I tap Carter’s shoulder and he glances over.
“Beer?” I ask, then point at him.
He claps me on the shoulder, giving me a side-hug and a grin. “Yeah, thanks man.”
Good. It’ll give me a reason to walk away from this circle without looking like I’m fleeing, which I am.
I push through the bodies to the kitchen. The kitchen is brighter, the overhead lights washing everything out the way bad gallery lighting washes out a painting. The counter is covered in bottles, and there’s a keg in the corner surrounded by a puddle of foam. I grab two red cups and fill them from the keg.
I’m turning to leave when a woman steps into my path. She stares at me without speaking, and I just stare back because she looks familiar. I’ve seen June talking to her a few times on campus, but I don’t know her name. She has platinum hair and red lips.
“You’re June’s brother,” she says.
“Yeah, Aeron.”
“I know.” She picks up a bottle of vodka, examines the label, and sets it back down. “Where’s your sister?”
“She’s not here.”
“You go out alone, huh?”
I frown. “What’s your name?”
“Vienna, but what do you care?”
Okay, I’m done with her. I try to push past and leave, but she grabs my arm.
“Hold on,” she says. “I know you don’t go to this school, so are you here with your cousin? His name’s Carter, right?”
“Yeah.” I yank free of her grasp. Is this normal behavior at a party? Why is she bugging me?
She crosses her arms and drums her nails along her arm. “Interesting. I didn’t know he ran with the Hargrove crowd.”
“He goes to school here.”
“I knowthat.” She grabs a bottle and pours herself a shot. After gulping it, she runs her tongue along her top teeth. “I meant the frat crowd. He doesn’t seem the type.”
I shrug because she’s right. Carter is here the same way I’m here: someone invited him and he said yes. The difference is Carter can make yes look like it was always the plan.
“Let’s bring him a drink,” she says, reaching for a clean shot glass.
I lift the Red Solo in my hand. “Right here. He only drinks beer.”
“Got it.” She takes the cup from me. “Lead the way, June’s brother.”
I groan because I want to get away from her, especially if she can’t even use my damn name. But I lead her back through the bodies. When we reach the bro circle, Vienna’s eyes land on Carter and stay there. She inserts herself into the group conversation while casually handing him the beer. Within two minutes she’s talking to him directly, leaning in, laughing at his jokes, touching his arm.
Carter is into it. His posture shifts toward her, and he’s smiling at her differently than he did the bros. Over her shoulder, he gives me a wink, like thanking me for introducing them.
I roll my eyes.
Whatever.
At least now I can cleanly remove myself from this situation.
The party pulses like a living organism around me. The living room strobe, the hallway that smells like someone spilled tequila and didn’t clean it up, the back porch where vapers cluster in the cold. I spend a few minutes looking around for Cinna while trying to act like I’mnotlooking. I even check upstairs, but don’t see her anywhere. Maybe Carter was wrong, which is a relief (maybe I don’t look great) but also disappointing.
I end up outside, in the backyard, because the string lights are softer than anything else in this house. Music is still thumping.
