Students come and go from the party as if it were a normal university day. Some go hand in hand with their partner like Alice and her boyfriend Dean who had stayed with us to meet us at the door and then, enter together. Others, on the other hand, go alone and several of them looking for a partner tonight, but this is not my case, although everything can change if Reece comes. My heart starts pounding at the thought that I might see him today. I let all the air out of my body and open the door to the gym.
We enter the sound of "Dance Monkey" by Tones and I, I start shaking my head letting myself be carried by the rhythm of the song. We go directly to the bar to order a drink since at this time they are free (or so they told me). While Alice and Bailee order a beer, I order tinto de verano with a lemon wedge. I smile at the waiter and lean on the bar as I look at the party atmosphere taking a sip of my delicious drink.
"Is Blake coming any time soon?" I ask Bailee in the ear and she just shrugs.
"I don't know, he doesn't answer." She simply comments and I smile sideways and keep drinking.
If there's something I've learnt in the festivities of my town is my ability of drinking 5 glasses of tinto without getting drunk and tonight, I don't have any intention of going crazy. People jump with his hands in the air while others just stay in their seats looking at them and laughing. If I'm honest this party looks exactly as I thought it would, alcoholic drinks which are too expensive to buy, so people don't get drunk, a lot of appetizers which are going to run out soon and neon lights.
I look up from my drink and find myself in front of my class group. Nate is wearing a tight Tommy Hilfiger t-shirt and tight white pants, perhaps too tight, I would say. Lizzy is linking her arm with Mary Jane, another girl in my class who gets along very well.
And my gaze falls on Thomas. His hair looks brown under the neon lights and his gaze seems more intimidating because of the shadows cast on his face. He puts his hand to his head to pull back his hair and I notice that the first buttons of his shirt are unbuttoned, revealing his chest. Is what I see a tattoo? I look away from Thomas as Nate leaps over me to hug me and I stumble back a little in surprise.
"Ey guys! Giselle, are you drunk already?" he says pulling away from me and I hit his hands playfully.
"No, anyways, guys, she's Bailee and well, you already know Alice!" I introduce them to each other and I hug the girls. "Girls, you look astonishing!" I admire them and Mary Jane looks at the ground embarrassingly.
"Well, we came here to impress and dance, so you'd better finish that drink soon!" Lizzy advised me and I laugh turning around to greet Thomas who is putting his phone back on his jeans.
Unsure of what to do, I just wave at him awkwardly and he rolls his eyes before putting his arms around me. I suffer a small heart attack at his action but everything vanishes when I smell his cologne. Why does the men's cologne smell so good? I don't have time to enjoy it again when he pulls away from me just enough so that we can see each other.
"Ready to dance?" I smirk at him and he shakes his head laughing slightly and I curse how loud the music is because I would have been able to hear his laugh the first time. It is so difficult to make him laugh.
"I need several fifths of beer to start dancing. Getting drunk maybe to get me to make a fool of myself like that." and that's a no. Okay. Let's reject me with kindness.
Lizzy grabs my arm and drags me onto the dance floor once I'm done drinking. I try to make my way through the crowd but it is very difficult, so I hope my friend quickly finds a place to dance. I apologize for my friend to all those people whom she has pushed down the road but I stop doing it once there had been more than three people. We start dancing next to each other to the rhythm of X de X. I laugh when I see the arms movements of Jane who is jumping while Lizzy twerks. I was having such a good time that I don't realize Bailee's not with us.
"Girls, where is Bailee?" ask screaming when we're all a bit tired of dancing and having a drink again.
"I think her boyfriend called her and she left. What surprises us is that you are still here." Lizzy shouts at me and I frown.
"What do you mean?" I ask getting closer to her so I can listen to her.
"Well, don't judge me for thinking you were going to make out with Thomas. He has hugged you and don't tell me that you don't think he is incredible tonight with that look." She inquires me and I roll my eyes.
"What if he has hugged me?" What kind of argument is that?
"Have you seen him hugging anyone but you? Yeah, that's the point." She signals at me and I take a long sip of my tinto.
"Well, I can't deny he's hot but I'm not looking for a relationship right now." and I'm waiting for my last lover to come, I add in my head.
"Nobody said he was looking for one." she comments. Okay, you got me there.
"I'm going to search Bailee. Stay tuned to the mobile in case I send you a message." I advised them before I go but I'm not sure if they have listened to me.
Just a few minutes later and with no results, I get a message from Bailee asking me where we are and I decide to call her now that I'm in a quieter place.
"Bailee, where are you?" I ask her but she says "What?Are you here?" so, I repeat louder, "where are you?"
"I don't listen to you but we're in the hall. We'll wait for you! But Giselle, Reece.." Bailee shouts in my ear and I grimace.
"Okay, I'm going!" and I hang up the call. I make my way through the crowd among pushing and stepping on my feet. God, why are people so clumsy?
(...)
"Hey guys, where are Reece and George?" I ask them after greeting them and not seeing anyone else with them. Have they already entered and I have not seen them? Will Reece have seen me?
