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Chapter Forty
*****
Katie
One thing I would never get bored with was sitting in the library's quiet right before we closed the doors for the night. Students scrambled to get one last study session in before their finals as if they could cram all the semester's information in their brains in a few hours. Running my fingers along the bindings on the return cart, I knew I would not finish getting all the books back to their proper shelves before it was time to leave. Lifting my phone from my pocket, I noticed I had a text.
Ryder: Paul invited us to a party tonight. Want to join? If you say no, Max or Erik might just throw you over their shoulder and make you come, anyway. They’ve been crashing on the couch playing video games with Paul all afternoon. Apparently, they think this is a new frat house.
Shaking my head, I knew she wasn’t kidding. Max and Erik had been forcing me to go out with them every weekend. I didn’t know if Ryder put them up to it or what, but I didn’t completely mind their company. They weren’t blind to my struggles and provided ample distractions. We only had one week left before finals were done and everyone would head home for winter break. Part of me wanted to just go home and study, but I knew my friends would not let that happen. I had all weekend to study. Pressing send, I hoped I wouldn’t regret agreeing to go out with everyone tonight.
The music was pumping through the speakers at a level that I could barely hear myself think. As I slipped between Max and Erik on the couch, I grabbed the cup out of Erik’s hand, taking a large gulp of his beer.
“Hey. Get your own.”
Max immediately laughed, knowing that Erik hated having to wait to refill his beer. Turning my attention to Max, I swiftly grabbed his cup out of his hand, drinking half of his beer before handing it back.
“Both even now. Happy?”
They exchanged looks before laughing.
“We’ve corrupted her, man. We finally did it.”
Their hands clapped together in a loud high five over my head as I stood up.
“I was corrupted before I met you. Trust me.”
Walking toward the crowd, I spotted Ryder dancing with Paul. They each had a red cup in hand, enjoying the energy that was flowing through the house. Everyone walking around was having a good time and letting off some much-needed steam, as it was crunch time for everyone right now. Having already downed three beers, I was feeling a little more inclined to let loose than I normally was. I had spent so much of my time and energy trying to control everything around me I just wanted to forget tonight. I didn’t want to think about Nate anymore.
As I let the music fuel my movement, I twirled around, closing my eyes, and throwing my head back. I could feel Max and Erik watching me. They always did when they were around me. Although, I could never tell if they were watching me to protect me or because they wanted to see which one of them had a chance with me.
I didn’t care, they could watch me all they wanted. I loved this song, and all I wanted to do right now was to dance. It didn’t take long for Max to join me, his body pressing against mine as his hands pushed against my hips as I moved back and forth. Goosebumps formed on my arm as his hand connected with my skin. Brushing the hair off my shoulder, he leaned in closer, the heat of his breath warming my neck.
“You better take it easy or you’re going to crash hard.”
Moving to the beat of the music, I didn’t care. All I wanted right now was to feel anything but the empty loneliness that I had been feeling for the last four months.
Max held onto my waist with one hand, the other still nursing his new beer. I took the liberty of helping myself to the last of his beer. Our bodies moved together as my ass pressed against him. Spinning me so we were face to face, our eyes locking on one another, the blue shade amplified by the flashing lights in the room.
“What happened to that whole, you don’t drink thing?”
Licking my lips, I wrapped my hand around his neck, pulling him into me. My eyes closed as our faces collided and our lips devoured one another. The taste of beer was still on his tongue as he slipped in between my lips. As quickly as I had pulled him in, I pushed away, dancing again as if I hadn’t just done anything.
It had been months since I had allowed myself to feel anything but pain. Torturing myself for my mistakes. I needed to accept that Nate wasn’t coming back. With some alcohol coursing through me, right now, I felt free.
A tug on my arm startled me at first until I realized it was Ryder pulling me away from the dance floor. As she led me out of the room. I could tell I pissed her off.
“What the hell was that?”
She was scolding me like she was my mother, ruining the high I was feeling.
“You can’t just go around kissing people like that, Katie. Especially Max.”
Pulling my arm out of her hand, I couldn’t help but be irate.
“Why the hell not? It’s not like I’m dating anyone. I can kiss anyone I want, whenever I want.”
Placing one hand on each of my shoulders, she commanded my focus. It was a little hard to pay attention to her. The room was spinning around me.
