“
We got hungry around three in the morning, and ordered a ton of pizza from an all-night pizza place. Afterward, Blake talked a guy into letting him borrow his skateboard, and he once again entertained all of us. If it had wheels, Blake could work it.
“Is he your boyfriend?” a girl behind me asked.
I turned to the group of girls watching Blake. They were all coifed and beautiful in their bikinis, not having gone in the water. My wet hair was pulled back in a ponytail by this point and I was wrapped in a towel. “No, he’s my boyfriend’s best friend. We’re watching his place while he’s . . . out of town.”
A pang of fear jabbed me when I thought about Kai.
“What’s your name?” asked a brunette with glossy lips.
“Anna.” I smiled.
“Hey. I’m Jenny,” she said. “This is Daniela and Tara.”
“Hey,” I said to them.
“So, your boyfriend lives here?” asked the blonde, Daniela. She had a cool accent—something European.
“Yes,” I answered, pointing up to his apartment.
The girls all shared looks, raising their sculpted eyebrows.
“Wait,” said Jenny. “Is he that guy in the band?”
The third girl, named Tara, gasped. “The drummer?” When I nodded, they shared awed looks.
“Oh my gawd, don’t get mad at me for saying this,” said Jenny, “but he’s a total piece of eye candy.” Her friends all laughed.
“Yum drum,” whispered Tara, and Daniela playfully shoved her.
Jenny got serious. “But don’t worry. He, like, never comes out or talks to anyone. Now we know why.” She winked at me. “You are so adorable. Where are you from?”
“Georgia.”
This was met with a round of awwws. “Hey, you’re a Southern girl,” said Tara. “You should like this.”
She held out a bottle of bourbon and I felt a tug toward it. My fingers reached out.
“Maybe just one drink,” I said.
Daniela grinned and turned up the music.
Fifteen minutes and three shots later I’d dropped my towel and was dancing with the girls and telling them how much I loved them, while they drunkenly swore to sabotage the efforts of any girl who tried to talk to my man.
”
”