A little after Miles left me dazed and confused last night, Nikki and Aunt Linda stopped by to pick me up.

I used to spend every Halloween with Nikki. When we were younger, she knew which houses had the best candy. Now that our trick-or-treating days were over, Nikki's new specialty was finding the best parties.

She really showed off her mighty party-finding powers when she found a Halloween party on the weekend. Which was our only option since Halloween fell on a weekday and our parents wouldn't allow us to go out.

"I'm just gonna say it," Nikki announced as we stood in front of her full length mirror. "We look cheetah-licious."

I knew it was coming, but it was still funny. She was absolutely right, though.

We were dressed in the infamous track suits the cheetah girls wore in the final scenes of the first movie. Nikki was in pink, like Galleria. I wore lavender, like Chanel. Danesha and Kyla, two of Nikki's friends from school, were supposed to be arriving soon dressed as Aqua and Dorinda, respectfully.

"Anyways, back to Green Eyes," Nikki said, wiggling her eyebrows at me. "What's up with him?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I told her, plopping down on her bed.

She applied some lip gloss to her lips, smacking them together before saying, "I don't even know him."

"Exactly," I exclaimed. "Neither do I. And every time I think I'm getting to know him, he switches it up. He makes me dizzy."

"Sounds nauseating," she joked, looking over at me. "Since we're on the subject of boys, I'm kind of seeing this guy and I'm meeting him at the party tonight."

My brow raised at her. "You're mom lifted the boyfriend ban?"

She didn't answer me. She didn't need to. The answer was written all over her guilty looking face.

"When she finds out I'll be the one outside looking for an appropriate switch to whoop you with," I laughed.

"Shut up," she ordered, picking up a pillow from the bed and whacking me with it. "Her ban is stupid. She just said it because of Jackie."

Jackie was her older sister. She had her first baby when she Nikki's age. Now, at twenty-four, she has four kids and three baby daddy's. If I was Aunt Linda I'd issue a boy ban as well.

The doorbell rang and Nikki dropped the pillow, jogging down the hall to answer it. I followed behind, figuring it had to be the other two girls.

My guess was correct. Nikki's friends were there, dressed as the remaining two Cheetah Girls.

"Mama, we leaving," Nikki shouted, right into my ear causing me to flinch.

The four of us piled into Nikki's Honda, which needed cleaning as it was littered with Pop Tart wrappers and old Pepsi bottles. Before we pulled out of the driveway, Nikki had to get the music started. The minute the song began I already knew what it was.

"Really, Nik?"

She flashed me a toothy grin. "What? We need to get into character."

Cheetah Sisters blasted through the speakers as she began to drive. As much I resisted the urge to sing along, I failed. The four of us sang the song loudly and most likely off key. It didn't matter though, it felt great.

That's what I loved about hanging out with Nikki. No matter what was plaguing my mind and bringing me down, Nikki could fight it off with her carefree, fun-loving attitude.

We arrived at the party twenty minutes later. It was the usual scene of people out front, red Solo cups in hand as they chatted with friends or in some cases made out with them. The inside of the house seemed a lot smaller than the exterior suggested. It was packed with people and I broke out into a sweat the moment I stepped inside. Maybe the track suits weren't a good idea.

We traveled into the family room which was less populated. The only occupants were a few couples who were looking for a more private place to hook up.

"It's hot as hell in here," Danesha complained, removing her blue hoodie.

I did the same, securing it around my waist. "So, whose party is this anyway?" I asked.

It was silent as Danesha and Kyla stared at Nikki.

"You didn't tell her?" Kyla demanded.

Nikki shrugged, trying to look innocent. "I forgot?"

"What's the issue?"

"Yeah, we're gonna let you handle that," Kyla said, leaving the room with Danesha in tow.

"Whose party is this?" I asked again, growing slightly impatient.

"Don't be mad," she warned. "Jerrell's."

I blinked. Once. Twice. Three times before going, "What? But he lives—"

"They moved. Remember, I told you he transferred to my school," she explained. "You look mad."

Her observations were correct. It would have been nice to know I'd be attending my first and last boyfriend's party. The last time I saw him I acted like a complete fool.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't say anything." She frowned. "But you wouldn't have come if I told you."

Correct again. The last party I attended that was thrown by Jerrell was four years ago. That one, party changed everything for me.

"I should've told you," Nikki said, solemnly. "We can go somewhere else."

They were so excited about this party, especially Nikki since she'd be able to see her secret boyfriend. I didn't want to ruin it for them. "No, that's fine," I told her. "I'll just go wait in the car."

"Uh-un, that's not why you came down here," she said, shaking her head. "The whole point is for us to spend some time together."

