"This punch is so good!" I exclaim, smacking my second empty cup down on the counter as Becky chuckles.
"Slow down diner girl!" Ellis' voice calls from behind me.
"Don't tell me what to do." I retort, spinning around.
"Feisty." He winks and I give him a shove, rolling my eyes.
"Shut up."
"I like the look of you." Ellis grins as he turns his attention to Becky, glancing her up and down.
"It's a shame I don't like you." Becky smiles up at him.
"I... Wha..." He splutters.
"Hey, Ellis there you are!" Ben interrupts, slapping Ellis on the shoulder and handing him a beer before glancing over at us, his eyes widening.
"Savannah!" He exclaims and I blink at him, speechless. Someone actually called me by my real name, someone knows that my name isn't Diner Girl. That's good to know.
"Ben." I reply, flashing a smile at him.
"I didn't know these parties were your scene."
"There's not much you do know about me." I retort and he smirks.
"Very true."
"That calls for a round of truth or dare." Ellis grins, clapping his hands together.
"No." I snap as Becky takes a step forward, glaring at them both.
"Not after last time." Becky scowls.
"Oh right, yeah, sorry about that..." Ellis looks down, the grin immediately disappearing as he examines his beer.
"Doesn't matter." I take a drink as I shrug, "I've moved on."
"Sav, Becks!" Zara calls out, "We lost you." Zara grabs hold of my arm, pulling herself into the group as Georgia appears behind her, flicking her hair behind her shoulder. I notice Ellis glance over, his eyes scanning her up and down.
"Diner Girl has friends." Ben exclaims, winking at me as I roll my eyes, "I'm Ben."
"Zara."
"Georgia."
"Are you all cheerleaders?"
"Fortunately not!" Georgia snorts.
"There's nothing wrong with cheerleaders." Becky retorts, pinning a smile on her face as she looks at Georgia.
"There's nothing wrong with stripping either but I choose not too." Georgia snaps, Becky immediately straightening up, the smile slipping from her face.
"Okay..." Zara steps in between them, her eyes wide.
"Are you guys going to do football at college?" I ask, changing the subject quickly before it turns into Becky versus Georgia - Round 72.
"Probably not." Ellis shakes his head.
"Brett's the only one who will probably get in with a scholarship!" Ben adds.
"He doesn't even need one." I scoff.
"Some guys are just lucky." Ben says, taking a drink.
"Too lucky." Becky huffs under her breath and I smirk.
"You girls want another drink?" Ben asks, looking around at us all.
"Sure!" Georgia smiles at him.
"Okay." I agree, desperate to enjoy the night now that I'm here.
"This way." He gestures, weaving across the room. I follow closely, Georgia hanging onto my arm as I push through the people before watching as Ben quickly grabs some cups for us.
He's such a gentleman. He's attractive too, his blond hair complimenting his brown eyes, his tanned skin giving the illusion that he's been on holiday recently but I know from the delightful rumor mill that it's because of his Spanish ancestry. Why can't I fall for someone like him? Sure, I know that he hasn't had a long term relationship either, but I hear he lasted six months with Aimee Fields, and that's longer than most of Brett's friends have ever done. He is way better boyfriend material than Brett.
Not that I would ever want Brett Winters to be my boyfriend.
Ben hands a cup to me and I smile in gratitude before taking a step back and out of the way as Georgia waits for hers. Taking a sip I look around the room, my eyes falling on Brett as he leans against the door frame. He spots me instantly, furrowing his eyebrows and pushing himself forward, striding towards me as I tear my eyes away.
He's coming over here Savannah! Pull yourself together. He's probably only coming over to talk with Ben, it's not like he wants to speak to you. Why would he?
I'm interrupted from my thoughts by someone grabbing hold of my arm, looking up, shocked to see Brett gazing at me, his jaw tight.
"What are you doing here?" He asks as he pulls me to the side. Is he serious?
"I'm a cheerleader. Did you forget?" I shrug, impressed with how blasé I sound.
