Page 43 of Freshmeet
“Sounds good, sweetheart. Now get out of here.” She snapped a bar towel at me and then jumped back into taking orders.
I shuffled out of the bar and into the humid summer night. Despite the pleasant breeze, my skin became dewy, and my shirt clung to my chest.
“You off already?”
I jumped away, turning to find Kat coming out of the alley next to the bar.
“Why do people keep doing that?” I frowned at her, crossing my arms.
Kat chuckled and took a hit before passing the joint to Langley, the bassist in her band. “Where are you headed?”
“Home. It’s been a weird night.”
Kat nodded and looked into the front window of the bar. “Here comes Mona and Emily. Let’s all walk together.”
As a pack, we went the five blocks to our place. Music carried down the street. As we got closer, I could feel the vibrations as the bass shook the entire building.
“I guess I won’t be going to bed anytime soon,” I grumbled, taking the ChapStick out of my purse and slathering it on my dry lips.
Emily hooked her arm in mine and shyly smiled at me. “Does that mean you’re coming to the party with us?” She fluttered her eyelashes and pouted.
I tilted my head at Mona, and she shrugged. With a dramatic sigh, I said, “Let’s go.”
Emily cheered and dragged me into the Gamma house.
The moment we walked through the door, I stopped, yanking Emily and causing Mona and Kat to run into my back. “What the hell?”
The living room was packed with people dancing, which, in and of itself, wasn’t weird. No. What was weird was that all the guys were wearing masks—horror masks, hockey masks, skull masks. A few even wore black hoods that hid their faces.
“Shit. Is this about us?” Kat mumbled to Mona.
A short guy in a Ghostface mask waved at Emily, and she let go of my arm to dance over to him.
Mona pushed me inside, letting the screen door slap shut. “Even if it is, they don’t know it was us, so play it cool.” She waved at a group of Betas in the corner, and through her fake-ass smile said, “Make sure I don’t hook up with one of the Betas tonight.”
Blake Sheffield stood in the center of the pack, watching Mona closely. As their president, she was destined to be their nominee for Homecoming Queen, while Mona would be ours.
Pushing between us, Kat threw an arm around each of our shoulders. “Let’s get a drink.”
One cup of cheap, flat beer turned into four, and I no longer cared about the masked men. If anything, it made it feel like I wasn’t just drunk at a party with the same people I was always with.
A particularly good song came on, and Emily jumped up on the coffee table. All the girls in the room swarmed her, cheering and carrying on.
“Back off,” Kat growled at a handsy horse-face.
I glanced over my shoulder and noticed the guys had surrounded us. Peering into a blue LED mask, I said, “Let me through.”
They immediately stepped back, bumping into a few guys. When they complained, he used his broad shoulders to make a path for me.
I snagged Kat and Mona’s hands and led them from the living room. The guy in the blue LED mask followed and tried to catch my arm, but Kat smacked his hand away.
“Ouch,” he said, shaking his hand. “That hurt.” Reaching up, he shoved his mask back, revealing Jamie’s pouting face. “Why’d you do that, Kat?”
She rolled her eyes and gestured at the living room. “Why do you think?” The girls had stopped dancing, turning on the guys with glares. “You guys are fucking creeps.”
“Hey! They handed me this thing when I got here.”
“And if they handed you a knife, would you get to stabbing?” Kat asked, making stabbing motions at his gut.
