“You really not going?”
“I don’t want to go where I’m not wanted.” I stepped around him, but he grabbed my arm, and we stood side by side.
“Who said you’re not wanted?”he said quietly into my ear, and I immediately was taken back to our private moment on the couch. I chanced a glance at his eyes, and my chest tightened.
“I’m sorry about what I said.”
He stood upright and released my arm, his snarky persona back with a flash. “Trish wouldn’t say no to a party.”
Hot and cold. Those were the two temperatures of Abel. There was no in‐between. I felt like a complete ass as he left me standing in the kitchen alone, my apology still hanging, unaccepted, in the air.
“Is she coming?” Trish asked, as I stepped into the hallway.
“She’ll come,” Abel replied, as she squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. I slipped into my room and dug out my navy‐blue tank top and cut‐off shorts. I planned to at least be comfortable if I was going to spend the night feeling miserable.
We took Abel’s car, and he didn’t hesitate to motion me into the backseat between Dumb and Dumber. Trish pushed herself against Abel’s side, and his arm hung around her, his fingertips in front of my face as they drew small circles on her bare shoulder. Sean leaned forward so he could talk to Adam around me, and I pressed myself into the back of the seat to stay out of their conversation. Every once in a while, Abel chimed in or nodded as they talked about everything from sports to drugs.
The song “Brown Eyed Girl” came on the radio, and Abel turned it up. I saw him smirk, but he didn’t look back at me while it played. It reminded me of my mother and what I’d told him she’d said about my eyes. It was a dig, and one I deserved, but it still hurt. I didn’t belong here, and we both knew it.
We pulled up outside the frat house, and it was complete chaos. People were everywhere, and the anarchy didn’t stop on the lawn. The entire house was wall‐to‐wall bodies. Trish beelined to the kitchen to get us some drinks. Abel poured shots for each of us and warned us not to take drinks from anyone but him. I rolled my eyes and was met with a glare as he held my cup inches from my hand.
“I get it,” I snapped, and he finally handed me my drink. I gulped it down greedily and held it back to him for a refill. I tried to ignore the nagging memory of Brock’s sister, Laurie, who’d been drugged at a similar party. I didn’t need to be told about the consequences of trusting strangers. Brock had learned the hard way when his sister had died, and the butterfly effect from that event had destroyed my own life. Abel was about a year too late to save me.
“That’s my girl!” Trish hollered as Abel poured. He tipped the bottle to his lips and took a long drink. His free hand rubbed up and down her back.
“Come on.” Trish grabbed my wrist. “Let’s go find you some guy and make that asshole of yours regret breaking your heart.”
I looked at Abel as I replied while Trish pulled me away. “I’m a big girl. I’ll get over it,” I said, echoing his words from the night before. His jaw clenched, and the muscles jumped and pulled under his tanned skin.
“That’s the fucking spirit. Tell me which one you think is cute because it’s like a buffet up in this bitch.”
I glanced around the room. “Which ones haven’t you slept with?” I asked, as I raised an eyebrow.
Trish playfully smacked my arm. “We may have to go to a different college for that,” she joked, and I began to relax as my veins warmed from the alcohol.
“That guy’s cute.” I gestured with my chin to a guy who was leaning over a coffee table, rolling dice.
“He’s a douche. Stay away from him,” Abel said into my ear from behind me. His body was pressed against mine for a moment before he stepped around me and handed Trish a cup.
“Funny coming from you, Pot. Most guys are douches. Some are just easier to tolerate.” I laughed, and Trish joined in, but Abel was less than amused.
“How would you even know? Oh…that’s right. You’re a badass. How could I forget?”
Ouch.We were back to the jokes that I was a virgin. Fucking awesome. I took the cup from Trish’s hand and drank down some liquid courage before handing it back to her. “Only one way to find out,” I said with a wink, as Trish grinned widely.
I walked over to the coffee table and watched for a moment as the guys took turns rolling the dice and yelled each time they stopped.
“Looks fun,” I hollered over the music, and the hot guy looked up and nodded. His eyes traveled down my body and back up with a smile.