Free Our Kind of Love by Shane Morgan

over my head and collect
myself, I notice she’s eyeing the sand shyly. Her face is dimly lit by the moon
but I can see the redness of her cheeks.
    “Um, we should head back and check on Claudia,”
she says, turning to start down the beach.
    “Yeah,” I say, falling in stride beside her.
“Oh, are we still on for that tour Sunday?” I’m looking forward to it, being in
her presence makes me…happy.
    She nods. “Sure, Claudia’s coming with us.”
    No! What the hell!
    “Oh,” I mutter, suppressing my distress.
“That’s…cool.”
    We keep walking in silence until I find myself
asking, “So, how long have you and Nate been together?”
    The look on her face is distant, like me
bringing him up makes her consider something.
    “Um…since April.”
    “Wow, barely before finishing high school, huh?”
If I went to the same school as Reign, I never would’ve waited that long to get
her.
    She parts her lips to say more, but then a raspy
voice shouts her name from the steps at the side of the house. It’s Nate.
That’s just great.
    He stomps toward us, almost tripping over his
own feet. Man, he’s buzzed.
    “Been looking for ya, babe,” he says, pulling
her over to his side. He glances from Reign to me and asks, “What’s going on?”
    I don’t like the brashness in his tone.
    “Hey—”
    “Nothing,” Reign intervenes. “I went for a walk
and Micah was out here, too. We were just heading back.”
    He squints then studies my face carefully.
“Aren’t you that new waiter at Cap…ahem,” he breaks to compose himself, “at Captain’s
Choice ?”
    Glancing around the beach, he flicks back to me,
saying in a laugh, “Dude, why are you even at this party? You don’t know any of
us?”
    That attitude again.
    “I came with Claudia,” I reply flatly. “And I
know Reign…I mean,” I start to retract my statement as his eyebrows shoot up.
“She said it was cool if I came.”
    Nate snorts, “Whatever.” He directs his
attention to Reign. “Let’s go back to the party, babe. You’re sleeping over,
right? Ryan’s cool with it.”
    My throat tightens. It irks me hearing him say
that. I know it’s her boyfriend but every fiber of me is begging her to say no.
She peers over at me for a beat then looks down on the sand, seeming
uncomfortable.
    “I can’t,” she says lowly, shutting him down. “I
have to make sure Claudia gets home okay.”
    Oh shit! I almost break out with a happy dance.
    His face stiffens, and he flashes me a look of
embarrassment.
    All Nate can say is, “Okay. Let’s go find her
and…get you girls home then.”
    Placing his arm over her shoulder, he tows her towards
the house. I follow behind, making sure to keep some distance between me and
them.
    When we get back to the house, most of the kids
from earlier have left, or are scattered about the place. I spot Claudia near
the pool, drinking and dancing by herself to the soundless music in her head,
because the DJ has already packed up his equipment and getting ready to take
off.
    Reign treads over to her and touches her elbow.
“Claudia, give me your keys. I’ll drive.”
    She laughs and throws her arms around Reign,
slurring, “ Surrre , Reigneee .
Whatever…” Burp . “…you say.”
    I move forward to help. Nate beats me to it,
taking Claudia away from Reign to carry her down the steps towards her jeep out
front. Reign picks up her bag and rifles around for the keys.
    I saunter behind her down the stoned path and
sidetrack towards the gate to walk home when she hurries over to the jeep. Nate
settles Claudia on the backseat. Reign hops in around the wheel. The engine
purrs to life.
    Nate closes the backdoor and strolls up to her door.
He leans in the window and kisses Reign on the cheek. “Drive safe, babe, and
text me when you get home. I’ll just hang out here for the night.”
    She nods, then looks
out the windshield. Our eyes meet. Why am I still standing at here?
    I make to leave when Reign calls out to