She was right. I had only the weekend to hang out with my favorite cousin and I wasn't going to waste it trying to avoid some guy. It'd been four years, I was sure he'd forgotten about me by now. Plus the party was pretty big and everyone was in costumes, I probably wouldn't even see him.

"You know what, forget I said anything," I told her. "You're right. Let's just try to enjoy the night."

A smile bloomed on her face. "Alright, I'm going to get some drinks. Meet me on the dance floor." With that, she disappeared into the crowd.

I followed her out, maneuvering my way through the killer clowns and sexy kittens to get to where the music was the loudest. That's where I found everyone dancing or having sex. I couldn't really tell the difference.

Danesha and Kyla were on the coffee table dancing and waved me to come up. I declined. I wanted to keep a low profile and table dancing would just draw attention.

I found a spot on the wall to occupy while I waited for my cousin. But instead of looking for her pink outfit, I was looking for Jerrell. It was hard because everyone was in masks or face paint. Still, when ever a masculine body passed by I wondered if Jerrell was the one behind the costume.

A flash of pink caught my eye as Nikki weaved her way through the dancing bodies, holding our drinks above her head to avoid them being spilled.

"All they had was Sprite," she said handing me one of the cups.

I shrugged, not really minding. After taking a sip, I nearly choked on the taste. "This is not soda," I told her.

"Oops," she giggled, switching cups with me.

"So, who is this guy you're risking a whopping for?" I asked, sipping on my drink.

"Kamari, he was that party we went to last year," she explained.

"I'm going to need more than that."

"He was dressed up as Patrick."

I shook my head, still not remembering that Kamari person.

She planted her hand on her hip, looking at me like I was crazy. "How do you forget someone in pink body paint?"

"Oh, that Patrick!" I exclaimed, finally remembering the guy. "He was cute."

"No, he was fine!" she gushed. "So if you see Papa Smurf, please let me know."

"That Papa Smurf?" I nodded towards the blue guy standing with some other boys on the other side of the room. That guy really did love his body paint and being shirtless.

Nikki looked at him like he was a steak and she hadn't eaten in days. When the boy caught her staring, he nodded and flashed her a winning smile. She returned the smile and the second he turned away she asked, "How can you tell if you're pregnant?"

Laughing, I shook my head at her. "Go talk to him."

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to leave you—"

"Go," I said, pushing her forward. "And please, don't actually get pregnant."

She gave me a gracious smile, before walking over him. The room seemed to get smaller and warmer as I stood there alone. Nikki was giggling at something Papa Smurf said and I took that as an opportunity to slip outside.

The cool breeze was welcome as I stepped out onto the back porch. The music from inside dulled as the door closed behind me. Thankfully, no one was out there. Or so I thought.

"Hey, the back yard is off-limits," a deep voice said from the corner of the porch.

"Sorry," I said, turning around. "Jerrell?" I don't know why I was so shocked to see him at his own party, but I was. He was taller than last time I'd seen him and he let his hair grow out a bit.

I rush of mixed emotions flooded into me. All the good and bad moments between us were scrambled together, confusing me. Was I happy to see him? Did I want to hug him or run?

The last time I talked to him was four years ago. I was a drunk, crying mess accusing him of cheating.

"Loren?" He stepped closer, examining me. A wide grin took over his face when he realized it was in fact me. "Wow, I haven't seen you since..." his words trailed off as his smile faded. The last time he saw me was right before the accident. "What have you been up to?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Nothing," I said, for lack of anything better.

He took another step, watching me like he didn't believe I was real. "I tried to see you after I heard what happened," he said. "But your mom always said you were resting and I finally took the hint."

That surprised me. I had no idea he'd tried to contact me. I thought he had abandoned me, blamed me, just like everyone else. Even if the accident hadn't happened, I didn't think he'd want to talk to me, not after how I acted that day.

I took a page from my dad's handbook and decided to drown my feelings instead of dealing with them. I'd decided in my mind that Jerrell was going to break-up with me and wanted to give him a good reason to by getting drunk and starting a fight with a girl I thought he liked more than me.

That night started off bad and only got worse. All because I couldn't keep my feelings in-check. If I hadn't gotten jealous, hadn't gotten drunk, maybe the accident wouldn't have happened.

A sob escaped me before I even realized I was crying. I covered my mouth, trying not to completely fall a part in front of him and failing.

Jerrell's eyes widened in a look of panic as he watched me. Then, as if it was second nature, he stepped forward and wrapped me in a hug.

Instantly, I was transported to four years ago. A warm, fuzzy feeling bubbled inside me as bits and pieces of when Jerrell and I dated came back to me. The days before our fight and I stormed off. I'd almost forgotten how close we were. How much I liked him. He used to be one of best friends.

Sitting in his lap as we talked about nothing. The smell of him. The taste of lips. As all of these memories flooded in, all common sense flooded out. That's when I leaned over and kissed him.