Chapter Three

We drive up to an unfamiliar house and idle.

Confused, I look over at Ari and start to ask. "What are we waiting...?"

A girl opens the doors and slides into the back of the Jeep.

"Let's get this party started!" She squeals in delight.

The girl leans over the seat and kisses Ari on the cheek. Then she turns to look at me.

"Hello, gorgeous! Who are you?"

I blush at the greeting. Ari introduces us. The truth is we've already met before. She either doesn't recognize me or has simply forgotten me. Her name is Courtney. We sat next to each other in AP Lit the first semester. We even completed a group project together and spent time in the school library after school.

Courtney is one of Ari's best friends. She is African American and Asian. Perhaps part Japanese, or Korean, but I'm not sure. Either way, she is beautiful. She is on the school dance team and plays soccer with Ari. In other words, she is part of the "in-crowd".

Shortly after a skinny boy comes running from a house across the street. He unceremoniously leaps into the back of the Jeep without opening the doors. As if he'd done it a thousand times.

"Yeet! Don't forget me! I've got the Fireball!" He waves the handle of liquor in the air.

Ari and Courtney whoop and holler at his declaration.

This is Derek, Ari's other best friend. She has many "best friends". They grew up together as kids. He doesn't go to our school; therefore, I don't know what his social status is. To be honest I'm not sure what his ethnic background is either. If I had to stereotype him, I'd say skinny-uber-nerd-skater-boy. That's a thing, right? He smiles politely at me but his attention is quickly diverted to Ari.

The three of them chat excitedly. I slunk in my seat and try to get small. Ari notices I'm feeling left out and tries to loop me into the convo a couple of times. My answers are brief and clipped. She ends up giving up. I'm not intentionally trying to be rude, but I'm nervous. I've deduced we're clearly heading to a party. There's going to be alcohol, lots of people, and I'm not going to know anyone but Ari. She's going to start having fun with her friends like she is right now. And I'm will be off in the corner forgotten. I'm regretting the decisions I've made up to this moment. What is a party without friends? I wish Kris and Katie were here.

We pull up to a house in a badly lit neighborhood, there are cars parked up and down the street. From the street, the house is relatively quiet. Lite chatter and laughter fill the night air as we walk up to the door. The closer we get the louder a steady beat of music grows.

Ari grabs the handle and opens the door. A blare of music and laughter escape and I'm taken aback. We step inside and Ari swiftly closes the door behind us sealing off the commotion to the outside world. I survey the party it's not what I'd expected. There are perhaps twenty people. The lights are on and bright. The living room is tiled and has been cleared of furniture. There are a couple of couches, folding chairs, and a table with a group of people playing cards. The kitchen is connected to the living room and all the booze is stacked on a marble island. There's a set of glass sliding doors leading to an outside space. And there is a pool. People are hanging around it, but no one is in it.

Ari leans over and says in my ear. "Welcome to your first college party."

I stiffen. Did she say college party? If a person can't swim, aren't you supposed to ease them in the water? Give them floaties, let them splash in the shallow end. Not throw them off a diving board, head first into the deep end! I spin on my heels and head for the door.

"No, ya don't."

I'm not sure who said it, but both Ari and Courtney grab me by the shoulders and steer me towards the kitchen. Derek follows behind and sets the beer and whiskey on the island.

"We need shots! Stat!" Courtney shouts.

Derek and Ari run to the other side of the kitchen pushing and shoving as if it's life or death. From the kitchen, I can see the full layout of the party. And yes, everyone does look older, more mature, sophisticated. What am I doing here?

"Hurry! We're losing her!" Courtney shouts again. And it's funny because I truly am about to bolt.

Ari lines up four shots glasses and Derek pours. When the glasses are full to the rim, they each grab one and look at me.

Derek clears his throat as if to say I've got this ladies.

"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back." Derek says. I start to smile because I'm a total geek and I know where this is going.

"You take the water..." He picks up a random plastic water bottle. "...the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the fiery shot." He lifts his shot glass, Ari and Courtney do the same. "...you stay in Wonderland and we show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."

Maybe it's the Matrix quote. Or perhaps it was the three of them. Focusing all their attention on me, treating me like an equal. Like a friend...I give in.

I pick up the shot. Ari mimics holding a shot glass with her empty hand. She taps her make-believe glass on the counter once, mimics a cheer, and then pretends to drink. I nod my head in understanding. She starts it off with her real glass this time. We all follow along. I tap the shot glass on the counter. The warm liquid sloshes over the rim and over my hand, I go up for the cheers and then pour the spicy contents down the hatch. It tastes of cinnamon and burns going down. I drink it in one giant gulp and manage not to spit any out.

