The Boy Who Fell Off a Lawn Mower | Watty's '18

13. Peppermint Vodka

Chapter 13

Peppermint Vodka

"Tiffany and Levi are hooking up!"

The words coursed thickly into Aida's ears and directly penetrated her mind, causing a whole swirl of various violent feelings to essentially slap her across the face. After a minute, she realized what it was.

Jealousy.

Everyone in the room had mixed reactions; the alcohol created various effects. Gasps. A few "yeah dude!"s. Some laughter. But mostly people went back to chatting and dancing and doing whatever they were doing before the outburst.

Many of the guys clearly had no idea who Levi was and were not surprised that Tiffany was hooking up with someone new. It was typical party behavior for her. She didn't sleep with everyone, but she had her various escapades. The girls, on the other hand, all shared similar expressions of shock. After the spreading wildfire of rumors of Levi all week, the rich loner boy who is apparently very-not-poor, this new development was huge. Tiffany herself was clearly the one who'd personally spread the rumors the most, so her apparent interest in Levi was now validated.

It took this news for Aida to realize that she really didn't like it, even though she really didn't know him. Her few encounters with him had apparently left her looking for more.

Up until this moment, she'd been entranced by Levi. Mystified by him. But now, she was jealous? Of Tiffany? And it wasn't just feigning jealousy; it was real. Aida hadn't even seen him come in.

The party continued. Cassidy looked upset that nobody had viscously run up the stairs to go look, but was seemingly satisfied with the faces of the onlookers. She trotted back down the stairs.

Connor had been silent, studying Aida's face throughout the news. Aida's lips were stuck in a deep frown, but she very quickly recomposed herself noticing that Connor was looking at her. "Oh, Levi, you were talking to him today, weren't you?" asked Aida, trying to be nonchalant. Her cheeks were a little pinker than normal, but that could be due to the tremendous amount of drinks she'd had. The news of Levi and Tiffany had slightly wiped the slur out of her voice, though.

"Oh yeah, you saw that?" asked Connor, wiping his hand through his brown hair and looking at the ground. "Yeah, I wanted to apologize for the way I'd acted. Then we talked about cars a little on the way out. Nothing much. He's a cool dude. Can't believe he'd sleep with Tiffany, though. Seems like more of a loner-type. Not a uh... Tiffany type." He laughed and put his hand back down. They were sitting on the couch, still, alone from the rest of the party.

"You apologized?" asked Aida, realizing what she'd been thinking earlier about the interaction was correct. She thought for a moment, trying to think if she should re-ask the question that'd been on her mind and the blurriness in her system convinced her to do so. "Are you just being nice to him because we found out he's not a broke outsider?"

Connor thought for a moment, also, some redness glinting from his normally pale, freckled cheeks. Again, he nervously pulled his hand up and ran it through his hair a second time. He sighed before admitting something. "Yes. It's true. That's just how it works around here, Aida. It might be new to you, but that's how our parents like it to be."

"Well, that's bullshit," she muttered, trying to distract herself from the fleeting thoughts of Levi and Tiffany laying in bed together. Cassidy clearly hadn't interrupted them since they hadn't come down the stairs yet. She'd totally peeked and run.

"No, it's just the way it goes. But I suppose you're right, it is kind of lame. He's a cool dude, why should it matter if he has money or if his family does?" Connor smiles right at Aida as he came to this drunken epiphany.