The Double-Tap Accident

Chapter Fifteen: Body Acquaintances.

Chapter Fifteen: Body Acquaintances.

IT SHOULDN'T BE this difficult to text while being tipsy.

But when the sweaty skin of strangers slid against your arms as they move to the music blaring in your ears, it was tough.

Mariam's acrylic nails fumbled against my hip as she searched for my hand. I grabbed her by the palm and together we made our way over to the bar.

She wasn't sluggish, but it didn't wouldn't matter. If Mariam wanted a drink, she was going to get that drink. And judging by the way she pushed off of the bar counter and slid up to the guys in our proximity, that debit card in her front pocket was not going to be used to get said drinks.

As I texted Yasmeen the details of the painfully awkward conversation between Clayton and me, a tall figure near the booths caught my attention.

I was right. He was wearing small devil horns on top of his hair, along with a black t-shirt and jeans, giving the impression that he didn't care to wear a costume for the night. His elbows were leaning against the back of the booth close to Dev whose red eyes almost glowing by the illumination of his cell phone as he typed across the screen at a slower than normal pace.

On the other side of Dev sat Kyle who was talking to the boys that occupied their booth. Kyle was wearing a Mario costume. My lips rose at how goofy he looked with the red hat containing the M on his head, a thick fake moustache above his lip and suspenders over his red long sleeve shirt and blue jeans.

There was no sight of Laurence and his big white sheet anywhere but that wasn't my main focus. It was on Trinity standing in front of Aven, the two speaking as he pushed himself up from his elbowed position.

She reached up on her tippy toes to say something in his ear. He responded back with a warm smile that said everything about his personality.

Suddenly, I was nudged in the stomach, and I flinched at the unexpected movement as I shifted my gaze to Mariam. "Stop staring."

"I'm not staring," I said, just as the beat dropped in the song and the floor beneath our feet shook as the crowd on the dance floor jumped in time to the music. "I'm just...observing."

"Stalking," She held two shot glasses in her hands. The men she had been speaking to were gone. She worked her magic. "Here, this is mixed with Fireball."

I took the shot glass, downing the cinnamon flavoured drink and instantly putting a hand to my mouth at the burn. "You know stalking is a serious thing? People should really stop using that word so loosely."

"You mean because you stalked the man on Instagram, so now you're personally offended."

"That was unnecessary," I told her, turning to the bar to order a bottle of water. 

When I got my drink, Mariam latched onto my hand. "Okay, c'mon. Now I need to pee."

Seconds later, I was waiting outside of the women's bathroom after fixing myself in the gross-looking mirror, moving past the line of bodies. My eyes darted to the wall, ready to lean on it but when a group of people went to that side, I sighed, looking for somewhere else to wait for Mariam when she would come outside.

Just when I turned, my feet slipped out from underneath me. But before I could go down, an arm grabbed the crook of my elbow, pulling me up and bringing me to their broad chest. 

"Shit," Aven mumbled, holding me steady as he moved us away from the puddle of liquor I had slid over and tucked us into a corner. "Hey, dumbass."

A scowl came to my face at the knowledge that that was going to be our new way of greeting each other. Aven let out a low chuckle but that quickly faded as he assessed me, his hands still on my arms. "You, okay?"