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As Jared ran downstairs, Bryson motioned for me to follow him. I recognized that look in his eye, and he planned to start drinking right this second. I grinned and shook my head.
“Hey, Maci, can you make me one?” Bryson smiled in her direction.
She smirked, and they exchanged a glance.
I followed Bryson downstairs, knowing full well that I would need an endless supply of drinks if I was going to watch him flirt with Maci all weekend.
Chapter54
Maci
March 2016
Katieand I poured what was left of our second bottle of Moscato into our empty glasses and clinked them together as Rihanna’s “What’s My Name” played through the speaker. We had set up camp in the living room and taken over the counter space with snacks and empty Bud Light Rita cans.
The condo across the street decided to host a game night. While Katie and I were all for the group activities this weekend, we craved a little girl time before merging into a new social circle. Neither of us knew any of the girls invited on this trip, and my only experience with Heather and Reagan involved Jaxon.
I didn’t care to witness history repeat itself this weekend. It already threw me off to have Bryson here, but Jaxon’s past hookups too? It was crazy how many bodies had been shared between the two condos.
Katie sang along to the song's chorus, and I took another long sip of my wine. We both had a great buzz going and agreed it was necessary to go across the parking lot.
“So you don’t know anything about any of the girls over there?” Katie asked as if she had just read my mind.
I emptied my glass and shrugged. “Let’s see . . . I know Reagan works at Dunkin, andshe’sslept with Jaxon multiple times. I know her roommate, Heather, likes tostalkJaxon, and she’s also slept with him multiple times. They both offered to sleep with Jaxon at thesametime.”
I laughed at the look on Katie’s face, but unfortunately, I had even more insight for her. I drummed my fingers on the counter and cocked my head to the side. “Heather was the girl Jaxon kicked out the morning after I slept with Bryson,” I said slowly.
“No!” Katie exclaimed and covered her face with the sleeve of her hoodie.
I buried my face in mine, and we both laughed harder than we should have, thanks to the empty evidence that littered the counter.
Katie shook her head. “I just can’t picture him being a jackass like that.” It always pained her to see Jaxon in any kind of negative lighting.
“Believe it,” I murmured into my empty glass and pouted when nothing came out.
“We need to go over there.” Katie laughed at my expression and set her empty glass on the counter. “Are you putting on sweatpants?”
I giggled. “It’s probably going to be ninety degrees over there with all of those people.”
“Right,” Katie agreed. She disconnected her phone from the speaker and double-checked that everything was turned off before we headed out the door and across the parking lot.
The closer we got to Heather’s condo, the louder the bass sounded from the property. We jogged the last half of the journey because of how much the temperature had dropped since this morning. When we arrived on the doorstep, I knocked on the door and twisted the handle. It was unlocked, and we were hit with loud music, heat, and a lingering smell of cherry once we stepped inside.
During my initial sweep of the place, I didn’t recognize anyone other than Jared. Heather’s condo was easily double the size of Connor’s, but it lacked charm and crowd control. At least three dozen people were here, and we had only come with twelve bodies. It was possible that I missed a few people at the head count, but I couldn’t have been off by that much.
Katie nudged my shoulder, and she led us through the living room. We weaved through groups of people and stopped when we entered the kitchen. Dispensers of pink and orange drinks were on the counter, and colorful stacks of cups sat next to them. Katie and I exchanged a glance and shrugged before filling a cup with Pink Drink and continuing on our mission to find a familiar face.
“I don’t see them being upstairs,” Katie shouted over the music. “Maybe they are downstairs?”
“Or outside!” I offered.
Not wanting to separate from each other in a crowd of people we didn't know, we decided to try outside since the balcony door was off the kitchen. The same chilly air we just walked through suddenly felt refreshing after being inside.
Another twenty or so people were outside on the wooden deck that stretched a little past the shoreline and hung over the lake. Aside from the light thumping of the music, the waves crashing along the rocks below were actually very peaceful.
I peered down the line of Adirondack chairs and saw Connor’s face illuminated in the flames of a small tabletop fire. “There.” I pointed. I felt my shoulders relax when Connor smiled in our direction and waved us over.
“Hey baby,” Connor swooned once we got closer. He held his hand out for Katie and gave her a long kiss before pulling her into his lap.
