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Bree jumps and wraps her arms around me, thanking me over and over. She walks over to her closet and pulls out a short black dress, showing it to me.
“Cute. It’ll look great on you.” I tell her, but the look on her face says otherwise.
She smiles. “Not for me. This one is for you.”
Well, this should be interesting.
WE CAN HEAR THE party from a block away, the closer we get, the louder the sound. The front yard is full of people, and it only takes a few seconds before my eyes land on Holden. Bree skips a bit in front of me, wrapping her arms around him from behind. He turns and smiles, embracing her and kissing the top of her head. His eyes widen when he sees me behind her.
“Kayleigh. I didn’t know you were coming.” He sounds genuinely surprised.
I point to my roommate. “She talked me into it.”
Bree hands me her purse, asking me to hold it while she runs inside to grab us two drinks. She walks away, leaving Holden and I standing awkwardly in a crowd of people.
“Can we go talk?” I ask and he nods. We walk over to the side of the house where no one can hear. He leans against the wall and gestures for me to begin. “I don’t know how long I can keep this a secret for. The guilt is killing me.”
He looks around and then motions for me to lower my voice. “I know. It’s been eating at me too.”
“So, why don’t we just tell her?” I suggest.
He shakes his head, looking at me as if I’ve gone mad. “Are you out of your mind?! We can’t.”
I run my fingers through my hair. “We could just explain it was an accident. Maybe she’ll understand.”
“No!” He all but yells. “Absolutely not.”
I feel defeated, until I realize that this isn’t his choice to make. “Well, I can’t promise I won’t say something.”
I can hear Brianna calling our names from the front yard. Holden looks at me and then nods slightly. He takes a couple steps toward me and lowers his lips to my ear.
“You tell Bree about the kiss, and I tell everyone about your little problem.”
My jaw drops. He wouldn’t dare, would he? He walks past me and back out to the front. I follow behind him and plaster a fake smile on my face for Bree.
“There you two are. Where’d you go?” She asks, smiling brightly when Holden drapes his arm over her shoulders.
“Kayleigh was just asking me what I got you for your birthday tomorrow.” He answers.
Shit. I forgot. How could I forget?!
“Oh! Tell me!” She tries.
Holden laughs. “Not a chance, babe.” He looks up at me and winks, and suddenly, I remember why I hated him in the first place.
THE FOURTH SHOT I take goes down easier than the three before it. Once Holden was done with the pledges, Bree seemed to disappear with him. I decided to get drunk. I find solace in the buzz the alcohol gives me. I chase each one with a sip of my beer. It seems the more I drink of it, the less I mind the taste.
“Easy tiger.” Someone says from next to me, taking the shot glass out of my hand. I look up and see familiar chocolate brown eyes looking back at me.
“I know you from somewhere.” I slur. “Cowlick!”
He laughs. “Close. It’s Caleb.”
I take another sip of my beer, trying to focus my eyes on him. “I like Cowlick better.”
The two of us make small talk, though to be honest I can’t focus much on what he’s saying. The song that’s on happens to be one of my favorites. I grab his hand, stopping him mid-sentence, and pull him onto the makeshift dance floor in the living room. The two of us move against each other to the beat of the music.
“Where’s your girlfriend?” I ask.
