Pyromaniac

Chapter 3: Sorry We Party

            The first thing Estella registered was the thumping beat that seemed to make the entire house come alive. Or at least, vibrate.

            Most people were on the dance floor—there seemed to be some sort of commotion in the middle. A dance-off? Some kid break-dancing? A girl giving some guy a blowjob? The possibilities were endless—while a few others were immune to the pounding music and life on the dance floor, ignoring it all and just having a drink with a buddy.

            Savannah—that was her name, right?—made a beeline for the dance floor. A natural dancer, Estella guessed as she watched the fake blonde bounce over to the dance floor and join the mob so cheerfully, you’d never guess she was a drunken mess just a few days ago.

            Blair, on the other hand, already picked out a cute guy from the crowd and twirled herself right into a situation that was bound to give her an easy-access ticket, straight to the bedroom.

            Estella decided to avoid the scene on the dance floor, not interested in what was going on. Rather, she found herself walking into the kitchen and looking at a variety of scenes. A couple hooking up near the refrigerator. Loads of people flirting over a drink. People playing cards. People eating.

            On the other side of the kitchen were Mona, Drew, Jonah—Drew’s roommate and the host of the party—and some other ditzy blonde girl trying to get Jonah’s attention. Mona was absently slurping beer out of a straw—a habit, she claimed—and Drew was shuffling a deck of cards.

            “Jonah,” the blonde purred. “Let’s go play a game.”

            “A game?” Jonah echoed warily. “What kind of game?”

            The blonde tightened her grip on him and dragged him over to a small group of people who had grabbed an empty, green-tinted beer bottle and were seating themselves to a game of Spin the Bottle.

            “Estella!” one of Jonah’s groupies, Jaxon, called out. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was drunk as he wobbled over and grabbed her butt with a grimy hand. “Come join us for Spin the Bottle,” he slurred.

            “Idiot!”

            “Get back here, you little bitch!”

            “Are you retarded?!”

            Estella glanced at Jaxon’s arm and nudged it away. He let go of her rear end easily enough, just in time for the Spin the Bottle group to yell warnings at him. Estella’s eyes darted over to the players and narrowed. She wasn’t some bomb about to go off, so what was…?

            Stephen.

            His blonde hair and darker roots. His tan skin. His high cheekbones. His sharp jaw. His sexy stubble. His prominent nose, his luscious and slightly chapped lips. And most of all, the hate in his thundering gray eyes.

            Estella’s eyes locked on his. She couldn’t seem to tear away from the hurt, confusion, anger, and angst. Stuck. Frozen.

            But all the while, as his eyes fired at hers and she took the blow, Estella’s heart and mind began to make a decision. Suddenly, her eyes softened and she broke the gaze easily, glancing over at a wasted Jaxon.

             “Sure,” she murmured to him, nonchalant but seductive. “I’ll play with you.”

            The Spin the Bottle players were apparently choosing to pretend to be garden gnomes, because they all froze, unblinking. And then a few guys broke the ice with a few whoops at Estella’s abruptly wanton remark. Go Jaxon, he just scored one while he was drunk.