Connery's and I's definition of low-key couldn't be any more different. I was standing in between my two best friends in front of the very crowded Alpha Sigma Phi house. Post to Be was blasting in the stereo from the go to popular Frat Party Bangers playlist on Spotify. Yes, these guys are that basic. Peyton and Stensby were bickering about something and I couldn't even hear them speak. It was very crowded outside but I bet it was a lot worse inside.
I'm not the frat party kind of gal, I'm more like the rom com movie marathon with white whine kind. Stensby and Peyton hate it, but they stay in a few times during the semester with me to keep me company. I don't mind staying in by myself on a Wednesday night or any night for that matter but they do so I repay the favor by dragging myself against my will to these kind of things.
Hence why I was standing in the front porch of the white rustic Alpha Sigma Phi house and not because Connery sort of invited me to the party. The Alpha Sigma Phi was the oldest house in Ackerman Road, the fraternity was the first founded on campus, the structure was still intact and it looked a lot better than the other newest houses on Ackerman Road.
"Everest, are you ever planning on going in? I didn't come all this way to just stand on the front porch all night." I rolled my eyes at my green-eyed best friend and I nodded taking a step forward.
Smoke and the raging smell of alcohol drifted throughout the house from the black wooden door in the back near the kitchen to the front door where I was standing. This was definitely not my scene, but a fake smile and a few tequila shots would do the trick. It always does. At least until Stensby got lost in the crowd with his baseball teammates and Peyton made her way upstairs with Becker.
Stensby and Peyton were right at home. We barely made it through the front door before a group of their friends walked up to them to greet them. And I say them because Everest Green was as invisible as the oxygen flowing through the crowded room. Not that it bothered me at all though, I was used to it by now already.
In high-school I only focused on training and getting straight A's in all of my eight AP classes. I'd have friends in my class but we never hung out after three unless we had a school project together and they weren't that many either during the semester. It also didn't help that I wasn't the party kind of girl like all the other girls in my class. I didn't have any siblings or cousins, I was my parents only child before they passed away and my aunt had the job of balancing raising a kid alone while working at a hospital. It didn't exactly leave her with the time to date anyone. By the time I was old enough to take care of myself she was too focused on her job that she gave up on the idea being with someone. For most of my life, my aunt and grandparents were the most important people in my life without a doubt. They were all I had and I still do.
"The guys from the team are playing strip beer pong in the living room. Wanna join?" Stensby asks and I immediately shake my head.
Not surprisingly at all Peyton bolted to the living with my hand in hers without giving me even a second to protest and say no. "Why was that even a question Stensby? I'm always down to kick your ass in beer pong."
The living room wasn't full of people (thank God) I couldn't handle anyone accidentally grabbing my ass or spilling beer on Peyton's eighty two dollar neon green Revolve bodysuit that she let me borrow. My closet really isn't frat party material or any party material for that matter. It was full of sweaters and loungewear. So after having Peyton judge my outfit choices for one hour straight, I settled for the bodysuit and the shortest pair of shorts I have ever worn.
Peyton paired up with Nathan, he's a tall hazel eyed brunette and BGU's starting second base man. Fun fact, he's also Peyton's ex boyfriend. They ended on good terms and after a one year relationship they managed to stay civil friends.
"Want to spice things up a little bit Peyton?" Stensby asks my blonde best friend Peyton and I raise my eyebrow at him. "I have two bottles of fireball up in my room, want to play the next round with fireball shots?"
"Stensby, I have a seven am lab tomorrow and I already have had way too many drinks at pregame." Peyton says as she throws the white ping pong ball in the air and it lands in the red cup in the middle. "The pants, off."
Stensby chugs the beer in the red cup and then unbuttons his blue washed jeans leaving him only in his grey button up shirt and his black Calvin Klein boxers. "I smell ridiculous excuses Sawyer."
