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Thank God she had perfect timing.
I could see that Matthew wanted to argue the point, maybe demand I stay. He’d always been protective of me, but right now seemed different. He seemed more intense, dominating.
I gave him one more last lingering look before turning and stepping out the front door. The truth was, it was hard leaving him. I wanted to stay there, wanted to talk, work things out. But if this was how my life was supposed to go, without Matthew in it, then I needed to try and move forward.
He made his stance clear, silently told me that we couldn’t be together.
I had to respect that.
I had to accept it.
What other choice did I have?
11
Ivy
Georgia pulled up to the party, cars lined up on either side of the road, a row filling the driveway. We had to park down the street because it was clear the place was congested and we wouldn’t find anything closer to Zachary’s house.
His place was on the outskirts of town, more like a farmhouse than anything else, although there wasn’t anything “farm” about the estate. Zachary came from old money and his house portrayed that.
Because of who his family was, and because the house was so far away from town, this party would be pretty untouchable.
Georgia parked and cut the engine and we just sat there. A truck drove by, four guys in the back of the pickup, one standing up and banging his hand on the roof of the vehicle. They all hooted and hollered, beer cans in their hands, and a keg situated between them.
“Georgia, are you sure this is a good idea? This seems pretty wild and it’s still really early.” I looked at her and could see her worrying her bottom lip, maybe thinking about changing her mind.
But then she looked at me and grinned. “This is going to be the party we won’t forget.”
I looked at the house. I had no doubt about that.
She climbed out and then opened the back passenger door, pulling out a medium-size paper bag that looked like it had some heft to it. I knitted my brows in confusion.
“What’s that?”
She opened the bag and pulled out a wine cooler, wagging her brows.
“Got seven more where this came from.”
I could have snorted for how proud she sounded about that. Wine coolers compared to what was probably flowing. Her party was tame as hell.
“Let me guess, friend of a friend got that for you too?” She winked and slammed the door shut.
I climbed out, making sure my phone was tucked into my pocket. I breathed out as I stared up the hill to where the house was located.
“Hey, you never told me how that peach schnapps was.” I looked over at her and grimaced. That had her chuckling. “That bad?”
I felt my cheeks heat at the thought of what had happened after I’d drunk all the schnapps. “Let’s just say I don’t wanna talk about it.”
She grabbed my hand and together we walked up the hill.
“Fair enough.”
The noise got louder the closer we got, and although I wasn’t a prude when it came to parties, this seemed a little out of control already.
We saw a few people we went to school with, who I considered friends, and we all started heading inside together. The lights were bright, the music loud, and this hazy film filled the entire interior of the house. I could smell a hint of weed, the aroma of alcohol. It all coated the air, wrapping around me and pulling me in like a temptation.
Although I wasn’t a big drinker, and certainly didn’t do drugs, when you were in this kind of situation everything seemed a little bit unreal. It felt dreamlike, that you could do just about anything and it would be okay … it would be safe.
I heard some shouting and looked to my right to see Zachary and a group of guys start to head over. They pushed their way through the thick sea of people, beer bottles and cans in their hands, their glossy expressions and red-rimmed eyes telling me they were already pretty drunk.
Zachary came up to stand beside Georgia. Marcus, Charlie, and Lane were next. They all looked trashed with glazed-over expressions and goofy grins on their faces.
“You guys came,” Zachary said with a big grin on his face, flashing straight white teeth.
I looked around the living room, bodies packed inside like sardines. “Zach, this is kind of intense.” All the guys started laughing and I looked back at them. I saw the way Georgia glanced at Charlie, and for the first time I noticed the desire and longing in her expression. Had I been blind this whole time? It was clear she wanted him, but Charlie on the other hand seemed oblivious. Or maybe he wanted her too and I was just as blind to that fact.
