Fool Me Once

“Yeah.” But then his question has me wondering if maybe I’m overstaying my welcome. Holly is the one who asked me, not him. “But if you don’t want to hang out with me…”

“No,” he says quickly. “It’s just that last night you didn’t want to, so I hope you don’t feel like you have to. Holly can be a bit… demanding.” He laughs.

“I’m okay. I want to.”

“Good.” He hits me with a two-dimpled smile. “Because I want you to.”

Mitch and Holly return with a platter of shots, setting them down on the table near the pool. Holly hands me one, and Mitch hands one to Keegan.

“Cheers!” they yell at the same time, throwing their drinks back. Keegan is about to follow suit, but when he notices me not drinking mine, he lowers his glass.

“Girl, drink up!” Holly yells, grabbing another shot and downing it.

“Babe, come swim with me.” Mitch pulls Holly away and throws her into the pool. Just like last night, the outside of the hotel is filled with loud music and louder people partying.

I’m eyeing the shots, unsure if I should drink, when Keegan says, “You okay?”

“I’m not sure,” I admit with a humorless laugh.

“You don’t have to drink, Blakely.”

Sighing, I set the shot down and tell him something I haven’t told anyone else. “The person I’m not on speaking terms with… it’s my sister.” When he looks at me confused, I continue. “She’s always high or drunk—partying with her loser friends.” It’s become her way to avoid dealing with her life.

“And you’re afraid if you drink you’ll turn into her?”

“Yes and no. I used to be like her.” Before our parents died, when their fighting became unbearable, Sierra and I resorted to acting out for attention. That included drinking and smoking—and getting arrested. After they died, there was no reason to act out anymore. They were both gone. I haven’t picked up a drink or a joint since then.

Unable to look at Keegan, I focus on the shot in front of me. “I’m afraid if I drink, I’ll go back to the way I was. The way she is now.” I’m not sure why I’m baring my inner secrets to him, but with every word I speak, it feels like another weight has been lifted off my chest. “Since our parents died, I’ve been focused on my future, but my sister, she won’t focus on anything but chasing her next high. I’m going away to school, and the thought of leaving her, it makes me feel sick. I haven’t said it to anyone, but I’m so mad at her. Mad at the decisions she’s making. We’ve barely even spoken in months.”

“Looks like we have something in common,” Keegan says, and I look up at him.

“You’re mad at your sister too?”

He chuckles. “My brother… and no. I meant your sister and I have something in common. My brother is mad at me for my decisions too.”

When he doesn’t explain further, I ask, “Do you want to talk about it?” Even though I don’t think he does. Otherwise, he would’ve told me.

“Not really,” he says. “The reason I let Mitch drag me here is to let it all go. In less than a month, I have to make a pretty big decision, and right now, I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Then we don’t.” I pick the shot back up and raise it.

“You sure?” He lifts a single brow in question.

“One night of drinking isn’t going to change who I am—who I’ve become,” I say, unsure if my words are more for Keegan or myself. “I know what I want for my future, and one night of having fun is okay.”

He gives me a hard stare, as if he’s about to argue, but instead shrugs. “Here’s to drinking our problems away.” We clink our glasses.

“Or at least drinking until we forget what our problems are,” I add, then throw my shot back at the same time Keegan does. He hands me another shot, and we both down them.

“Dammit!” I yell as the ball bounces off the side of the table and hits the ground. Holly laughs, and Mitch grabs the ball before it rolls too far. Reaching over, I grab my cup and down the entire contents.

Keegan and I are playing beer pong with Holly and Mitch, except instead of beer in the cups, there are shots of liquor. It’s official, I suck at this game. My ball never makes it inside the cup, and you would think that would mean I wouldn’t be drunk. The problem is Holly changed up the rules since she too sucks at the game. If you miss, you have to take a shot. If you make it, the other side takes the shot.

“C’mere, Jailbird.” Keegan laughs, gripping the curve of my hip. With every shot we take, the more flirtatious we become with each other. At first, it was friendly and fun. But the drunker we get, the more sensual the touches get. The peck on the cheek turns into a kiss on the lips. The hand holding turns into our bodies grinding against one another.