Liam, Alicia, Bria, and Gwen were also here. Gwen was the short blonde from psychology who used to sit behind Ollie.
“Do you want me to make you a drink?” Jake asked, pulling me away from Ollie and toward his dresser lined with cups, liquor, and mixers. I turned my head back to see Ollie now engaged in conversation with Alicia.
“How did you get all this?” I asked Jake, taking my focus back in front of me.
Jake put a hand on his hip as he leaned against it. “You know better than to ask questions.” He giggled. “Here, I’ll make you my secret recipe. It’s delish.”
He then shook, mixed, and poured before handing me a drink.
Reaching to take the drink from his hand, Ollie swooped in and grabbed it from him. “Thanks, mate, but I’ll make her drink.”
Jake snapped a finger in the air before turning to leave.
Ollie took a red cup from the dresser. “You can’t be too careful.” He broke the seal of a new bottle of vodka and poured a shot in a cup. “Just sip on this,” he said and handed me the cup.
I raised a brow at him. “Paranoid?”
“Cautious.” He winked at me, then made himself the same. We clinked our red cups together. Here was to a long night of staying away from the only person I wanted to be around, to Maddie’s madness, and faking it.
Bria pushed her way through the small crowd and stopped before us. “Did you bring it?”
Ollie reached in his pocket, pulled out his phone, and flashed it in front of her. “Though, I’m keeping it in my possession … I’ll start some music.” Ollie stared at the screen while scrolling through the playlist. Bria whined, but the music quickly started, which changed her mood instantly.
Bria grabbed my hand and dragged me away, forcing me to dance. “No, Bria …” I moaned as she pulled me beside Alicia. I glanced back to see Ollie with a lopsided grin and his red cup in the air.
“You know, Mia, I think we got off on the wrong foot,” Bria said as she held my arm in the air. “Can we start over?”
Bria seductively twisted her hips as I stood there awkwardly. “Where is this coming from?”
Bria stopped and leaned over in my ear. “Alicia told me about Maddie. I think we’re better off in numbers.”
“You have a point there.” I took a sip of my drink when the song suddenly changed. It was The Fugees’ “Killing me Softly with His Song.”
“Yes!” Bria cheered, and I cocked my head in Ollie’s direction, who shrugged his shoulders with a smile, showing all his perfectly white teeth. “Have fun,” he mouthed to me.
An unstoppable smile spread across my lips as I remembered the time in his dorm room. When the beat dropped, so did my guard. Sandwiched between Bria and Alicia, we all danced—rolling our hips, feeling the flow, and allowing myself to enjoy this night.
“Sing, Mia!” Alicia requested out loud over the music. And I did. Turning to face Ollie, I belted the lyrics as my body’s rhythm continued. Ollie dipped his head back and squinted before a bigger smile played on his face. Jake joined in, singing and dancing with us until the song ended.
“Okay, I get it. I see why you dance,” I panted to Bria as the song changed.
Bria nodded. “Now, come on. Let’s get you a refill.”
Bria, nice? Have I crossed over into an alternate universe? Maybe I’d never noticed it before because of the way I was, or perhaps it was because there was another girl who’d shown up in the mix. Either way, I couldn’t complain.
Following her back to Jake’s dresser, she pointed at the bottles. “What’s your poison tonight?”
“Vodka, straight.” I leaned into the dresser. This was my chance to make things right between us. “Bria, I’m sorry for whatever I may have caused before. It’s not who I am anymore, and I have nothing against you.”
Bria kept her eyes on pouring, making sure not to spill as she swayed. “As I said before, we got off on the wrong foot. We’re good.” The little bit of Bria-weight lifted from my chest. One bad taste bud in my mouth was gone, a million more to go. Bria handed me my cup. “Now, how am I supposed to get Maddie away from Isaac?”
Shaking my head, I let out a laugh. Same old Bria. “I think Isaac is smart enough to know not to get involved with her.” Looking back at Bria, I caught a pain in her eyes as she watched the two of them together in the corner. Maddie danced up against Isaac as he stayed pinned to the wall. “Bria …” The look on her face was so familiar. “You like Isaac. As in like, like.”
Bria snapped her head in my direction. “No, I don’t.”
Smiling, I said, “Yes, you do. It’s written all over your face. You have a thing for him.”
Bria groaned. “Help me, then. What do I do?”
I glanced back over at Maddie and Isaac. Girl-talk was all new to me. “March over there, pull him away, and kiss him.”
Bria shook her head. “No, I can’t kiss him.”
“You always kiss him,” I said, narrowing my eyes at her.
“But I didn’t like him like this before. It’s easier when you don’t have feelings for the bloke.”
She had a point. “You guys can play a game?”
“Ah, yes!” Bria grabbed my face and laid a peck over my lips before pulling my head away. “Mia, you’re brilliant.” I stood stunned as she marched away and announced a game of strip or dare to everyone.
Between the sudden hand on my back and the breath in my hair, I instantly knew who approached me from behind. “Did Bria just kiss you?” he asked amusedly into my ear. I nodded as Ollie’s breath sent goosebumps across the surface of my skin.
“I hate staying away from you, love,” he whispered again, and his fingertips dipped beneath the back of my shirt and grazed my bare skin. His warm touch pulled me like a magnetic force field. He pressed against me from behind. To hide my blushing, I brought my cup to my lips and took a sip.
“Are you two fucking now?” Liam asked. Ollie dropped his hand and took a step away from me, coldness replacing him.
“No, we’re not fucking,” Ollie scoffed from behind me.
“You really should,” he said, holding up his cup. “Because, mate, let me tell you, her pussy …” Liam shook his head. “Unbelievable.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ollie take quick strides toward Liam. My fingers sprang to his wrist, holding him back and steady, not having to speak a word because he knew.
Ollie looked down at me and back at Liam, who wore a smug smile. If we weren’t at Dolor, I would gladly not keep Ollie back. But, we were at Dolor—observed and judged with our entire futures on the line. My past had already been stolen from me, and I wouldn’t let anyone take away my future.