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The cake is placed on the table before Liesel cheers, “Make a wish!”
I close my eyes, unsure what to wish for—happiness, love, the well-being of my family. But deep inside, I wish to feel alive, to be consumed by passion, and to be completely in love where the air hurts to breathe if you’re not buried into his chest.
I blame the fiction books I have been reading of late—romance novels Liesel insisted I binge read because the sex was supposedly off the charts. It’s as close as I can get to the real thing, and perhaps, the wish I made would make me feel all the things I read about.
“I better go, Millie.” Andy stands up, and I follow, his big arms wrapping around me in a tight embrace. “Call me if things get out of control tonight.”
“Hey, my reputation has been clean for a while now. Just so you know, I can be responsible.”
Andy places a kiss on my forehead. “Sometimes, I actually miss my crazy cousin. She makes life interesting.”
I let out a hearty chuckle. “Go now, you pest. And say hi to your dad for me.”
Liesel and Josh both say goodbye to Andy before he disappears outside. Josh claps his hands, barely able to contain his excitement.
“Let’s get this party started, ladies.”
Getting into the club was easy. As promised, Josh’s brother takes us through the back entrance and straight into the dimly-lit club, the music blaring around us with people crammed on the dance floor.
The club itself is underground. There isn’t much to it—scattered bar stools, a long neon-lit bar with a back wall shelving bottle after bottle of liquor. People are dancing, some look much older, and others our age.
“Let’s grab a drink,” Liesel shouts into my ear. “Cosmopolitan?”
I kindly refuse the drink, not wanting to push the limits, given I’m not twenty-one.
“C’mon, Amelia. Just one?”
“How about later? Promise.”
Liesel pouts her lips but doesn’t push any further.
At the bar, I pull out my phone to text Ava, then quickly hop onto Insta to see the first story from Austin’s account. It’s a picture of him with some friends, and more notably, a beautiful brunette beside him with her arm on his. My stomach is tied in knots, the slump of my shoulder following soon after from the image with the caption Just another Friday night.
Today is Saturday, so this photo was taken last night. He mentioned nothing of the sort, and in fact, I recall him mentioning he was studying. My hands clutch my stomach, the realization that he can be lying to me the only thing on my mind. Around me, the noise drowns out, and the only thing I hear is the loud beat of my heart, the thumps almost bursting out of my chest.
I stare at the photo again, examining every inch of it—the way Austin’s eyes light up to the cheeky grin next to this girl who appears equally as happy. The longer my eyes focus, the deeper the hurt runs.
In the corner of my account, I see a notification for a direct message. Opening it up, I glance at the username and read the message:
Will R: Going to a club when you’re only 19 is stupid. Do you know the danger you’re putting yourself in?
I shake my head in disbelief. What the hell? How does he know? And how on earth did Will find my Insta account? M
y momentary pain subsides as I type profusely, wondering why Will needs to act like my goddamn father.
Me: The same could be said about the number of women you sleep with.
I see the bubble appear before his message pops up.
Will R: I’m coming to get you.
I let out an annoyed huff, then remember he doesn’t know where I actually am. Without even thinking, I block his username. The week has been bad enough since the night he drove me home. I hate that he has crawled under my skin, and mostly, I hate the way I entertain what it might be like to kiss him when he did that thing at dinner with his lips. It came out of nowhere, watching his tongue slither on the spoon and my legs tensing at the sight. Between Will and my dying relationship with Austin, I need that drink.
“You know what? I’ll take that Cosmo now.”
Liesel claps her hands, ordering me one immediately. An hour later and several drinks down, I’ve lost count and find myself on the dance floor. Will doesn’t show up, of course, all talk and no action. The guy is probably bored and wants to annoy me to serve some sort of sadistic pleasure of his.
I dance with Liesel and Josh, then with a group of women I made friends with. Our bodies sway to the beat, my eyes closing as my hair swooshes around. It becomes hot and sweaty, my skin slithering under the barely lit dance floor.
