Since Summers

two : pokerfaced

AUTUMN

I knew I should run. But I didn't. Because I was not a coward. If I was going to be dragged and kicked out of this ridiculously humongous house for doing what I was about to do, which was kneeing him where the sun didn't shine, then so be it.

I didn't care if he was ridiculously handsome or if he owned this huge ass house, he was a downright asshole. Sure, this was his house and he could do whatever he wanted, including making out in the kitchen with a gorgeous blonde, but that didn't mean that he could place his hands in places where they didn't belong. He didn't even look sorry for Hemmings' sake!

"Hey, there you are!" A blonde came out of nowhere and linked her arm around Frazier's. He dropped his bloody hands from my waist. His eyes, however, were still fixated on mine. I wasn't some dumb girl who didn't know her place and waited until the girlfriend gave me a nasty look so I turned on my heels and headed to where Colton and Jess were hanging.

I folded my arms across the two minions on my T-shirt and gave Jess an annoyed look. "I thought you said you were gonna get us our drinks?"

My friend gave me an apologetic look. "Whoops." She took a green bottle from the table behind her and handed it to me. "Here."

I twisted the cap, raised the beer to my lips, and took a long drink. Cold beer was the best and I've drunk plenty tonight. It was a good thing that I had a high tolerance for alcohol. I looked around the spacy room, my eyes landed on the dark-haired guy with a beautiful blonde in his arms. He was lucky that blonde came just in time before I lifted my knee and struck it right between his thighs.

"What's up with you and Frazier?" asked Jess and I returned my attention back to her.

I frowned. "Nothing."

"Then why are you looking at him with a scary look on your face?" There was so little thing that I could hide from Jess. We've been best friends for years, longer than any relationship any of us has ever had, therefore she knew when something was up. No matter how good at acting I was or playing poker, she could tell. "Did he make a move on you or something?"

I held my breath. "No. Of course not."

There was exasperation in her voice when she called my name. "Autumn, you know you're a bad liar, right? So what did he do?"

I let out a deep sigh. "He put his hands where they don't belong."

Jess's eyes widened as she stared at me with a genuinely surprised look on her face. "Where? On your ass?"

I laughed. "He wouldn't be alive if he did." I took another long drink before I told her. "On my waists."

"Oh," she sounded almost disappointed. "Well, that's not so bad," said Jess after a long pause. I raised one brow and gave her a questioning look. "He's a player. I heard that he has been sleeping with almost the whole faculty. Last week he slept with Aarti, his best friend's little sister. Arnav was so pissed about it and punched him right in the face. Good thing Mateus and Ken, their mutual friends, were there to break the fight. Or else, both of them probably ended up in the hospital."

My brain hurt. "How did you know all of these? And who are those people?" For all I knew, we'd been here for three hours and there was no way she gained that much gossip in a short period of time.

"It's the hottest gossip around so of course, I know," answered Jess as if I had just asked the obvious. "Okay, so that guy, the one with a blonde chick." She pointed at one corner where the couple was dancing. I squinted my eyes and tried to get a better look.

"That's the horny couple!" I exclaimed, having the light bulb moment. I recognized the blonde as the annoying girl who banged on the bathroom door earlier.

Jess turned to me. "The what?"

"Oh, I was in the bathroom and that girl was banging on the door saying she needed to pee but then she dragged Adam Levine's adoptive brother in with her," I gave her a quick relay on what happened, leaving the part where I embarrassed myself by almost dropping my cup when I first saw the hottie. No one back in D.C. was that hot. No wonder New York was one of the fashion cities in the world considering there were so many good-looking people here.

"Yeah, they were the unstoppable couple. They have no boundaries when it comes to having a good time." Jess nodded like a spectator as her gaze was on the couple.

I looked at my watch on the inside of my wrist and took one last pull from the green bottle until it was empty. It was a quarter past midnight. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and checked my messages. Strangely, there was none from my boyfriend, Tyler. I took a deep breath and sent him a quick text.

Was IKEA really that hard? X.

I shoved my phone back into my pocket and turned to Jess and Colton. "Hey, what time are we leaving?" Besides the good quality beer, I really didn't see any point in me being here. I hardly knew these people. Unlike Jess, I was never a walking Facebook, I didn't have an amazing brain for memorizing people's names, faces, and the latest gossip about them.

"Already?" Colton, who was a former captain of the Carlton High football team, loved partying. He used to be the center of almost every party. Just like any alpha, he had Luke and Castile on his sides as sidekicks. Judging from the way some guys were slapping his back or raising their beers for a toast, he was making some friends here.

Jess pout. "Can we stay a little bit longer? Please."

I was about to say that they could stay if they wanted and I'd just get a taxi home when my phone buzzed. It was Tyler.

Frustratingly so. How was the party? It's getting late. I could pick you up in an hour or two if you want. Text me the address.

I couldn't stop my face from grinning as I texted him the address. I put my phone away and looked up at Jess. "Fine. One or two hours more until Ty arrives."

Colton gave me a nod while Jess answered me with a grin.

"I'm gonna need more beer. You guys want some?" Might as well drink as much as I could while it was free.

Jess shook her head. "Ugh. I hate beer. How can you drink so much of it? It tastes like pee."

I laughed. "How would you know? Have you tasted pee before?"

She punched my arm lightly. I looked at Colton but he raised two bottles of beer and said, "Nah, I'm good.

"Okay." I nodded. "Be right back!"

I swung the fridge open and my eyes almost jumped out of their sockets. There were so many types of beer inside the fridge, enough to open my own bar. I saw some Corona and Heineken, but I took one bottle with 'Ulmer Pilsener' written on the label. "This looks nice."

I twisted the cap and took a drink. "Mmm." I let out a deep sigh. It tasted so good. I looked around to find a place to sit and drink since I didn't feel like returning to the loud party. My gaze landed on the big counter in the middle and cringed. "Gross." There was no way I was going to sit on the place where Frazier and the blonde made out earlier. I would get AIDS if I did.

I put the beer on the counter next to the fridge and stood next to it. I put both hands on the counter and pushed my body up until I sat on the top of the counter. The black granite felt cold beneath me. I leaned back on the wall and brought the bottle to my lips.

I closed my eyes and dreamily sighed. This was heaven. At least that was how I felt until someone dragged me back to hell. "Looks like you're enjoying yourself," said a deep voice with a faint British accent.

*~*~*

Start: Feb 14, 2018