“You know, that beer isn’tgoing to drink itself,” Madison, who was way over the top interested in me, said her lips so close to my ear I felt her breath moving over my skin. She tipped her chin down to the red Solo cup in my hand. The one I’d been nursing since I showed up at my best friend’s frat house party.
And just like that, almost as if he was on cue, Gavin strutted up next to us, making himself all good and fuckingcozy in front of the fire pit.
“Dude, what the actual fuck!” he howled, tipping my cup in his direction to get a better view of the beer I hadn’t touched. “Chug it down, motherfucker,” he demanded, slapping me on my shoulder to the point of nearly causing pain.
I didn’t care at all.
He touched me.
Simply put, I lived for these moments.
We had been best friends since we were five. We rodethe bus to kindergarten together, both of us near tears as the big, yellow monstrosity pulled up along the sidewalk. After nudging me in the side, he smiled at me—much like he smiled at me now—and said, “Let’s do this.”
To say he’d grown slightly more annoying as a twentysomething frat boy was a huge understatement.
“I’ll get working on that right away,” I snipped, tipping my cup back as ifI was about to swallow it down in one huge gulp.
He knew I didn’t drink.
But the asshole didn’t care. He wanted in Madison’s pants, as if the fucking Holy Grail was buried in her crotch. Knowing Gavin, he’d probably been sitting behind us eavesdropping on our conversation, waiting for the perfect moment to drop in and make his presence known.
Tipping her head back, Madison finished off herdrink in one long gulp and swayed in her seat. She was as drunk as they come and despite having zero interest in her and her Holy Grail in the pants, I didn’t want to see her be taken advantage of.
“Hey there,” Gavin called out, reaching for her as she nearly slipped out of her chair, landing directly in the fire in front of us. “You don’t need to pick up the slack where this loser is concerned.”He clapped my shoulder as he spoke.
I fucking hated that he used me as an example for her to calm her drinking, but hell, he touched me again.
Fucking hormones.They complicated everything—like the love-slash-hate relationship I had with my best friend. As I walked away from the two of them, I overheard Gavin explain how he had no clue why I was always in such a foul mood. Chuckling to myself,I thanked God he didn’t know even half the reason for my shitty mood when he was around.
“I’ll be back in a few,” I said over my shoulder. Navigating my way through the crowd of piss-ass drunk seniors, I wondered how much of this they’d remember in the morning. I doubted it would be much. A few people clapped their hand to my shoulder as I walked past them, calling me “dude,” my name alreadygone from their inebriated brains.
After taking a piss, I washed my hands and splashed cold water on my face. Staring at my reflection, I wondered when the hell the dark circles showed up under my eyes. I knew I was exhausted, but to see the proof of it written so clearly across my face was a real eye-opener. “Geez,” I said, swiping a fresh towel from the cabinet next to me. After I moved itacross my face, I muttered at my reflection, “You look like shit.”
A loud banging on the door pulled me away from the very one-sided conversation I was having. “About fucking time,” Theo, an asshole friend of Gavin’s, announced as he shoved past me, making sure to jab his elbow into my side as he did. “Rubbin’ one out while Gavin’s got your girl?” he prodded, letting a huge shit-eating grin spreadwide across his face.
“Excuse me?” I spun on my heel, having had enough of his needling. For whatever reason, he had a hair up his ass about me being friends with Gavin. I guess that’s what happened when your best friend from high school collided with your college frat brother.
“I said,” he clarified, the grin growing wider, pulling at his thin, ugly lips. But before he could say anything else,I shoved into him, shocking the shit out of him.
“I heard what you said,” I seethed, my face just inches from his. “Every fucking time you walk past me, I hear what you say and have had enough of your shit.” Taking my chances, I grabbed the collar of his shirt, balling it in my fist. “Now, leave me the fuck alone before you regret it.” With a hard push, I let go of his shirt and turned my backto him, knowing he wasn’t worth the time I’d already spent on him.
“Fucking fag,” Theo spat. When I refocused my attention on him, he was adjusting the collar of his shirt. His words were a direct hit to my gut, making my world spin off its axis. Of course, I couldn’t let him know that.
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” I deflected and turned toward the stairs once again.It was only when his meaty paw of a hand landed on my shoulder that I turned back to pay him any attention.
His breath reeked of alcohol, and with each exhale, it fell around me like an intoxicating puff of garbage that not even the hottest of showers would wash away. “You heard me, you punk little fag,” he said, his voice barely loud enough to hear over the party roaring around us. “You wantto take Gavin up your ass so bad you don’t even know what to do with yourself. And all he can think about is the next pussy he gets and it drives you fucking insane.”
Shocked, I’d wondered if Theo had some kind of mind-reading ability because as much as I hated him, his words were the absolute truth.
A truth I’d never spoken to anyone.
“Just leave me the fuck alone,” I fumed, shoving away fromhim for the last time.
Readjusting my shirt and my attitude, I walked down the stairs, past the same drunken delinquents I walked past just a few minutes ago. I needed to get home.
I needed to get away from here.
Because when I walked back outside, the sight of Gavin all but having sex with Madison right there in front of the fire pit pushed me over the edge of my sanity.
