Resolution

1. Sex

"And this is how it starts..."

Song: Sex

Artist: The 1975

The room vibrated around me as the heavy bass pounded into the air, thick with the scent of alcohol, bodies, and smoke.  Music poured throughout the house, rebounding off the walls and obliterating the potential for any actual conversation.  Not that that was the point- people came to these parties for two reasons: to get drunk and to find someone to take home.  As far as I could tell, everyone was off to a promising start.

I took a gulp of my drink, letting the undertone of alcohol burn down my throat as I leaned against the wall and my eyes scanned the crowed room.  My best friend, Maggie, was practically screaming in my ear about something I couldn't hear, so I nodded along, pretending to know what she was saying.  It was hopeless to even try, honestly.  She should know better.

Girls in ridiculously small skirts wove their way through the crowd, fishing for boys to bring them drinks and take them home.  One girl with long, nearly black hair was trying valiantly to seduce two men at once; one seemed fairly interested, but the other could hardly keep his eyes focused on any one girl for more than two seconds before averting his eyes to the next specimen to come into his line of vision. 

I felt a little uneasy as I observed the antics going on in front of me.  Sure, I had been to these parties before and was well aware of what most people did at them, but I had never really participated.  Casual hook ups weren't really my thing, and I considered myself more of a relationship type of girl.  Or did, until recent events had me strongly reconsidering the merits of a relationship in the first place.

However, Maggie had practically begged me to come with her, so with that in combination with the hell of a week I had endured, I had obliged.  Despite my somewhat apprehensive attitude, I had to admit I was having fun.  It had been a while since I'd had a drink or gone out with just the girls, all of whom besides Maggie had dissipated into the crowd almost the second we stepped foot through the door, determined to succeed on their individual quests. 

My attention, which had been fairly unfocused up until this point, was suddenly and completely commanded by a pair of green eyes burning into mine from across the hazy, humid air collected in the room.  My breath caught in my throat as I realized he was staring at me, with such an intensity I was sure his gaze was burning right through me. 

He stood on the other side of the room, arms crossed casually across his chest as he leaned against the arm of a couch, surrounded by a rather large group of people.  There was absolutely no denying he was the most beautiful man I had ever seen; bright, burning green eyes, deep pink, full lips, angular jaw, and soft brown hair came together in the epitome of perfection as he continued to stare at me. 

It was if all the sound in the room were sucked into a vacuum; suddenly all I could hear was the inexplicable pounding of blood in my ears.  I could feel my breath picking up its pace, chest rising and falling in shallow breaths as I felt his gaze down to my toes.  Who was he and why was he looking at me like that? 

The only thing I was aware of was that I was dying to know the answers to those questions. 

His expression was hard to read from across the room; it appeared to be a mixture of intense curiosity, lust, possession, and a hint of amusement.  Yes, definitely amusement.  The smirk on his face was evident now as he took in my reaction to his unwavering scrutiny. 

What surprised me the most was how I was reacting to him.  Everything about him screamed player: the cocky expression, the hard gaze, the casual stance, and the flock of people surrounding him.  Just now, as I observed him, a girl with awful, bleach blonde extensions wound her ridiculously skinny arms around his neck, attempting to pull his attention down to her and her purposefully low cut shirt.