CHAPTER 2
Slamming the front door behind him, Harper lifted the case of Budweiser and called out "The party's here!" Resounding echoes of "Yeah dude!", "You the man!", and "All right!" echoed over the blasting rock tones of Slipknot's 'Before I Forget.' which was practically vibrating the thin, beige walls. As a press of young men suddenly descended on him, Harper lifted the beer up, away from a slew of grasping hands and held out one palm in a warding gesture. "Back off assholes!" he laughed as his friends clamored their approval.
Shoving aside the demanding press of tee shirted, denim bedecked, guys surrounding Harper, Jeff grabbed the beer in his left hand and gave a resounding high five to his buddy. "This is my house so I get first dibs," Jeff said over his shoulder. Indignant cries of "Screw you!," and "Come on!," greeted this announcement.
"Dude. I can't believe you came through. Cool," Jeff said, turning back to slap Harper on the shoulder.
"Of course, man. Mike owed me one so he grabbed the brew for me."
"Great. Pete's supposed to bring some beer too. Come on in. Let's get this party rolling," Jeff said. Turning back to the press of eight other thirsty young guys in a partying mood, Jeff said "Who wants a beer?" This question was greeted with a loud cheer. Tearing open a corner of the cardboard box, Jeff passed out cans to his eager poker buddies.
Popping the top on a lukewarm Budweiser, Harper grinned. Raising the can up he said "Let's play some fucking cards!"
Slapping his friend on a solid shoulder, Jeff grinned and opened his own beer. Taking a swig of the nectar, he picked up the case he had set by his feet. "I'll put these in the fridge. You assholes start divvying up the chips. Yo, Gary, change that fucking CD."
As Jeff headed towards the kitchen of his small two bedroom house, Harper headed for the felt topped foldaway table where the poker chips and cards were set out waiting. Pulling out a metal folding chair he plopped down, set his beer on a cork coaster with a picture of a topless, large breasted blonde on it, and grabbed the deck of cards. Cutting the deck in half he deftly raised the fifty two rectangles into a bridge and listened to the whir as they shuffled back together. Tapping the cards on one edge to realign them in a neat stack, he snagged a handful of Doritos from a bowl in the middle of the table. As the other guys scraped out chairs and plopped down, Harper happily munched a handful of orange chips. Licking powdery residue from his fingers, Harper said "Gary, put on the Shine Down."
"Got it dude," came the response followed shortly by the pounding sound of Shinedown's 'Sound of Madness' echoing through the house. Knocking the table in time to the music, Harper grinned and grabbed a handful of poker chips. Sweeping the red, white, and blue chips over in front of himself he looked around at the eager faces of his friends. "Who's in?"
"Me, Jerkface," came the response from behind him. "And if you want those chips, you're gonna have to buy in." A friendly grin turned up thecorner of Jeff's mouth as he grabbed the back of Harper's chair and shook it.
Gary, fresh from changing the CD, pulled out the last chair and, turning it backwards, plopped his lanky frame down. Catching Harper's gaze with a nod of his chin, Gary half smirked. "So dude. How's it going with Alyssa? Given how close you were to tapping that ass at my party... and now, living in the same house and all..." Sticking his tongue out, Gary mimed parting something with his hands and licking at the center. "By the way, did your folks ever find out why Vickie broke up with you? I'm sure they'd be interested to know how close...," Gary made quotes in the air with his fingers as he said this last, "you and Alyssa really are."
"Come on man. You know that's not cool. She's my stepsister now."
"Maybe so, but you two aren't related by blood at all. I don't know. As hot as that girl is, I think I'd have to finish closing that deal."
As his friend waggled his eyebrows suggestively like Groucho Marx, Harper had to laugh. "And, no. No way in hell could we ever tell my mom and Will about that." Rolling his tense neck muscles to loosen them, Harper sighed. "Man, it just fucking sucks. The very freaking day after I almost made it with Alyssa my mom tells me that she's getting engaged to her dad. What a fucking nightmare. Vickie hates me now, I haven't been laid in six months, and as for Alyssa..." Harper's voice trailed off as a distant look came over his face. "Stepsisters suck," he sighed.
"Dude, you wish! You should be so fucking lucky." Gary opened his mouth and mimed repeatedly inserting something in and out as his tongue poked in and out of his cheek causing it to bulge like something was being shoved against it.
Picking up one of the coasters from the table, Harper flung it at his friends leering face. "Man, fuck you!" he said, laughing.
