“Yeah.” She bobbed her head in an easy agreement. “That sounds like a plan. See you at 9:30. Maybe bring Ben?”

Both of us laughed at that idea. If I knew my co-worker he’d be bouncing up and down at the idea of going with us. He proved me right when I asked him at the end of our shift. He was clapping, giggling, and planning his outfit at the same time.

We got to Angie’s late because Ben made me pick him up from his house first. He wanted to ‘bond’ with the girls and he wanted a ride home that night. When Angie got in the car, his clapping and giggling happened again. He wiggled his eyebrows in the air and announced how excited he was to get drunk that night. He was hoping for a little titty twister from his ‘lush babies’. Angie and I never asked who he meant, but I had a good suspicion that I’d find out by the end of the night.

When we got to Eric’s house, I was surprised at how long it had been since my last time there. His home was a white, two-story, ranch-style home. The front patio wrapped around the house and I saw that the rooms were as big as I remembered.

Someone ran into Angie, who glared. “Excuse you.”

The person flipped her black hair over her shoulder and revealed her face. I didn’t need to see who it was. I already knew it was Marissa. Only she could wear a brown tank top with black cropped pants and look hot in it.

She’d been laughing, but that vanished immediately. Her eyes went dead and she straightened. “Excuse you.”

“No.” Angie blocked her as she started to go around. “Excuse you, bitch.”

Marissa drew back. Her jaw stiffened, her mouth flattened, and she tightened her grip on her cup. When she started to move her arm back, I hurried and got between them. I knew Marissa’s signs too; she’d been about to throw her beer on Angie. That would not have been good.

“Hi, Marissa,” I rushed out with a fake smile. “How are you?”

She paused, confused, but her arm went back to normal.

“Oh. Hey, Alex.” She was wary now, but she sipped from her cup.

I relaxed and shooed Angie away before I turned back to her. “So are you dating anyone?”

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

I could hear Angie and Ben bickering behind me, but then Angie huffed out, “Fine!” She stormed off. Ben gave me a small smile before he bounded after her.

“Look.” I dropped the façade. “I didn’t want you and Angie to have another round.”

Her smile was bitter now. “Oh, you mean like that last eight times since Las Vegas.”

“Eight?”

Marissa snorted. “Where’ve you been, Alex? It’s a normal thing for her and me to get into it. It wouldn’t be a party if Angie and I weren’t screaming at each other. There was hair pulling at the last one.”

“Really?”

She rolled her eyes. “I thought you were getting better. What happened to you? You slipped back into the land of the dead. Are you able to graduate? Did you get all your studies done?”

“I got a full scholarship to Grant West.”

It took a second before I realized what I said. Then I gasped and my mouth dropped open. I couldn’t believe that had slipped out. I hadn’t told anyone, well, I hadn’t told Angie yet.

Marissa’s eyes bulged out and she was quiet for a second. Then she whispered, “Holy shit, Alex. Really?”

I nodded, still in shock.

“Wow, that’s, wow. That’s great. Congratulations.”

I nodded again. Everything started reeling around me.

“So, you’ll be with Jesse then? Like, for real? You guys can be a couple.”

Everything fell flat again. I shrugged as I responded in a monotone, “We ended things in Las Vegas.”

“What?” she squeaked. Her hand clamped onto my arm. “Are you serious? The two of you are done?”

“Have been for awhile,” I said through gritted teeth. “You and Cord?”

“Oh.” She waved a dismissing hand in the air. “He’s been back twice. We hook up, but that’s it. I’m not stupid. Cord’s like Jesse, they’re not relationship guys. He’s told me about all the girls at their college. They have groupies there. Can you believe that?”

I nodded. I really could.

“Yeah, I guess you’d know, huh?” She sipped her beer and gave me a shy smile. “I got into Kellan College.”

“Oh. Congratulations.”

Her eyes sparkled. “Yeah, me and Sarah. We’re going to be roommates.”

“Oh.” Pain speared through me. She had replaced Angie and me so quickly. “That’s good for you then.”

She nodded, biting her lip now.

“Isn’t it?”

All the happiness, all the excitement left her. Sadness flooded her next and she heaved a deep sigh. “Are you okay, Alex?” She edged closer to me and gripped her cup tighter. “I know things didn’t go right between me and Angie, but I never stopped caring about you as a friend. I know Angie’s your best friend. She’s always been closer to you than me, but I’m just worried. Are you okay?”

Oh no. We’d taken a nosedive into the emotional and not-things-I-talked-about. I shook my head and started to back away.

“Alex.” She hurried after me.

“No, stop.” My insides twisted around each other. I needed to get away from her. I couldn’t hear anything more from her. She’d left me. I couldn’t handle taking her back.

“Alex.”

“Stop.” I turned and darted through the crowd. Angie and Ben were in the kitchen. I knew they’d be getting drinks, so I turned down a far hallway and ran into someone. A hard chest hit me and I stumbled back, but before I hit the wall, an arm snaked around my waist holding me in place.

“Hey, Alex.” Eric set me on my feet and bent so he was eye level with me. He gentled his voice. “You okay? You look upset.”

“Everyone is so damn worried about me,” I snapped out.

He straightened abruptly. His blonde hair was gelled at the tips; it gave him a wet/bedroom look. It seemed to make his blue eyes all the more smoldering and I could see why so many girls fancied him. With a loose white tee shirt over ripped jeans, Eric could’ve been a model.

And holy hell. When did I start noticing him in that way?