Peyton crosses her arms on her chest ready to accept the challenge. Her long blonde hair stood perfectly below her elbow, her make up was still intact despite the fact that she's had more than five tequila shots and a few beers in her system.
I would be a wreck if I were her, but that was Peyton though. Perfect, just like the Victoria's Secret models on the glass showcase pictures in the small store downtown.
"I smell a challenge from which I clearly won't be backing down, you're going down Stensby. When I'm done with you, you'll be begging Coach Davidson for mercy tomorrow at practice." Peyton says confidently with a smug expression on her face.
If I didn't leave anytime soon, I would be the one begging for mercy tomorrow at practice.
"Everest, would you be the amazing friend I know and love?" Stensby pleads and I raise my eyebrows. The lazy little fucker was going to send me to grab the Fireball bottles from his room.
"You don't have to be such a suck up Stensby, I know I don't even have a choice. Where exactly is this room of yours?"
"It's the last room to in the hallway to your left, on the third floor." Stensby answers as he sends the white ping pong ball he was holding in his hands into the red cup on the the other side of the table. "Dress, off."
"I knew you wanted me to take my dress off when I walked out of my room Stensby, but you could've just asked and done it yourself."
When Peyton took off her midi white dress she had bought off her favorite online boutique (and all of the Kappa Delta's favorite online boutique) Princess Polly that was my cue to leave.
I walked out of the living room and I pushed through the very crowded front entrance. As I was making my way to reach the staircase I spotted Connery with some of the guys from the swimming team and of course the usual group of sorority girls (they were more like groupies but you get the point). He was leaning against the railing of the staircase with a red cup in his hand. Connery was wearing black acid stacked skinny jeans with an olive green colored hoodie and a jean jacket on top. What topped of his aesthetically pleasing look was the pair of customized air force one's he was wearing.
We made eye contact for a split second before I began walking up the stairs, he kept on talking with his friends unbothered. Not even a brief smile or a wave from his part. Not that I was expecting one anyways, his invite was more of a courtesy one and nothing but. Why would a guy like him even bother with even trying to speak to me? He was surrounded by jaw dropping blond girls who were a 20 if you ask me, Everest Green just sat on a five. That is if we are trying to not be harsh.
I cursed Stensby's name about fifteen times when I reached the third floor of the house. He said the last room to in the hallway to your left and there was another hallway at the end of the first hallway. And the left side had four rooms. His drunk ass couldn't even remember where his room was at.
I checked the first three rooms and I stumbled upon things I wish I could erase from my brain before I finally found Stensby's room. There were two twin sized beds in the back of the room next to a big glass window. That's odd, I didn't know Stensby had a roommate.
Instead of looking for the two bottles of Fireball and getting out of there as fast as I could, I of course had to meddle (in something that was clearly none of my business) and find out who was Stensby's mysterious roommate.
Stensby had his wall covered in baseball posters. And of course, the poster of his favorite player, Mike Trout, was the biggest one of all. I believe he is a center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels from what Stensby has talked about, which in my opinion is not the best choice. Why be an Angels fan when you can be a Dodgers fan? They had more than one-hundred wins last season, the Nationals beat them in the World Series, but that's besides the point.
What caught me by surprise was the picture that Stensby had next to a table lamp on his nightstand, a picture of Peyton, him and I. It was a picture of us sitting on a boat in Punta Cana. I didn't even know that picture existed. And before you ask, no, I don't remember a thing. Punta Cana is a 75% blurr and a 25% recollection of small events.
I spotted the two bottles of Fireball on the floor next to Stensby's nightstand. But before I picked the bottles up, I began to meddle on the other side of the room. There weren't a lot of posters on the wall, but they all had different swimmers. I didn't know Stensby was roommates with one of the guys of the swimming team. I was pretty sure Dant wasn't Stensby's roommate since Peyton mentioned he was roommates with Becker.
Then who was it?