"No." He replies, looking stressed as he reaches up and runs a hand through his hair.
"If you'll excuse me..." I begin.
"I think we should talk." He cuts me off, taking a step closer and grabbing my arm. I look down and he quickly lets go, taking a step back.
"Baby, there you are." Ashley's voice rings out as she appears behind Brett.
"There's nothing to talk about." I respond, my voice low. I swear I see regret or sadness quickly flash through his eyes, before his expression morphs into neutrality.
"Talk?" Ashley's voice cuts through the air as she curls into Brett's side. I take my eyes off Brett and glance towards her as she smirks at me, her blonde hair curled perfectly, her lips covered in a perfect sheen of gloss. Her cheerleading outfit has been replaced by a white mini dress, her black bra clearly visible through the fabric. An interesting outfit choice.
"Why are you trying to talk to him?" She straightens up, looking down on me as she raises her eyebrows. "That's so sweet. Let's go Brett." She finishes, shooting me a triumphant look before walking off, Brett keeping his eyes fixed on me but I shake my head as he opens his mouth. What does he possibly have to say to me? "Brett!" She calls once more and I raise my cup to my lips, taking a drink as he continues to watch me, feeling my stomach flutter slightly at the thought of him ignoring his girlfriend for me.
Pull yourself together Sav!
"Run along Brett." I smirk, "She's waiting."
"Sav!" I hear Becky call from behind, Brett finally looking away, turning and walking off towards Ashley. I shake my head, lifting the alcohol cup to my lips and downing the contents before I walk back towards the girls.
"What's up?" I smile, noticing that Ellis has pulled a few other guys over to join us.
"Beer pong!" Becky announces, grabbing a hold of my arm and dragging me towards the table. "You're on my team!"
"Alright!" Ellis grins as he sees me, "Liam you're with me!" He gestures to the dark haired boy beside him, "Ready to get your ass beat?"
"I think that will be you." I retort and he grins.
"As gentlemen, we will let you go first." Ellis gestures to the ball and I smirk, picking it up and throwing it at their cups. I grimace as I miss, Ellis laughing before Liam grabs the ball and throws it back, easily planting it into one of our cups.
"No way!" Becky groans, grabbing the cup and downing the contents as she hands me the ball.
"I'm awful at this game!" I huff, desperately attempting to aim, before missing once more.
"You got that right Diner Girl!" Ellis winks.
"Hey!" Becky yells, grabbing hold of me by the shoulders. "She has a name!" Becky pulls out a new ball, quickly chucking it across the table. It bounces once, before catapulting off the side of the table.
"Cheat!" Ellis calls out, "It wasn't even your turn."
"My mistake." Becky shrugs, leaning against the edge of the table, "I get confused sometimes."
"She's right. It's a condition." I pipe up, grinning as Ben picks the ball up from the ground.
"Whatever!" Ellis snorts, before aiming for the cup and gently throwing it, landing it neatly in a cup. The boys manage to easily get two more and I grimace as the liquid travels down my throat. Finally I grab hold of the ball, not concentrating much before I chuck it across, watching as it sails into the middle cup, splashing Ellis.
"Yes!" I grin, clapping my hands together.
"One down." Ellis winks, grabbing hold of the cup, "Good going girls."
A few rounds later I manage to land another one, grinning as Ellis downs it before we continue to play, and soon only one cup is left on either side of the table.
"This is so tense!" Ben calls from the sidelines.
"Come on Ellis!" Liam hands him the ball and I grin, watching as Ellis stares at the cup, deep concentration in his face, holding hold my breath and gripping onto Becky's hand as Ellis lets go of the ball. It flies straight towards Becky instead of the cup, and she squeals, catching it in her hand.
"Man!" Ellis groans before cursing under his breath.
"You've got this girl." Becky grins, handing me the ball and I grin, the alcohol flowing through my system as I aim. Letting go I watch as the ball flies through the air, landing straight into the drink, instantly throwing my hands up in celebration at the same time as Becky. Ellis curses as Liam grimaces before picking up the drink and quickly downing it.
