Page 9 of Roommates
“Is that normal?” I asked Adam.
“What?”
“Is that normal?” I repeated my question, this time shouting into his ear. Of course he hadn't heard me over the sound of the 'music.' He shot me a questioning look, as if he wasn't sure what I was talking about. I pointed at the couple in front of us.
“Oh.” Understanding dawned on his features. “That's Derick,” he told me. “He does that at every party!”
I didn't know what to think of that.
“Everyone else usually takes a room,” Adam informed me, as if that made it better. Well, I guess it wasslightlybetter, but only slightly, because now I couldn't stop wondering how many people were currently engaged in sexual activity in this house—and those thoughtsweren'thelping me keep my hormones in check. Truth be told, I'd briefly considered taking another round of heat suppressants before going out with Adam tonight, but I still remembered throwing in the bathroom too well to take the risk.
At least it was hard to pick up on Adam's scent when the air smelled of smoke and alcohol and something that made me think people were getting high somewhere.
“Come on,” Adam said, taking my hand before I could object. “We'll go outside and grab a few drinks.”
Swiftly he led me through the crowd and out into the yard. He navigated the area with an ease that told me he came here often—not that I was surprised. All the popular kids came here. Personally, I didn't see the appeal, but I'd always lived a fairly controlled life. I'd had to. I couldn't risk getting drunk and engaging in behavior that would reveal my omega nature.
For some reason, though, I just couldn't say no when Adam stopped at a table with beverages and handed me a red solo cup. I had no idea what was in it, and I wasn’t going to drink it. I really wasn’t
—until Adam raised his own cup to his lips and shot me a smile. There was this fluttering sensation in my stomach and then, as if on autopilot, I returned Adam’s smile, lifted the cup to my mouth and drank.
Stupid, yes, but I couldn’t let Adam know how totally inexperienced I was. I wanted him to think I was cool.
Besides, one or two drinks weren't going to hurt me. I knew myself. I was responsible enough to stop drinking before things spun out of control. Wasn't I?
As it turned out, one or two drinks were absolutely not enough to hurt me. And maybe if I had stopped at that number, everything would have been fine. The problem was that I didn’t—and neither did Adam. In fact, my alpha friend drank probably twice as much as me. Granted, he was taller too, and he had a higher tolerance for the stuff than I did, but we’d barely been at the party for two hours when I first noticed his speech slurring and I wasn’t sure how well I was faring myself.
“You enjoying the party?” Adam asked, half of his attention on me and the other half focused on a table only a few feet away from us where a group of people had gathered for a round of strip poker.
He kind of looked as if he was thinking about joining in.
I did not like that idea.
“Something wrong?” Adam continued when I didn’t reply. “You don’t look happy.”
Iwasn’thappy. I didn’t like the smell of smoke in the air, or the hysterical laughter of the people around us, or the way the way the booze I’d drunk hijacked my brain and made it increasingly hard to focus on anything but how much I wanted to tear Adam’s clothes off him and explore his body with my hands.
“I don't know,” I made myself say when I realized that Adam was still waiting for a response from me. “I guess parties aren't really my thing.”And I'm in heat, but you can't know that.
“No?” Adam shot me a disappointed look that cleared up only a moment later. “I wanted you to enjoy yourself. But maybe we can enjoy ourselves elsewhere.” His eyes traveled down my body. Or did they? Maybe he was just being drunk and unfocused. Surely he couldn't be feeling the same pull between us that I felt?
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We could go back,” he suggested, taking another sip out of the cup in front of him, although I was sure he really didn't need it.
“To our room?” I licked my lips. Did I really want to be alone with Adam right now? In a small and enclosed space?
“Exactly,” Adam said, and then he downed the rest of whatever was in his cup. “Might need you to take me there.”
“What?” He couldn't bethatdrunk, could he?
“C'mon.” Without explaining himself further, Adam stepped around the table until he reached my side and slung an arm around my shoulders as if he wanted to lean on me. “I helped you when you were sick,” he said as if that explained everything.
Maybe it did. I wasn't sure. It was difficult to think with his hand on me, even with the layer of fabric separating it from my skin. A layer of fabric I was internally cursing right now. If only it wasn’t there…
Get your mind out of the gutter, Lucas.
“We're gonna go home?” I asked, trying to get my thoughts in order.
