Addie, a seventeen year old brunette bombshell with blue eyes and a dusting of freckles on her suntanned skin sat quietly on the hay bales in the corner of the bay, taking in the scene of drunkenness in front of her. Never allowed to stay in the barn past 10 before, Addie had never seen the behavior of the kids who stayed out all night. As the radio played the sixth Luke Bryan song in 30 minutes, the DJ called out the time, 11:45. She took another swig of her vodka and Gatorade mix as she stood up to join the group in the hay dusted lawn chairs. A couple of the guys stopped their conversation to give her the once over as she sat down, pulling her denim skirt as far as it would go down...which wasn't far. She adjusted her blouse, unintentionally maximizing the amount of cleavage on display as she did.
Addie looked around at the guys in the circle. Why was she nervous? These were her friends. She'd been in Trevor's class in school since the third grade, Evan and Eric lived on her road, Courtney babysat her as a child and Erin and Jessica were in her 4-H camp tent site for three or four years. The only remotely unfamiliar face was Amos, the strong and silent type with a goofy smile who had three or four years on anyone else in the group. Addie had had a crush on him since he helped coach her dairy judging team a few years back. She admired his passion for dairying and his commitment to family and the farm-something she always hoped to accomplish herself. Amos was characterized by plaid, button down shirts and a mop of black curls that peeked out from under his worn John Deere cap. He had warm green eyes that lit up when he smiled and a pair of strong hands that gave Addie the strangest of sensations when they so much as brushed her arm. Even he wasn't that unfamiliar to her. All the more reason to relax.
So, she took a drink. And then another. And another after that. The alcohol left a warm feeling in her stomach, one that made her feel both relaxed and happy at the same time. Within an hour she had finished her bottle and most of another than one of the guys had offered her. Feeling a bit tipsy, she finally stood up and then immediately plopped back down in her chair. Walking was not an option, apparently. She blinked a few times as the group laughed at her inexperience.
"Well...I'd better get to bed!" she said clumsily, trying to stand again. This time a warm hand on the small of her back helped to guide her to an upright position. Another on her forearm led her outside the group of chairs and into the barn's aisle.
"Let me help you to your camper," the voice said quietly. Knowing it was more of a statement than a question, she nodded sleepily, revelling in the bursts of warm breath that fell upon her throat as he whispered into her ear.
"Okay," Addie agreed. "G'night everybody!"
Random responses indicated that no one was surprised about Amos' offer. As he walked with her under his arm to her camper at the edge of the fairgrounds, he broke the silence between them.
"So how are you feeling?" he asked her, in obvious reference to the drinks.
"I feel great!" she said excitedly, stopping to look him in the face under the pale moonlight.