“I smell like food.”
“Here.” Taytum dug in her bag and pulled out a small bottle of perfume before spraying it in the air. “Now, walk through it.” Her hand landed on the small of my back, and she pushed me forward. My palms landed on the charcoal-colored wall of The Bex’s bathroom to catch myself, and I spun around to face my best friend in the middle of a coughing fit.
“Really?” I coughed again, grabbing onto my chest.
Taytum laughed as she faced the mirror and painted on bright-pink lipstick that just so happened to match her top. “I cannot believe you are actually going to a party at the football house. I’ve been trying for almost two years to get you to come out with me again.”
“That is not true,” I countered, looking at my outfit in the mirror. “I went out with you and the rest of the dancers last year.”
Taytum puckered her lips. “An end-of-the-year dinner does not count, Claire. And you know it.”
Ignoring her, I pushed my hands in the pockets of my skinny jeans and turned to look at my butt. Nonchalantly, Taytum asked, “Where have you been hiding that outfit?”
I paused. “Huh?”
“Claire.” Taytum came up behind me, and we looked into the dirty mirror. “You look hot.” Her blonde hair fell over my shoulder as she bent forward and ran her hand over the straps of my tight crop top. It was long-sleeved, but that was really the only modest thing about it. It was slightly low cut, dipping in the center between my boobs, and had two thin straps that ran crisscross underneath the hem that just so happened to hit right above my belly button. There was only an inch or so showing off my toned belly (thank you, conditioning) but my jeans were high-waisted so, truly, it wasn’t that revealing.
“I don’t look hot.” I brushed her hands away from my shirt and spun around to put my palms on her shoulders. “You just don’t see me in anything but a leo and my work shirt with jeans.”
Taytum reached up and pulled the claw clip from my hair. My long hair fell swiftly over my shoulders, and she fluffed the strands with her fingers. “When was the last time someone told you that you looked good? Or better yet, when was the last time Chad gave you a compliment?”
“I don’t need him to give me compliments.” It was true, but my stomach hollowed out because I couldn’t remember when he had.
“Come on.” She pushed my hair behind my ear and grabbed my hand in hers, giving me a tight squeeze. “I texted a few of the other girls. They’re gonna ride with us, and we’re gonna have some serious and much-needed fun.”
I wasn’t so sure about fun, and if it weren’t for the way Theo had looked at me before leaving my practice yesterday, I would have backed out. But there was a daring glare to his eye. He was challenging me. The bite to his tone when he told his friends that I didn’t party drove my nerves wild, and I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like I needed to prove something to him. Or maybe just to myself?
The truth was, Theo was right. I sat in my dorm room alone most nights while my friends were out having fun. I was stuck worrying about my mom and figuring out ways to help her, which just so happened to be related to my boyfriend who, admittedly, did not treat me the way that I deserved.
A rush of heat rained over me as Taytum and I climbed into the Uber that had already picked up a few other girls, and I glanced at my phone to see if Chad had responded to my texts. He didn’t, and sadly, I wasn’t surprised.
Taytum whispered in my ear when she saw me checking my messages. “Did you tell Chad you were going out tonight?”
I shook my head. “No, should I have?”
Taytum snorted. “You don’t owe him anything. If he wants to know what you are up to on a Friday night, maybe he should take the time to ask.”
My heart ached slightly with disappointment, but I pushed my phone in my back pocket and nodded, knowing she was right.
The ache in my chest disappeared the moment I walked into the party, arm in arm with Taytum. I’d walked past the football house plenty of times but never during a party and never this late at night. Exhaustion floated right above my sore muscles from yesterday’s practice, and my feet ached from my evening shift at The Bex, but I pushed it all behind me as something exciting filled my senses.
It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been to a party before, but it had been a long time. I suddenly felt alive and invigorated. There was the tiniest pinch of guilt in the back of my head, wondering if Chad was going to be angry with me for going to a party—one filled with a herd of jocks, to make matters worse—but the independence I buried in my chest whispered that I didn’t need to get permission from anyone.
