Page 12 of The Very First Night

“He seems like a really good guy.” Truth be told, I shouldn’t know that. Actually, I’m not sure I do know that at this point. Everything is such a blur.

“Isn’t he?!”

The group of freshmen from before manages to catch up with us and we watch as they huddle together, doing a terrible job of stashing the flasks they have tucked in their necklines.

“Freshman year feels like eons ago, doesn’t it?” Jenna seems almost…reminiscent.

I can’t help but laugh at her words, because that is the understatement of the year. “You have no idea.”

Though it was supposed to be a closed party, we can see the house is filled with bodies from wall to wall. The brother manning the door is being loose with the list in his hand.

“Name?”

“Jenna Hannover and Kat Marritt.”

I guess Jenna gave Marcus our names to add to the list. The guy seems pleased, but something tells me he’s letting in any girl he deems minorly appealing anyway.

Lambda Rho has been my and Jenna’s go-to place when we go out since the middle of our freshman year. It can be chaotic on a party night, but we feel comfortable here. How we went two years without meeting the guys, I don’t know.

As if he can hear my thoughts, Marcus arrives by Jenna’s side, slinging his arm around the back of her neck and pulling her into a hug.

Jenna melts into him with ease and little concern for the chaos surrounding them. She lifts onto her toes and presses a kiss to Marcus’s cheek, then whispers something to him—knowing Jenna, I probably don’t want to know what.

“I’m going to go grab a drink,” I yell over the music, wanting to give them privacy but also genuinely wanting a drink.

The bass from the stereo nearly shakes the room as the guy behind the DJ table works to keep the energy up. The party is mostly centered around the spacious living room with a vaulted ceiling. People stand shoulder-to-shoulder as they chat amongst themselves, making it nearly impossible to locate a beverage.

After searching for what feels like forever, I find the kitchen. I groan when I realize that this isn’t a regular old keg party. Where I was hoping to find a big metal barrel, there is something else—in the place of the designated keg is a large storage container filled to the brim with a mystery beverage. The smell of alcohol mixed with fruit juices and pop wafts through the air, indicating that this party will be one wild night.

Jungle Juice.

Equal parts gross and effective.

“Can I buy you a drink?” An all-too-familiar voice carries from behind me. Instantly, it makes me smile.

I roll my eyes, turning around to find Tanner grinning down at me. “The drinks are free.”

“Fine, if you want to be, like, a scientist about it.” He chuckles as he snatches two red plastic cups from the stool beside the transparent container, which is filled almost to the brim with the unknown red liquid. He holds it out to me, seemingly posing a question.

“Sure, why the hell not?” I chuckle.

He holds our cups and dips them into the murky liquid before handing me the cleaner-looking one. I watch in disgust as he casually plucks a fruit fly out of his cup and flicks it to the side. My face scrunches up in revulsion at the sight.

“What? Extra protein.”

“You’re gross,” I respond with a laugh.

“You wound me.” He grins as he lifts the cup to his lips. “So, you’re Jenna’s roommate, eh?”

“Are you Marcus’s?”

“Oh, ha—no. Marcus doesn’t have roommates. Too dedicated to school. I live in the house,” Tanner says as he waves his hands around. “Everything the light touches is mine.”

“Did you just quote The Lion King?”

“Oh please, it was a paraphrase. It would be absurd to quote The Lion King to a cute girl on our first date.”

My brows raise nearly to my hairline at his words. “Date, huh?”

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