“You should let me take you for a ride when it gets warmer.”
She pursed her lips. “I like how you’re making all these future hypothetical plans.”
“Act like you heard what I said before, Amate.”
Before she could respond, their order was called, and they retrieved it. Eri grabbed random condiments from the table before they found one right beside a heat lamp. She was right; the food was delicious, and he made a mental note for them to return soon.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
They’d arrived at the party close to nine, and a mass of people were in attendance. That had been an hour ago, and the number had almost doubled. Eri was sure they were at capacity or over it. Koa had rented out one of the largest event spaces in town for her celebration, and Eri had seen several other content creators she was familiar with. Some she knew lived in different states.
The atmosphere reminded her of a well-organized, tamed frat party. There was music playing, but there were darts, beer pong, and other games she’d witnessed the few times she’d been bored enough to attend a frat bash. However, there was no craziness, no cups and trash thrown around. If all the parties she’d gone to on campus had been like this, she wouldn’t have left them so soon.
She hadn’t seen Koa yet, but there were so many people in attendance that she knew it would be hard to find her, and several people would want her attention. Not to mention, Eri had no idea what Koa looked like. Her face was never on her page, and she supposed that was for her privacy, but by the number of people in attendance, she had a large group of friends and acquaintances.
Eri stood near the darts area as she looked out over the crowd. Avian had dragged Marco to the sea of other dancing bodies a minute ago, and Elias had stepped outside a couple of minutes prior to take a call. The music wasn’t overbearing, and she could easily make out conversations near her.
“Hey.” She looked to her right at the man who’d approached her and took a step back as he was too far into her personal space. “I saw you standing here alone.”
“I’m waiting for my friends,” Eri responded.
“I can keep you company while you wait,” he replied, and she tried to figure out what part of her statement sounded like an invitation. “I’m Myron,” he introduced.
“Hi, Myron.” He seemed nice enough, but she wasn’t giving him her name. He wasn’t flirting with her, but she suspected it was coming. Why else would he seek a lone woman at a party? Sure, he could have just been that friendly, but the chances of that were slim.
“You’re very pretty.”
“Thanks.”
“You want to dance while you wait for your friends?”
“No, thank you.”
“Oh, come on,” he smiled.
“No, I’m good.”
“Just one dance.”
“No,” she replied, and the irritation in her voice was unmistakable.
“You’ll have fun, and we can get a drink together afterward,” he pressed.
“She said no,” filtered over her shoulder. “Which is a complete sentence.” Eri felt a hand on her waist. “And she has a drink.” Elias held a cup in front of her, and she took it, glancing at the blue concoction.
“My bad,” Myron responded, hands up in surrender. “She didn’t tell me she had a boyfriend.”
“She didn’t need to because, like I said, no is a complete sentence, and she doesn’t owe you anything other than that,” Elias responded.
Eri could feel the deep vibration of his voice against her back, and his tone left no room for argument. Her mind flashed to other scenarios he could use it in, and she shifted,subconsciously leaning back against him. He gently squeezed her waist as Myron left without a response.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“I didn’t mean to take that long. We’re having a family dinner tomorrow, and my mom wanted me to pick up some things before I came, and sometimes she doesn’t know how to get off the phone.”
She laughed as she stepped away, turning to face him. “It’s fine. He hadn’t been here long. Besides, I’m a big girl. We both know I have a smart mouth and can handle myself.”
