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An all too familiar weight flops down on my shoulder. Before I even have time to look, Chad’s voice rings through my ears singing, “Natty Shaaaaaack is fucking baaaaacckk!” I would shrug him off, but there’s no point. He looks down at my beer and practically jumps back anyway. Gaping at the glass bottle in my hand, he points and utters, “You’re not drinking Natty?”
“You do know Natty Lite is disgusting, right?” Ethan chimes in.
“It’s fermented rice water,” I add.
Chad’s committed, though. Shaking his head, he says, “No, no, no, no, no. We always drank Natty in the Natty Shack. Come on, man!”
A quick sideways glance makes me point out, “Ethan isn’t drinking it.”
Chad’s head whips around to his roommate. “Not you, too!”
Ethan just shrugs and takes another sip of his IPA. “We’re not as broke as we once were. We’ve got options now.”
“Weren’t you just doing shots in the kitchen anyway?” I ask.
Clapping me on the shoulder again, he says, “Oh! That reminds me! Aiden, this is Daniella.” Gesturing to one of the girls I saw him talking to earlier, he waves her over and adds, “Daniella! Meet Aiden!” In a strangely smooth move, he manages to let go of Ethan and put his other arm around the girl so that he’s standing between us. “You two would make a beautiful couple. I’m just saying.” Then he breaks away from us and slithers back into the party like the snake he is.
As soon as he looks over his shoulder, grinning, I flip him the bird, but it only makes his mischievous grin widen as he gives me a reassuring thumbs up. I look for Ethan, but he seems to have found something better to do because he’s suddenly nowhere to be found.
Fucking Chad.
With no other distractions, I’m forced to look at the girl in front of me—Daniella. Her long blond hair could probably rival Jasmine’s, and so could her body if I’m being honest. But that doesn’t change the fact that Chad is a dick for making this fucking awkward.
Letting out a sigh, I surrender and say, “So, how do you know Chad?”
She blushes and tucks her hair behind her ear before smiling up at me through her thick lashes and saying, “I mean...we’ve known each other for a while.”
Of course, they have.
And by the way she’s biting back a smile, I’m pretty sure they’ve known each other in a variety of places and positions.
I somehow manage to hide my real opinion and say, “Nice,” as I finish off the last of my beer.
This is going to be a long night.
24
Claire
My phone vibrates on the wood coffee table, waking me up. I started to fall asleep about halfway through the movie and turned it off, making the room nearly pitch black. I have no idea what time it is, but it feels like I’ve been out for a while.
Too tired to sit up, I reach for my phone and tilt it toward me. The glow of the display screen burns my eyes, making me squint to see who could be calling this late.
Garret
You’d think the name itself just bit me the way I snatch my hand back, leaving my phone to buzz and glow in the otherwise dark room. With unblinking eyes, I watch until the screen eventually goes black, leaving me in complete darkness.
Until he starts calling again.
25
Aiden
Daniella tastes like cigarettes and Smirnoff Ice.
I don’t even know why I let her lead me out onto this balcony. We’re the only two people out here, and as soon as we were out of sight from the rest of the party, this girl fucking pounced. Now she has me up against the wall, and her tongue is in my mouth.
There may have been a time when this shit turned me on, but those days are behind me. I’m not in the business of random hookups anymore, and there’s no going back. A year ago, this was how I coped. The less I knew about the girl, the better, but eventually, it gets old. Eventually, it doesn’t matter how hot she looks or what she’s willing to do because, to a point, they’re all the same.
