19. the chapter with beerpong's game

Rose

" Rose, this car is amazing," Sky commented as she led us to the party venue.

" I know, my dad is crazy about her.”

" And why did he give her to you then?”

Skyller gave me a quick sideways glance and then turned her attention back to the road. For a second I caught myself admiring my friend's beauty; her short blond hair framed a face of symmetrical and delicate features, but the highlight was undoubtedly her eyes.

Liam's intense emerald eyes were beautiful, Christian's ice-color eyes were breathtaking. But who naturally gets an almost golden tone like hers?

" Family tradition. His father gave him the car, he wanted to do the same with me," I shrugged, observing the neighborhood of large houses we were in.

The party would take place at the house of one of the guys who still lived in town with his parents. It was not the kind of party we were used to go, but as we parked in front of the place that was packed with guests we smiled in anticipation.

" Are you ready for your first party without the boys? " I winked at her.

" You said yourself that they'll show up eventually," she returned, getting out of the car.

" Yes, they will show up. Christian has been texting me all day wanting to know details about our plans, but we got here alone, and that sends another message to everyone," I explained.

I looked at the pair of jeans and the tank top that I had managed to get her to wear, forgoing the shirts she always wore. A few glances came in our direction, but I ignored them, watching my reflection in the car window one last time, adjusting the pink bodice on my body before turning to her.

" Are you ready?”

" No," Sky admitted.

With a condescending smile on my face, I took her hand, pulling her toward the entrance of the house.

" And are you excited about this whole thing with Harry?”

" I don't know, I think so," she sighed, looking anxious.

" You think so? " I wondered at my friend's lack of enthusiasm.

Usually when we mentioned Harry's name, she was the first to list all of his qualities, much to Liam's chagrin, and now that she was about to make it official by going to a party with him alone, she seemed despondent.

" Don't get me wrong, he's handsome, nice, and a good kisser," she sighed.

" But?”

" The last few days he's always offering me drinks and asking me why I choose not to drink, and how I enjoy myself this way," she explained, "He really doesn't seem to understand.”

I stopped walking, grabbing my friend by the arm, forcing her to turn toward me.

" Is he pushing it somehow?”

This was a warning sign, because he may seem like the nicest guy in the universe, but if he tries to cross the line with her, I make it a point to kick his British ass back to England myself.

" No, usually when I refuse, he gets a juice or something, but this insistence is becoming tiresome. I mean, Liam can always make jokes about it and everything, but in the end, he is the first one to get me a juice wherever we go. Once he took us to a bar that didn't sell anything non alcoholic, not even water, but he made sure to stop at a market beforehand and buy me a couple of cans of Diet Coke," Skyller sighed.

I watched my friend for a few seconds before walking away again, linking her arm with mine.

" Sky, I'm sorry to tell you this, but there is no one like Liam. He's known you the longest and he cares about you the most. He may be a jerk most of the time, but you should talk to him," I advised.

She let out one last sigh, remaining silent afterwards. We entered the hall of the house, greeted by loud music and a few college students chatting excitedly among themselves.

" Hey, welcome, the party's actually in the pool out back," one girl approached, placing a red glass of punch that had surely been baptized in each of our hands before walking away.

" You're driving today," I reminded Skyller, taking the glass from her hand.

The two of us followed the music to the garden where several people were dancing on a makeshift dance floor around the pool. Others were already in the water, which was crazy to me, since the night was not that hot. In fact, with the arrival of autumn, the temperatures were getting lower and lower, and soon I would no longer have the courage to wear something like the corset I was wearing today, opting instead for warmer models.

It didn't take long to spot Harry among the guests, he smiled as soon as he saw us, coming towards us.

" You're here, come on, I'm here with my friends," Harry pointed to a group, giving us a brief kiss on the cheeks. “Rose, I see that you haven't wasted any time.”

" Sky is driving today, so I have to take advantage of it," I raised the two glasses of punch I was holding.

" I must assume that I won't be able to convince you to become my beer pong partner today," he sneered.

We spotted a long table set up for the game before we exchanged a quick glance. I understood what she meant. Liam would never suggest something like that to her.

" She wouldn't, but I'm available and I'm an amazing shot," I winked at him.

It didn't take long before he was celebrating with him, making the boy from the other team drink the contents of his glass.

" They let Rose into a competition? " I smiled as I heard Theo's voice.

I turned around, seeing him and Christian watching next to Skyller.

" Hey, Peterson, do you want to be part of my team when I win this round? " I gave him a little wink.

I know I should ask how he got there or where the others were, but my mind was already clouded by the amount of booze I had ingested, not that I was out of my mind or anything, but my common sense didn't work as well as it used to.

" You're not too convinced? The game isn't over yet, little princess.” The boy I was playing against remembered.

" We're going to win," I pointed out with conviction, "I haven't missed a single one so far.”

The people around us cheered at my answer, making the boy's smile widen.

" Not you, but your partner has, and it's his turn," he pointed out.

For a few seconds I lost that confidence, but soon regained it.

" We're going to win. You want to bet?”

" I'll bet you," the guy returned.

" What? " I laughed.

That bet was ridiculous, and I would never accept it, not even if I had drunk all the alcohol available at the party, but he was handsome and maybe I could have some fun.

" You heard me.”

" Dude, she's drunk and she's not going to..." Theo tried to interfere.

" A kiss," I cut my friend off, "if you win, I'll give you a kiss.”

Everyone watching us was silent with anticipation, until he smiled.

" Harry, you'd better not miss this shot!" Theo practically growled beside me.

The boy nodded, concentrating on aiming well before throwing the ball, which landed at Skyller's feet, who stared at us with a shocked expression. It took a few seconds for me to understand what had happened. Theo cursed next to me as the boy approached with a satisfied smile on his face, waiting to receive his prize while our spectators were shouting and shaking the atmosphere around us.

" Where is my prize?”

It's okay, it's not the end of the world, he's kind of cute. With a small smile in response, he wrapped both hands around my waist, clasping my body to his in a slightly aggressive move before crushing my lips to his, and I kissed back without hesitation, although he drooled a little more than I preferred. After a few seconds in an intense rhythm I tried to break the kiss, but his hand moved down to my ass, preventing me from pulling away while his other hand began trying to lift the bodice I was wearing.

" Hey, I said one kiss"I turned my face away, trying to push him away with my mind a little more engaged than I expected.

" And I told you I wanted you," he returned, pulling me back.

Before I could make another attempt to escape, someone pushed him away, hugging me to keep me upright.

" She said she would give you a kiss, and she did," Sky glared at him angrily, supporting me as Theo stood between us.

" It was a bet, what's the big deal? " He returned.

" I've already paid the bet, and now I'm going to play again," I returned quickly, feeling the world spinning around me.

" I think you've had too much to drink," Christian returned, replacing Sky in the task of keeping me upright.

I looked at him, smiling at how handsome he looked that night wearing one of his leather jackets, analyzing me with his amazing blue eyes. My smile died when I saw the girl from yesterday standing next to him. Why is she here?

" I don't think so, let go of me," I muttered, pulling away from him before staggering over to a drink table, taking a shot of something that was available there.

" Rose, Liam's inside, let's go find him," Sky pulled me back into a half-hug, guiding me toward the interior of the house.

" Liam is here? I'll ask him to dance with me, I want to dance! " I cheerfully returned.

" Liam brought two new friends today, so try to keep the peace now," Theo warned Sky.

I looked around, seeing Christian watching me from afar, still talking to the girl from before. That bothered me, why isn't he here with me? Now a girl he just met is more interesting than me? Maybe I should remind him that he can't ignore me!