Mid-terms seemed to arrive earlier than last year, much to the dismay of NYU students across campus. But by the end of the first week of October, they had finally come to an end. This gave Isaac and his roommates an excuse to hold a party at their house to celebrate. While Felipe and DeShawn looked forward to tonight, Isaac wasn't looking forward to it. The party was set to begin in a few minutes, but he considered hiding out in his bedroom instead of joining it. He sat on the couch, alternating between sighing heavily and fiddling with his phone.
"What's wrong, dude?" Felipe asked. "I thought you'd be excited 'cause you were so stressed from mid-terms!"
"I'm worried that the party will end badly for me," Isaac admitted. "Cassie's coming, and I don't want her bugging me constantly about getting back together again. I've had enough of that bullshit for one lifetime, as far as I'm concerned."
"Yeah, I can see that," DeShawn remarked. "I'll keep an eye on her tonight if that helps."
"I'll protect you, too!" Felipe bellowed. "Assuming I'm not too busy with the ladies, that is."
Isaac's content grin turned sour. "Fuck you, Felipe. But thank you, DeShawn."
People began to file into their home shortly after that exchange, thus starting a long night of loud music and alcohol. Among the growing crowd of people who entered within the first hour were Cassie and Mariana. They entered the living room to watch a sea of people mingling, dancing, and talking. Some had also begun drinking beer and other mixed drinks. Cassie spotted Isaac from across the room, but he was busy chatting with a girl she didn't recognize.
"Don't even think about it."
Cassie looked over at her best friend. "What?"
"Don't give Isaac give for talking to another girl," Mariana ordered. "Please, please don't make a scene. I'm not in the mood to deal with that tonight."
"I'm not gonna talk to him," Cassie revealed.
Mariana rolled her eyes. "I don't believe you."
"No, I'm serious— I just wanna have a good time tonight. I'll talk to Isaac tomorrow or some other day. I was planning on leaving him alone. I just need to forget about mid-terms and relax— even if it means not being able to try and get Isaac back again. Besides, there'll always be next time."
"I want to believe you, but I'm still gonna keep an eye on you tonight."
Cassie scoffed. "Jesus, you sound like a mom."
"Sorry, but I have to." Marian paused to smile. "I'm gonna go talk to DeShawn, okay?"
"You do that," Cassie said. "I'm getting a beer."
As the girls went off in different directions, Lexi and Nikita entered the home at about the same time. Lexi had a scowl on her face, but it had nothing to do with being at a party for once.
"Are you alright? You've been pissed off since this afternoon," Nikita remarked.
"My last mid-term was a fucking nightmare," Lexi answered. "It was nothing like the prof said it was gonna be, and it didn't cover half the material he said it would. I'm pretty sure that I failed the damn thing. Some of my classmates are also angry about how it was totally different from what we thought. So, I'm getting drunk tonight."
"Wait, really? I don't think I've ever seen you drink before."
"I don't usually get drunk, but I want to forget about my shitty mid-term."
The two found a cooler full of beer a couple of feet away, so Lexi plucked out two bottles. She handed one off to Nikita, and they promptly toasted to the end of mid-terms. The taste of beer was slimy and gross but Lexi pushed the discomfort out of her mind anyways.
"Hey, ladies."
Lexi grinned as she swallowed the pale brown liquid. "Hey Felipe, what's up?"
"Oh, not much. I'm happy you two showed up."
"I'm glad you guys did this, actually. I've had a shitty day, so this is the best way to unwind."
"Yeah, my last mid-term had me beat, too," Nikita piped up. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little worn out."
Felipe raised his right eyebrow. "I hope you're not too tired, 'cause I had some ideas for later tonight that involve you."
"Then I guess I'll try to stay awake," Nikita teased.
Lexi immediately knew where their banter was heading, so she high tailed it out of there. She finished her beer quickly before wandering into a side room to see what was going on. A game of beer pong was taking place among strangers, so she stood off to the side and watched it go down. Some girl offered her some tequila soon after her arrival, and Lexi reluctantly accepted. It tasted much stronger than the previous beer, but she didn't complain because it tasted slightly better.
Over the next couple of hours, Lexi took turns drinking and dancing in the living room. She didn't see Nikita, Felipe, or any of her other friends, but she still enjoyed herself anyways. She didn't keep track of how much she was drinking— she just kept pounding back tequila during her breaks from dancing. That careless decision caused her to not realize just how drunk she was becoming throughout the night.
