I glared at him. “Dude, take a breath.”
Kristie snickered. “You know, this kind of behavior is the exact reason why good girls like them dump their boyfriends before coming to college.”
I paused. “Excuse me?”
She smiled. “You heard me. Coming to this party. Getting angry that they’re drinking. Getting jealous of other guys watching them. That kind of behavior gets you dumped, gentlemen.”
Mike shook his head. “My girlfriend and I are going to the same college. She’d never do that to me.”
The girl giggled. “Do you even hear how stupid you sound right now?”
I stepped in. “You can tuck in that language with my boy here.”
She ran her gaze down my body. “Then listen closely. If you try to check your girls all the time on their actions, they’re going to start hiding things from you. It’s only natural. They’ll do what they want, but they won’t include you. College is to let them fly freely. To help people experience things. You want to be there for that? Then enjoy it with them. But if you don’t…” She looked between us and giggled. And with those words, she turned around and left.
“If we don’t, what?” Mike asked.
I sighed. “If we don’t, they’ll dump our asses. That’s what she means.”
21
Raelynn
“Follow me,” I whispered.
Allison craned her neck back. “Where are we going? Should we tell the guys?”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you really want to check in with Michael every step of every day that you take? Because that’s what he’s making you do right now. And I know you’re uncomfortable.”
“I--I mean--I’ve just never seen Michael like that before.”
I snickered. “Well, it’s called ‘jealousy.
’ And he’ll get over it. Or he won’t, and he’ll turn into an insecure little dick.”
“You think he’d really do that?”
“I think he’s doing it now. What do you think?”
I stopped in the middle of the living room dance floor and stared down my best friend. The boys were trying to ruin this night for us, but I wasn’t having any of it. Allison was finally having her first drink! Just some wine, but I was proud of her. Finally, she felt comfortable enough to have new experiences. Make new friends. Branch out and try things and step out of her comfort zone a little bit. I was beyond proud of her. I mean, it wasn’t like she was chugging back bottles without any regard for herself.
Just a damn glass of wine.
“I think we should go back and find them,” she said.
I grabbed her arm. “Oh, no you don’t. You're staying with me.”
Allison sighed. “But what if he’s upset? Or not doing well?”
I smiled. “Then he’s got his buddy. Clint. We’re here to have fun. I want to celebrate my best friend’s first drink.”
She blushed. “I’ve had some of my mother’s wine before.”
“But this isn’t your mother’s wine. This is your wine. Come on. Let’s go out onto the porch. I need some room to breathe, don’t you?”
I tugged her through the gyrating bodies of the living room before we stumbled out onto the porch. The smell of weed hung heavily in the air and it turned my head. There was smoke pouring around the corner. Allison started coughing softly as I moved away from her.
“Where are you going, Rae?”