"The guys didn't come, maybe if had told Reece you were going to come too, maybe he would have come, I'm sure of it but..." Blake's trying to explain helplessly but it doesn't ease my sudden disappointment.
"It's okay, don't worry! you should get in, the party is great!" I say with my false enthusiasm.
I smile forcibly and hope that they haven't noticed the disappointment in my voice but it's so hard to hide it when I feel that the moment I say something again, my voice is going to break.
"Want to come in with us?" Blake offers but I just shake my head politely.
I lie trying not to sound too broken, "Oh no, I need to breathe some air. The girls left me exhausted!" I exclaim loudly.
I run one of my hands over my forehead to remove the little sweat I had and sound more believable as well. From the look Blake is giving me I know that my lie has not worked but he lets it be. Why is he so good at knowing how people feel?
"Okey, I'll text you later!" Bailee waves and get in the party with Blake by her side like the happy couple they are.
And I'm here, all alone.
I sit on one of the benches near the party and let my emotions take over as I watch my illusions fall on broken glass. I cover my face with my hands so that people don't see me cry. Have I really ended up being the girl who cries at parties? God, I can't feel more pathetic.
"Ey Giselle, are you okay?" someone inquires in front of me.
I look up at Thomas and that makes it clear that I'm not talking to anyone right now. I look down at the ground again, rubbing my face with my hands, why do I have to be so ridiculous? Did I really think he was coming? I stop thinking when I feel an arm around me and that's when I realize that Thomas has sat next to me without asking me.
"Come here, c'mon" He says pulling me closer to him by the waist. I rest my head on his shoulder and I lose it. Tears start falling down my face and I cover my face, so Thomas doesn't see me making a fool of myself. First, he rejected my offer of dancing and now he's here. Does someone understand boys? Because I definitely don't.
Thomas pats my back and I can't help but laugh a little, earning me a frowning glance at him. God, he must think I'm crazy.
"What is it so funny?" he asked clearly amused for my changes of emotions and I try not to look at him because it makes me laugh more.
"You were patting my back like I was some kind of baby." I explain to him once I get myself together and his cheeks turn pink as he looks away embarrassed pulling himself away from me.
"Sorry, I've never had to comfort a girl, so I don't have much idea of what to do." He pass one of his hand through his hair and his biceps stand out in my field of view. "But I made you laugh at least."
"Yeah, and two hugs in a row. The girls would scream if they saw us." I cover my mouth as soon as these words come out of it. What the fuck did I just do? Really? I shouldn't have drunk. I look away and see the people getting out of the party. What time is it? I turn on my phone which marks 2:10 a.m.
"What do you mean with all of that?" Thomas' gaze fall on mine intensively and my heart start pounding quickly. Should I lie or tell him the truth? Would it be funny for him?
"You didn't hug them" I just say but Thomas lower his head, waiting for me to go on. I messed up. Really badly. "and you has hugged me twice tonight."
"Okay, and what? What happens if I did it?" he inquires raising his eyebrows.
"Nothing, they just ship us and kinda told me to "have fun tonight". And look at me now."
"I think I can help you with that." he stands up and offers his hand to me. I look at him not knowing what idea he might have at this hour at night. Not having another option, I take it and let him guides me. He holds my hand carefully as if he was afraid of breaking it. We get to a park near the party and we sit in the bench next to each other.
"Have we left that place to sit on a bench, seriously?" I ask him laughing but a bit disappointed. This is not my idea of having fun. He looks over my shoulder and I block his view. "And why are you so alarmed?"
"Well, you wouldn't want Lizzy and Jane to find out, right?" He snaps at me and I quickly look at him not understanding a thing.
"Finding out wha-" The next thing I knew, he had slammed his lips to mine and nearly knocked all wind from my lungs.
This is not what I'd thought would happen when he said 'having fun' but I'm certainly not going to object. His lips are warm and taste of alcohol and cherry; he had obviously been drinking earlier. His hands are wrapped around my waist and mine lock around his neck pulling him down slightly. Everything that has happened tonight vanishes the moment one of Thomas's hands rests on my cheek, sending me a sense of calm that contrasts with the strength and despair of his kisses.
When we broke apart for air, I rest my forehead against his and gather some much needed oxygen.
"Wow" I just murmur under my breath and he smirks at me. My phone starts ringing and I get up from the bench to answer the call. "What's up?...Oh no, we're at the park" the moment I think about my words, I look at Thomas who smiles at me slightly and sighs gratefully at the thought that he's not angry. "I'm with my friend, yeah... Okay, I'll be there in 5... Don't go without me!"
"I guess we need to get going?" I nod biting my lips and we start to head to the hall of the disco where Blake and Bailee is waiting for me to come back to the dorms. I enjoy the comfortable silence between us with every step I take and I wonder what he's thinking right now.
Why did he kiss me? Did he like it, well, does he likes me?
Author's note: Hey readers!! First of all, thank you for waiting!! I know you all expected Reece to appear in this chapter (and I'm sorry for getting your hopes up) but I promise you will see Reece in the following chapters, you just have to wait a bit but it will be worth it!