Becoming Better

Chapter 17 - A Bad Idea

**Content warning: This chapter includes mild sexual content. 

Charlie, Taylor, Alex and Jessica stood in front of Mara's house, absolutely stunned. It wasn't a house, it was a mansion. When Charlie got the address and looked up the directions to Mara's place, she realized it was in the nice part of Bridgeport. She just didn't expect it to be this nice.

"Who is this girl, again?" Taylor raised her eyebrow.

"Maybe her parents are in the mafia," Jessica suggested.

Alex laughed. "There is no mafia in Bridgeport, babe."

"If there was, would we really know?" Charlie countered.

Everyone stood there quietly for a second, contemplating her question.

"Screw it, let's just go inside." Taylor started walking up the long staircase in the front of the house.

When they finally got inside, the interior was just as stunning as the exterior. There was a ton of expensive looking art hanging on the walls. You could fit Charlie's entire house in just the foyer. They heard the party before they could see it, so they followed the noise to the kitchen and backyard. Tons of people from school were already there. They made themselves drinks at the counter in the kitchen and headed outside. Charlie snuck back and quickly poured a little extra into her cup before following her friends.

Mara saw them and waved them over. "Hi guys! So glad you could make it. Welcome to my house!"

Taylor spoke first, marveling at the backyard. "House might be a bit of an understatement, Mara."

Mara laughed. "I know, right? My dad invented a formula for a super popular energy drink."

Alex tilted her head at Jessica as if to say, 'See?' Jessica just rolled her eyes at her in response.

"Where are your parents?" Charlie asked.

"Out of town, like usual," Mara answered. "They've probably forgotten what I look like."

Charlie thought that was sort of sad for Mara. Being alone all the time in a big house like this didn't seem good for anyone. She wondered why everyone's parents were always out of town. Well, not everyone's. It was the rich kids like John and Mara whose parents were never around. Charlie's parents never left town. In fact, her mother hardly left her room anymore.

The girls found some lounge chairs by the pool to sit on and drink their drinks. Eventually Charlie's buzz kicked in, so when people started to dance, she got up to join them. Alex and Jessica came with her. Taylor found Ben and went off with him to go make out somewhere. After dancing for a little while, Charlie excused herself to go to the bathroom.

She walked through the cavernous house and finally found a half-bathroom. The whole thing was ornately designed and expensive looking, down to the sink handles. When she was done, she left the bathroom and started to walk back outside, but someone grabbed her hand and pulled her into another room, shutting the door behind them. Charlie nearly screamed until she saw who it was.

"Shawn?" she breathed. "What are you doing here?" He had dragged her into what appeared to be a guest room.

"Hiding from Mara," he answered. "She asked me to come here tonight. Probably wants to get back together."

"So why did you come if you don't want to see her?" Charlie asked.

"Because I knew you'd be here, and I wanted to see you," he said, tucking her hair behind her ear, his hand lingering on her cheek.

There it was again, that stirring feeling in her core. She was mesmerized by his gaze for a moment until she snapped back to reality.

"Wait, this is a bad idea," she tried to protest, but she didn't move away. She couldn't deny that she wanted to kiss him just as much as he wanted to kiss her. The alcohol in her system, combined with how close he was standing to her, made it hard for her to think straight.

"I know," he said, before leaning down to bring his lips to hers.

Charlie's body absolutely lit up. His lips ignited a heat inside her she hadn't felt in a really long time. He kissed her slowly at first, waiting for a couple moments before he slipped his tongue in her mouth. She swirled her tongue against his softly. He bit her lip gently, sucking it into his mouth. Her hands were everywhere, running across his chest and up his neck. He moved his hands down to the backs of her thighs, picking her up so she could wrap her legs around him. He walked them over to the bed. Their kiss had heated up considerably now. He threw her on the bed and climbed on top of her, leaning down to kiss her again. She weaved her fingers in his hair. Both of their breathing came fast as they continued to wrap themselves around each other. He pressed his hips against her, and a sound of pleasure escaped her mouth.

Far away, Charlie thought she heard the sound of a door opening. 

****Whew! This is certainly going to have some repercussions, don't you think?