Page 42 of Freshmeet
Biting back a smile, I shook my head. “She should probably slow down.”
“Noooo!” Emily whined. “Mona and Kat promised me they’d drink all they could with me because men suck. And now Kat’s kissing some girl I’ve never seen.” She threw her hand toward the corner where the couple mauled each other. “And you’re trying to get out of an after-party with the Gammas even though it’s just downstairs from your apartment? It’s summer. Why are you being such a buzzkill?”
My shoulders curled in. I didn’t want Connor to see me the way everyone else did. I’d rather he think of me as the girl who dragged him to the side of the Barn. That girl was fun. Regular me was . . . not.
“I have to go to the bathroom.” I looked around the crowded room and slipped out from behind the bar, zigzagging through people until I reached the long-ass bathroom line.
Waiting gave me time to mull it all over. I’d written Connor off, but there was no denying how I felt about him. The only problem was that I didn’t know where his head was at.
And whose fault is that?
Mine.
I finally made it into a stall and read all the chalk messages while I peed.
Becca loves Ethan!
Fuck the patriarchy!
Do what you want and fuck the rest!
Yeah.
Yeah!
If I wanted to hook up with Connor, I could! Assuming he was interested. But why should I be so scared of rejection? It wouldn’t kill me.
This was the year of Sarah.
I decided to ask Connor to walk me home. From there, I would figure it out.
Perfect.
I fought to get my shorts back up, washed my hands, fluffed my hair, and marched out of the bathroom with all-you-can-drink confidence, determined to shoot my shot. How could I fail after getting a pep talk from a bathroom stall?
Too bad I’d forgotten one crucial piece of information—my timing and luck had always been shit.
Just a few feet from the door, Meg had Connor pinned against the wall as she grinned up at him, her hands resting on his chest.
Of course.
When his eyes met mine, he tensed, and every bit of badass-bitch energy drained from my body. My gaze drifted to my sorority sister in front of him, and I accepted defeat. Meg was flirty, funny, and sexy—everything I wasn’t.
The need to escape clawed at my chest, and I darted out of the hall—right into my boss’s chest.
“Whoa there. You okay?” John gave me a look over and frowned. “Why don’t you go home?”
Guilt twisted my gut as I glanced around the crowded bar. “We’re too busy. I’ll be okay.” Even I didn’t believe the shaky words.
John shook his head. “No. Clock out. You can make up hours next week.” With that, he patted my back and went back to the shuffleboard tables.
“You getting cut?” Jen asked as I got closer to the end of the bar.
“Yeah. I’m sorry.”
She chuckled and clocked me out on the touchscreen. “We all have bad nights. Go home and relax. We’ve got this.”
I gave her a weak smile and took my purse from behind the bar. “Thanks, Jen. If you ever need someone to cover for you, I’m your girl.”
