Yet, she seems so small. Not because she’s particularly petite—she’s about average height with a medium, lean build—but because of the way she’s leaning into herself. Those chestnut locks of hair cover half her face, as if she’s trying to hide herself away.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell my roommates before making a beeline for this girl.
I stop when I’m ten feet away. The last thing I want to do is come off as creepy or scary, so I lean up against the same wall as her and awkwardly slide along until I’m about three feet away.
She turns her head to me with a side glance, her pink lips pursed.
“Hey.” I raise an eyebrow. “Do you come here often?”
Wow. Real smooth, Karan.
The girl looks around. “So, where’s the wine?”
“Uh…” I look down at my red solo cup. “This is beer. I think that’s all they have?”
She settles her bright green eyes on me. “Oh, that’s too bad. I like some wine with my cheese.”
It takes me a second to realize she just made a joke and for me to burst out into an awkward guffaw.
“Your joke was definitely better than mine,” I tell her.
Being this close to her is messing with the chemistry of my brain.
“I’m sorry, this…” I gesture to the loud ambiance of teenage drunkards around us. “... is new for me. And I just saw you here, and I’ve seen you in my humanities class, and I just thought…”
My voice trails off when I realize I might come off as too stalkerish.
“I saw you, too.” Her cheeks go red.
My heart skips a beat. “You did?”
“Yeah.” She looks down at her glass. “This isn’t really new for me, but I came with my roommates and they ditched me. I don’t really like parties.”
A surge of anger bubbles in my veins. We don’t all get lucky with our roommates, and it looks like she definitely didn’t.
Who would leave this angel alone?
“That’s kind of fucked up.” I slide an inch closer and smile. “Want to get out of here, then?”
My pulse speeds up at the audacity that just came out of my mouth.
She purses her lips again. “Presumptuous, sir.”
Shit.
I slide a bit farther away, racking my brain for ways to make it seem like a joke. “Uh…”
The girl bursts into laughter, and it’s one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve heard in my entire life.
“I'm just fucking with you, dude. Let's go.” She starts to walk, but stops in her tracks. “Before I run away from a party with you, I should probably know your name.”
My heart is in my throat when I speak. “I’m Karan.”
The girl’s face softens, and immediately, my insides turn to jelly.
“I’m Rachel.”
Chapter 4
