She smirks. “Duh. Hi, I’m Meiying. Have we met?”
* * *
There are toomany people here. It’s loud and the strobe light in the corner of the room is giving me a headache. The air is thick, the heady scent of herbs and incense permeating the space. I might have thought I missed out on the whole party scene since having César, but now that I’m here, I’m beginning to think I wasn’t really missing out on much of anything.
I check my phone for the hundredth time, knowing César is fine. KeAnna has been sending me updates. It’s just that this is his first overnight and it’s making me anxious. I’ve had to run back to Meiying’s to pump and dump once already, which makes me feel horrible as I pour my liquid gold down the drain. Normally I’d save it, but we’re drinking. Or at least Meiying and I are. She suckered me into taking a shot with her before we left, and after being reminded of whose house we’re going to, I figured it was necessary. Now that we’re here, I know I was right.
Meiying walks through the house like she owns it, making a beeline for the bar covered with booze. “What do you like?” she asks me, and I consider this. I don’t drink. I’ve had the shot at her house—which was disgusting, by the way—and I’ve had a Mimosa. Beyond that, my knowledge of alcohol is nil.
“I’m not much of a drinker,” I tell her with a shrug.
She rolls her eyes. “Well, you are tonight. I want to have some fun!” she shouts over the music. I glance toward Isa, who gives me an expectant look.
“No one is going to make you drink if you don’t want to, but how many opportunities do you get to let loose a little?”
I purse my lips. “Okay. One drink.” Meiying jumps up and down before turning to the teenage boy manning the bar. He’s familiar. From our school, but not someone I’ve talked to before. She tells him what she wants, and he makes quick work of lining up three red cups and filling them with various liquors before pushing all three toward her. She takes them and hands one to each of us before retrieving her own.
“What is it?” I ask, looking down at the vibrant blue concoction.
“Blue Hawaiian. You’ll love it.”
I take a tentative sip. Oh. Yum. “That’s really good.” I take another drink and decide maybe this whole alcohol thing isn’t so bad after all. Shots though, I don’t need to try those again.
We follow the sound of music to a makeshift dance floor in the middle of the living room and, cups in hand, start dancing to some early two-thousands reggaetón. My hips sway to the beat and I relax a bit.
“So, what’s going on with you and Jordy? Is he formally courting you now?” Meiying asks and Isa smacks her arm.
I take another drink and consider her words. “I mean, I’m not even sure what that means. He does this whole caveman thing saying I’m his, but I don’t think we have labels or anything. He’s never called me his girlfriend or anything like that.”
“Oh, his wolf is getting possessive. That's a good sign.”
I frown. It is?
“Do you want to have labels?” Isa asks, waving off a boy who tries to dance with her.
I shrug and drink a little more. “I don’t want to rush into anything. I don’t want to mess things up. You know?”
She nods. “Yeah. You have César to think about.”
Exactly.
“You do realize you’re past the whole girlfriend bit, right?” Meiying says. I stare at her and she huffs out a breath. “Shifters don’t think like humans. You have a kid. You can’t really date like normal teenagers, so you’ve basically skipped that part, but you’re notnota thing. And you’re definitely past the whole this is my boyfriend-girlfriend bit. Jordy looks at you like he wants to eat you and he’s jealous and possessive. If he’s not already courting you, he will be soon.”
“You think so?” I ask, genuinely curious because if I can’t figure out what we are exactly, maybe Meiying can shed some light on things for me and explain what courting entails. She’s not wrong. Shifters and humans don’t exactly look at things through the same lens, so I have no idea what is going through that head of his where I’m concerned.
“Absolutely.”
The three of us are quick to finish off our drinks and after a second trip to the bar for another blue drink, I’m feeling great. The lights aren’t giving me a headache anymore and my body tingles, my cheeks slightly numb.
“You’re buzzed,” Meiying says, dragging Isa and I back to the dance floor, and I don’t deny it. I’ve never been intoxicated before, but I definitely understand the appeal now. This is pretty fantastic.
“Aren’t you?” I ask, swaying my hips to the beat.
She shakes her head. “Shifter metabolism. We don’t get drunk.”
I pout. Well, that sucks for her.
71
