Whatever he said was something dripping with charm, because both girls swayed toward him, and his familiar chuckle drifted across the remaining space between us.
He had a deep laugh, like it came from the farthest place inside him. Maybe that’s why whenever he laughed like that, women swooned, because they felt like they were getting a piece of him he didn’t give out very often.
The girl I’d picked out looked back up and gave me another smile.
I was partially surprised. With Drew standing right next to her, I should have been forgotten. ‘Course, he was a regular around this house. She probably knew who he was. She probably knew she’d be vying for his attention against twenty other girls in this room. Maybe she wanted the same thing I did tonight.
A sure thing.
As I walked, I plucked a newly poured shot out of one of my “brother’s” hand and tossed it down my throat. He gave me the finger, and I gave him back the empty glass.
I don’t know how many shots that made tonight. I stopped counting a long time ago.
“Dude.” Drew looked up. He pulled back one arm and offered me his fist. I bumped mine against it.
“I thought you weren’t coming tonight,” I said by way of greeting. He was supposed to be out driving.
“Not much going on at the track tonight.” He shrugged.
Even drunk, I still gave enough of a shit to be relieved. Usually, I went with Drew when he was out driving the racing circuit around here. But some nights, frat shit came first. Tonight was one of those nights.
Can’t say I liked the idea of Drew out driving alone. I’d learned a lot about the drivers around here the past few months, and not much of it was good.
If I thought fraternity rivalry or even football rivalry was bad…
It was nothing compared to the racing competition around here.
Racing wasn’t quite the institution football was. It wasn’t governed by rules and regulations. Sure, maybe on the higher level. On the NASCAR level.
But getting up to that place?
There were no rules.
It was a dog-eat-dog world, and I wasn’t talking Chihuahuas.
“I hear you’re really fast,” the blonde under his arm said, peering up at him.
He grinned lazily. He had a dimple in his cheek. You’d think the light scruff on his face from not shaving that morning would hide it. It didn’t. It only served to make it more attractive. “Only when I need to be. Sometimes I’m nice and slow.”
You’d have to be dead not to hear the suggestion in his tone, and this girl was not dead. Drunk? Yes. She giggled like she was shy.
Yeah, right. I suppressed an eye roll.
“Beer’s over there,” I told him and hitched a thumb behind me toward the kitchen.
“Where’s yours?” he asked, tearing his eyes off the girl.
“I’m drinking vodka tonight.”
“Me, too!” the dark-haired girl on my right said, showing me her red cup. I gave her a slow smile and tilted the cup toward me so I could see.
“Good taste,” I said and slid the cup into my hand and wrapped my lips around the rim. The vodka was mixed with cranberry juice, watering it down at bit, but it was still good and strong. I meant to only take a sip, but I ended up chugging the rest and tossing the empty cup over my shoulder.
Before she could say anything about her lost drink, I wrapped my hand in hers and pulled her away from her friends. “Let’s dance.”
I hardly ever danced, unless we were all at Screamerz.
But like I said, tonight I didn’t want to do what I normally did.
The brunette came along willingly, and soon, we were grinding together in the center of a crush of bodies. The music was loud, so loud I couldn’t hear myself think, so there was no way we could talk.
Even if she told me her name, I wouldn’t hear it. I didn’t care what it was anyway.
The room tilted a little, but I ignored it and pulled her closer, sliding my thigh between hers and bringing her up against my chest. Her fingers went through my belt loops and held on as we moved.
The song vibrating the walls was loud with a heavy, erratic beat. Even still, we didn’t dance like that. Instead, I held her right against me, and we grinded against each other suggestively. Her chin tipped back and she looked up at me, her eyes heavy lidded as her teeth sank into her lower lip.
I swiped my thumb along her bottom lip, then lowered my face. Her fingers tightened around my belt loops as my lips collided with hers. She tasted slightly tart, like the cranberry juice she’d had in her cup. I liked it. It mixed well with my well-liquored tongue, so I licked deeper into her mouth so the two flavors could mesh.
As we kissed, we continued to grind into each other, and small little sounds vibrated the back of her throat. I slid my hand down around her backside and grabbed a handful of her ass.