Saturday, September 26th- 7:47 p.m.
"Your 30 minutes are up," Luke called from outside my door.
"I'm trying to get my shoes on!" I yelled back, frantically running around my room to find one matching pair.
"You always wear the same damn pair-" Luke started as he opened my door. "-to every... Woah."
I looked up at him as I finally gave up on my shoe search, frantically asking, "what?"
"If you think I'm letting you out of the house or taking you to a party with only guys like that, mom must have dropped you on your head as a baby," Luke said from my doorway.
I stood up straight, looking in the mirror on my closet door.
I have to admit, I understand what he's saying. I did look way hotter than I needed to, but what was the fun in going to a party if you couldn't drive a few guys insane?
I had put on my lace bodysuit I had bought one of the few select times I had shopped without my mom. It was sheer black, contrasting very well with my tanned skin that was visible below. It was tight, almost acting as a corset in the way it highlighted my waist. The V in the neck left my chest exposed, allowing my necklace to lay perfectly against it. My high-waisted jeans added color to the look along with a belt with a silver buckle to match my necklace. My hair laid flat against my back, fanning down over my shoulders in blond curls, and of course, the finishing touch was the sandals that I did in fact wear everywhere.
I looked back to luke, an oblivious look on my face. "What about it?" I shrugged, grabbing my phone off my bed.
"Annie, I'm not taking you looking like that," Luke told me again. I stopped and grabbed a flannel I could throw over since I knew my mom wouldn't let me out looking like this either.
Then I walked up towards the door with a mischievous look on my face. "Do you want me to go to this party?"
"Yes," he sighed, knowing I was going to win.
"And are you driving?"
"Yes," he sighed again.
"Then, yeah, you are taking me to this party looking like this, or I'm not going," I shrugged, walking out past him. I wrapped both sides of the flannel tighter around me so my mom wouldn't see what I was wearing underneath.
"Let's go, Luke," I called as I started down the stairs.
"I knew I was going to regret this," he groaned in my doorway, pulling my door shut behind him and running down the stairs after me.
"Bye, mom!" I called as I went down the hallway to the front door.
"Bye, guys," she called back. "Have fun. Text me if you're not coming home."
"Will do," Luke called as I led the way out the front door.
I skipped down the path to his Jeep, taking off my flannel when I got to it.
"Okay, but if you knew mom wouldn't let you out of the house like that, why did you worm it past me?" Luke asked as he walked down the path, unlocking his car.
I laughed as I climbed into the passenger seat. When he closed his door, I finally replied. "Because you want me to go to this party. Mom doesn't."
"She tried to encourage you earlier," Luke said as he started up the car.
"Yeah, not when I looked like this," I mocked him from earlier. "Which by the way, is not very feminist of you."
"God, some days I want to slap you," he shook his head with a stupid smile on his face as he backed out of the driveway.
"That wasn't very feminist of you, either."
× × ×
Luke led the way up the path to the oh-so-familiar house. I can't honestly say I was excited about this. I hadn't been back to this house since last summer for a very specific reason, yet here we are again.
But don't let him control my life, right?
I followed Luke in through the front door, closing it behind me as music filled my ears. It wasn't dark like last time or humid from all the sweaty bodies, it truly was just our team- a little rambunctious, but overall calming compared to past parties I'd walked into.
"Hey! Hemming's is here!" Mikey called from the living room as we walked farther through the house.
"Hey," Luke called back, walking over towards one of the couches to sit down.
"Both of them?"
I turned towards the voice in question and our eyes caught. There stood Ashton Irwin, his eyes roaming everywhere but mine. His outfit was simple, but it sure was effective. The jeans made it seem casual enough that the practically see-through white shirt fit the aesthetic. The flannel he had over it only covered the muscles on his arms, making his toned torso still visible through the shirt... and very much distracting.
"Yes, both of them," I spoke as he finally came back up to meet my eyes.
I watched as his eyebrows shot up like he'd never seen me in anything but my soccer clothes before. It made me laugh below my breath before I turned away from him, ignoring the rest of the team staring at me like an object too. I spotted an empty seat by Calum, so I quickly made my way over and plopped down on the end of the couch beside him.
He was currently one of the players in the Mario Kart round, sitting in a strong second place. He leaned over in my direction as he continued watching the tv, "I don't think I've ever seen so many dicks stand up in one moment."
He started laughing at his own comment, making me laugh too.
"Fuck off," I pushed him playfully. He quickly recovered from my action as to not lose his place. I watched closely as they finished another lap, Calum overtaking first. I sat just as nervous as him as he continued the last lap, my eyes never leaving the tv.
That was until that same god-forsaken boy walked back into view across the room. He leaned his shoulder against the wall that divided the kitchen he came from and the living room I sat in. He had a red solo cup in hand and I wondered if he was drowning his sorrows with alcohol like I did too.
Calum started bouncing beside me, pulling me from my trance. "I won! I won," he started repeating as he shook me. Ashton looked over once to me, catching me staring before my trance completely snapped. I looked over to Calum, seeing his smile, making me smile too.
"You won! Good job," I said looking over to him, trying to stabilize myself on the couch he was bouncing.
"Okay, who's playing next?" Andrew asked from across the room, a controller in hand. "Luke?"
All eyes shifted to him. "I'm gonna need a drink first," he commented, standing up from his spot on the couch. "You want one, Annie?"
I started to get up when Ashton's voice rang through the room.
"No way little Hemming's can hold alcohol."
I looked up at him with a smirk on my face. My eyes dropped to his cup as I stepped over bodies to follow behind Luke. Luke walked into the kitchen, not stopping to say anything about me to Ashton. I stopped in the doorway, my body aligned with Ashton's, facing the opposite direction of his.
My hand gripped his solo cup, taking it from him and throwing it back before he could say anything. I felt the familiar burn fall down my throat—a burn I lived for. After swallowing what I would have guessed as a shot or two, I brought the cup back down. I stared straight into the kitchen for a second, playing with the taste on my tongue.
"You know, I really took you for a whiskey type of guy, not vodka," I commented as I finally looked over to him. We both knew what was in that cup, and we both knew I just proved my point with my action.
I held out his empty cup to him, listening as the room full of the team started laughing quietly and mumbling to each other. With the volume rising in the room behind me, I locked eyes with Ashton beside me again, quietly speaking-
"We all have our secrets."
I gave him a short smile before walking deeper into the house to where Luke stood. My smile faded quickly though as I prepared to drown my thoughts in alcohol. I stood beside Luke at the counter covered in bottles. We both grabbed a red solo cup, looking at each other for a moment.
"Who's driving home?" he asked with a smile.
I reached for the tequila bottle, pouring a shot into my cup. I brought it to my lips again, craving that burn more than anything else. As I set the empty cup back down and poured more in, I looked back up.
Ashton had switched from facing the room with the team to leaning his back against the wall, his eyes on me. With my eyes connected to his, I let out a deep breath.
"We'll figure that out later."