Ari claps me on the shoulder. "Nice, chica. You're a natural."

I'm not sure it's a compliment. But I don't have much time to think about it.

Suddenly Ari squeals and dashes from the kitchen. She jumps and leaps up into a set of strong muscular arms. She wraps her legs tightly around his waist and runs her hands through his dark hair. She doesn't kiss him but holds on to him and he spins her around in a circle.

"Dechlan!" She squeals in delight. " I didn't know you were in town!"

He is not as loud as Ari and I can't hear him over the music. I can tell he is as happy to see her, by the giant smile spread across his face. I feel something press against my arm. I turn. Courtney is holding a red cup out to me. I take it but continue to stare at the scene in front of me. I'd never seen anyone greet a person as Ari just had.

I lean over to Courtney and ask, "Is that her boyfriend?"

I point my cup at the ruggedly handsome stranger. He is not much taller than Ari. He is all muscle and sharp angles. He reminds me of a cross between Liam Hemsworth and Zac Efron. In other words, he is hawt, with a w.

"Gawd no." Courtney scoffs. "They hate each other."

I look at Courtney unconvinced. She sees my disbelief and motions towards them. "Give them five minutes, you'll see."

All three of us walk over to Ari and Dechlan, Derek lingers behind but ultimately follows. Dechlan smiles at our approach. He leans over and gives Courtney a hug, gives Derek a head nod, and then turns to me. He puts a hand out as if to shake. I put my hand in his but instead of shaking it he holds it. His thumb softly caresses the back of my hand. His eyes are blue and sparkle. Or it could just be the alcohol kicking in.

"And who are you?" His hands are large and warm. And he is smiling flirtatiously at me.

I start to say, "I'm..." Ari interrupts me and finishes my sentence for me.

"...out of your league." She says.

I look at her in horror, that's not at all what I was going to say. She leans in close to me and puts an arm around my shoulders. And in the act knocks his hand from mine. I can't tell if she means to protect me or is letting me know he is taken. Maybe it's a little of both.

He grabs his chest in mock pain. "Ouch."

Ari leans in to speak to me but says it loud enough for him to hear. "He's a no-good womanizer. He also dropped out of his first year in college to be a movie star." She says movie star as if it's a dirty word.

Dechlan glares at her.

"And here we go..." Courtney mutters as she takes a sip from her cup.

"I'm the womanizer?! What about you? You string men along all the time." He says.

"Excuse me, I do not. And I don't sleep with a different girl from Tinder every night!" Ari's arms are crossed and her eyebrows are low and menacing.

"Yeah, but I wish you would. That'd be fun to watch." He smiles at Ari, and her face contorts further into anger.

"Omg, get a room." Courtney looks across the room. "I'm going to be over there." She points her finger at a guy sitting at a couch. He looks up and sees her pointing. He smiles and points back.

She says, "Byeeee." Then she walks away.

"I need a drink." Ari storms off back towards the kitchen.

Dechlan follows and says, "Make me one. And make me a sandwich woman."

Ari turns to flips him off as she walks away. He follows closely and stands behind her as she pours two shots. When he thinks she's not looking he leans over and sniffs her hair. She catches him and angles her face to look at him. Their faces are almost touching. She holds the shot glass up to his mouth. Then bites her bottom lip, and his eyes trail to her mouth.

I turn away. I feel as if I'm intruding on a private moment.

Derek stands next to me looking down at his feet. He looks as out of place as I feel.

"You guys go to college parties often?" I know it's a classic one-liner, but I don't know what else to say. He takes the bait.

"This year. Ari is taking college courses for the credits. She made new friends."

He points toward Ari and Dechlan. "She's right. You and Ari are way out of his league. He's done and said some shitty things to her. And he is always getting into fights. Guy's a sociopath and a liar." He takes a swig from his red cup.

I know jealousy when I see it. I'm not sure how unbiased his opinion is. I avoid responding by taking a sip from my drink. It's bitter and dull on my tongue. I grimace and spit it back into the cup.

Derek laughs. "It's gross, right? No one ever buys the good stuff for these kinds of parties." He points to the card table where people are playing. "You want to play cards? It looks like King's cup, it'll be fun."

