Page 345 of Small Town Firsts

A swipe of berry-tinted lip gloss and a spritz of hairspray later, and I'm ready to go. I fire off a text to Sterling to see how far out he is. I don't want to wait out in the cold, and I damn sure don't want to wait in the lobby and risk a Melanie run-in.

Me

How long until you're here?

Sterling

Waiting out front, baby.

I head downstairs to meet Sterling, and sure enough, he's waiting in front of my building. Dressed in a pair of dark wash jeans and a form-fitting sweater, he looks like a freaking model as he leans back against the passenger door.

He lets out a wolf whistle when he sees me, his eyes moving up and down my body.

"Can't wait to get that dress off of you later," he says as soon as I'm within hearing distance.

I roll my eyes and nudge him out of the way so I can get in the car. "Come on, let's get this over with."

He laughs. "Don't sound so excited."

"Hey, I'm trying. Parties just aren't my thing."

"Do you want to stay home?"

"No, it's fine. Let's go."

"Okay... If you're sure?"

"I'm sure. Plus, I think Stella might actually murder me if I don't go and give her a play-by-play report since she has to miss it."

He puts the car in drive, and within minutes we reach our destination. This house is somehow even grander than thefootball house. It's old and ornate looking, save for the plastic cups and dry-humping couples scattered about the lawn.

Inside it's like every other party I've been to this year—the drinks are flowing, the bass is pounding, and people are making questionable decisions on every available surface in every room.

"What do you want to do first?" Sterling asks.

"Consider yourself my tour guide for the night."

He winks. "First up, something to drink. Nonalcoholic for you, of course."

"I could probably handle one drink." For some reason, I feel keyed up. Maybe a few sips of liquid courage will be just what I need to take the edge off.

"Are you sure? Don't feel pressured, baby."

"No, I think I'm okay. I really would like a drink."

"Then to the kitchen we go!"

I wait patiently near the edge of the room while he mixes us each a drink. Knowing him, he'll most likely be light-handed with mine. I think he still has some residual guilt for feeding me alcohol at the last party we attended together. And while it was a shitty thing for him to do, at least it had a happy ending.

"Slut."

Great. I was hoping to avoid her tonight.Still, I pivot around to face her.

"Melanie." Surprisingly, Summer is also with her.

"Nice to see y'all," I say, employing the years of etiquette classes my mother insisted I take.

"Everyone's going to know the truth about you," my RA hisses, sounding like a drunk snake.

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