Elle: Found it! Thanks anyway, chick! ;*
I groaned, silently cursing Elle and made my way back outside and headed to the parking lot. Not remembering where I parked I scanned through the rows of cars before giving up and pressing the button for the alarm. I heard sirens to my left and turned to see the lights flashing on Elle's red convertible, a graduation present from her parents. My parents didn't let me bring my car to school this year since Elle had hers but she often got rides from Colin so it was almost like having my own car. I turned off the alarm and headed over responding to a text from my good friend Skyler who I had roomed with during freshman year. She was one of the few people who I knew I could confide in and although I miss having her around she's planning to visit in a few weekends.
Not looking up from my phone, I finished the last few words of my message when my feet came to an abrupt halt as I ran straight into a very impressive, now t-shirt clad, chest. Strong hands gripped my waist, steadying me, before I backed up and bent down to pick up my phone that had fallen to the ground and sputtered apologies.
Keeping my head down, I peered up through my lashes at those blue eyes that now shined with amusement. I instantly recognized the familiarity of the five o'clock shadow spread across his sculpted jaw, and the short dark hair that seemed to be about half an inch longer than when I had first seen him outside of Dusty's that first night. I had suspected then that this man was exceptionally attractive, but standing in front of him now I noted the perfection of each feature of his face, the only imperfection being the tiny scar above his left eyebrow. There was something dangerous yet inviting about him--something that warned me to stay away but begged me to come closer. His bad boy exterior paired with his boyish grin created an irresistible combination, and by the reactions of every female in the gym, I knew I wasn't alone with my instant attraction.
"You didn't have to pretend to run into me, ya know. I would've given you my number if you just asked nicely."
Startled by his assumption, my head flew up, my eyes meeting his, "I did not purposely run into you. I was texting." I held up my phone as if to prove my point before I noticed the change in his expression and realized he was only teasing me. Although, I'm sure I wouldn't have been the first female to walk into him to strike up a conversation. "Very funny."
Before either of us could say anything else, Luke jogged up to us and nodded a ‘hey' at me before continuing past us. He glanced back, gesturing at the guy in front of me, "You comin' Wes? I gotta get back or Jade's gonna flip a shit about me being late again."
Taking that as my cue, I chose to escape before I could further make a fool of myself. Luke had called him Wes. Of course he had a hot name, too. Not bothering to turn around to see if Wes was still standing around, I closed the space between Elle's car and me and got in before I could walk into anyone else. Backing out of my parking space my resolution dissolved and I found myself looking back as Wes opened the door to an outdated black truck with Luke climbing into the passenger side seat. I gunned it to the school's exit before I could do something stupid like walk back over to him and proposition him, and felt annoyed with myself for acting so foolishly over a boy. All boys were the same.
~~~~
When I got back to the apartment I found Elle in her closet sifting through her hangers with a deep frown on her face.
"I can't find anything to wear. Colin said there's no theme and that people usually dress pretty casual. I don't want to look overdressed but I don't want to look frumpy either."
Elle flopped down onto her bed with a huff as I went over to her dresser and started pulling out a couple of options.
"How about these shorts with one of these tops?" I held up a pair of white denim shorts that I knew made her legs look good and a couple of loose-fitting blouses.
"Oh, I like this one! God, you're a lifesaver. Thanks bestie!" She bounced over to me and grabbed the shorts and a salmon colored top blowing me a kiss as she headed to the bathroom.
It was still early and the party wouldn't start for a couple more hours but I knew it'd take a while for everyone to get ready and I'm sure Elle and Savanna would want to pre-game a little before we headed out. I got to my own closet and grabbed my black denim shorts with fringe at the bottom and studs on the pockets, placing them on my bed before heading over to my dresser to find a top. I decided to pair the shorts with my white loose-fitting t-shirt that had the words "you wish" written on the chest in black lettering and my white Michael Kors knock-off sandals.
After taking the time to shave my legs and deep condition my hair in the shower I powered up my flat iron and grabbed my make up remover wipes, swiping under my eyes at the mascara that had smudged in the shower. Figuring that Elle would likely insist on taking pictures throughout the night I decided to put in a little extra effort, straightening my hair into a sleek mane down my back and redid my make up, applying my eyeliner a little bit heavier than usual. By the time I was fully dressed the party would be kicking off within an hour so I headed down the hall to the living room where Savanna had pop music blaring as she danced around the kitchen in her underwear. I heard a familiar chime that signaled the dryer was finished and she bounced down the hall, submerging a few minutes later wearing a purple tank top and a black mini skirt paired with purple chuck taylors. I did a double take at her shoes and she laughed.
"Tonight's supposed to be wild, girlie. I figured I'd lessen my chances of going to the hospital tonight."
"Alright my ladies, lets get this party started! Colin's picking us up in about twenty minutes so let's get drinking'!" Elle was especially energetic today and I knew she was excited about going to her boyfriends frat's party and making sure that all of the flirting coeds knew that Colin was taken. "Gabe's with him, by the way."
Gabe had sent me a text me earlier letting me know he was getting a ride from Colin so this didn't come as a shock to me.
"What about Ollie?"
"Oh, that's over. He's cute but he was always ditching me to smoke pot with the guys. So not worth it." Savanna grabbed a bottle of vodka from the freezer and three cans of Diet Coke from the fridge while Elle grabbed three shot glasses. "Besides," Savanna looked between Elle and me with a mischievous grin, "I've got a new boy-toy to play with."
"God bless him." Elle chuckled and Savanna gave us all a pout, pouring the vodka into the three shot glasses, filling the liquid to the very top of the glass.
"To breaking hearts and livin' life!" Savanna shouted as we all lifted our glasses and clinked them together. "Cheers to a good night!
FOUR
Gabe took my hand and held it as we walked through the doors to the fraternity's house. I took in the dozens of people in front of me holding red cups and mingling, knowing that there were even more people outside by the pool. It seemed like half of the university's student population had shown up for the event. Gabe pulled me through the sea of people as we followed after Elle and Colin who were headed towards the large kitchen. Colin opened the fridge and handed us each a bottle of beer when Gabe's grip on my hand tightened and I looked up to see his jaw clenched. I moved my eyes to the direction where he was staring to find a pair of long legs wrapped around a guy's waist as she sat on the kitchen counter above him. She had one hand clutching his back and the other pulling his head closer as their lips locked in a heated kiss. I instantly recognized the tattooed arm that clutched the girl's thigh and felt disgusted at the semi-pornographic scene before me. As though she could sense eyes watching her, the girl looked up and froze, and I took in her reaction to Gabe warily. They seemed to know each other but neither spoke up to acknowledge each other's presence.
Wes pulled away from the brunette beauty and glanced over to where Gabe and I stood with Elle and Colin. Colin just shook his head and sighed, leaning back against the granite countertops pulling Elle into him. Elle appeared equally confused by whatever was going on and shot me a questioning look to which I just shrugged.