Page 24 of Chasing Xander
She sat on the bed and pulled Celeste’s arm away from her face. “Please?”
“Why is it so important I go? I know damn well Xander only invited me because he wanted you to go.”
Speaking of Xander… She’d barely heard from him all week, and she’d only seen him in the one class they had together. The thought of missing his frat party had her heart plummeting and her stomach coiling. If she didn’t see him at the RAT party tonight, when would she?
“Didn’t Finn ask you to go?” Kylie asked. Desperation clutched her chest. The idea of walking into a frat party alone caused her to break out in a cold sweat.
Celeste shrugged. “He mentioned it the other night.”
“See?” Kylie stood and grabbed Celeste’s hands, pulling her to her feet. “Just go with me for a little while. If you hate it, we’ll leave. Promise. Besides, aren’t you the one who said we had to experience college together?” She crossed her arms. “Well, attending a frat party is an integral part of the college experience.”
After several moments of silence, Celeste sighed and threw her hands in the air. “Fine, I’ll go.”
Kylie squealed with delight and clapped her hands. “Thank you!” She hugged her friend. “I promise you won’t regret it.”
…
Two hours later, Kylie stood against the wall and observed her first-ever frat party. It wasn’t anything like she’d expected. It was crazier. Shirtless guys with Greek letters painted across their chests and stomachs ran around shouting things she couldn’t quite understand. The stench of alcohol reminded her of home, of her father when he’d stagger into the house drunk. The atmosphere here was completely different, though. People were laughing and having fun—unlike her father, who was always miserable and angry when he was drunk. Still, nervous energy buzzed through her. The fun, easy-going party could turn volatile at any second—that was another unpleasant lesson her father had taught her.
“This is insane!” Celeste shouted over the noise.
“I know!” But her words were carried away by the too-loud beat of the dance music blaring through the house.
Celeste leaned over so her mouth was near Kylie’s ear and shouted, “You’re never going to find him in this crowd.”
She looked around. They’d only been at the house for about ten minutes, and she’d spent every second searching for Xander. After all, he was the only reason she was here.
“I’m going to go find a drink. Want one?” Celeste shouted, then mimed taking a drink.
She chewed on her cheek and glanced around again, hoping she’d catch sight of Xander. Part of her wanted a drink—just one to prove she could handle it and not become a raging alcoholic—but a bigger part of her was terrified one would lead to two and then three and then four. Just because she’d been able to control herself at Connor’s graduation party didn’t mean she could again.
“Kylie?” Celeste nudged her arm. “I’m sure I can find something other than alcohol.”
Before she could respond, a tall, dark-haired guy walked by, then stopped and turned back to face them. “Are you two really standing there?”
Kylie’s heart raced in that way it did when she knew something was off but didn’t quite know what. She glanced at Celeste for some sort of signal, but Celeste stared at the guy wide-eyed. That was a lot of help.
“Uh, yeah,” Celeste said.
The guy put his fingers in his mouth and whistled around them. “We got us some wallflowers, boys!”
There was a chorus of hoots and hollers. Kylie moved until her back was flat against the wall, and she was trapped. What the hell was going on? Her gaze darted around. Where was Xander? She swallowed hard, her stomach rolling, threatening to eject the pizza she’d eaten for dinner.
“What do we do with wallflowers?” another guy shouted.
“We pick ’em!” screamed several guys in unison.
Two of the bigger guys stepped forward, grinning. The one on the right lifted Kylie over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. She screamed and then laughed when the other guy did the same to Celeste.
“Put me down!” Celeste shrieked and kicked her feet. Then she laughed, too.
Ignoring her, the tall guy asked, “And what do we do with ’em once we pick ’em?”
“We water ’em!”
Next thing Kylie knew, she was being carried through the frat house and outside. She couldn’t see a thing except for this guy’s ass, but the next moment, she was weightless, falling through the air. She screamed seconds before she hit the pool. Celeste splashed in beside her a second later.
She surfaced, spitting cold water out of her mouth. They’d thrown her in the fucking pool! What the hell was wrong with them? And what kind of frat house had a damn pool, anyway? Howls of laughter cut through her thoughts, and she realized people were standing around, watching and laughing. A few people cheered and gave her a thumbs-up.
