Throwing twenty years of caution to the wind, I grab my cup and chug what Caleb poured in. Buzzed isn’t going to cut it tonight. Tonight I want drunk—I want to be like everyone else. While the alcohol still makes me nervous, I’m smart enough to know I’m nothing like my father and I never will be. I raise my cup to Caleb. “You only live once right?”

“Atta girl.” Caleb squeezes my thigh, inching his hand closer to the hem of my skirt.

We sit for a few more minutes and surprisingly, I could float right into the sky. Caleb was right, drunk is awesome. “Let’s go dance, Caleb. I want you to dance with me.”

“I thought you didn’t dance?”

“I thought you didn’t bite.”

“I definitely bite, Sophie. We can go to my room if you want to find out where.” He inches his hand even closer, his fingertips now under the hemline of my skirt.

“I want to dance, Caleb.” He laughs at me and helps me climb back into the house as I struggle to find enough balance to crawl through the window. His hands are on my ass, pushing me through and I land inside with a small thump. Caleb climbs though, thankfully not stepping on me in the process. He holds out his hand and pulls me up off the floor. Holding my body tightly against his own, he pretends to bite the top of my head. It makes me giggle uncontrollably. “Let’s go dance,” he whispers.

“Okay.”

I’m only two steps down the flight of stairs when my vision starts playing tricks on me. “Caleb, help me.” He jogs back up the stairs and I climb onto his back, but he’s tall and we misjudge the small doorway in this aging house, smacking my head on the top of the doorframe. “Shit!” My vision blurs even more, this time not from the alcohol, but the force of the impact on my skull.

He sets me down on the ground but my legs feel like rubber and I fall against the stairs, hitting my head again on the bottom step. “Holy hell.” Caleb bends down and inspects the front of my head where I bounced off the door frame and step. “That’s gonna leave a mark, Sophie.”

“It doesn’t even hurt. I need to dance!”

“Can you stand up?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” I hold out my arms for him. “Up!”

Caleb spins me around and puts his front to my back, grinding into me from behind. His hands roam my body before resting on my hips, his thumbs tucked under my waistband. It’s a heady mix of lust and danger—and I like it. I’m zoned out; enjoying the connection my body has with Caleb’s when my phone vibrates in my back pocket. We jump apart from the unexpected sensation. I chase myself around in a circle like a dog trying to bite his own tail before Caleb pulls the phone out of my pocket for me. “Thanks, C. Hello?”

“Where the hell are you?”

“Right here!” I exclaim animatedly.

“Where is here?”

“At the party!”

“No, Sophie. Where are you standing?”

“In a house!” Caleb turns me around and nuzzles against my neck, kissing me softly. It feels strangely good. “Sorry, Caleb, they ask stupid questions.”

“Sophie. What house and what room?” someone yells through the phone.

“The dancing room! Ouch! Caleb, don’t bite me. Did you know Cara brought me here?”

“You’re talking to Cara, Sophie. Are you wasted?”

“No. I’m Sophie, silly.”

“Stay right where you are. I’ll find you.”

I hang up the phone and hand it to Caleb. I stick my ass out at him, waiting for him to put my phone back in. He smacks it hard before tucking the phone into my back pocket. I take another Jell-O shot from the bar we’re dancing next to and although strong, it goes down like water. I could take on the entire world right now in my state of euphoria. I hold my arms out and spin in a circle with my head tipped back. I’m too hot and need relief, so I pull my shirt up over my head to free myself, leaving me in my tight cami. I tuck it under my bra and the air on my exposed stomach is cooling. After swinging my shirt in the air, I let the fabric fly, unsure of where it ends up landing.

“Jesus, Sophie. You’re smokin hot,” Caleb says in appreciation.

I smile and keep dancing, in my own world entirely. I hop up on top of a coffee table and continue shaking my ass. A small crowd forms around me and I become the most interesting person in the room. “Drink up bitches!” I yell to the mass of sweaty bodies. Everyone cheers in response, fist pumping the air to the beat of the music. This is the most alive I’ve ever been in my entire life. Why I’ve waited so long to experience all of this is beyond me. Alcohol is fun and powerful, not at all scary like I thought.

As I find my groove, I’m yanked off the table and thrown over a strong shoulder. The pressure on my full stomach makes me nauseous. There’s a lot of shouting, jostling of my small body, and dizziness. The dizziness is unbearable. When I finally get put back down, I’m in a bedroom. But I’m not tired. I want to dance.

CARA’S WIPING TEARS FROM HER eyes and I’m angry. When I invited Sophie here tonight, I had intended on getting to know her better. After she told me she couldn’t make it, I was bummed to say the least. Imagine my surprise when Cara told me she was here. Derailed by the jackass who took her to the library, she lost her roommate in the mass of bodies. I don’t know who I want to kill more right now, Cara for losing Sophie or Caleb for getting her wasted.

To make matters worse, Sophie looks fucking sexy as hell in her boots and skirt. From the moment I saw her standing in front of me in her pink bath towel, she’s been on my mind. She’s also completely clueless about how gorgeous she is. In fact, I’ve never experienced a girl as hot as she is who doesn’t act like a stuck up bitch. Instead, Sophie’s insanely shy with me and I can tell I make her uncomfortable by the way she refuses to look at me when I’m talking to her. When I called her on the phone and her breathing noticeably increased, I wanted her in my bed.

Usually, chicks willingly sit on my lap, offering up favors while practically begging for a night with me. Hell, there’s usually a girl waiting for me in my bed by the end of one of these parties. I should say no to them, but I want to feel as much as they want to please me. Knowing Sophie is the exact opposite of all of those qualities appeals to me entirely too much.

I’ve had my fair share of women, I won’t pretend I haven’t, but Sophie’s an athlete too and we share a love of sports. As she was telling me about her major, I laid on her bed wondering how this insanely beautiful girl was still single. Then I’d caught her with her nose in her pillow, trying to get closer to the smell of my cologne, and knew I was in for it. It actually turned me on to know she wanted more of me. That was a definite first.

Inviting her here tonight was my attempt at knocking down one of her walls, hoping a more carefree Sophie emerged—one that wasn’t too nervous to speak to me. But we didn’t have a chance to get any closer thanks to Caleb getting her drunk off her ass before I even got to say hello. This wasn’t what I had in mind when I wanted to see her break out of her shell.

“Where’s Caleb? He makes me drunk. I love drunk,” Sophie babbles from the edge of my bed. I open my drawer and take out one of my T-shirts. I have no idea where the other half of her outfit is, but the thought of her losing it in the first place makes me want to break shit.

Slowly, I walk over to her sitting on the bed. Her eyes are glassy and somewhat spaced out, but she watches each move I make. I place the shirt over her head, pulling her arms through each hole like a child. Her body is swallowed up by the black fabric that hangs loosely off her small frame. While she looks hot wearing my clothes, she shouldn’t have ever lost hers to begin with.