The survivor

Finale
Eighty-Nine

Grandview Park was packed by the time Courtney and Raine got there. They’d left the party at Que’s pad in full swing, and headed for the Parade of Lost Souls on Commercial Drive. Much to Courtney’s delight, Bobby came with them, and he brought a new friend of his, Tom or Shaun or John or whatever his name was. She couldn’t really remember — she’d had three coolers and two Cokes with cherry brandy — but he was tall and good-looking.

And good for Raine. Que had screwed her over again — but that was good anyway, because she seemed to like Bobby’s friend. The two were walking side by side and talking, Raine dressed in her naughty nurse uniform and him dressed up like that bad guy from that superhero movie.

Bobby looked at Courtney, grinned. ‘You look great, Court.’ It was the first thing he’d said for the last two blocks, and it made her more nervous than the uncomfortable silence.

‘Raine picked it for me.’ She gave him a quick glance, making eye-contact for a second then looking away. It was enough to send her heart into twitters. He was dressed all corny, in a Star Trek uniform. A yellow one, like he was Captain Kirk, or something.

‘Well, she did a good job,’ he replied. ‘You look amazing.’

She looked back at him again and smiled. When his eyes stayed on hers, intense and heavy, she felt her cheeks grow hot. She looked away from him, studied the crowd.

On the east end of Grandview Park, the band was setting up the stage. It was monstrous. There were a ton of lights, all red and white and blue and green, and some of them were already flashing. Loud explosions of firecrackers filled the air, sharp like gunfire, and a smoky haze floated through the crowd — firework and pot smoke, for the most part.

This was Commercial Drive, after all.

They all stopped a few feet from the stage and Bobby put down the backpack he was lugging around. It was a small dark blue thing, and it looked heavy the way he hoisted it. From it he took a two-litre bottle of Coke, a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, one of cherry brandy and some plastic cups.

Courtney looked at the booze, shook her head. ‘I’m done, my head’s swimming.’

He acted like he didn’t hear her, filled the cup with Coke, then added a heavy dose of cherry brandy. He handed it to her.

‘Really, I’ve had-’

‘Come on, Court, enjoy yourself. The Parade only comes once a year.’

She looked back at him, at the cup in his hand, and was about to say no again when she caught Raine’s stare. She was giving her one of those Don’t-be-nerdy looks, and so was Bobby’s friend.

So she forced a smile, took the cup, and brought it to her lips. The cherry brandy smelled stronger than it had before, still good but really sweet, and her stomach quivered. She brought it to her lips, however, took a small sip. As she did so, Bobby reached out and lifted the bottom of the cup, forcing her to down more than she’d wanted. She almost choked, pulled the cup away from her lips, and stammered, ‘B-Bobby!’

He just laughed, and stared at her with those suck-me-in eyes of his. ‘You’re beautiful, Court,’ he said.

He grabbed her chin, tilted her head back and kissed her. His lips were soft and warm, and tasted of Jack Daniel’s and Coke. They felt oh-so good. Her entire body tingled and she didn’t want to stop. Even with Raine and Bobby’s friend right there watching them, she didn’t want to stop. She wanted him to keep kissing her forever.

Touching her. Feeling her.

He finally pulled away, and she felt a dizziness spill over her, fought to keep her balance.

‘I want to kiss you again later,’ he whispered. ‘When we’re alone.’

‘Okay,’ was all she got out. And before she knew it, he had refilled her cup with Coke and cherry brandy. ‘It’s enough,’ she said.

But he just smiled and kept pouring.