“Because I’m not doing this the conventional way. I’m basically stirring up a shit ton of drama because a girl was mean to me. My mom would not be impressed.” I took another sip of my water. “If, by the end of this year, I told her I wanted to run for next year, she’d be all over it. But basically dethroning someone—do you dethrone presidents?” I shook my head to dismiss the unrelated question before continuing. “Nah, she wouldn’t be a fan.”
“Even if the person you were removing from office wasn’t the right person for the job?” Max asked.
“Well, then I’d have to explain that she wasn’t the right person because she kicked me out of the house for having a boy in my room overnight. My mom would lose her shit. And probably side with Aamee.” That gave me pause. I dropped my head and stared at the way the wood swirled on the bar as I thought about my circumstances.
“Should she side with Aamee?” I asked. Maybe I was wrong. I mean, I knew I was technically wrong according to the rules, but had what I’d done warranted the punishment I’d received? My mom would probably think I deserved what I’d gotten. And while sober me definitely didn’t think that way, drunk me wasn’t so sure.
“No,” Drew said, sliding my cheesesteak in front of me and then propping his hands on the table. “Aamee is abusing her power, Soph. Anyone who sides with her over you in this is flat-out wrong.”
My eyes pricked as tears threatened to spill. Drew was so strong as he stood there. So resolute. There wasn’t an ounce of anything that would indicate he didn’t wholeheartedly believe what he was saying. And Jesus, did I need that kind of confidence right now. If I didn’t feel it myself, maybe I could lean on his until I did. Maybe he could prop us both up until I got my feet under me again.
I’d had a lot of friends in my life. But the warmth I felt staring at this particular friend—one I never would’ve found if it hadn’t been for my dumbass brother—was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
Or maybe it’s the Sambuca. Christ, drunk me was a real downer.
I took a long, deep breath and decided to trust in Drew’s words. “Then I guess we fight for what’s right,” I said.
“Hell yeah,” Dave said, and Max and Bill chimed in with similar words of encouragement.
But I kept my eyes on Drew, who only smiled and nodded. And that was all the encouragement I needed.
Chapter Twelve
D R E W
Even though she was probably only a hundred and twenty pounds soaking wet, drunk Sophia was surprisingly difficult to maneuver. “Just a little farther,” I grunted as I tried to prop her up with one arm and unlock our door with the other.
“Tonight was so fun,” she practically yelled as she threw her arms back.
“Shh, people are sleeping.”
“This is college. Everyone can sleep when they’re alive. Or…wait…that doesn’t sound right.” She was momentarily still as she contemplated where she’d gone wrong in her statement, which gave me the time I needed to twist the key and push the door open.
I then grabbed her with both arms again and led her inside. It probably would’ve been easier to throw her over my shoulder and carry her that way, but I was worried being upside down would cause her to throw up all over my back. When we arrived at the couch, I let go, and she plopped down onto it.
She immediately spread out as much as she could. “It’s so comfy here. Maybe I should take the couch and give you the bed.”
“I’m ready to switch when you are,” I muttered as I turned on a few lights.
She rolled onto her side and nuzzled her face into the pillow. “It’s like velvet.”
It was more like polyester, but there was little point in arguing.
When she tired of rubbing herself on the pillow like a cat, she moved to her back again and looked up at the ceiling. “I should drink more often. Everything’s so pretty.”
Like a moron, I glanced up at the ceiling to see what she was talking about. It was solid white, like most ceilings. “I bet in the morning you’ll be vowing to never drink again.”
She threw an arm over her eyes. “Nah, I needed it. And I made friends. I love friends.”
I shook my head and laughed. She was damn cute like this—all loose-lipped and smiley. I also liked how she considered Max and the gang her friends. Granted, she was wasted, but she sounded like she truly valued the men she’d met tonight.
It was easy to look down on guys who spent their free time in a bar, but the truth was, those guys were just looking for people to pass some time with. They weren’t deadbeats but rather dependable men with good hearts, and I liked that Sophia recognized that about them.
I gave myself another second to watch her sprawled out on the couch before I extended a hand in her direction. “Okay, Drunk Spice. Get off my bed and go to yours.”
“I don’t wanna,” she whined.
I reached down and took hold of her hand and gently pulled. “Come on. Up ya go.”
“I’m not a baby,” she grumbled, but she made no move to get up.
“If you don’t get up, I’m going to shave your head while you sleep.”
Her eyes opened slowly. “You don’t have the balls.”
“You really want to test me and find out?”
“Kind of, yeah.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Dude, get up! Or else I’m going to roll you onto the floor and leave you there.”
“Like I’m scared of a floor,” she muttered, swaying upward slightly as if she were attempting the world’s lamest sit-up.
I pulled her hand as she started to drift back down toward the couch and managed to wrangle her to a sitting position.
“Okay, making progress,” I said.
She cut her eyes to me in a withering look before beginning to lie back down. “But I like the velvet couch,” she wailed when I pulled on her hand again.
Had I really thought she was cute a few minutes ago? She was a pain in the fucking ass. I moved my hand down so I was gripping her wrist and gave her one more pull to get her on her feet.
I hadn’t expected her to assist in this move, so she ended up flying toward me. As she collided with my chest, I wrapped my arms around her to steady us both.
Her hands had come up to keep her from face-planting into my sternum, and I instinctually gripped her lower back. I looked down at her and she looked up, and our gazes held for a long moment.
“If you wanted a hug, all you had to do was ask,” she said, finally breaking the silence. Her voice was so low and husky, it shifted the air in the room to something more tense and heavy.
“I’ll remember that for next time,” I replied, my voice almost a whisper.
We continued looking at one another, and it was as if we were caught in a bubble we were both terrified of popping.
“You saying there’ll be a next time?”
“Stranger things have happened.”
She nodded. “Like having a guy pretending to be your gay brother quickly becoming one of your best friends?”
I inhaled sharply at her words. Granted, we’d gotten along well, but hearing her voice and how she felt about me filled me with affection for this drunk idiot in my arms.