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Chapter 1

Lilian

My heart races. Parties have never been my scene. I pull down the hem of the little black dress my roommate loaned me.

“Isn’t this way better than being buried in books?” Ju gestures at the scene before us.

A steady stream of people shuffle in and out of with loud music blaring frat house, drinks in hand. On the left side, a guy is hunched over the bushes, retching violently.

I can’t believe I let her convince me to come here.

“See? Everyone’s having a blast.” Ju grabs my arm, trying to tug me forward.

“I’m not so sure about this.”

“Come on, give it a chance. Besides, I didn’t help you dress this sexy for nothing. You deserve to let loose for once and with a certain someone.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

Mike—tall, charming, and undeniably attractive—is someone I’ve been crushing on. We’ve been on a few dates since meeting in English Lit, but after our last kiss, I—

“Listen.” Ju places a hand on my shoulder. “We go in, have a drink, you find your boyfriend, and if you hate it, we bounce. Deal?”

“One drink?”

“One drink and one shot.”

I glance at the guy still hunched over the bushes. I don’t want to end up like him.

“Lil, it’s not really a party without at least one shot.”

“Fine. But that’s it. I’m serious.”

She grins, dragging me after her.

We squeeze our way through the drunken crowd. I try to avoid bumping into anyone while Ju shouts greetings to every familiar face. Everywhere I look, people are laughing, dancing, making out, or chugging beer. In the kitchen, Ju flags down a shaggy-haired guy I vaguely recognize from my psych class.

“Two tequila shots, please,” she says.

He slides two overflowing shot glasses toward us.

“Ready?” She raises her glass.

“Do I have to?”

“You promised.” She shoves the shot glass into my hand, tapping it with hers. “Bottoms up.”

The tequila burns going down, and I cough. “Did you see Mike anywhere?”

“He’ll turn up eventually. Let’s play some beer pong.”

“That’s more than a shot and drink.”

“It’s gonna be fun.”

Before I can protest further, she grabs my hand and tows me toward one of the long tables set up with cups. Two guys stand at the end, filling them.

One of them is taller and sports this cocky grin on his face, blue eyes and dimples flashing as he laughs at something his friend says, the kind of smile that probably makes most girls melt. Light brown hair falls over his forehead in that tousled way you’ll normally only see in movies.

“Another game?” Ju eyes the taller one.

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