Just tell Tracy you’re RJ.”

“Rick,” he corrected her.

“Right, Rick,” she nodded before darting off to the bathroom.

There was a short line, but she didn’t mind; she didn’t actually need to go that badly, and there was a certain peace about standing there not thinking about what else needed to be done for the night. So Jenna stood there with her head down, taking a moment to herself, until the door to one of the bathrooms opened. When she finally got inside, the chatter of the party was drowned out by the sound of the running faucet as she splashed some water on her face. When she turned it off, a different noise wafted in through the closed door.

Leaning against it, she heard a high-pitched tone that she would have recognized anywhere. It was the same high-pitched voice that had yelled at Tanner in the diner. When Brock had asked her about the list of people to let in right away, she’d never thought to mention who she’d like to keep out. But then, as much as she disliked Brandy, she hadn’t any real reason not to let her stay and enjoy the party.

Until, that is, she overheard the conversation she was having just outside the door.

“Can you believe how bad Tanner wants me back?” she boasted.

“Yeah, he’s following you around like a lovesick puppy. But what about the girl you saw him with at the diner?”

“Oh please, she’s just an old friend from school. You know how nostalgic everybody gets over the summer. These adult wannabes come back with crazy ideas about how much adulting they’re going to do and who they’re going to fall in love with. But if anyone falls in love with Tanner Devlin, they’d better be prepared to get their heart broken. He always comes back to me.”

Jenna refused to listen anymore. She pulled the door open and stood there with her hands on her hips. She wanted to scream over the music, but before she could say anything, Brandy smirked to her, “Oh, oops. I didn’t know you were in there, Jennifer.”

“Jenna,” she mumbled, suddenly realizing how Rick felt every time she called him RJ.

“Jenna, Jennifer,” Brandy shrugged. “Same difference, right? But either way, nice party. We’re having a great time.”

“Good to know.” Jenna took one look at Brandy and sighed. Her body rivaled that of a Sports Illustrated model in her coconut bra and tiny white denim shorts. If it weren’t for the lining of the back pockets hanging down below the denim, everybody would be getting an eyeful of what she had to offer. Jenna walked away before she said or did anything she’d regret, but the more Brandy’s words replayed in her mind, the queasier she got.

It was one thing for Jenna to yell at Tanner about getting back together with Brandy, but it was another thing to hear it off her lips. He’d told her earlier that their relationship was done, and the passion between them had almost made Jenna believe him, but perhaps he wasn’t as done with Brandy as he said he was.

When she made it back to the bar, RJ was still standing there waiting to be served.

“Hey, you didn’t get your drink yet?” Jenna asked as she ducked under the hatch, ready to tend to the customers.

“Not yet,” he huffed. “I had to get the missus another cranberry and seltzer.”

“I’ll take care of ya. What’ll ya have?”

“I’ll take a shot of Jim Beam,” he said with a nod.

“Okay, one shot of Jim Beam, coming right up,” Jenna smiled.

“Make it two!” he yelled to her as she whipped around the bar, sliding two shot glasses in front of him. The amber colored liquid stunk, forcing Jenna to close one eye as she poured it.

“Alright, Rick, there ya go. Enjoy!”

“Great, and this one’s for you!” he said, sliding the other glass toward her and placing a few dollar bills on the bar.

“Don’t turn the drink down,” Tracy whispered as she passed by. “Chase it with a beer and spit it into the beer bottle. You’ll mess up tips if you don’t drink the shot.”

Jenna didn’t want to be responsible for the girls getting shorted, so she tried to do as Tracy told her. The only problem was that the beer bottle was full and Jenna was simply bad at drinking. She swallowed involuntarily and felt the alcohol burn as it slid down her throat and into her stomach. Her insides felt like they were completely engulfed in flames as she scrunched her face in disgust, waiting for the aftertaste to subside.

“Now that’s a face only a daddy could love,” Brandy cackled as she walked by. “I should call Tanner and see what time he’s coming to pick me up.”

Jenna rolled her eyes and looked at RJ. “You wanna go again?”

“Sure,” he shrugged his shoulders with a boyish grin. So she poured two more shots. This time she and RJ clinked glasses and downed them with one swallow. The burning sensation was still there, and her stomach churned, but then something else began to happen. Brandy didn’t bother her as much. The temperature of the room increased tenfold. And the music seemed to hit her out of nowhere. Her hips swayed and her smile grew wider. Her worries faded into the beat and joy washed over her.

Two drinks was all it took for Jenna to loosen up and let her hair down. However, as she let go of her inhibitions, she also lost control of the party. Hannah had her hands full settling disagreements. Paul showed up and was forced to break up a fight right away because the bouncers were busy escorting some of the rowdier guys out of the bar before they broke any of the tables or chairs. Most of the girls retreated to the back room as some of the drunker guys got way too handsy.

Jenna tried to get a hold of herself and stop the party from spiraling out of control, but it was too late. Looking around, she wasn’t even sure where to start. Everything seemed to be turning chaotic. She couldn’t believe how fast the mood had changed. Then a table got flipped over and people started screaming and fighting. Jenna was stunned as she watched her successful party fizzle out into a disappointing mess.

