“Are we going?”
“I don’t give a shit what you two do, but I’d rather go home and fucking sleep,” I tell them. Jake shrugged and handed the phone back to me just as it buzzed again. This time, however, it was someone we do know.
Hey, this is Jami, sry. Jason asked Renee 2 the party 2night. I am worried about her.
There was nothing else, just that single text that made my spine turn to jelly with anxiety, real anxiety that I haven’t experienced in a very long time. I frown at the screen on my phone and then type back a quick reply, shoving the cell into my pocket before waiting for Jami to respond.
“Change of plans, gentlemen,” I said, hopping to my feet. “Let’s go get ready for the party.”
It was loud. Late. Music blares from the speakers around our heads, but drunk college kids still manage to whisper sexual come-ons at each other, their bodies writhing in the middle of the floor, hot and sweaty and intense. But I was not focused on them. In the hour and a half the boys and I had been here, I’d been focused on one thing and one thing only.
Jason and Renee were sitting together on the ragged couch. Jason had one hand on Renee’s waist, and the other held her face to his as they kissed. I hated watching them but couldn't force myself to look away. Something didn’t feel right tonight, and it was not just because of my feelings for Renee Lyon as I watched another dude suck face. I wanted to drink more, but at the same time, I couldn't stomach it. Not tonight.
“Hey man, I’m ready to go home,” Aaron said, coming up behind me to slap my shoulder. “This party blows. I’m tired.”
“Quit being such a fucking sissy,” Jake said, punching Aaron in the shoulder. The beer in his cup spills over, staining the carpet under our feet. No one else even notices.
“Seriously though, is this what you two find to be a good time?” Aaron grumbled. “Watching Renee swap spit with that douchebag?”
“We can leave when she leaves,” I growled. I expected Aaron to argue with me, Jake even, but neither of them did.
“Fine,” Jake said. “But I need to get laid tonight.”
“Like that’s something new,” Aaron grumbled. “You always need to get laid.”
“Both of you, shut up.” The words come out angrier than intended, but neither of my friends seems to notice.
“Want another drink?” Jake asked, tilting his head at my near-empty bottle of beer. I shook my head, eyes still on Renee and Jason. Aaron was watching her now, too, and a moment later, Jake fell silent as the three of us watched her from across the room. We didn’t know what we were watching, but there was something off-putting about how Jason had his hands all over Renee. I wanted to kill the guy.
“Just keep your eyes on her,” I told my friends. “I don’t like this.”
“Should we intervene?” Jake asked, and I shook my head.
“No. Not until she needs us.”
“What makes you think she even wants to be around us right now?” Aaron shook his head and swallowed, then set his empty cup aside, abandoning it, but he didn’t move in for a refill.
“She might not,” I said with a shrug. “That’s why we’re standing back here.”
“Evening, gentlemen,” a female voice said from behind us, bumping me from behind. I turn to look in time to see Carly insert herself into the middle of our little group. She was drunk, per usual, and if the flushed skin and glazed eyes of vodka-induced stupor weren’t already evident, her stumbling was.
“Hey, Car,” Jake said pleasantly. I was relieved if anything, that they were on better terms again. More woman drama is the last thing we need in an overflowing crisis circle.
“Hi,” Carly purred, pushing her body against Jake’s, and Aaron and I exchanged an eye roll. “Care to join me somewhere private?”
I thought Jake was about to take her up on it for a moment. But he didn’t. Not that I could blame him, of course, because as fun as it was watching the girl we all liked swap spit with another guy, sometimes it was just not worth the pain.
“Sorry, girl, can’t do it,” he said, taking a slow step away from Carly. “I think we’re getting ready to head out, anyway.”
“I’m here if you change your mind,” Carly said, finishing the rest of her drink. She tosses her hair over one shoulder and turns to leave, but not before looking at Jake again. “She is not worth it,” she said with a slight shrug. “Renee, I mean. She is not worth the time you’re all putting into this. I could promise you that.”