So many of my decisions had been based on others—where I went to school, my major, where my money was spent, even my relationship. Something as innocent as going to a college party shouldn’t come with a single ounce of guilt.
Rose’s voice came in between Taytum and me. “I’m assuming the hockey team won, then?”
An abrupt laugh flew from my mouth as I saw Ford dancing in the middle of a chaotic dance floor that also doubled as a living room. There was a bundle of girls who had formed a circle around him, and I hesitated when I saw that one of them was the puck bunny that Theo gave my underwear to. I dropped my chin to my jeans, knowing I was wearing the new ones that he’d delicately placed in my underwear drawer with a sticky note attached that said, I didn’t go through your drawer, boss. Swear.
“I’d say so,” I answered, feeling the energy of the room flow through my body. Okay, this isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
Taytum’s hand squeezed mine as Ford spotted her from across the room. He smiled brightly with his flushed face and immediately began heading her way with a flirty twinkle in his eye.
“Come dance with me, T,” he said, looking directly at Taytum. I pulled my hand away, and she nervously glanced around the party. “Lookin’ for your brother? He’s getting his dick sucked somewhere.”
“Oh my God, Ford. Shut up.” Taytum pushed Ford against his chest, and he captured her by the wrist. “You haven’t changed at all since high school.”
“You guys went to high school together?” I asked, wondering why Taytum never mentioned anything. Granted, I had never been with her while she hung with any of the jocks because it wasn’t my scene.
Ford peeked over at me, and his smile turned from sly to friendly right away. “Yep. T and I go way back.” He was still holding onto her hand when he glanced around the party. “Theo is around here somewhere.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m not here for him.”
“Right.” He smirked before turning back to Taytum. “Come on, T. Wanna dance for old time’s sake?”
He nodded to the floor, and I gave her a little push at the last second. “You can go dance. I’ll be fine over here.”
“You sure?”
“Of course.” I nodded.
“Wait, you’re actually gonna dance with me?” Ford looked surprised, but Taytum threw her head back and laughed while ripping her hand out of his grasp.
“No. But I will find someone to dance with.”
Ford followed after her a moment later, seeming interested in who she chose to dance with. Rose stayed beside me, but the rest of the girls we rode with had dispersed throughout the party, leaving me feeling a little out of place. I nodded to the far wall near the stairs, and Rose followed closely behind me.
I put my back against the wall and scanned the sea of undergrads before turning toward Rose. “Did Taytum tell you to stay with me?”
Rose was a year younger than us, so the only time I saw her was onstage. I knew that she was in the same sorority as Taytum, though, which meant that my assumption was probably correct. “Um…” Her eyes darted away, and I sighed.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to stay with me, Rose.”
“She said you’d say that.”
My mouth formed a tiny scowl, and I shook my head. Taytum knew me entirely too well, and even though I was annoyed that she thought I needed a babysitter, I was still grateful for her. I didn’t have time for many friends. I had plenty of acquaintances, and most of the dancers were nice to me—some of the younger ones even asking my help on certain techniques. And I had my co-workers. But a true friend who I could rely on? It was Taytum.
Rose’s lip was pulled into her mouth, and I assured her once again that she could go do what she usually did at parties, but she shook her head. “I’m her little. I’m supposed to do what she says.”
“And that’s exactly why sororities never worked out for me.” I laughed it off before turning all the way toward her. “Well, if you weren’t on babysitting duty, what would you be doing?”
She thought for a moment before pulling her shirt down a little and adjusting her hair. “I’d probably go get a drink.”
I nodded. “Then let’s go get a drink.”
She smiled. “Alright, let’s go.”
The moment we turned to head to the kitchen, my heart jumped straight up to my throat and stayed there for a second too long. Right there in the doorway stood Theo Brooks with a cheeky grin that turned my insides warm. There was a flicker of surprise covering his features, but a moment later came a nod of approval, as if he were proud that I had kept my word and didn’t stay holed up in our room on a Friday night.
And for some reason, I liked knowing he was proud of me.
