Were-Reader

4

Then Chris took them out into the backyard, the main highlight of it being a pool. Clusters of people were scattered around it, drinking and laughing.

"You didn't tell me you had a pool," Harley accused with teasing reproach.

Chris bent his arm back behind his head bashfully. "Well, I thought if I did you'd..."

Reese didn't hear his excuse, because that was when Irene decided that she needed a drink and it was somehow vital for Reese to go with her. She didn't argue, letting herself be dragged back inside to the kitchen, looking around to see if there was anyone she knew. She was absolutely not looking for a particular man who said he would be there late, because he wouldn't be there yet even if he did show up.

But still she looked. He shouldn't be that hard to spot. There were quite a few tall built men around, but not so many they would obscure him when he finally arrived.

Once both were armed with plastic cups of beer or coke for the designated driver, Reese and Irene made their way over to someone that Irene knew. Since Reese was having trouble hearing the conversation, she pasted a smile on her face and let her eyes wander around the room, comparing the party to scenes she had read in books. It wasn't the first time she had been to a party, but it was definitely the first one she had been since the summer after high school grad. It was also the first that had such a huge number of insanely attractive people. None of them quite reached the level of Nathan, but Harley fit the aesthetic really well.

It begged the question of what Reese was even doing there. She felt like the ugly duckling surrounded by swans. She shrugged off the thought. She only a few hours and then she'd be heading home and away from the situation, whether it turned out good or bad. What had she been thinking coming out tonight?

"Reese, is it?" She whirled away from pretending to listen to the conversation she couldn't hear at the sound of her name. She was disappointed to see a dark-haired guy who looked exactly like a linebacker rather than Nathan's blond hair and steely blue eyes.

Reese nodded, and looked up on him. Belatedly she pasted on a smile as she wondered how he knew who she was. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

He extended his hand. "Yeah, sorry. I'm Keith."

"Nice to meet you," Reese said, shaking his hand politely. "Or should I know you from somewhere?" She didn't think she had been introduced to him before, because he seemed to be the sort of person, kind of like Nathan, who would be hard to forget. He wasn't quite as hot as Nathan was, but holding everyone to that standard was unrealistic.

He laughed. "No, nothing like that. I was curious who you were since you're a new face, and Chris told me your name." 

The unbelievable part was that two incredibly hot guys had paid attention to her in one day. She wondered what he truly wanted, but there was no good way for her to work that question into the conversation that she could think of. Just because she felt something was off didn't mean he deserved rudeness. Instead, she threw out the first thing that came to mind. "So, do you live here, too?"

"No, I just know some of the guys. And I'm Nathan's cousin."

"Nathan?" Well, this coincidence seemed to be getting bigger all the time, running into someone who knew Nathan at a random party. Weird.

"Yeah, he doesn't usually come to this sort of thing—he's too serious—but when he mentioned he was coming tonight since someone invited him, I admit I was very curious. Chris didn't know he was coming, I already chatted with your friends, but they didn't know exactly who or what I was talking about, so by method of elimination, that you leaves you as the mystery female."