I looked at the collection of medals hanging on the wall and I didn't even have to take a look at the names printed on them because the picture next to them gave it all away. Matthew Connery. He had a big smile plastered across his face as he had his arm around none other than Caeleb Dressel (aka the beast in butterfly swimming aside from Phelps of course). He had a dominant performance in the World Championships taking home 8 medals breaking Phelp's record.
"I take you're a big fan of Dressel as well?" A voice coming from the door startled the fuck out of me. Connery.
"You almost gave me a heart attack Connery. You should know better than to sneak up on a girl like that." I tell him taking a deep breathe. "And is that even a question? The guy's a beast. My jaw dropped with unbelief when he broke Phelps butterfly world record."
Connery chuckles at my amusement. "That was a pretty amazing performance."
"Where did you get the chance to meet him?" I ask, trying to make conversation. I was a little bit of an introvert and didn't really know what to say most of the time especially to a guy like him.
Guys like him don't always pay attention to girls like me. They're not really into the sweater and jeans type of girl, they're into the crop tops and shorts kind. At least that's how things worked here at BGU. "I met him this past summer, I was training in the USA swimming facility with the team."
"That must've been a never forget kind of moment, what was it like training with the team, especially him?" I ask Connery and then I came to the realization that he must be bored out of his mind with this conversation. "You don't have to answer that, that was a stupid question. You're probably tired of people asking you the same thing."
I walked over to the two bottles of Fireball and I picked them up, I was ready to leave. "I am, but with you it feels different. You don't pretend, at least not like everyone else does. You genuinely want to know. Everyone else just acts like they care just to be around me."
So that's what it really feels like to be adored by everyone. I gave him a half smile not really knowing what to say but he broke the silence. "Anyhow, I'm curious, are you looking to die tomorrow at practice?"
Connery was pointing at the two glass bottles in my hands and I quickly shook my head. "These are definitely not for me, I actually love my life (today at least). Stensby and Peyton are playing strip beer pong in the living room with the guys from the baseball team. But I doubt they will even remember they sent me to get these, we had pre game at our apartment and Peyton was already looking out of it. What about you?"
I asked Connery pointing to the red plastic cup in his left hand. "It's soda, I don't drink. And like you I actually love my life to, besides you bet Coach Jennings is going to tests us for alcohol tomorrow."
He doesn't drink? That's surprising. "I'm betting that more than half of the guys will be swimming an extra hour at practice tomorrow morning."
My phone buzzes in my back pocket. The screen had lit up with a text from Peyton. GURRRL WERE R U? And that was my cue to leave. "I have to go, Peyton is clearly wasted and I have to go look for her before she does anything stupid."
"Something tells me that someone will be staying up late tonight holding a certain blondes hair back while she pukes all the alcohol out of her system." Connery laughs.
"Agreed, wish me luck!" I awkwardly say. Wish me luck? Can I be more awkward than that? Connery gives me a smile and I walk out of his and Stensby's room.
When I walked down the stairs to the main entrance of the house I spotted Stensby and Peyton leaning against the porch railing outside. At least Stensby was, Peyton was clearly blacked out holding onto dear life while she had her right arm linked with Stensby's.
"Stensby, how many cups of beer did she chug?" I ask in a scolding tone with my arms crossed. "She has a lab at seven tomorrow, you will be the one dragging her out of bed in the morning not me."
Stensby gives me a disapproving look. "We switched to tequila after the fourth round. You spent like three hours upstairs looking for the Fireball bottles. My room isn't that hard to find, Everest."
"Don't even get me started on that Stensby (my memory was scarred for life) now let's go, Peyton isn't going to carry her own ass two blocks to get to her car." I tell Stensby putting Peyton's left arm around my neck. "Or I have a much better idea, you can carry her bridal style to the car yourself, this is your fault after all. And you look like you need the workout."
Stensby rolls his brown eyes at me and picks Peyton up bridal style. Greek god Connery was right, tonight was definitely going to be a long one.