Chapter 5 Fire At A Party

Sam

I don't understand parties anymore.

Maybe I'm just getting older but the idea of going to some random persons house in a desperate attempt to "feel something" doesn't seem like fun to me.

The smell of desperation and stale beer burn my nostrils as I watch someone stumble towards me.

Her eyes are glazed and the smirk on her face is a clear indicator that she has had a few too many tonight.

"Hey cutie. You want some company?"

I give her a small smile as she leans against the bar top beside me.

A whiff of Smirnoff hits me like a blast of air when you open a walk in.

Almost as if she bathed in it before walking over.

She's talking to me, telling me about how she can help me have a good time tonight.

Im not really in the mood tonight, but I'm not heartless.

I give her my full, undivided attention and watch as the heat rises on her cheeks.

Her stance stiffens and her hands begin to fidget out of nervousness.

Normally I would be all over this girl and trying to get us out of here for some alone time, but tonight, Im not feeling it.

Ive been sleeping with so many women lately that Ive begun to feel numb.

There is only one woman that I have been with that makes me feel as if love could be real.

She's perfect honestly.

In every way imaginable.

However, she's off limits.

We agreed to keep our relationship strictly platonic so, I will keep my word.

Whatever I can do to make her happy, ill do.

Even if it hurts.

I sip my drink as she whispers in my ear some pretty naughty things, but my mind goes blank as a streak of red hair passes by.

Time seems to stop as her laugh echoes off of the wall and for the first time tonight, my heart rate increases ever so slightly.

I follow this flowing mane with my eyes completely ignoring the woman in front of me as she tries to regain my attention.

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

She asks , her eyebrows pulled down into a frown.

The figure comes to a stop in the room across from us and my interest is finally peaked.

She is about 5'4 a slight tan, sparkling green eyes and gorgeous red hair.

She is leaning against a wall, laughing with her friends.

Her smile felt as if it lit up the whole room and I can feel my hands beginning to sweat.

I excuse myself keeping my eyes trained on this mystery girl.

I didn't even catch the other ones name, but she's so drunk, she probably won't even remember our encounter.

I stuff my hands in my pocket to hide my nervousness and I'm about to make my move when my friend Jason drapes a big bear arm over my shoulders and pulls me close.

"SAM THERE YOU ARE! I need you man, these guys are talking mad shit and we gotta school em!"

He yells dragging me over towards the beer pong table.

I look back in her direction and his outburst must have gotten her attention for a brief moment.

Our eyes lock and I feel the room begin to spin.

Her eyes roam up and down my body before a slight smile appears on her face before she turns her attention back to her friend.

Those eyes did something to me.

When they connected with mine I felt as if I could stare into them forever.

They reminded me of an emerald as the light from the sun shines on it from a beautiful summer day.

I have to talk to her tonight.

At least once.

We got over to the beer pong table and there are two guys standing on the other end looking unimpressed.

"This is your secret weapon? Some dyke?"

Jason steps forward ready to pounce on him but I held him back.

"It's cool jay."

I look over at them and smirk. "You gentleman wanna make a deal?"

One of them raises an eyebrow at me and leans on the table.

"What kind of deal?"

I cross my arms over my chest and out of the corner of my eye I see that same flow of red hair moving between the crowd.

I start to follow it but I shake my head and regain my focus.

"If we win, you two have to come to school next week wearing a pride flag as a cape to umm...show your support."

Everyone laughs and jeers at them as they roll their eyes.

"And if we win,"

The bigger one leans in a little closer with a sick grin on his face.

"You get 7 minutes in heaven with me. Then we'll see what community you really belong to."

I stare at him unfazed.

This guy gay or something?

I mean I'm still a girl and all but I look more masculine than him.

I size him up as his friends snickers beside him.

I can already tell by unbalance his stance is that he's had a few drink where I have only had sips from one.

This will definitely be an easy victory.

"Deal."

The crowd gathers around us as the game begins.

The atmosphere in the room is fully charged as I take the lead.

I look up at one point to scan the crowd and I see that she is actually watching.

I feel my hands start to sweat a little and wipe them off on my pants.

I sink the final cup and the room erupts, cheering me on.

I look across the table and the two guys are furious at one another.

"How could you miss that bad?!"

One exclaims as they storm off.

Everyone gives me props and congratulates me on the win, but when I turned around to go grab my drink, all I see is fire red hair and forest green eyes looking up at me.

"Hey you're pretty good, wanna play one on one?"

She asks leaning closer to me with her hands behind her back.

I gulp slightly at her boldness but put on a smirk to try and keep my cool.

"You're on doll."

She raises an eyebrow at me and we go to our respective ends of the table to start.

"I don't know if you saw the last game, but I'm pretty good. I'll go easy on you."

I say as I start arranging the cups.

"Oh I saw. You're not too bad. You going to make a bet with me as well?"

I raise an eyebrow at her. I don't normally wager when playing beer pong, but something about the way she is presenting herself intrigues me.

"Well those guys were being dicks. I'm not really sure what to bet against you."

I say with a slight chuckle.

She taps her finger on her bottom lip in thought and my eyes are instantly drawn to it.

