Page 22 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

"Don't mind me," she said as she turned around and started to take off her shirt.

"Whoa, babe," Patrick said and immediately stepped in front of Kins at the same time I covered Eli's eyes with my hand.

Eli laughed. "I promise I won't look."

I removed my hand from his face and he was smiling at me, not caring at all about Kins' striptease.

He had the cutest smile on his face. "I think we should go."

"I really don't feel comfortable going out tonight."

"And a little alcohol never made anyone feel more comfortable?" He smiled. "You can't stay locked up in here forever." He jumped off the bed and stretched.

"You really want to go?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun."

"Yay!" Kins said. "It's about time we had a proper double date. Tonight is going to be epic. Put this on." She tossed a dress at me.

It was similar to the blue one I had liked when we went shopping together. It was light weight and short, perfect for the weather. Normally I would protest about being forced to take off my sweatshirt. But my bruises were healed. I wanted to look nice for Eli. And wearing something like this would make me blend in better.

"Give me one sec." I slipped out of room and went to the bathroom. I quickly changed into the dress and stared at my reflection in the mirror. It would have matched my blue eyes perfectly if I wasn't wearing colored contact lenses. I pressed my hand in the middle of my chest. It still felt like a part of me was missing. For most of my life, my pendant had almost been an anchor. I wondered if that feeling would ever go away. Trying not to overthink anything, I made my way back into my dorm room.

"And how about these shoes?" Kins said and held up a pair of stilettos. They were the exact kind of heels you'd see some woman in a movie trip in while running down a dark alleyway.

I looked down at the Converses that I was still wearing. "No, that's okay, I'll stick with these."

"But...they don't match."

"I think they look cute." I looked up at Eli.

He shrugged and put his arm around my shoulders.

Apparently I was the only one that thought my shoes looked okay with the dress. But I didn't care. If I needed to run, I wanted to be able to go as fast as possible. Eli should understand that.

My heart seemed to race more the farther and farther we walked away from the dorm. "Where are we going exactly?" I asked.

"A friend from my Econ class invited me to their house party," Patrick said. "It should be fun."

"God my feet hurt," Kins said. "I should have worn ugly sneakers too."

Kins usually didn't have much of a filter. But apparently when she was drunk it was nonexistent.

"Hold on, babe." Patrick leaned over and lifted Kins into his arms.

She squealed with delight. "To the party!" she yelled and pointed down the sidewalk.

Patrick sprinted off with her in his arms.

"Maybe if I get on her level I won't be worried about anything at all."

Eli laughed. "I would probably avoid the blackout level if I were you."

I had never been blackout drunk. I just laughed, pretending I knew it all too well. In a few minutes, I started to feel the ground vibrating. We had reached a row of townhouses. "Their poor neighbors," I said.

"Come on, let's check it out for at least a few minutes." He pulled me inside.

The music seemed to pulse through me. The rhythm echoing in my head. I felt frantic. I wouldn't be able to hear if someone snuck up behind me.

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