Page 59 of Firestorm
Skye
“Skye,you are so annoying. You look great!” Willow exclaimed. “Right, Mia?” She elbowed her Link. “Tell her!”
“You look great, Skye.” Mia said, giving me two thumbs up. “Super bang-able.”
I choked on the water I was sipping and Willow cackled before taking a sip of her fancy alcoholic seltzer. I wasn’t planning to drink a lot tonight, at least not until I saw how the rest of the party went.
Not that it mattered. My affinity didn’t let me get drunk, which only added to my awkward-ness in social situations. No one liked the sober girl, no matter how utterly stupid that was.
“Is Aiden meeting us?” Mia asked as I tossed my empty water bottle into the wastebasket.
I grabbed my phone, looking at the last text I’d sent him. He’d finally read it, but there was no reply.
“I asked what he was wearing and he never responded. Was that…a stupid thing to ask?” I hated how small my voice sounded.
“Not stupid at all,” Willow chirped optimistically. “Maybe he’s busy or something. He did miss class today.”
Yeah, hedidmiss class today, which wasn’t like him. He hadn’t been to the gym, and he hadn’t texted me yesterday after the whole Landonthing. The only message in the inbox was from me asking what he was wearing today.
What the hell?He was the one who’d invited me to this shit.
I breathed out slowly, trying to let my frustration melt away. I didn’t know Aiden super well, yet. And I hadn’t exactly tried very hard to get to know him. Maybe this was all normal for him.
“Text him again,” Willow said. Her head was tilted back and her eyes comically wide as she applied another coat of mascara to her lashes. Her nose was barely an inch from the mirror.
“Okay,” I mumbled.
ME
We’re leaving in thirty. Should we meet somewhere?
I chewed my lip as the message was read almost immediately, but no dots appeared to signal that he was responding.
My stomach dropped.
What the fuck, Aiden?
I tossed my phone back on the bed and finished curling my hair. I was already squeezed into a tight black dress that belonged to Willow. Though taller, our shapes were total opposites. This dress was made to give the illusion of curves. On natural curves though, it had me looking…well, if I spread my thighs at all, a seam might split.Maybe that was a good thing?
I swallowed roughly as I admired my figure in the mirror, running my hands down the curve of my waist before settling on my hips. I’d never partied before, not even when I was younger or in highschool. I was always a little fearful of letting go of my control, but then one night Zephyr and I tried getting drunk and he did, but I didn’t.
That’s how it’d been ever since. I couldn’t get drunk, no matter how hard I tried. And believe me, my brother hadreallytried to get me trashed.
Once Willow was done fluffing her hair, we set off across the quad. Students were everywhere, some dressed for the party and others just dressed in pajamas like they were getting ready for a sleepover. My chest ached slightly.
I really didn’t want to go to this party. Aiden not responding to my texts after incessantly begging me to come tonight wasn’t a good sign. I had a bad gut feeling something would go wrong.
The ache in my chest eased slightly as I laughed along with my friends while we stumbled down the dirt path into the woods. We weren’t far from the secret garden I’d found, and part of me wanted to just bolt and go sit in the flowers. The pounding bass from the party music was already reaching us, and I could see the glow from a bonfire in the distance.
“Listen,” Willow said, linking her arm with mine. “This is the plan. We get there, we take shots, you find Aiden, maybe get laid, then we all go home and sleep off the hangover!”
I snorted just as we made it into the clearing. It looked like a scene out of a movie, with people dancing everywhere. Coolers were all off to one side, full of beer and some boxed wine. Someone was running the music off a tiny DJ board up against a massive tree trunk, and several people sat around the large fire, laughing and talking animatedly.
No one gawked at us as we arrived, which I took as a good sign. I half expected the music to cut out with a record scratch, everyone’s eyes on me and how I was stuffed into this damn dress.
Willow dragged me over to the coolers, where a cute guy was pouring shots.
“Do you want tequila?” Willow shouted in my ear.
