“Sometimes. He’s a hook up I know for parties.”
“Sure,” I say and get up to put some better clothes on.
An hour later, we’re walking into a huge house. There is an indoor pool in the middle of the house on the main floor, and the rooms upstairs circle around the pool. Music is blaring through the entire house. People are dancing and swimming all around us.
Things have changed since the parties I used to go to. I don’t know how Paige met these people.
"Here, I got you guys drinks,” Mike says. He’s now shirtless and only wearing swim trunks. He looks to be a foot taller than both of us, and I’m only five-two. His six-pack abs glisten in the strobe lights that flash around.
I take a sip of the drink, and my face twists.
Both Mike and Paige chuckle.
“What the fuck is this?” I ask, gagging.
“It’s called Hop, Skip, and Go Naked!” Paige yells over the music.
“But what the fuck is it?”
“It’s a bunch of mixed alcohol and fruit. Eat the fruit. It’sbetter. The alcohol gets absorbed by the fruit, but you can hardly taste it.”
I roll my eyes at Paige, take a bite of pineapple, and to my surprise, I can’t taste any alcohol.
“See,” she says and starts swaying to the music playing.
The remix of “Birthday Sex” by Jeremih is playing, and the beat is much quicker than the original. Paige grabs my hand, and I move a little closer to her and sway my hips to the beat. I lock eyes with Paige as we both sing the song at the top of our lungs. With every move I make, the weight of everything I’ve been dealing with lifts from my body. The music surges through my veins, making me feel like my old self is coming back to life. As the music thumps through the speakers, my body moves in rhythm to the song. “Shots” by LMFAO and Lil Jon comes on, and everyone yells out “Shots! Shots! Shots!”
I’m lost in the music, not thinking about anything, when a guy comes behind me and starts grinding his hips against me. Without thinking, I move with him as we dance to the beat of the song. Paige is now dancing with Mike in front of us. I’m not sure who is behind me, but I know Paige would pull me away if he were ugly.
It’s girl code.
The heat of the guy’s breath runs down my neck. “You look like you need another drink,” he says.
I look at my cup, and sure enough, it’s empty. I hadn’t realized I already drank it all.Please don’t be ugly,I say to myself as I turn around to face him. His green eyes and a small dimple on the right side of his cheek catch my attention. He looks a little older than me, but not much. Hopefully, not too much.
“Yes, I do.” I turn to Paige and raise my cup, signaling to her that I’m going to go get another one.
She nods her head with a big grin on her face.
The stranger leads me into a big, open kitchen. To mysurprise, it’s empty. I’m used to smaller houses where there is no room for anyone.
"So, what’s your name?” he asks as he grabs the cup out of my hand and pours me another one out of a big red cooler.
“Blakely,” I say, biting my bottom lip. “What’s yours?”
“Matt.” He fills his cup, too, turns back around, and leans against the kitchen counter. “Are you here with anyone?”
I know what he means by that. Without thinking, and with the alcohol talking, I say. “I’m here with my friend Paige.”
The corners of his lips tilt upward. “I’ve never seen you here before. Is this your first time?”
I imagine whoever lives here is always throwing parties. “Yeah, it’s my first time.”
“Well, hopefully, it’s not your last,” he says, clinking his cup with mine.
I take a sip of my drink, hiding my smile. With the light in the kitchen, I’m noticing how drunk I’m getting. My bottom lip is numb, which usually tells me that I am drunk.
With a smile on my face, I embrace this moment, feeling completely free and alive. I let the joy of this night wash over me. I want one night to myself. There is no harm in that. And I’m not doing anything bad. I’m only talking to someone that I will never see again.
