I frowned. “Uh…what?”
“She means have you got the same daddy, the same mama?” the platinum blonde one said.
“Yes,” I said, feeling supremely uncomfortable with this strange line of questioning.
“Both?”
“As far as I know,” I replied awkwardly.
“You should know that,” the platinum blonde said to her friend. “You fucked him for like a month.”
“It was more like a week,” she replied. “And, I barely remember that week—we were stoned off our asses.”
I suppressed a sigh as the two girls bantered on without paying any attention to me. I scanned the room, wondering when the appropriate time would be for me to take refuge in Brent’s room and shut out the party. The door opened and a couple more people filtered into the apartment. My eyes fell on one guy in particular; he had the same expression in his eyes that I imagined was in mine.
He was around medium height, probably about five-ten or five-eleven. He was built well, lean, and lightly muscled. He was dressed simply, too, in dark jeans and a black t-shirt that showed off his toned arms. He had dark brown hair cut short and hazel eyes that reminded me of my own. He was carelessly handsome, and it seemed to me that he stood out among present company.
“Fuck, he’s a hottie,” one of the girls was saying, having noticed the same guy I was staring at.
I bristled a little at her comment and wondered if it was jealousy I felt.
“Mmm… Now, he looks like he knows his way around a woman’s body.”
“Who is he?” I asked, turning to them.
“Beats the shit out of me,” the blonde replied. “But trust me, I’ll try to find out.”
Then Brent yelled his name across the room. “Phil, come here!”
“Phil,” the dark-haired one said. “Didn’t expect that name.”
“Oh, what were you expecting?”
“Clint,” she replied. “Or Xander… Something strong, sexy…confident.”
“You don’t need a name to make you all those things,” I pointed out. “You need charisma.”
“What?”
Both girls were looking at me blankly, and instead of explaining, I decided to bow out of this forced conversation. “It was nice meeting you both,” I said, as I walked away from them.
I decided to make my way to the kitchen again, knowing that I would have to pass right in front of Brent and his handsome friend in the process. I slowed my pace slightly as I passed, them and thankfully, my brother spotted me just in time.
“Hi, Meg!” he said loudly. He always got a little loud once he had a couple of drinks in him. “Get over here. I have to introduce you to my boy here.”
I turned to Phil and nodded to him. “It’s very nice to meet you,” I said.
His answering smile was beautiful, and I noticed that he had a dimple on his right cheek. “The pleasure’s mine,” he replied. “How are you adjusting to life in Philly?”
“Uh…it’s a transition,” I replied. “But I like it so far.”
“She got a job recently,” Brent said.
“Yeah?” Phil said, and he sounded genuinely interested. “Where at?”
“Bradshaw’s,” I replied. “They’re a local retail company in Philly.”
“I’ve heard of them,” Phil nodded. “How are you liking working there?”