As the third hour of the party rolled around, Lexi's vision had turned hazy and walking had become a difficult task. She stood by a wall empty-handed to regain her senses before going off to dance yet again.
"Hey, sexy bitch!"
Lexi jumped as some guy leaned against the wall beside her with a confident smirk. She didn't recognize him, so she assumed that he was from one of her friends' programs. His crass remark didn't seem to register as she gave him a soft grin in response.
"Hey. Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked.
"Hell yeah! But I think you could make tonight a lot better for me."
"What do you mean?"
The guy suddenly moved in, forcing Lexi's back to the wall. Her breath hitched in her throat as she stared on aimlessly. She didn't want to kiss a random guy or sleep with whoever hit on her first. All she wanted was to have a nice time dancing and drinking tonight. But with all the alcohol she'd consumed, her body moved slower than normal.
"No, please don't touch me."
"C'mon, don't make things difficult."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested."
"Bitch, don't you fucking argue with me!"
Lexi's heartbeat raced as she flailed her arms at the guy, whose hands had now latched onto her breasts. She tried shoving him away, but he was too strong. His grip became firm as his hands slowly snaked down her waist, and then down to her hips.
I'm such an idiot, Lexi thought. This is bad.
"Hey, fuck off asshole!"
The guy's hands froze on the curvature of her hips, and his head whipped around behind him. Isaac stood there with a death stare and his arms crossed over his chest. Still, the guy tried to conceal his growing fear.
"I wasn't doing anything!"
"I said fuck off!" Isaac exclaimed. "She doesn't want you to touch her, so leave her alone. I'll fuck you up if you don't listen!"
"Fine! Fuck you, asshole!"
The guy stalked off while Isaac watched him disappear somewhere into the living room. He then turned his attention to Lexi, who had slinked to the floor. He sat beside her and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. Her entire body shook as she tried to make sense of the fact that a total stranger had just tried to sexually assault her.
"Thank you for doing that," she mumbled in Isaac's ear.
"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
"No, thank God."
Isaac picked her up from the ground, only to realize that she was quite tipsy. Worried that she was going to be sick, he hauled her into his bedroom to get away from all the chaos going on in the living room. Lexi had tears in her eyes but managed to keep herself together. She sat on the bed, too stunned to speak at first.
"Thanks again for doing that," she repeated
"You didn't deserve that," Isaac replied as he sat beside her. "That guy was a fucking asshole."
"Yeah, he was."
"You're pretty drunk, too. Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"Uh...yeah...yeah, I'm fine! I've felt worse. But I think I'll stop drinking for the night, especially after that."
Isaac tucked some of her chestnut blonde hair behind her ear. She responded by pressing her petite frame into his tall, semi-muscular body. He gave her a hug, which she returned.
"Mmm...this feels nice. You're so warm," Lexi mused.
"I think it's the alcohol that's making you warm," Isaac laughed.
"No, it's definitely you. I didn't realize how strong you are, too!"
Isaac watched as her hand traveled up and down his left arm. He didn't try to stop her since he knew she was only doing it in her drunken stupor. She must've realized that she was getting too touchy because she abruptly stopped a moment later.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that," she remarked, "but you're kinda cute!"
"I am? Uh, thanks," Isaac replied as he blushed.
Lexi blushed in response. "Hey, you're blushing!"
"So are you."
"No, I'm just drunk. That's what's making my face red."
Isaac rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's not why."
"Whatever! Wait, did I already thank you for helping me get away from that sketchy guy?"
"Twice...but you're welcome anyways."
Lexi's smile grew wider. "Well, let me thank you again."
Isaac opened his mouth to reply, but he never got the words out. Lexi kissed his lips with such force that it almost knocked him off balance. He didn't reciprocate the kiss, but he didn't try to stop it— his body froze at that moment. As soon as the kiss had begun, it ended after a few seconds. He noted how wide Lexi's eyes were when she pulled away.
OH, MY GOD, I KISSED HIM, Lexi thought. WHY THE FUCK DID I DO THAT?!
She jumped off the bed and bolted out of Isaac's bedroom. She ducked into the bathroom without looking back and sat on the ice-cold tile floor. She took a couple of deep breaths in a shabby attempt to collect herself.
Just avoid him for the rest of the night, she thought. Ditch the alcohol and dance for the rest of the night. You can do this!
Lexi nodded to herself before tiptoeing out of the bathroom. She faked an excited smile as she returned to the living room and danced to loud techno music. She just needed to try and forget all that had happened today— from her shitty mid-term to her and Isaac's unexpected kiss.