I shook my head. Maddie, the party, Ollie, it was all too much for me to handle. Ollie sat his drink down on the desk, stood to his feet, and walked toward me before falling by my side and grabbing my hand.
“Come here,” he said, pulling me on top of him and wrapping my legs around his waist. “This is where I belong.” He smiled. “Right here with you.”
We shared a smile as I raked my fingers through his brown hair. His cheeks were pink, and his smile was lazy. “What are you thinking about right now?”
“Fuck …” he breathed. “How bad I want to kiss you.”
“Are you drunk?”
Ollie shook his head. “Kiss me, Mia.”
“No, Ollie.” I traced the outline of his lips with my finger.
“For the love of God … kiss me.”
I slowly shook my head again as he ran his hands down the skin on my back.
“Dammit, Mia …” he growled and dropped his head over my shoulder.
“So, what’s the story with you two, anyway?” Maddie asked from behind me.
“With who?” I said, playing dumb, avoiding saying Ollie’s name, or making light of what was happening—either reason equally acceptable. I slid off of Ollie’s lap. He pulled up his legs as I rested between them, facing Maddie now.
Maddie narrowed her eyes. “There is a story … ya must be serious. Let me ask ya, Mia, did ya go after him before or after our talks in psych?”
Ollie’s forehead landed on my shoulder. “Ignore her,” he muttered, and he kissed my shoulder, and my neck, and behind my ear. Giggling, I leaned my head into him and lifted my shoulder because it tickled. Ollie smiled against my skin, and Maddie suddenly disappeared. Everyone disappeared. “Let’s get out of here,” he whispered.
“There is no story,” Bria piped up. “Plus, you should learn to keep your pretty little nose out of other people’s business.”
Utterly surprised, my head slowly turned in Bria’s direction. Bria sticking up for me? Had hell frozen over? When had she and Isaac stopped making out?
“Alright, Mia. How about a game of Twenty-one for old time’s sake?” Maddie asked, reaching for the deck of cards she’d brought with her on top of Jake’s desk. Banter spread around the room.
“No, not a good idea,” Ollie said, his warm breath still against my neck.
A small laugh came from Maddie, sounding more like a sigh. “Calm down, Ollie. It’s only a game.” Maddie took the cards from the box and shuffled them in front of her. “Remember how to play?”
I shifted between Ollie’s legs. “Well, yeah …”
“Main campus rules … each time ya lose, ya have to answer a question honestly. If ya don’t answer, ya take a shot.”
Maddie’s taunting tone was like a hissing slimy snake, biting me. Everyone in the room knew I was a lightweight. Before Dolor, I hardly drank. Sophomore year, they gave me the nickname of “Gondo” because I was literally gone afterdosdrinks. Now I was face to face with my current enemy. I could either answer her questions or be gone.
Maddie slid two cards in front of me, then took two cards from the top of the deck and placed them before her. I had a ten and a Jack. Feeling the gravity of Ollie’s tense position behind me, I said, “I’m staying.”
She took another card from the top of the deck for herself. “Damn, busted.” She collected the cards from the floor between us. “Fair play, Mia. Want to ask me a question?”
“Not particularly.”
“Fine, I’ll drink anyway.” She waved over a liquor bottle from the dresser. Isaac reached up and grabbed it before passing it over. Maddie took a swig and placed two more cards in front of me from the top of the deck. Five and seven. “Hit me.” The pressure rising, she flipped over a card. A queen.Shit.
Ollie leaned over and rested his chin on my shoulder. Maddie smiled. “Busted,” she barked. “First question. Since I already know about ya and your problem from psych ward gossip. Why don’t ya tell me about your personal life?”
“What’s the question, Maddie?”
Her gaze slid to Ollie and back at me. “How many people have you slept with exactly?”
“I don’t know.”
