Page 124 of Distortion
‘In the middle of a game,’ Blake murmurs, his eyes flicking to me for a second before he looks back at her.
‘Come on,Blakley,’ she whines a little. ‘You know how you like my tongue wrapped around your?—’
I turn away, my nose wrinkling in disgust. That feeling is worse, bordering on physical pain. I leave the room with my drink in hand and push everything away until I don’t feel anything but a bit confused.
‘Daisy?’ I hear Mav say.
I turn back with the normal smile plastered on my face, but don’t really look at any of them.
‘Just heading to the bathroom,’ I say, excusing myself from the room.
I’m not here to talk to them anyway, I’m here to learn what people say about Shade’s family. I just need to wait until people are drunker and more loose-lipped.
So, I put the guys from my mind. I definitely don’t let my eyes stray toward the games room, wondering what they’re doing, if Jolie took Blake somewhere to suck him off, if Laurie is playing pool in my place. I have no right to feel annoyed.
They aren’t mine and it’s for the best.
Blake clearly lied to me when he said he didn’t have a girlfriend.
I don’t like that. I wonder if Mav was lying, too. Is one of these girls going to be with him in his room later? Am I going to have to listen to them all?—
I stand up with a sharp intake of breath and walk across the room to deposit my cup in the kitchen sink.
‘Are you okay?’ Lu asks as she fills her cup from the keg next to me.
I nod. ‘Have you learned anything interesting?’
She snorts. ‘Only that the freshmen are pissed that they have to clean up after this party because the house staff don’tstart until next week, and the keg was a gift from some sorority.’ She looks out over the room. ‘But it’s early. I’ll be close by, Daisy-bear.’
‘Have fun, Lulu,’ I deadpan.
She turns with a cheeky expression. ‘Ooh!Lulu. I like it.’
Over the next few minutes, no one really pays attention to me, and I go back to my perch to daydream. When I next really start looking around, I see that things are quickly going exactly how I wanted.
It’s not long before I join the beer pong game. I’ve been watching them for a while and I am confident that I know the rules enough that I won’t get into trouble like I did last time.
I don’t aim to be taken advantage of tonight. I glance at Lu, who’s in the kitchen doing shots with one of the Sophomores, only he seems to be doing way more than she is. She gives me a surreptitious wink and I nod.
My partner, David, is a pledge... well, I guess a member of the frat now. I put in all the effort possible to not only play well, so that he respects my gaming abilities, but also to chat to him in what I hope is a normal manner. I employ every lesson I can remember Ms. Tremaine drilling into me regarding social etiquette.
Thirty minutes in, I’ve only had to drink once, and he’s three sheets to the wind. He’s slurring his words a little and keeps putting his arm around my shoulder while cheering, ‘Frat Girl!’ ‘Frat Girl!’
I resist the urge to throw him off of me, the feel of his fingers on my neck making me cringe inside. The party has gotten loud and frenzied. It’s taking everything in me not to run, and I know I’m going to be done-for tomorrow even without alcohol.
Ten minutes later, the game is somehow over and it lookslike I won. David is jumping up and down, his hands around my waist as he whoops and hollers.
I try not to roll my eyes. Instead I give him a huge smile. ‘Great game!’ I say as enthusiastically as I can muster in my current state, but if my inflection is off, he’s too drunk to notice.
I pull him away into a quieter room and sit with him on the couch, trying not to wonder why I haven’t seen any of the guys walking around the party. Where are they? Who are they with? God, I’m pathetic.
I make sure David has a beer in his hand and I clink it with mine. ‘To an amazing game of beer pong!’
He gives me a high five. It’s hard and makes my palm smart.
I add it to the long list of things I’m not enjoying about tonight.
‘So,’ I start casually, ‘congrats on getting full-member rights.’
