Page 30 of Collide (Collide 1)

Chain-linking hands, Emily, Olivia, and Fallon snaked their way through the throng of a hundred or so people, ultimately finding the owner of the home, Fallon's friend, Jacob.

After hugging him hello, Fallon yelled over the music. "Jakey, this is Emily and Olivia. "

Without saying a word, he smiled widely and picked each of them up off their feet, hugging them as if he had known them for years. Once he placed them down, Emily and Olivia burst out laughing hysterically.

"Welcome to mi casa, ladies," he flashed a smile, his voice booming. "Alcohol's in the kitchen; free lap dances from some of the hottest strippers in New York are located in the downstairs den; pool table's to the rear of the house; bathrooms are strategically placed on each level; and if you decide to get a little out of control with someone, bedrooms with king-sized beds in each are plentiful on the second and third floors. " He said it all in one breath.

"Fuckin'-A, cool," Olivia smirked. "You have strippers here?"

Running a hand through his carrot-colored hair, he smiled devilishly. "They come in droves to my parties. "

Olivia grabbed for Emily and Fallon's hands. "Shots are needed in my system right about now, chicks. " She turned back to Jake and gave him a wink. "Thanks, bud. "

He nodded and disappeared into the crowd.

The women dodged multiple dancing bodies, a guy running around with underwear on his head while a topless girl chased after him, and several couples making out. Eventually, they made their way into the kitchen where a fully stocked bar awaited each of them.

After consuming two more shots of tequila, they headed out to the backyard to partake in an hour-long game of flip cup. Using Captain Morgan as her preferred liquid, Emily's head was pleasantly fuzzy to say the least.

Walking back into the house with Olivia at her side, she leaned up against a wall. "Olivia," she slurred. "I'm pretty. . . "

"I know you're pretty, Em," Olivia chirped, her own words slurring. "But stop bragging about it. "

Slowly shaking her head, Emily laughed. "No. . . you didn't let me finish, bitch. " Her head lolled to the side. "I'm trying to - " she hiccupped, "tell you that I'm pretty - " hiccup, "drunk right now. "

"So am I, chick," she laughed and snorted like a pig.

Emily shook her head again. "No, but I - " hiccup, "am pretty sure that I'm seeing things, too. " She pointed her finger toward the front door as her eyes squinted in its direction. "Look. Those two guys - " hiccup, "that just walked in look like Gavin and Trevor. "

Olivia let out a laugh. "You silly girl, you're not seeing things. It is Gavin and Trevor. "

Emily looked adorably confused as she peered at the two blurry images headed straight for them. "You're joking with - " hiccup, "me, right? How would they know - " hiccup, "that we're at this house?"

Olivia bit her lip. "Since I know that you're digging Gavin - as a friend, of course," she quickly added, swaying from side to side. "I decided to call my brother, knowing he was hanging out with Gavin tonight. " She gave Emily an innocent frown. "I told Trevor an itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny lie to get them to come out here. "

Before Emily could inquire about this little lie, Gavin and Trevor approached them, both of their faces filled with concern.

Gavin placed his hands on Emily's shoulders. "Are you alright?" His eyes automatically roved over her body as if assessing if she were hurt.

She stared at him silently with a blank expression on her face.

"Well, where the fuck is he?" Trevor asked Olivia, clenching his hands into fists.

"Calm down, brother," Olivia laughed. "He was tossed out already. "

Trevor's eyes traveled to Emily. He lifted her chin and moved her head back and forth. "How bad did the guy hurt you?"

Now she had Gavin's hands on her shoulders and Trevor's fingers under her chin. Speechlessly glaring at Olivia with a confused what-the-hell-did-you-tell-them stare, Emily. . . hiccupped.

Olivia grabbed Trevor's arm away from her. "He didn't hurt her. She was just getting her dance on with the dude, and he got a little frisky. Like I said, the owner got rid of him. "

Gavin took a step back and dropped his hands from Emily's shoulders. "Liv, you said the guy smacked her. "

Olivia buried her face in her cup. "Did I say that?" she laughed.

