Total pages in book: 213
Estimated words: 201920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1010(@200wpm)___ 808(@250wpm)___ 673(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 201920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1010(@200wpm)___ 808(@250wpm)___ 673(@300wpm)
“You want something to drink?” Mike asks me as he takes a half step forward, his sneaker landing on my foot. I try to play it off, but he sees me wince and backs away.
“Oh shit,” he says with his forehead pinched. “You okay?” he asks and I wave him off. With my heart hammering, all the anxiousness comes right back.
It hurt like hell but with all the nerves running through me, I don’t care. “I’m fine,” I tell him and again, I should have spoken louder.
“Yo, Mike,” the guy who answered the door yells out across the countertop and beckons Mike over. It might be his older brother; I can see a similarity with their noses beyond them both being red.
“Here,” Sam says loudly, stepping into the space between the two of us and I’m grateful for her as always. She pushes a red Solo cup into my chest and I take it with both of my hands like it’ll save me.
“Be right back,” Mike says and I half think he slurred the last word, but the music’s so loud, I could be wrong.
“We’ve got to catch up,” Sam says as she takes a sip and then scrunches her nose and makes a god-awful face. “This tastes like piss,” she says.
“Isn’t it supposed to?” I ask her genuinely, but she laughs like it’s a joke.
“Okay, so, let’s do a round, scope the place out and find a spot to get comfy.” She lays out the plan and I nod my head, eager to do whatever she thinks is best. We decided tonight would be chill. If we’re feeling it, good. If not … we’ll figure something out.
“What about Mike?” I ask her, and she gives me this look. It’s a look that says I’m being stupid.
“Girl, he wants you. He’ll find you, you don’t have to worry about a thing.” She talks as she takes my hand and leads me away from the crowded kitchen, back through the dark living room with the grinding couples having makeout sessions. We pass a set of speakers sitting on the floor and it’s no wonder the bass is pounding through me. They’re gigantic.
We don’t stop, though. Sam leads me straight through another room that’s mostly empty apart from a couple of guys smoking, then down the stairs to the basement. I follow her gratefully. Sam knows what she’s doing. Or at least she looks like she does.
The door’s cracked open and the lights are on. The music fades and in its place, a horde of loud and drunk voices ricochet up the skinny staircase.
“Maybe I should tell Mike we’re down here?” I ask Sam as we sit on an empty sofa in the back corner of the large basement. The room itself isn’t finished. It’s just cinder blocks. But there’s a pool table and a dartboard, plus a bar with a ton of liquor bottles lining it. Right across from the sofa is a ping-pong table with cups arranged on it.
“Babe, quit stressing,” Sam tells me, draining her cup and getting up to pull her dress down. She’s confident as she walks to the table and puts her cup in line with the rest. “He’s going to come looking for you. Make him chase you,” she says and I nod my head, although the doubt is still there. I can still barely breathe.
“I’ve never given you bad advice, have I?” she asks me and I know she hasn’t, but she’s not exactly the person I’m looking to take relationship advice from. Sam says she doesn’t want a boyfriend. She just wants to kiss and that’s it. But I think she’s in denial. I think she lies to herself because of the shit her mom’s gone through. Everyone wants to be loved. Whether they admit it to themselves or not.
That being said, she gets to kiss any boy she wants. So maybe she is right. Maybe I should make him chase me.
It only takes a couple of minutes of whispering about which nearby guy Sam likes most, before the door to the basement opens.
I’d be jealous of the attention she’s getting if I didn’t have my sights set on Mike. I smile into my cup as he comes down the stairs, spotting me on the couch and grinning.
“This is my cousin,” Mike says while the guy behind him taps his shoulder and yells out, “We need more beer, I’ll be right back.” I don’t pay him any attention as I scoot to my right, squishing Sam and making a spot on the sofa for Mike to my left.
He takes it and leans in close, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and making me blush. “So, what do you guys want to do?” he asks. His voice is still loud as hell like he hasn’t realized it’s quieter down here.