American Sweethearts

15

"Three, two, one, go!" Mark calls, starting the timer on his phone. Owen and Stan dig into their chicken wings, chewing as fast as they can. I laugh quietly, wrinkling my nose in disgust. Stan chokes on a bite, but he spits it up.

"No cheating, you have to eat it!" Mark says.

"No way!" I laugh.

Stan picks it up, shoving it in his mouth. I gag, looking away. I don't wanna see any of this. Owen is one chicken wing ahead. He even takes the time to dip one of them in barbecue sauce, mumbling something inaudible about flavour.

"This is so gross!" I exclaim, pushing my chicken nuggets aside. My appetite is long gone.

"You're about to get beat, Stan!" Mark laughs, cheering them on. Stan shoves two chicken wings, hoping to catch up, but its no use. Owen has already won.

"Ha!" he calls, wiping his face. "I'm the fucking king!"

"I ate spit-up chicken for nothing?!" Stan complains, falling backwards in his seat.

"Suck it!" Owen grins.

"This is what you guys do for fun?" I chuckle. "You guys are nasty."

"It's alright. We'll work it off at the gym tomorrow."

He'll have to if he wants to keep his toned body. Owen must work out all the time. Well, being a personal trainer, I'm sure he does.

"Now it's your turn, babe," Stan slaps Mark over his shoulder. "You've got this."

"Hell yeah," Mark cheers, grabbing a plate of wings.

"You too, Sarah," Owen looks at me. My face drops.

"What? Hell no."

"Someone has to."

"Not me."

"It'll be fun!"

"There's no way I can eat that much. I'm not even hungry."

"You've barely even touched your nuggets!"

"This is the second plate you've ordered me!"

"Hey, I promised you I would improve your night."

"And you have!" I assure him. "But eating a plate full of chicken wings will definitely result in me vomiting."

"Delicious! We can handle vomit, can't we, boys?"

I glance back over at Stan and Mark to see their response, but they're, uhm... occupied. Occupied with their tongues down each other's throats.

"Looks like it's just us," Owen laughs.

His friends have been absolutely amazing. I swear Owen must've told them what happened with Christian, because they've been treating me like I'm made of glass. I don't mind, though. I've been having a lot of fun. I haven't laughed like this in a long time.

The bar is pretty busy, but it's a lot nicer than the sorority house. Besides, there's actual supervision. I couldn't even order an alcoholic drink. I had to get Owen to do it for me.

He's so kind to me, it warms my heart. I'm almost jealous of Lena for having him as a brother. But then again, if he was my brother, I couldn't crush on him. And, let's be honest, that's kind of where this is heading.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here," I tell him. "I've had so much fun."

"See? I told you I'm a far better option than Christian!"