Aurora chuckles and turns to face me, her hands on her hips. “I won’t leave your side. Now, get dressed. I need to sext Chase while my makeup still looks good.”
I scrunch my nose. “Ew. I did not need that visual.”
She scoffs, leaning in front of her mirror to touch up her makeup. “Please. Like you’ve never done it.”
“Absolutely not,” I reply, raising an eyebrow.
Aurora winks at me, her tone smug. “Well, the night’s still young.”
I shake my head, but I laugh as I strip out of my sweatshirt and slip into the black dress she picked out for me. “I don’t even know why I’m friends with you.”
She winks again. “Because I’m irreplaceable.”
By the time Aurora and I get to the party, it’s already packed. The bass from the speakers is so loud it vibrates through my bones. The kitchen’s a mess of half-empty beer bottles, plastic cups, and the stale smell of spilled alcohol. The air is thick with heat and full of the mix of too many bodies crammed into one space.
Aurora hands me a cup without a word. “Drink. Mingle. Have fun. In that order.”
I look at the neon pink liquid in the cup. “What is this?”
She takes a sip of hers. “Does it matter?”
Yeah, that’s not reassuring, but I take a sip anyway. The sweetness hits me first, followed by something citrusy, and then the burn of cheap alcohol. I cough. “Jesus. This tastes like soda and nail polish remover had a baby.”
Aurora chuckles. “Yeah, but it does the job.”
I roll my eyes but follow her as she leads the way through the crowd. People are everywhere—guys trying to dance like they’re in a movie, a couple making out like they’ve never seen each other before, and some guy who looks way too proud of himself for being able to drink from a beer funnel without dying.
Aurora moves through it all with ease like it’s second nature. I can’t help but glance around the room, my eyes drifting, scanning the crowd for any sign of Ryan.
We see each other every day at practice; aside from a few stolen glances, nothing’s changed. And yet, I can’t stop thinking about it. About him. About how it felt.
The way his hands gripped my waist, the heat of his breath against my skin, the way he kissed me like he couldn’t get enough.
But none of that matters. Because here I am, obsessing over every detail of that night, while he…
Well, I don’t know what he’s thinking.
But I have a feeling it’s notthis.
Aurora must notice me zoning out because she raises an eyebrow. “What’s up with you?”
I snap my gaze away, shrugging it off. “Nothing.”
She tilts her head. “Uh-huh, sure. Just checking out the room for no reason at all, right?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not looking for Ryan,” I lie. Not convincingly either, because Aurora lets out a scoff as she leans back against the wall.
“Yeah, okay And I definitely don’t stalk my boyfriend’s Spotify activity.”
A laugh bubbles out of me, but before I can argue, a guy stumbles into our space, his chest puffed out. His breath reeks of cheap alcohol, and his confidence is a little too loud for someone who can barely stand straight.
“Hey,” he slurs, zeroing in on Aurora. “Haven’t seen you around before.”
Aurora barely spares him a glance. “That’s because I wasn’t around.”
He laughs, clearly drunk enough to think he’s hilarious. “You’re funny. I like that.”
“How tragic,” she sighs.
