“Mate, holy god! I’ve never seen birds like that,” he said appreciatively as we pulled out of the stadium’s lot. “They’re the most gorgeous creatures I’ve ever seen!”
“They are a sexy bunch,” I agreed. “But don’t you think it’s a bit shallow, eh? They only want the status, mate, they don’t care about who we are.”
Connor shook his head. He grinned at me with a devilish look on his face. “I’d still take it, mate,” he said. “One of those girls had an arse that knocked the others out of the park! God, I’d like to see the face on her when I take her out for a date.”
“Dream on,” I said as I navigated my old car through the crowded streets of the town. “Tonight we’re going to meet some real women.”
“I prefer those angels,” Connor said. He had a dreamy expression on his face. “Mate, you think you’re gonna get famous and marry some model? What about an actress?”
I shook my head and frowned. “I’m not tying myself down,” I said with a smirk. “No matter how sexy some bird’s arse is.”
Connor stretched. He stuck his hand out the window and played with the breeze. “You’re a damn fool, Walsh,” he said, cuffing me on the head with his free hand. “A damn fool.”
By the time we got to the party, it was in full swing, and Connor grabbed two beers and tossed me one. He was already moving and shaking in time to the music, and by the time I worked my way onto the dance floor, he was surrounded by girls. Connor’s grey eyes and brown hair gave him easy charm, but he’d always had to work at talking to girls. He’d always been the shyest friend I had, and I was really surprised to see him throwing beer back and flirting with three girls at once.
The hostess of the party, Amy, was someone I’d gone on a couple of dates with in the past. She’d been ignoring me, and I went to go find her. We wound up bickering in the kitchen and I knocked back a couple of shots of tequila to feel better, and by the time I worked my way back to the living room, Connor was dancing in between two girls, clad only in bikinis. When he saw me, he raised his bottle and knocked it drunkenly against mine.
“Mate!” Connor yelled in a loud voice. “This is a kickin’ party! Do you know these girls?” He gave the girls he was dancing with a big smile and turned to me. Obediently, they each put an arm around Connor and smiled up at me. “My mate, Jay, is gonna play football for Manchester United,” Connor continued, his voice slurring. “You wanna shake his hand before he gets famous?”
One of the girls, a blonde, peeled herself away from Connor’s side and came up to me. She was cute and innocent-looking, in the way that I liked, but I could tell by the way her eyes had glowed at the words ‘Manchester United’ that she wasn’t someone I really wanted to get involved with.
“Hi,” she said. “Wanna dance?”
“Go on, mate!” Connor said. “Come on, dance!”
The girl led me back on the floor and wrapped her light body around mine. I was pulsing with alcohol and arousal by the time the song was over, and I didn’t even notice that Connor had disappeared with the other girl until the blonde was tugging at my sleeve.
She looked up at me and frowned. “Hey, where’s Mia? Your mate was really drunk! If he’s trying to force her to do anything...” She trailed off and stamped her foot. “I don’t want her to get taken advantage of!”
“We’ll find your friend,” I promised the blonde. She glared at me and I resisted the urge to pat her on the head. “Come with me.”
The party was thumping, loud, and full of people, but I made my way to the back of the house. There was a long line behind a closed door.
“Hey.” I looked at one of the girls in line. “Are you waiting to piss?”
“Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “It’s a bit shit, we’ve been waiting forever!”
“I’ll check and see what the hold-up is,” I promised, a sinking feeling already working its way into my belly. As I pounded on the door, Connor’s familiar voice came back at me.
“I’ll be out in a second!” Connor snapped. “Hold your horses, mate!”
“I’m coming in,” I said through gritted teeth. “You’re taking forever, mate, and pissing everyone off.”
When I pushed open the door, I rolled my eyes. The girl Connor had been dancing with was nude from the waist down, lying in the tub, and Connor was bent over her body, snorting white powder that had been laid out in lines over her flesh.