He laughs though, pulling me into him. “I’ve created a monster.”
I giggle. “Yep!”
He hold my gaze, his eyes searching mine, before he starts to nod. “Alright, fuck it; yeah.”
“Yeah?”
He kisses me. “Yeah, lets go to the mask party.”
“Mask and toga party, actually.”
His brows shoot up. “What?”
“Can’t back out now!” I say with a laugh, throwing my arms around him and kissing him fiercely.
Chapter 20
Ellie
January in coastal New England seems like possibly the last time of the year you'd want to throw a toga-themed party, but never-the-less, the festivities are in full swing by the time we get there.
The fraternity house is just off campus, and it’s pretty much exactly the place you'd imagine it to be - a little grungy, a little dirty, smelling a lot like beer, and full of people.
There’s another flash of apprehension as we move through the front door and into the crowd as people start to to turn and see us, but I force myself to relax. We’re both wearing masks, and Liam’s even wearing a white spandex sports sleeve over his tattooed arm under his toga. No one knows who we are.
"So, ready to party?" I grin as I grab Liam’s hand and drag him through the front door.
He looks bewildered and a possibly more than a little out of his element amongst the throngs of college-aged kids chugging beer and grinding to hip-hop music, but really, so am I. He squeezes my hand back and shrugs like it’s nothing.
“What, this?" He rolls his eyes dramatically and grins back at me. “I’m going to show these kids how it's done."
I laugh and wrap my arms around him, peppering his cheek with kisses.
We went to a shopping center earlier a few towns over earlier to buy sheets for tonight, and someone had mistaken us for father and daughter. It wasn’t totally unbelievable considering he was more than double my eighteen years, but I was determined that tonight, no one would have any illusions as to the nature of our relationship, and they could think whatever they wanted about it.
Besides, it isn’t like it’s going to be hard keeping my hands on Liam Martin all night. I mean he’s gorgeous for one, and honestly in probably better shape than half the frat guys cavorting around the place in bedsheets. I grin to myself as we walk in, seeing him already turning heads as we move into the crowd, and I know it isn’t just that he’s by far and away the oldest guy in the room. He looks hot, and I knew that more than a few of the looks he’s getting from a lot of the girls my age there are much more about checking him out than wondering who he is and why a guy their father's age is at this party. Liam isn’t like all the other shirtless jocks high-fiving each other and crushing beer cans, with their waxed chests and cheesy tribal tattoos. No, Liam is a man, complete with hairy chest and without cliched tattoos.
As we move into the back room, looking for the keg, a girl I recognized from one of my classes but who’s never spoken to me catches my arm while Liam’s head is turned the other way.
"Oh my God, Ellie!” she whispers conspiratorially as she arches her brow and runs her eyes up and down Liam’s muscled back and arms; "Who is that?"
I grinned, feeling the warm glow tickle up my whole body; "Oh, my boyfriend." I say it as nonchalantly as possible, but inside I’m practically jumping up and down.
"Oh- wow." The girl gives me a big grin, as if she’s looking at me in a whole new light before she gives Liam one more hungry look and moves off into the crowd, leaving me on cloud nine.
“Ellie!”
I turn as Ally came pushing through the crowd towards us.
"Hey, Ell- Oh!" Ally stumbles over her words as her jaw drops, and she looks quickly between Liam and I with a big grin on her face.
Oh hi!" She gives me a quick 'are you fucking kidding me' look before she drags her eyes back to Liam.
"You must be…”
“Matt,” Liam says with a chuckle.
"Well, Matt, I'm very glad to meet you! You've got a great girl here you know, and you better be nice to her!" She prods Liam’s bare chest, exposed in the toga, and then falters as she keeps her hand on his hard, chiseled muscles a moment longer than necessary. Anyone else and I might be insanely jealous, but this is Ally after all.