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“Well she told me she’s upset about the rumors.”
“Shit.” Ian ran a hand through his hair. “I guess I should talk to her about it.”
“Yeah, you should,” I said, but some of my bitterness was fading away. Was it possible that he was just clueless?
He glanced at me, his hand still in his hair. “At least I have an idea why you’re so hostile toward me.”
I looked at my feet. “I wouldn’t say I’m...hostile.”
“You just think I’m a douche bag.”
I peeked up at him and smiled. “Kind of.”
He shrugged, but he was smiling too. “So I’ll just have to prove you wrong. Challenge accepted.”
I shook my head, still smiling. He was so friggin’ charming. It was almost impossible not to like him—but I knew that was exactly what got girls like me into trouble.
He walked me right up to the door of my building. I opened the door and then hesitated, turned back to him.
“Goodnight, Ian,” I said politely. “Thank you very much for walking me home.”
He gave me a salute. “Any time, little lady.”
Chapter Four
“Mini-me, we need to get out of here. Let’s go to a party.”
I cringed. I hated that stupid nickname. But when I tried to tell Melissa to stop using it, she only used it more. Lately she’d become enamored with the idea I was her little underling. She also seemed to find it funny to pretend to choke me.
Yesterday Ian had gone around our building with a Polaroid camera to take pictures of everyone for the lounge. Just before he snapped ours, she wrapped her arms around my neck. Tightly. In the picture she’s smiling like a crazy person and I’m sitting in my desk chair looking like I can’t breathe.
Ian had shaken the photo to develop it, frowned at the result. “Unfortunately we only have enough film for one picture a room.” He shot me an apologetic look before moving on to the next person.
“I’m not really in the mood,” I said now, not looking up from my textbook.
“It’s going to be super fun. A guy in the drama program told me about it and I don’t want to go alone.”
“Maybe ask Carly.”
“I want you to come. You know, like a roommate bonding thing.”
Surprised, I glanced up. She was smiling at me hopefully. I had no idea what to say.
“I even have an outfit you can wear.” She skipped over to her wardrobe and pulled down a plaid skirt. “All you need is a white blouse.”
I closed my book and stood up. “You want to dress me now?”
“It’s a schoolgirl and Tom Cruise party. I’m dressing up like a schoolgirl too.”
“Well yeah, I have a white blouse...” I shook my head. What was I thinking? I didn’t want to dress up like a slutty schoolgirl for a party.
“It will be fun,” she said as if reading my mind. “Maybe help you stop crushing on Ian. Oh!” She snapped her fingers and opened her desk drawer, pulled open a bottle of vodka. “This is what we need.”
I watched as she poured two shots and handed me one.
“We’ll do a bunch of these and then be brave enough to go.” She held up her shot glass, smiling at me over the rim. “Have fun, Alexis, and stop worrying about everything, including school. Shed that goodie-two-shoes thing you’ve got going on.”
That did sound very inviting. I was tired of being viewed as a good girl. After all, I was a college student now and almost a legal adult. I needed to grow up.
I hesitated for only a second before tipping the shot back. It burned its way down my throat, unearthing memories of a sleepover in which a friend and I had tried shots of tequila while playing with a Ouija board. We’d then pulled the oldest trick in the book: refilling the bottle with water.
Three or four shots later, I was dressed in the outfit Melissa had designed for me, my hair in pigtails. It wasn’t exactly making me look like a grownup.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I whispered, looking at my reflection with a mix of unease and excitement.
“It’s going to be so much fun!” Melissa gushed. While I’d been changing, she’d been pouring herself more shots. “Gary is super hot. The guy that told me about the party, I mean. He says his buddy always throws the most epic parties and that there’s always a theme.”
“Where is this party?”
“They live off-campus in a large house they call the mansion. It’s that big.”
“Wow.” It was my first off-campus party. I needed another shot.
By the time our cab arrived, we’d tossed back three more shots and I was feeling the burn. I grabbed for my sweater, but Melissa swatted at my hands.
“No way, you’re not covering yourself up. Seriously, Alexis, it’s like I have to force you to look sexy.”
To say I felt like an imposter was an understatement. I was teetering in my heels like some kind of circus freak on stilts. I only ever wore heels when it was absolutely mandatory, which in my family translated to religious holidays. Every other day I liked to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground so I could take off at a moment’s notice.
The lounge was full when we snuck by, but a large guy was standing with his back against the glass door, thankfully blocking us from view. We hurried to the parking lot where the cab was parked, Melissa enjoying the looks from the guys that passed, me ducking my head. I didn’t pay attention during the ride; the passing streets wouldn’t have meant anything to me anyway. My mind was on the night ahead. Even while worrying about what I’d gotten myself into, I was still thinking about Ian. I wondered what he was doing tonight…and who he was doing it with.
We pulled up in front of an enormous house with a Victorian feel. I’d never been good at describing things, whether it was a house or a car, but what I could say was that it didn’t look like it belonged on that street. It actually had turrets. And a balcony that ran the front expanse of the second story. Leaning against the railing smoking was a guy in a dark grey suit and a blonde in schoolgirl attire with her hair in a high ponytail.
We were definitely at the right place.
Melissa shot me a sexy smile before sashaying her way up the front walk. I balled my hands into fists and followed behind, holding my head high. Once I was inside I’d feel a lot better, I knew that. Inside it would make sense that I was dressed like a slutty schoolgirl.
We pushed open the door and stepped inside. There was a large front foyer with dark walls and mirrors on both sides. It led to the kitchen in front of us, a living room area to the left and a hallway to the right. Groups of people were talking in the foyer and they glanced up and smiled at us as we entered.
Looking around, I could a few people sitting on chairs and couches in the living room, holding either wine in a small plastic wine glass or beer in a red solo cup. Some girls were dressed in suits as well, which was kind of cool. Who said you had to dress like a slut just because you were a girl? We lived in the here and now.
As we moved through the foyer, trying to act like we knew what we were doing, a dark head turned to look at me. When he saw me, his eyes widened slightly and his mouth opened in a small “o” of surprise. He looked familiar, and I wondered if I knew him from somewhere, or if he was simply checking me out.
I quickly averted my gaze.
The booze was flowing from the kitchen and the moment we entered, a tall guy with red hair offered us a glass of wine or beer. “Ladies drink free.”
Melissa took a glass of red wine and I opted for the beer.
“I’m Manny.” He held out his hand and both of us took it, introduced ourselves. “How did you hear about this?”
“I’m friends with Gary,” Melissa said. “Have you seen him?”
“Yeah he’s around here somewhere.” He glanced around just as the volume in the entire house seemed to amplify. People were excited about something.
Manny grinned. “Sounds like we’re about to start.”
Before I could ask what was about to start, t
he crowd in the kitchen surged forward, forcing us back into the foyer. We were pressed against a wall as people entered the foyer from the hallway as well, looking over their shoulders at whatever they were clearing the way for. All around us people were whistling, cheering, talking excitedly—their eyes alight with excitement and their cheeks pink.
Even in my heels, I had to stand on tip-toes to see over the crowd as what we were waiting for finally arrived. A large, burly man stepped out of the hallway with a large sack over his back. Everyone moved aside for him as he made his way through the foyer and into the middle of the living room. Then we were shoved along with the crowd again until we were standing in the living room with everyone else. Melissa grabbed my hand and pulled me to a gap where we could see what was going on.
The man placed the sack on the floor and let it fall open, spreading its edges out like a blanket. My heart skipped a beat. It took me a minute to register what I was seeing.
Lying in a pile was something close to thirty wooden paddles.
