Free Dancing with Molly by Lena Horowitz Page B

move.
    I stared down at the little toilet paper pouch in my hand. He read my mind and said, Just swallow it. Watching Carson do his little dance moves, the warm spring air on my skin, feeling floaty from the weed, and jazzed up because of all the compliments about how I looked, I realized that I never wanted to be the boring band girl again. I wanted this. I wanted this night, with this boy, and I didn’t care what anybody else thought about me. I wanted to feel “pure bliss”—and I wanted to feel it with him. I thought about Pete’s words for ecstasy and how molly was supposed to be so much better. Tonight was all about me, and Carson, and all the possibilities that prom had brought along with it.
    I popped the little packet of powder into my mouth and washed it down with half the bottle of water. After I did, Carson danced right up next to me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and leaned his face slowly down to mine. His lips were warmand strong and slow. His tongue found mine, and thank god he had his arms around my waist because if he’d made my knees weak before, this time, he took my legs right out from under me.
    I’m not sure how long we kissed, but I didn’t care who saw. I was lost in it when Jess came running up with Kelly. Both of them had a couple of water bottles, and I could instantly tell from their excitement that they were anticipating their own molly hits kicking in at any second. Reid and Ashley were right behind them, and their energy was remarkably different. Jess was telling me how much I was going to LOVE this high, and Ashley pushed in next to me and stared daggers at me. She was hissing again: I can’t BELIEVE you did this. I should tell Mom and Dad the minute I get home.
    I just smiled at her. In that moment, I honestly didn’t care what she did. Reid was looking pretty glum, and for the first time all night he sounded kind of impatient with Ashley. He said, Jeez. Chill out. It’s probably gonna be a really fun time.
    Ashley whirled around and told Reid that if he did any molly he could just take her home right this second. He held up both hands and got a little sheepish. He told her he wasn’t going to, but I could tell he was miserable to miss out on this. Ashley tried to make things better by grabbing his hand and leaning in to kiss him.
    I’m not sure how long we danced after that. I think it was around midnight when we dropped, and I know it was getting light outside when we all got out of the hot tub and started to go home, so it probably lasted about five hours? But . . . wow.
    What.
    A.
    Five.
    Hours.
    Carson and I were dancing and he untied his bow tie so it dangled down on both sides of his collar like he was a sexy movie star or something. Then he reached up and undid a couple buttons on his shirt. I don’t know what came over me, but I reached my hands up and started undoing all of the buttons on his shirt. I wasn’t feeling the effects of the molly yet, but I felt bold. Being there with him, and looking the way I did, just changed me on the inside. I felt like the whole evening had culminated in me being this sexy, wise woman—not a girl but a woman. I felt older than I actually was. Or maybe I just felt independent from all the ways that I’d always considered myself to be just another lame high school girl—boring and predictable.
    Once I unbuttoned Carson’s shirt, his pecs and abs peeked out from the panels of his shirt, which were held in place by his suspenders. I ran my hand across his chest and down his sexystomach to his belt buckle and pulled him toward me. He kissed me again, and I felt him shimmy out of his jacket. He tossed it over the back of a nearby deck chair, and he pulled his suspenders down, so they looped across his hips and hung there while we danced.
    We kissed and danced for a long time, and then the light from the pool started drifting up—like the air was ignited by this