This Love (Kaylor)

Chapter 5

Trigger Warning: Homophobic language and sexual assault

This party's shit.

Poorly chosen music blares from a speaker on Blake Lively's fancy fireplace, which, mixed with the loud yells of what seems to be the entire senior class, is giving my head a dull ache. About an hour ago, when I first walked into the doors of Blake's mansion with Jourdan, Lily, Gigi, and Josh, some douche almost immediately sloshed half of his cheap beer into the front of my top, soaking my chest and making him laugh obnoxiously before giving me a halfhearted apology. Jourdan and Gigi disappeared almost right away to go flirt with the over sized males they've had their eyes on for a while now.

That left me, Lily, and Josh, the most socially incompetent seniors at Williams, awkwardly sitting on a couch in the living room, quietly observing no less than about 150 alcohol crazed students prance around an already half-trashed house.

I clear my voice to break the silence. "Come on Karlie, they said. It'll be fun, Karlie they said," I say, mimicking what they had told me only hours ago.

Lily chuckles, the first sound she's made all night. "Ok, ok, you're right. We're losers, you win."

Josh interjects. "Come on, guys. We don't have to be losers. How about we get some drinks or something?"

I hesitate and glance at Lily. I don't drink, and I never really have. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to start now.

Lily nods slowly. "Yeah, I'll take a beer. We're supposed to be having fun, right?"

Josh smiles. "Karlie, you?"

I shake my head to rid it of any uncertainty. "Sure, why not?"

I think I'm old enough to make my own decisions at this point. Besides, Jourdan is right. It's my senior year, I should be loosening up more.

"Alright, I'll be back with 3 beers then." Josh turns and walks into the crowd of kids in the direction of the kitchen.

After he's gone, Lily and I sit in comfortable silence for a moment.

"You know he likes you, right?" she tells me.

I shift in the cushions of the couch. "Oh. Um, really? Josh?"

"Yeah. You should, you know, make a move or something. You guys would be cute."

I swallow. "Um, I don't know... I kinda like being friends with him," I say.

Lily shrugs. "Whatever, I mean. Your loss, he's cute."

I nod, grateful when I see Josh coming back towards us, balancing three plastic cups in his hands.

"Here you go, ladies." He hands us each a drink, winking at me as I take one.

I hold mine and stare into the unattractive brown bubbly liquid, trying to escape the awkward tension that's circling around the couch where we're sitting.

I watch as Lily and Josh both take large gulps of their beer, obviously more comfortable than I am drinking. It surprises me to see Lily handle alcohol so expertly. I kinda pegged her to be the reserved type, who prefers sipping chocolate milk over beer, more like me.

I cautiously take a sip of my own drink, trying not to cringe at it's sour taste. Ok, it's not that bad. Honestly, it just tastes very watered down, which just shows how cheap it must really be. Feeling a little more confident, I take a larger sip, trying to get used to the taste.

The three of us relax more as we take in the alcohol, being able to make some small talk as we get more comfortable.

By the time each of us has had 2 drinks, Jourdan walks up to us. My brain is feeling considerably more fuzzy than it was an hour or two ago. My thoughts are subdued, my actions sloppy. I notice that Jourdan's got a plastic cup of her own resting in her hand, which explains the stagger in her step.