The Devil Calls Me Sweetheart

9

     "Are you sure you don't want me to come, sweetheart?" Astel sat on the edge of my bed, arms crossed, and I couldn't help but glance at his arms. His shirt looked tight fitting on his body, and I wondered if they cut his circulation for his muscles to bulge out like that.

I had received a call that Ethan was already here, waiting for me in his Mercedes outside. My hands rested on my bedroom's doorknob, opened halfway, halting my steps because of Astel's interruption.

"I'm pretty sure."

"Give me a call then, if you need anything."

"Okay." I turned around to go, before spinning again to ask one last thing. "Are you going to stay home?"

His stare made me self-conscious. I gripped the knob anxiously. I was dressed out of my comfort zone, different from my usual jeans and t-shirt. For this occasion, I put on a mid-thigh length skirt paired with a short-sleeved mock-neck shirt cropped in the slightest. I exchanged my sneakers for a shoe with a little heel to give me a bit of height. My hair was in a bun and my makeup was natural.

"I might go out."

For an inexplicable reason, my heart felt heavy at his words. It was selfish, so I brushed it off.

"Okay," I breathed out, "See you later."

He nodded and I closed the door behind me. I went downstairs and left my house. It was already beginning to get dark.

"You look gorgeous, Rose." Ethan told me as I sat in his car.

I blushed. "Thank you." It was my turn to look at him. Ethan wore a black button-up, his simple black pants were accessorized with a belt. His blond hair was styled the usual way with gel. It was very simple, but then why was my heart beating?

Olivia and I decided to meet up separately at James's house where held the party. I only hoped Ethan wouldn't notice parties and I don't go too well together. When we got there, there were already so many people. I was able to hear the music from down the street. Luckily, a couple were already leaving, probably because one of them got sick judging by the guy puking (I saw it clearly projecting out of his mouth), so Ethan was able to park near James's house and not another street.

The door was unlocked, and the music that was already so loud outside blasted my eardrums inside. I texted Olivia we were here. Ethan yelled something at me, but it was impossible to hear him. Seeing from my reaction, Ethan decided to just grab my hand and drag me somewhere. Halfway, Olivia and a guy whom I assume is James appear out of no where.

"Rose! Ethan! You made it!" It seemed my hearing adjusted and I could now make out words.

"Hey guys! I'm James!" He shook mine and Ethan's hand.

"Hi! I'm Rose!"

"Ethan, nice to meet you."

Instead of us yelling, James introduced us to the kitchen. He had a beautiful kitchen, mainly matte black and white. He opened the fridge and told us we could find drinks here, in the garage and outside in coolers.

"Come and play some games, get drunk and most importantly, have fun!" James lead the way. In every corner of the house were different drinking games, some were dancing, some already passed out.

Liv planned on sleeping at James's house, meaning both can afford to drink. In my case, I offered to be the respective driver, but Ethan refused. He said he already drove here, might as well drive again and let me have fun.

I couldn't say no, it was his car after all.

Maybe it was because Ethan was here, and I wanted to look cool. I wanted to impress him, make him think I was fun and outgoing. Thus, I began to play all the games, drinking and taking shots handed to me.