Die A Little

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Mingling in with the other party-goers, I kept myself to myself and stayed out of harm's way for the majority of the evening. In all honesty, I just needed a night out to feel somewhat normal again. I hadn't touched a drop of alcohol, not wanting a repercussion of the last party that I had attended. Stood in the corner of the living room, I watched my fellow peers embrace the life of the party, dancing to the music and perhaps grinding a little too close for comfort with each other.

And then I saw him.

Brian was stood with his old crew, a beer bottle in hand. He was acting like nothing was destroying him inside but I could tell that he wasn't all there. His smile didn't reach his eyes like it used to whenever he looked at me. He was clad in his varsity jacket and jeans with all-white sneakers at his feet. His hair had been slicked back but his facial hair had grown out slightly since the last time that I saw him.

I don't know where I had gained the courage, but I slipped through the crowd of people, inching closer to the group but keeping enough distance between us for neither of them to notice my presence. I could just about overhear their conversation over the music from where I was stood.

"What do we reckon, boys?" Jiggy asked. "Who do you think is going to get lucky tonight?"

"Quinn, obviously." Murr scoffed. I guess they had dropped the stupid nicknames they had for each other during high school.

"Jealous that my dick gets more pussy than yours, Murr?" Brian chuckled arrogantly.

"Shut up." Murr cursed under his breath.

"Looks like Joey is beating us to it." Jiggy pointed out, nodding his head in the direction of their other friend.

Following their gaze, I could see that Joey was in the midst of a heated make-out session with some girl. She had tanned skin and dark hair, dressed in a little black dress that accentuated her body. His hands were touching all over her as her fingers raked through his lighter coloured brown hair.

"That's my boy, Joey!" Brian hollered, taking a sip from the bottle soon after.

"What about you, Quinn?" Jiggy turned the question onto him. "Now that you're a new singleton, are you going to be looking for some action?"

"I'm not, er...it's complicated." Brian stumbled. I guess I deserved to be hurt by his words, but it angered me how he was contemplating even being with someone else when things were still so fragile between us.

"C'mon," Jiggy smirked, nudging his elbow into his friend's side. "Surely you miss being pussy-whipped, Quinn."

"Yeah," Brian played off with a nervous laugh. "A little."

"Even Murray's gotten more of it than you have this year." Jiggy added acerbically.

"Hey!" Murr interrupted defensively.

Jiggy rolled his eyes and pointed out a girl dancing in the centre of the room. He lowered the tones to his voice. "I've been after Maddie for so long now, I think tonight is my night."

"Take the hint, man." Brian commented. "Judging by the way she's grinding her ass into Tyler's crotch right now; I don't think you have a shot."

"Just watch me." Jiggy grinned, pushing himself from the wall and stepping into the dance circle.

He put everything into gaining the girl's attention as he soon caught her eye. Seizing her hand in his, Jiggy convinced Maddie to dance with him and pulled her tightly into his embrace. He had her laughing within seconds, forcing Tyler to give in and find someone else to dance with.