After

Chapter 16.

"Dare" Hardin answers before I even ask him.

What should I dare him to do? I know he will do whatever it is just because that is how is he. "I.. hmm. I dare you to .."

"To what?" He says impatiently. I almost dare him to say something nice about each person in the group but I decide against it, however amusing it would have been.

"Take your shirt off and keep it off the entire game" Molly says for me and I am glad. Not because Hardin will be taking his shirt off of course, but because I couldn't think of anything to have him do.

"How juvenile" He says but lifts his shirt over his head. My eyes go directly to his long torso. The way  black ink of the tattoos is  painted across his surprisingly tan skin is somehow appealing. Under his swallows he has a butterfly tattoo on his stomach, it looks much better than a butterfly should on a guy. His arms have many more tattoos than I expected, small seemingly random tattoos are scattered along his shoulders and hips. Steph nudges me and I tear my eyes away from him praying that no one saw me staring. The game continues and Molly kisses Tristan and Zed, Steph tells us about her first time having sex and Nate and the new girl kiss. How did I find myself in the middle of this group of hormonal college students?

"Tessa, truth or dare?" Tristan asks.

"Why even ask? We know she will say truth" Hardin interrupts.

"Dare" I say, surprising them and myself.

"Hmm.. Tessa, I dare you to.. take a shot of vodka" Tristan smiles.

"I don't drink"

"That's the point"

"Look, if you don't want to do it.." Nate starts to say and I look over at Hardin and Molly sharing a laugh at my expense.

"Fine, one shot" I say and Hardin's eyes meet mine. He gives me a strange look.

Seconds later I am handed the clear bottle of vodka. I mistakenly put my nose against the top, smelling the foul liquid. It burns my nostrils and I scrunch  my nose, trying to ignore the chuckles behind me. I try not to think of all the mouths that have been on the top of the bottle before I tilt it back and take a drink. The vodka feels hot and burns my tongue all the way down to my stomach but I manage to swallow it. It tastes horrible. The group claps and laughs a little, except Hardin. If I didn't know him any better I would think he was mad or disappointed? He is so strange. I can feel the heat in my cheeks and the small amount of alcohol in my veins that grows with each round that I am dared to take another. I oblige, I have to admit I am pretty relaxed for once, I feel good.

"Same dare" Zed laughs and takes a drink of the vodka before handing me the bottle for the fifth time. I don't even remember the dares and truths that have been happening around me for the last few rounds. This time I take two big drinks of the vodka before it is ripped from my grasp.

"I think you've had enough" Hardin says and hands the bottle to Nate, who takes a drink. Who the hell is Hardin to tell me when I have had enough? Everyone else is still drinking so I can too. I grab the bottle back from Nate and take a drink again, making sure to give Hardin a smirk as the bottle touches my lips.

"I can't believe you have never been drunk before, its fun right?" Zed asks and I giggle. Thoughts of irresponsibility flood my mind but I push them back. It's only one night.

"Hardin, truth or dare?" Molly asks. He answers "dare" of course.

"I dare you to kiss Tessa" she says and gives a fake smile. Hardin's eyes go wide and I want to run away.

"No, I have a boyfriend" I tell them, making them laugh at me for the hundredth time tonight. Why am I even hanging around these people who keep laughing at me?

"So.. it is just a dare. Just do it" Molly pressures me.

"No, I am not kissing anyone" I snap and stand up. Hardin just takes a drink from his cup. I hope he is offended, actually I don't care if he is. He hates me and is rude anyway. As I get to my feet, the full effect of the vodka hits me. I wobble but pull myself together and walk away from them. Through the crowd, I manage to find the front door. As soon as it opens, the fall breeze hits me. I close my eyes and breath in the fresh air before going to sit on the familiar stone wall. Before I realize what I am doing, my phone is in my hands, dialing Noah.

"Hello?" He says, the familiarity of his voice makes me miss him more.

"Hey.. babe" I say and laugh. We do not call each other ridiculous pet names.

"Tessa, are you drunk?" His voice is full of judgment. I shouldn't have called him.

"No.. of course not" I lie and hang up the phone. I press my finger down on the power button, I don't want him to call back. He is ruining the good feeling from the vodka.

I stumble back inside, ignoring whistles and crude comments from drunk frat guys. I grab a bottle of brown liquor off the counter in the kitchen and take a drink, too big of a drink. It tastes worse than the vodka and burns even worse. My hands fumble for a cup of anything to get the taste out of my mouth. I end up opening the cabinet and using a real glass to pour some water from the sink, making sure to put the glass in the sink afterwards.

"Excuse me," a blonde with an attitude pushes past me and tosses an empty cup into the sink.

The water helps the burn a little, but not much. The group of my "friends" are still sitting in a circle playing their stupid game. Are they my friends? I don't think they are. They only want me around so they can laugh at my inexperience. How dare Molly tell Hardin to kiss me, she knows that I have a boyfriend. Unlike her, I don't go around kissing everyone. I have only kissed two boys in my life, Noah and Johnny, a freckle faced kid in third grade who kicked me in the shin afterwards. Would Hardin have went along with it? I doubt it. His lips are so pink and full, my head plays an image of Hardin leaning over to kiss me and my pulse begins to race.

What the hell? Why am I thinking about kissing him? I am never drinking again. Minutes later, the room begins to spin and I feel dizzy. My feet lead me upstairs to the bathroom and I sit in front of the toilet, expecting to throw up. Nothing happens. I groan and pull myself up. I am ready to go back to the dorms but I know Steph won't be ready for hours.

Before I can stop myself, my hand is turning the knob on Hardin's bedroom door. It looks the same as before only this time the room is moving around beneath my feet. The copy of Wuthering Heights is missing from the shelf where it was but I find it on the bedside table, next to Pride and Prejudice. Hardin's comments about the novel replay through my mind. He has obviously read it before, and understood it which is rare for our age group. Maybe he had to read it for class before, that's why. But why is this copy of Wuthering Heights out? I grab it and sit on the bed, opening the book halfway through. My eyes scan the pages and the room stops spinning.

I am so lost in the world of Catherine and Heathcliff, that when the door opens, I don't hear it.

"What part of no one can come in my room did you not understand last time?" Hardin booms. His angry expression surprises but humors me at the same time.

"S..sorry. I ."

"Get out" he spits and I glare at him. The vodka is still fresh in my system, too fresh to let Hardin yell at me.

"You don't have to be such a jerk!' My voice coming out much louder than I had intended.

"You are in my room, again after I told you not to be. So get out!" He yells, stepping closer to me.

"Why don't you like me?" I am not sure what possessed me to ask him this. I don't think my already wounded ego can take the answer.