“Thanks, man.” Apparently, drunk Ford didn’t have a problem talking to me.
Since our awkward encounter in the kitchen a few days prior, we’d both kept to ourselves. The couple times I had seen him in the house, he had either made it a point to ignore me or leave. I didn’t know why he continued to avoid me. It wasn’t as if I was trying to push him for any sort of explanation or anything. We’d broken up and that was that.
“No problem. Do you ladies want anything?”
“A beer would be great,” Lia replied.
“Me too,” Emily called out.
I lifted my hand in the air, indicating to Preston that I needed two more drinks.
Once everyone had a beer, Ford leaned into Emily and said, “Let’s go dance.”
“Want to join them?” Lia asked me.
Lia and I had been friends for a few months, and saw each other at parties often, so dancing together wasn’t a big deal.
“Sure.” I grabbed her hand and followed behind Ford and Emily.
We stayed on the makeshift dance floor for a few songs. Just two people having a good time. At least, we were until Ford decided to speak.
“She’s not really your type,” he mouthed off.
“Dude.” I glared at him.
“What?” He shrugged. “She’s not.”
My sexuality wasn’t a secret, and I was pretty sure Lia knew I was gay. Not responding to Ford, I pulled her toward the other side of the dance floor. “Sorry about that. Ford’s drunk.”
“Clearly, but it’s not really a good enough excuse for him to be a jerk, though.”
“You’re not wrong.”
She looked at her friend, who was still dancing with him. “Emily likes him for some reason. I don’t get it.”
Unfortunately, I got it. When I first met Ford during rush week our freshman year, I had found him quite attractive with his perfectly styled chestnut hair and emerald eyes. I had no clue he was bi since I only saw him with women over the next three years. During that time, we’d become close friends and he was always a blast to hang out with. So needless to say, I’d been caught off guard when he made the first move last fall. As we spent more time together, it felt as though whatever was happening between us was more than just physical. We’d stay up late at night talking about our goals and what we each planned to do after we graduated. And while I never saw us as something super serious, I had enjoyed our few months together and could understand why Emily did too.
“Lia!” a couple of girls shouted from the kitchen as soon as the song ended. “Come do shots with us.”
She stepped back out of my arms. “Looks like I’m being summoned.”
I chuckled. “Have fun.”
Looking around, I spotted Fallon across the room chatting with a few Delta members. I headed in their direction, handing out some high-fives and bro hugs along the way.
“You look annoyed,” Fallon said quietly as I stepped next to him.
“Ford is being a dick,” I grumbled, ensuring only he could hear me. “Said some shit about Lia that he shouldn’t have.”
“Do I need to step in?”
I shook my head. “Nah. I’ll handle it.”
Fallon got pulled back into the conversation with the other guys while I scanned the room once again. When my eyes passed over the crowd still dancing, I noticed Ford staring in my direction.Seriously, what was his deal?
The second he realized I saw him, he bent down and crashed his lips against Emily’s. I rolled my eyes. If he thought his actions would make me jealous, he had another thing coming. All he managed to do was make me think about another set of lips I wished I had on mine.
Despite not seeing Professor Foster all week, I wondered if he was at Chrome looking to hook up with someone again. A pang of jealousy hit me and before I realized it, I stood and grabbed my phone.
