Unexpected

“Jell-O shots, and you don’t need any.”

I ignore him and slide off of the counter. Mary, I think that’s her name, hands me a pink one. I loosen the gelatinous goo with my finger then dump it into my mouth. It tastes amazing. I finish it and grab a second one before Asher grabs hold of my hips again. “You are going to hate life in the morning.”

I sti

ck my tongue out at him and he rolls his eyes. He pushes me onto the couch and says, “Don’t move. I’m taking a piss and then we’re leaving.”

“You’re no fun.” I jut my bottom lip out, then close my eyes. My head falls back onto the cushion. The world around me is nothing but darkness, but everything spins. It’s not a good feeling. Too much more of this and I think I might puke.

“Want a beer?” someone asks.

I open my eyes and a guy I’ve never seen before stands in front of me, a red solo cup in hand. I felt good until Asher took my Jell-O away. Maybe all I need is another drink to make the world stop turning. “Sure.”

The guy hands me the cup and walks away. I hold the beer in my hand, distracted by a gray blob across the room that looks eerily familiar. After a few seconds, it becomes clearer and I recognize the blob as Corah. She’s straddling Liam, practically humping him on the loveseat.

“Where did you get that?” Asher queries. I don’t know when he came up beside me, but I’m glad he’s here. I don’t want to be a loser alone on the couch while Liam has the time of his life with his new girlfriend. Pretty girlfriend. Is it wrong to hate her?

“I don't know; does it matter?” I spit. My happy drunk feeling is teetering, slowly morphing into a pissed off cat. I want to claw Corah’s eyes out and set her hair on fire.

“Yes.” Asher takes my drink and sets it on the coffee table between the couch and the loveseat. “Guys are sketchy. You don’t know what could be in it.”

I fold my arms, mostly because I don’t know what to do with them, and stare across the room.

Corah and Liam are still making out. His hand slinks up the back of her shirt while hers pull at his hair. The space between my legs tingle. I miss having Liam in my arms like that. I miss feeling the warmth of his body against mine. Most of all, I miss him.

“Are you pouting because I took your beer?” Asher teases. “Because even if there wasn’t a drug in your cup, you don’t need it.”

“I’m not pouting,” I declare, raking my gaze back to him.

“Oh, you totally are.” He chuckles.

I sigh and let my guard down. Asher is supposed to be my boyfriend but what I need right now is a friend. I feel abandoned by Liam. Rejected. And it sucks. “It’s just… look at them.” I hold my hand out to where Liam and Corah are going at it. “It’s not fair.”

Asher wrinkles his nose. I guess he doesn’t like watching those two get it on either. “What’s not?”

“I’m drunk and horny and he’s over there making a C-rated porn.” I pause to glance up at Asher. I hate that I have tears in my eyes. I hate that Liam turned what was probably the most fun night of my life into a horrible experience. I might have considered coming to a party again if they were all like this, but now all I want to do is curl into a ball and cry. “Why can’t Liam look at me like that?”

“Like a fucking steak?” Asher growls. He sounds angry, but I don’t have it in me to care why. My emotions are tumbling faster than a deck of cards and there’s nothing I can do to stop them.

“No, like something he wants.” I bite my bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

“Well, then let’s make him want you.” Asher sits on the couch beside me. He cups my cheek with his hand, turning my face towards his, and presses his lips against mine. For a full heartbeat, we’re both stiff. But then his tongue traces the seam of my lips and I melt into him. I tilt my head and open my mouth and his tongue slides against mine.

Asher wraps his arms around me and I slide onto his lap. My hands glide across his shoulders and to his neck. This feels too good. I’ve wanted to do this longer than I’ll let my sober self admit. A crush on a guy in middle school isn’t supposed to create deep-rooted feelings. I buried all thoughts of Asher in the trenches of hell when he went from sweet to jerk. Those feelings must have been lying dormant, because kissing Asher is better than anything I could have ever imagined.

Our mouths tangle, tongues dancing in unison. I vaguely remember we are in the living room of a strange house. An even further thought is Liam and what he might think. I don’t care. I’m going to kiss the hell out of this man because we feel right together.

Gradually, Asher pulls away. We stare at each other for a long moment, foreheads touching. “You good?”

“Yeah,” I reply breathlessly.

“Awesome. Let’s get out of here.” Asher takes my hand and hugs me close. We pause in front of Liam and I notice his eyes are open, he was watching us while making out with Corah.

Asher smirks as we pass them and says, “Get a room.”

I force my eyes open when the overhead light in my car turns on. I don’t know when I fell asleep, but at some point on the drive to Asher’s house, I must have. I rub my eyes, clearing the fog from them as I’m cloaked in darkness again. I like the dark. It doesn’t make my head hurt, but then the light comes on again and I wince at the brightness.

“Come on, beautiful. Let’s get you inside.” Asher leans across me and unclicks my seatbelt.