It didn’t take long before the authorities showed up. The police and fire department arrived. A girl who’d passed out was carried out by EMTs. The Doveport police surrounded the brawlers as the Fire Marshal shouted through a bullhorn that The Wheel was getting shut down for the night. It was total chaos.

Jenna caught one girl puking under a table and bent over to help hold her hair back, but as she did that she felt someone’s hand palming her backside. She wanted it to be Tanner, but when she turned around she didn’t have any idea who the goofily grinning drunk was.

“Stop touching me! It’s time for you to go home!”

“Only if you’re coming with me!” he laughed.

“Goodness, leave! Can’t you see that I’m trying to help this girl? Get out of here! Brock!” she called out, but Brock had his hands full shuffling a group of drunk coeds out to a waiting cab.

The girl, now sitting on the floor, began heaving again. Jenna returned to her aid, and the guy promptly resumed groping her ass. Just as she was about to knee him in the groin, she heard a familiar voice.

“Listen, buddy, she said to stop touching her.”

Turning around, Jenna saw Tanner shoving the guy away from her. He was in his firefighting gear, surrounded by a few of his colleagues, and the drunk quickly took the hint and skulked off.

Jenna stood up to see that most of the partiers had left. Hannah was behind the bar, divvying up the tip jar and paying off the bouncers. When she glanced back at the puking girl, she was already on her feet and being helped out of the bar by another pair of paramedics.

Eyeing Tanner from head to toe, Jenna narrowed her gaze and yelled at him, “You let her do what she wants!”

“What?” he said, looking around. “Are you okay?”

“You let her do what she wants, say what she wants, and get away with doing whatever she wants. And she wants you, and all I’m going to get is a broken heart!” Jenna stammered before storming off out of the bar.

Tanner looked to Hannah for some explanation, but she just shook her head in confusion. He followed Jenna outside, still unsure of what was going on with her.

Jenna was pacing around in circles as the crowd outside of the bar finally cleared out. Tanner approached her slowly. “You want to tell me what’s going on with you?”

“Brandy!” she shouted, throwing her hands in the air.

“Okay, what about Brandy?” he asked her.

“She said that whoever falls in love with you is going to get her heart broken because you two always get back together! Exactly what I said! You’re probably here to pick her up,” Jenna sniffled.

“Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” he told her. “Why are you listening to Brandy?!? Why was she even here?!? And have you been drinking?”

“A little bit, but that’s irrelevant!”

“But you don’t drink,” he said with a worried look on his face. “I need you to calm down. Let’s not talk until you’re sober. Go back inside and drink some water. We’re going to finish up here, making sure everybody’s out and safe to leave. Let’s go.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” she whined, snatching her arm away from him before he even reached out to her.

Tanner exhaled, exhausted and frustrated. “I don’t want to and I will not do this with you, Jenna. You need to go back inside and sober up! Let’s go!”

“No!” she yelled. Jenna turned her back to Tanner, pouting and refusing to cooperate. She never expected what happened next, and feeling Tanner lift her off the ground, over his shoulder, and haul her back into the bar left her feelings in turmoil. She wasn’t sure whether she was pissed or turned on.

“What the hell is going on here?!?” Paul shouted as Tanner stormed into the bar and sat Jenna down on a stool.

“She’s gotta sober up,” he told them.

“But she doesn’t drink!” Hannah and Paul replied simultaneously.

Tanner rolled his eyes and picked up his gear. “I’m heading back to the station. Just make sure she drinks some water and doesn’t get too dehydrated.”

“This is all your fault!” Paul yelled at Tanner.

“My fault!” He raised an eyebrow, then waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not going to do this with you, either, Mr. Ferris. I’ve had enough arguments with your family for the night, and I’m not about to decipher why you believe any of this is my fault! You all have a good night!”

“Oh no you don’t! You don’t get to do this to her again!” Paul shouted. “You’re holding her back! That’s one of the reasons she’s all riled up right now!”

“Yeah! I’m riled up!” Jenna giggled.

“You hush!” Paul redirected his anger to her. “Hannah, can you get her home for me, please?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Ferris,” Hannah said solemnly. As she was helping Jenna out the door, she turned back to him. “And just so you know, even with the cabs we paid for and the party getting shut down, we cleared over three thousand tonight.”

“Everybody got paid?” Paul asked.

“Yeah,” Hannah said with a half-smile. “I’ll get her home.”

“I’m sorry you think I’m one of the reasons she’s staying, Mr. Ferris,” Tanner jumped in. “But I don’t think she’s going to be hanging around for as long as you think she is. Brandy’s making sure of that. I’m sorry for whatever trouble I’ve caused. Have a good night, sir.”

Jenna heard their exchange, but she couldn’t find the words to help out. She was hammered, and it had only taken two shots of bourbon to get her there. With every passing minute, the liquor drowned more of her rational thoughts. She wanted to set her father straight. She wanted to tell Tanner she didn’t care about Brandy, or their relationship. She wanted to count up all of the money she’d brought in with her tiki party, but it all fell to the wayside as Hannah lugged her home. Loopy and anxious for bed, Jenna fell asleep hoping that her desires would be satisfied in her dreams.