Page 5 of For Three Seconds

I wanted to ask about him, but I bit my tongue. “Okay, have fun.”

It’d been years since I tasted alcohol. It wasn’t because I had a problem, but shitty things tended to happen when I got myself intoxicated.

Audrey walked next to me, looking smoking hot in a white bodycon. She said as cheer captain, she needed to show up and make a statement. So that answered my earlier question, and I was happy she had that.

There was a big black guy at the door smiling at all the girls. With some, he grabbed their hands and twirled them around. When we got to the door, his smile seemed to get bigger.

“Audrey, baby, I missed you.”

“Jeffrey, honey, I didn’t.” She gave him a smirk and patted his chest.

When his eyes cast to mine, his smile seemed to come back. “You…I don’t know, but I would very much like to, preferably tonight…in my bed.”

“Not going to happen, Jeff.” Auds pushed past him and dragged me inside the house.

It was everything I imagined a frat house to be. Run-down couches, a big TV, and people were walking around everywhere with red cups, and a few of them with bottles in their hands. My hands trembled and got sweaty. I turned back to the door, but there were more people trying to come in.

“Have you never been to a party?” Kenia asked, looking at me like I was a freak.

“I have,” I said.

“Then relax, because if you’re trying to blend in, that whole skittish vibe you have going on is making you stand out.”

I nodded at Kenia and let Audrey lead me around. She took us to the kitchen, where she greeted everyone as we passed by them.

I felt out of place, like I didn’t belong. It had been so long since I was out with friends, it felt…foreign. The curious looks I got were making me uncomfortable. All I wanted was for the night to be over and go back home.

Once we were in the kitchen, Delia started grabbing bottles and mixing drinks. When they handed me a cup, I stared at it, but I didn’t grab it.

“Oh, do you not drink?” Delia felt bad; I could hear it in her voice.

To make her feel better, I reached for the cup.

“No, it’s okay, it’s just been a while since I got drunk.” It wasn’t entirely a lie.

“Don’t worry. We got you, girl.” Delia smiled and took a sip of her drink.

I pretended to do the same, but didn’t let myself go.

You need to live, Scarlett. It’s what your parents would have wanted.

Maybe my shrink was right. Feeling confident that tonight wouldn’t be a disaster, I took a sip and almost spat it right back out.

“Oh, we got a lightweight,” a handsome guy said, coming in behind Delia. He was handsome, like an Abercrombie & Fitch model. Warm brown eyes and hair, tall with a lean body.

I smiled at him or more like grimaced.

“Ollie, this is Scarlett. Scar, Oliver.”

I waved at him, and he grinned.

We waited by the kitchen for a bit while the girls talked to their friends, and I took it all in.

I took too much in because next thing I knew, the girls were nowhere around me.

Fuck.

Audrey was long gone, and I had no idea where she left to. I was standing like a loser with a Solo cup in my hand when I got the urge to pee.Why did I agree to come to a frat party?Having had enough, I got up and started to make my way through the masses of drunk people.

---