Page 62 of Eye Candy

Kelly said, “I’m just looking out for you. I don’t want you seeing a pretty face and jumping into the sack with him and then regretting it in a week when you’ve got a rash that won’t go away.”

I wondered if she was speaking from first-hand experience, but I didn’t ask. Honestly, I didn’t want to know.

“So,” Kelly spoke, hooking her arm through mine as we walked. “What’s your goal for tonight? I’ll totally be your wing-woman if you want to get dicked down. Sometimes the best stress relief involves getting pile-drived on a bed you’ll never see again.” She spoke so off-handedly about it, I had to chuckle again.

My mind thought of Kieran, and then Fang and Mike. Three guys who made my heart and my body act up whenever I thought about them, whenever they were near. The only one that wasn’t really off-limits to me was Fang, but even then… it was strange to think how intense things got the last time we were alone together. After all, I’d been in his presence twice. Would I fall in love with him the third time I saw him? Jeez.

“I don’t know” was what I settled with saying. A part of me wondered if, maybe, she was right, and hooking up with a stranger who knew how to use his dick would help me overcome whatever feelings I had inside that were holding me back.

I mean, I was still a virgin, technically. A virgin to dicks, and now that I was on birth control, what the hell was I waiting for?

The answer to that wasn’t one I wanted to think about.

“That’s okay,” Kelly said. “We’ll have fun, no matter what.”

She continued to pull me along, leading the way across campus. The party was being held in one of the rental houses across from campus—technically you weren’t allowed to throw ragers on school grounds, so renting out places right across the street from it was a way around that rule, and when your neighbors were also college students wanting to kick back andhave fun, you didn’t have to worry about the cops getting called for a noise complaint.

I was surprised. When Kelly and I walked up to the front door of the house, the door itself hung open, inviting anyone inside. People were on the front porch, lounging around, drinking and chatting, laughing it up. One of the guys had a vape, puffing on it and expelling some fruity-scented smoke.

I let Kelly take the lead as we entered the house. Music came from the living room area, where people were hanging. Some were dancing, but a lot were simply crowding around the walls in their chosen groups. When we walked into the living room, countless eyes turned to us.

To me, I should say. They were looking at me and not Kelly, which I thought strange.

A pair of girls immediately found us, crowding around Kelly. “Kelly,” one of them exclaimed, giving her a half-hug. “You made it! You look so sexy.” She turned her eyes to me, giving me a once-over. “Is this…”

“Yes,” Kelly said. “This is Laina, my best friend from high school. I’m trying to get her to come here next semester.”

That was the miracle of college campuses. There were tons of different people from all over, sprinkled in with a few people you went to high school with. I didn’t know the two girls that had come up to us, but they seemed nice. They were exactly the kind of girls I imagined Kelly becoming friends with.

“Oh, my God, you totally should!” the other girl squealed. “And we can tell you all the secrets no one wants you to know, like which classes to avoid, which ones will be an easy pass, and—”

“Where all the best parties are,” her friend spoke, nodding along sagely. They each held red solo cups, sloshing the liquidaround inside every time they moved their arms—which was often. These two were quite animated when they talked.

Kelly nodded along with her friends, tossing me a look. “See, Laina? We know it all. Stick with us, and you’ll be fine. Now, my throat is feeling a little dry.” She and her friends left the living room area, and I followed them, not knowing what else to do.

The new girls surrounded Kelly as she walked, which left me to walk behind them, like a fourth wheel. I hoped this wouldn’t be the theme of the night; if it was, I’d have a miserable time, and I doubted I’d be able to get Kelly to leave her friends early to take me home when I wanted to bail.

We walked down the hall, toward the kitchen, where all the cups and drinks were set up. Specialized bottles of stronger stuff lined the counter near the sink, while a keg of beer sat on the island. A thing of wine coolers was on the floor. Well, at least whoever was throwing this party was well-stocked. If there was one thing college students were good at, it was drinking.

Kelly got herself a cup and then started to mix her own drink using the bottles on the counter while gabbing with her friends. I watched, not knowing what was what.

One of her friends turned to stare at me, studying my hair and my eyes. “I love that,” she said. “Is it natural?” She sounded like she meant it, genuinely curious.

“These are contacts.” I pointed to my eyes, and then I touched my hair with my glove-free hand. “And I had it dyed like this.”

The girl leaned on the counter, taking an unhurried sip from her cup. “I’ve always wanted to dye my hair fun colors,” she told me, “but my parents never let me. They always said itwas trashy.” She rolled her eyes. “They say the same thing about tattoos. Like, come on! Everybody has tattoos now—”

Once Kelly was done mixing the drink, she slid it toward me, handing it over as she said, “Here. Try it. Tell me if you like it.” She blinked, expectant, waiting for me to take it and do as she said.

I was slow in taking the cup, eyeing the liquid inside it. As I brought it to my mouth, the aroma coming off the liquid nearly made me recoil. It was strong stuff. I was the greenest of the green when it came to alcohol, and even I could tell. I took a small sip, doing my best not to gag when the strong taste hit my tongue.

Holy crap. It tasted like shit. People drank this forfun?

“Well?” Kelly asked. “Do you like it? If you do, I can make another for me and you can just have that one.” Her lips had spread into a smile, and I couldn’t tell if she was waiting for me to tell her it was disgusting or if she really thought I’d like it.

When it came to Kelly, it was sometimes hard to track her motives.

But, seeing as how she was a party girl and that was the whole reason my dad had never liked her, I was thinking she was hoping I liked it, so I said, “It’s good. Strong, but good.” Just to prove myself, I took another sip, forcing out a smile as I held back a gag.

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