I hadn't heard of such a game, but I nod and follow him to the table. Don't ask me to explain the rules to this game. The rules seemed to change every round. All you need to know is it's a drinking game. Rules require you to drink from your cup and sometimes pour a little into the big cup in the middle of the table. The person who loses, or wins depending on your take on drinking copious amounts of mixed liquor, must drink from the Kings cup at the end of the game. Derek was sitting next to me and tried to explain the rules of the game. I tried to pay attention to his words. However, there was a cute guy sitting across from me and he kept shooting glances at me under long brown lashes. Our eyes kept connecting and he finally moves to sit next to me.

I'm not going to fib, I'm buzzed. He tells me his name, but I can't remember it. In my head, I keep calling him Bronze Boy. Because in my drunken state he looks like a golden bronze Adonis statue. His skin is the color of toffee or caramel and he has a golden undertone that's glowing. The glow could be the liquor talking.

Curly locks of his hair fall into his eyes and he occasionally sweeps it back from his face. The light above reflects off his hair and it's golden brown...bronze. And his eyes are hazel green with flicks of, you guessed it, bronze ringing his pupils. I wanted to fall into them. I think I'm in love or it's the alcohol?

Ari comes up behind me and hugs me, she places her warm cheek on mine. I can smell her hair. Strawberries and spring as always.

"Anyone for a game of flip cup?" She asks through smiling lips.

A couple of us get up from the table including Derek. I'm disappointed to see Bronze Boy choosing to stay, but I follow Ari into the kitchen. The island countertop is lined with red cups on each side. It's another drinking game simpler than the last. It's a relay race, requiring you to finish your drink and flip the cup upside down, before moving to the next person. It's a task harder then it seems, especially if you've been drinking.

Ari is pro at the game. We aren't on the same team but standing directly across from each other as opponents. She grimaces at me menacingly. I try to affect the same look, but I only end up smiling. Ari flips her cup before me the first few rounds but on the last two rounds, I win by a mile. And I jump up and down, spin around and pump my arms in the air in victory.

Next thing I know, there is an alcohol-induced time skip, we are all dancing to the music. Me, Ari, Derek, Dechlan, and Courtney. We are all pressed together swaying our hips and pressing up against each other. Dechlan is in the middle of us and starts to twerk. He's not very good at it but it's hilarious. I laugh uncontrollably and Ari is laughing too. Then she takes her foot and mock kicks him in the rear-end.

She laughs, "Get out of here!"

Dechlan responds by pushing his butt up against Ari. Her mood shifts like a flip of a switch and suddenly she is livid.

She rolls her eyes, "Errgh! I'm out of here. I need some fresh air!"

She storms away towards the backyard. We all share a confused look but follow her outside. It's dark and people are standing around the lit-up pool. It serves as one of the only sources of light. It shimmers and reflects, giving everyone a blue hue.

"Oh relax, Ari. I was messin'." He grabs her hand.

Ari yanks it back and she yells, "Don't touch me!"

Her response seems to rile him up and he pretends to push her in the pool.

"Stop!" Ari glares at him and pushes at him.

He falls backward into the pool, but not before reaching out and grabbing her. They make a giant splash and someone squeals as water goes everywhere. They both come up. Ari gasps and rubs water out of her face. Dechlan has a big smile and is lazily treading water.

Derek rushes over to the side of the pool and puts a hand out to Ari. She takes it and climbs out. Her clothes are wet and sticking to every curve and crevice of her body. Her make-up is running in dark streaks down her face.

Derek glares at Dechlan and shouts, "You asshole!"

Dechlan puts his hands up in innocence. "What?! She pushed me." He swims a couple of backstrokes.

Ari shouts, "You did this on purpose!"

One of the partygoers brings her a towel. A blonde girl with a southern drawl, I recognize her as a cheerleader from school. She leads Ari back into the house.

Dechlan stops swimming and hoists himself out of the pool. He removes his shirt to reveal bulging pecs and a tight six-pack. Drops of water glisten in the moonlight and roll down his chest. I try not to stare but fail.

Derek angrily approaches Dechlan, as he is wringing the pool water out his shirt. He's standing less than a foot away from the guy.

Dechlan doesn't bother to look at him and says, "Get out of my face, bro."

Derek stands his ground. His hands are balled into fists. They're about the same height, but while Dechlan is all biceps and pecs, he is skin and bones. Dechlan finally looks at him, the muscles in his jaw clench and unclench. He steps in closer to the scrawny teen.

"I said get out of my face!" He snarls.

Chapter 3 TBC...

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