"I'm sorry... what was that?" Becky teases, holding her hand up to her ear. "You got your ass beat?" She continues before we all erupt into giggles, Ellis shaking his head at us as I grab Becky's hand, leading her onto the dancefloor.
Zara soon joins us, laughing and joking as we dance in the middle of the crowd, the music loud, drink flowing through our bodies. I wrap my arms around them both as we sing along, Georgia joining us after a few songs and giggling as we continue to dance like no one is watching. Before long an hour has passed and Zara leaves, her brother agreeing to pick her up no later than eleven.
As Becky's current favorite song comes on she squeals, grabbing hold of me and twirling me around as I laugh, throwing my hair behind my shoulder as I sing, my eyes falling across the dancefloor and landing on the familiar face of Brett. He's smiling as he watches me, and with the alcohol melting away any of my common sense I smile back, continuing to dance as I face him. I can't help it, drawn to the idea of his eyes on me, and only me, my drunken state loving and wanting it. His smile widens as I giggle, my hands above my head as I sway from side to side.
Becky suddenly pulls me back towards her, spinning me around. I giggle as I fall into her, wrapping my arms around her, Brett long forgotten. Exactly as it should be.
We continue to dance the night away, the three of us together, until I realize it's two in the morning, pulling Becky away from the dancefloor and pointing out the time, her agreeing that it's time to go. Pulling out my phone we step outside, away from the loud music.
"Hello?" My sister picks up on the first ring. God bless her.
"Elle?" I say, "Are you going to be able to come get me?"
"Sure. I'll be there in ten minutes." She replies, her voice soft and sleepy. Oops. I guess I'll have to make this up to her tomorrow and buy her the twelve pack of Krispy Kreme's.
"Thanks." I reply, hearing her moving around at the other end. "It's off the main road out the North end of town, about two miles out, Illiander Lodge." I explain before hanging up the phone.
"Is she coming?" Georgia asks, popping up from behind us.
"Yes." I reply, smiling as she nods.
"Great!" Georgia smiles, "My Mom's outside, I'll see you all Monday." She finishes before turning and skipping down the steps, away from the cabin.
"Bye George." I call out after her.
"See you later!" She replies as Becky raises her eyebrows.
"I don't mean to start something, but couldn't she have asked her Mom to give us a lift?" Becky scoffs softly as we watch Georgia jump into the car.
"Georgia doesn't do that, once she's done for the night, she's out." I reply, watching as the car pulls away, disappearing down the drive.
"Even if we had no-one?"
"I don't know..." I reply, trailing off. It's not like we had much experience dealing with Georgia in these situations before Becky came along.
"You're still here!" Chris exclaims, bounding over, his mouth grinning as he locks his eyes on Becky.
"I'm just leaving." She retorts, crossing her arms.
"Come on..."
"Please leave me alone." She groans.
"Alright... for now." Chris winks and I shake my head at his action as he walks away.
"He wants something." I tease and Becky shoots me a dirty look.
"Unfortunately." Becky groans, "Should we wait down there for your sister?"
"Okay." I reply, both of us taking the steps down to the track, walking past the small groups of smokers and lovers.
Soon enough my sister pulls up in her small, beat-up green car and Becky grins, sliding into the car and greeting my sister as if she's known her forever. I open the door and slide into the back seat before staring back up at the beautiful cabin once more, a smile on my face.
My eyes fall on Brett, standing on the porch with Ben and Liam as they all laugh. Brett suddenly turns towards me, as if he can feel the eyes on him, his eyebrows raising in surprise as he notices me staring. How does he always look so gorgeous? His white T-Shirt clings to his body, the mere sight leaving me slightly breathless.
I don't know whether it is the alcohol in my system, or the lack of sleep, but I don't look away, instead confidently smiling at him. He returns the smile and I can't help the giggle that slips out my mouth before Elle pulls away.
It's been a good night.
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