Her lips are shaped almost like a heart.

Pink and plump.

She glances over and catches me, causing my face to instantly heat up.

I clear my throat trying not to show how embarrassed I am but she's already smiling.

I don't know why I'm so nervous around her.

I flirt with girls all the time yet right now, I feel something warm in my stomach and I don't know if I like it or not.

She smirks holding up a ball.

"How about, if you win, you get to kiss me."

I blush a little harder causing her to laugh.

I shake it off and walk over to her side trying to maintain my composure but this girl is getting to me.

"And if you win?"

I lean one arm on the table getting a little close.

She peeks down at my lips and back up to my hazel eyes.

I see a slight blush appear on her cheeks and smile at the fact that I seem to have the same effect on her that she has on me.

"Umm...if I win, you have to...give me a shout out at your next game."

I raise an eyebrow, surprised at this request.

She watches me play?

I shrug my shoulders and nod my head, feeling pretty confident that I will get to feel those lips against my own tonight.

"Deal."

I walk back over to my side and we start the game.

I have to admit she was a pretty solid competitor.

We go cup for cup the whole game until we're down to our last ones.

The drinks are starting to hit me.

I can feel it.

This is my second game and these cups were filled pretty high for beer pong.

I look at the cup in front of me and tilt my head.

I know there is only one but to me it looks like 3 cups are dancing around the table in front of me.

I look up at her and see how confident she seems.

She is definitely feeling it too but not as much as I am.

I take a deep breathe and concentrate hard before letting the ball fly.

I miss terribly.

She sinks her ball with ease and jumps into her friends arms as everyone cheers for her victory.

My friends clown me for my loss but all I can do is smile as I watch her receive praises from everyone around her.

She seems so happy in this moment and I dont want to ruin it by being a sore loser.

After the room clears a bit, I make my way over with my hands in my pockets. "You were right, you're pretty good. Mind if I get you a drink?"

She smiles up at me and shrugs.

"Sure thing, but don't call me doll."

I raised my hands in defense and grab two drinks from the kitchen before following her into the living room.

As she walks in front of me, I can't help gazing down and noticing the sway of her hips.

So smooth and fluid, almost hypnotizing.

I take the seat next to her and hand her a drink.

"Sam Kelly, it's nice to meet you."

I say as I extend my hand out to her.

She smiles and takes it, a spark flowing from her fingertips all the way through me.

Her hand felt so soft and delicate compared to mine and the warmth coming from her is slowly drawing me in.

"Paige Crawford, and I know who you are basketball star."

I blush making her laugh.

"I'm guessing that's why you wanted the shout out?"

She nods and takes a sip from her drink.

Hooded eyes peer over the rim of the cup at me and its probably the sexiest look I've ever seen.

I clear my throat, trying to keep it together.

We start getting to know each other and as the conversation gets deeper, I can't help but take in the way her body sits against the couch.

Her legs. Her curves.

My eyes start to roam over her chest when the next thing I know, I feel my left cheek sting from a clean slap.

I put my hand on my face, looking at her in disbelief.

" I'm sorry, I don't think I gave you permission to ogle my body."

She says glaring at me.

I raise my hands in defense and apologize profusely.

"I'm so so sorry! I didn't mean to disrespect you like that."

She rolls her eyes turning away from me. I didn't realize I was being so obvious about it but I also didn't expect that kind of a reaction.

I take out my phone to examine my cheek in the camera and I'm shocked to see that its actually a little red, even with my darker complexion.

"Damn girl you got me good! I might need to call an ambulance. My jaw could be broken!"

She rolls her eyes again, facing me a little again.

"Oh now you're just being dramatic."

I lean back on the couch feigning agony and act as dramatic as possible trying to get a laugh out of her.

I turn on the flashlight on my phone holding it up above my face as I place my other hand on my heart.

"Oh god, I'm not gonna make it. I can see the light!"

Suddenly, my phone slips out of my hand and the corner of it lands directly on my nose.

I yelp in actual pain and this finally gets a laugh out of her.

"You dummy! That's what you get!"

Her laugh and her smile are infectious.

I join in on the laughter of my own misfortune and can't help the smile that lingers on my face.

I feel a connection between us.

Something pulling me to give this thing a shot.

Im not sure how far things will get, but I think I'm going to hold on to this one for a little while.

Love is a funny thing. It can be fun and exciting, but it will test you as well.

Me and Paige have been strictly friends since the party.

No flirting, no messing around, strictly platonic. I learned that she is also studying to be a teacher so we try to meet up as often as possible to tutor one another.

She helps me with my math and I give some advice on her English papers.

I'm going to be a biology teacher when I graduate this semester but my second choice would definitely be English literature.

Writing has always been a passion of mine. I love the notion of putting the ideas you have in your head on paper for others to get a mere glimpse at the person you are at heart.

The only drawback is id have to read all of the assignments I give out and quite frankly, I'm too lazy for that.

Paige loves reading my works and I enjoy hearing her feedback, but she unfortunately can't form a coherent sentence to save her life.

I still love her though.

We've grown pretty close over the past couple months. Of course, Ashley will always be my number one, but Paige is definitely someone I hold dear as well.