"Yes, Olivia. You made it sound like she got bitch-slapped and tossed to the ground," Trevor barked.

Fallon stumbled over and interrupted what was about to become a public sibling argument. She studied Gavin for a second. "Hey, you're the guy from the restaurant that I asked Emily to give my number to. "

He smiled. "Yeah, that would be me, I guess. "

Fallon returned the smile and flicked her eyes in Trevor's direction. If it were possible, her smile widened even more. "And who might you be?"

"I'm this over-exaggerator's older brother," he pointed to Olivia and then returned his attention back to Fallon. "And who might you be?"

"I'm a girl who's really into cute guys with blonde hair and glasses. "

"Nice. . . I fit that description," Trevor smiled. "And I'm a guy who's into a pretty girl who speaks her mind. Wanna dance?"

Fallon grabbed his hand, threading his fingers with hers, and led him into the living room. Trevor turned back to Gavin, giving him a thumbs-up.

Gavin laughed.

"Soooo," Olivia drawled, a smirk playing on her face. "I'm just gonna go get a lap dance. I'll see you two later. " She disappeared into the crowd, her laugh echoing over the music.

Gavin smiled at Emily. He noticed the telltale-glazed sheen in her eyes, denoting that she had a little too much to drink. "Well, you look like you're feeling pretty good right about now. "

She stepped closer and tilted her head up to look at him. "Has anyone ever told you that you're very shmexy?"

"Shmexy?" He laughed, expecting an answer and not a question. He certainly didn't expect that question. "Don't you mean sexy?"

"Nope, there's shmexy, and there's sexy. And you, my friend, are shmexy. "

He cocked a brow, her throaty phone-sex voice arousing him almost instantly. "Mmm, which is better?"

"Shmexy. "

"Well, thank you. You're pretty shmexy, if I must say so myself. "

She grabbed his hand and started walking toward the kitchen. "Come do a shot with me, Gavin. "

"You haven't had enough to drink already?"

Coming to an abrupt stop, Gavin's chest collided against her back. She spun around and stumbled into him as he grabbed her waist to steady her. "Has anyone ever told you that you have the most amazing, gorgeous, and shmexy blue eyes?"

"What's with all of these questions, pal?" he asked quite amused.

"We're friends, and friends ask questions. "

He cautiously moved her hair behind her shoulders and smiled. "Yes, I've been told that I have nice eyes. "

"No, they're not just nice," she hiccupped. "They're. . . " She paused, wetting her lips. "They're bedroom eyes. "

&nb

sp; "So I'm shmexy, and I have bedroom eyes, huh?"

Nodding, she laced her hand with his again and dragged him into the kitchen. Standing in front of the spectacular choice of alcohol, she plucked a red plastic cup from the towering stack and handed it to him.

"What's your poison, shmexy bedroom-eyes man?"

Crossing his arms, Gavin studied her for a moment. "I think I'm going to hold off on drinking for right now. "

Her eyes widened as she swayed back and forth. "What? No, you're doing a shot with me. " She brushed her fingertips across his cheek. "Come on, pretty please?"

Never mind the cute girlish way she asked, her soft fingers still lingering on his face had him second-guessing his original gut feeling not to drink with her, considering she was pretty drunk. He swallowed.

"Just one. "

She beamed a smile. "Okay, back to my question. What's your poison?"

"I'll take that bourbon," he gestured to a bottle of George T. Stagg with his head.

"This one?" she asked, holding it up.

He nodded and handed her his cup.

She started filling it - and kept on filling it.

"Whoa, wait a minute, killer," he laughed and took the cup from her. Walking over to the sink, he poured three-quarters of it out. "This should be enough for now. "

She mouthed the word "boring" to him and once again clasped her hand in his, tugging him into the frenzied living room.

"Dance with me," she rasped, looking into his eyes with a seductive smile curling her lips.

"Nah, I'm just going to chill right here," he motioned to a couch filled with people equally as out of it as she was. He smiled. "You go ahead. I'll just sit back and watch with blatant male appreciation. "

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