The first thing Estella registered was the thumping beat that seemed to make the entire house come alive. Or at least, vibrate.
Most people were on the dance floor—there seemed to be some sort of commotion in the middle. A dance-off? Some kid break-dancing? A girl giving some guy a blowjob? The possibilities were endless—while a few others were immune to the pounding music and life on the dance floor, ignoring it all and just having a drink with a buddy.
Savannah—that was her name, right?—made a beeline for the dance floor. A natural dancer, Estella guessed as she watched the fake blonde bounce over to the dance floor and join the mob so cheerfully, you’d never guess she was a drunken mess just a few days ago.
Blair, on the other hand, already picked out a cute guy from the crowd and twirled herself right into a situation that was bound to give her an easy-access ticket, straight to the bedroom.
Estella decided to avoid the scene on the dance floor, not interested in what was going on. Rather, she found herself walking into the kitchen and looking at a variety of scenes. A couple hooking up near the refrigerator. Loads of people flirting over a drink. People playing cards. People eating.
On the other side of the kitchen were Mona, Drew, Jonah—Drew’s roommate and the host of the party—and some other ditzy blonde girl trying to get Jonah’s attention. Mona was absently slurping beer out of a straw—a habit, she claimed—and Drew was shuffling a deck of cards.
“Jonah,” the blonde purred. “Let’s go play a game.”
“A game?” Jonah echoed warily. “What kind of game?”
The blonde tightened her grip on him and dragged him over to a small group of people who had grabbed an empty, green-tinted beer bottle and were seating themselves to a game of Spin the Bottle.
“Estella!” one of Jonah’s groupies, Jaxon, called out. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was drunk as he wobbled over and grabbed her butt with a grimy hand. “Come join us for Spin the Bottle,” he slurred.
“Idiot!”
“Get back here, you little bitch!”
“Are you retarded?!”
Estella glanced at Jaxon’s arm and nudged it away. He let go of her rear end easily enough, just in time for the Spin the Bottle group to yell warnings at him. Estella’s eyes darted over to the players and narrowed. She wasn’t some bomb about to go off, so what was…?
Stephen.
His blonde hair and darker roots. His tan skin. His high cheekbones. His sharp jaw. His sexy stubble. His prominent nose, his luscious and slightly chapped lips. And most of all, the hate in his thundering gray eyes.
Estella’s eyes locked on his. She couldn’t seem to tear away from the hurt, confusion, anger, and angst. Stuck. Frozen.
But all the while, as his eyes fired at hers and she took the blow, Estella’s heart and mind began to make a decision. Suddenly, her eyes softened and she broke the gaze easily, glancing over at a wasted Jaxon.
“Sure,” she murmured to him, nonchalant but seductive. “I’ll play with you.”
The Spin the Bottle players were apparently choosing to pretend to be garden gnomes, because they all froze, unblinking. And then a few guys broke the ice with a few whoops at Estella’s abruptly wanton remark. Go Jaxon, he just scored one while he was drunk.
She flipped her auburn hair behind her shoulder with a swift twist of her head and strolled confidently towards the circle—which wasn’t a circle anymore, rather, a strange oval shape, now that Jonah and the blonde bimbo had hopped in.
A few guys edged over to make room for Her Highness, staring at her in awe and a bit of drool before snapping back to reality when the bottle started spinning again.
After three or four kisses, Estella figured out that Stephen wasn’t playing. He was probably sitting around his buddies because he had nothing else to do. This was rare because Stephen wasn’t a follower, he was a leader. But now that he was lower than Drew Sterling, the whole campus was in frenzy. Should they treat him like royalty as usual? Or does he just turn into dirt’s equivalent overnight?
Estella assumed Jonah, the party’s host, didn’t want to think so much about it and invited Stephen anyway. It was the norm. It would be weird if Stephen wasn’t invited to a party high on the social ladder. It just didn’t happen. And no one dared to think that way.
“Estella! Have a drink,” a guy sitting diagonal to her called, holding out a tall aluminum can.
She glanced at the beer and then the boy. Her eyes swept over the crooked circle, realizing that everyone playing was at least a little buzzed. Not one to be a party-pooper, she branched out an arm and took the can from him, slipping her finger under the pull tab, opening it without hesitation. The second she registered the fizz of the toxin, she brought it to her lips.
“Chug! Chug! Chug!”
The chants sounded throughout the room, starting from the Spin the Bottle players to others stopping in the middle of their conversations or poker games to look over and cheer Estella on on draining the can.
The cold alcohol felt good, burning the back of her throat and leaving a stirring feeling inside her. She tilted her head back for good measure, encouraging the chanting.
Bottoms up, she thought.
The can hit the floor with a hollow clank. A few whoops and claps; there was not a drop left. Estella left the empty beer can to itself on the floor and looked at Stephen steadily, straight in the eyes, with a triumphant expression.
The crowd didn’t hesitate to hand her another one. Estella stared at the can, and wondered to herself, how could she stop now? She took it and popped it open with a smile, bracing herself for the events to come.
Two or three cans later, Estella felt herself feeling dizzy and stopped herself with what little self-control that she had left. The group chorused in boos and urged her to continue drinking, but Estella was determined to do something tonight, and being drunk would get in the way.
“Triona, your turn,” someone said as the booing died down, to Jonah’s blonde bimbo, who had attached herself to Jonah like she was a koala. Triona giggled stupidly and reached out, spinning the bottle with a flick of her wrist. It slowed down, the neck pointing straight at Estella.
The boys immediately burst into cheers—they seemed to be cheering a lot that night—anticipating some girl on girl action.
“Stop it with your boners,” Estella scoffed at the boys. She leaned over and gave Triona a light peck on the cheek, inhaling an overload of Victoria’s Secret perfume in the process. She almost coughed, but pulled back before it could completely plug her nostrils, and casually laid a finger on the bottle. “My turn now?”
“Aw, come on, Estella, babe. This isn’t high school. Let’s see some real making out,” Jaxon coaxed gently, still in his drunken state.
“Jaxon, baby. Watch lesbian porn if you want it so bad,” Estella replied, smoothly dodging any potential peer pressure situations. As she looked down at the bottle and prepared to spin it, a pair of warning gray irises caught her eye.
Estella’s gaze rose to fix on Stephen.
You don’t really want to do this, his eyes were saying.
And her eyes said right back, Just watch me.
Without any further wait, she spun the bottle and watched as it went at a fast speed and slowed down, slugging around in circles and circles and circles, slower, and slower, and slower and…
Jonah.
“Uh…” Jonah stammered. He certainly didn’t want to have Stephen’s foot up his ass for kissing Estella. “How about a loving handshake instead?” he suggested awkwardly.
“Aw, Jonah, what are you being so shy for?” Estella cooed. And without a moment to spare, she leaned in and closed the gap between Jonah and her, kissing him full on the lips. Jonah was too shocked to react, so when she pulled back, he hadn’t changed his position at all.
Triona’s jaw had fallen to the floor along with the rest of the circle. Who knew Estella was such an easy lady-demon?
“Estella,” Stephen growled hoarsely. That was the first time he had spoken since she got there.
She leaned back and met Stephen’s eyes steadily with hers. A wry smile slowly found its way to her lips as they formed words: “Oh. It’s you.”
Stephen’s eyes narrowed.
“Why are you so upset? We broke up, remember?”
His jaw clenched.
“I’m not interested in white trash.”
Everything from then on happened in a blur. Blue in the face, Stephen grabbed the nearest beer bottle and emptied it.
All over Estella.