Page 62 of Bewitch

“Around,” I say vaguely. It’s only now that I realize my suitemates didn’t follow me inside.

“Are they as beautiful as you are?”

I roll my eyes and just walk away. What a stupid, lame pickup line.

Soon enough, I find my suitemates. They’re helping themselves to some food. There’s a massive spread, enough to feed a small army, but since that’s how many partygoers there are, I’m not surprised a large dents been made into it already.

“This dip is amazing!” Eliza declares. “You should try it.”

“Maybe later,” I tell her.

Kaylie lifts her eyebrows. “Did you already eat?”

“I did.”

“At the party or…”

“Back on campus.” I shrug. “I’m fine.”

“Your willpower, man.” Kaylie shakes her head in admiration. “I don’t know how you do it.”

“It’s not that hard, actually,” I say. Then, I grimace. “Well, it’s not hard sometimes. Other times… I do fall off the wagon.”

“Hello, ladies,” a guy says. “You all look like you need something to drink.”

Kaylie laughs. “Yeah, no offense, but I’m not going to drink anything that a guy gets for me.”

“But if another girl were to get it for you, you would drink it without a second thought,” he says.

“Maybe.”

“That’s sexist.”

“Is it, though?” I cut in. “Or is it the smart, safe thing to do?”

The guy points at me. “The smartest, safest thing to do would be to not accept a drink from anyone, regardless of their gender.”

“True,” I concede.

“And do you want to know what the next smartest, safest thing to do is?” He asks.

“I have a feeling you’re going to tell me now,” I say dryly.

“Your name. Tell it to me,” he says. “I’m Josh.”

“I’m Kaylie. This is Eliza, and she’s Dawn.”

“It’s nice to meet you. So, Dawn, do you mind if I walk you over to where the drinks are? Or is even that not allowed?”

“I’m not thirsty right now,” I say.

“Ladies? Anyone? No. I guess I’ll see you around.” Josh lifts his drink and walks away.

Kaylie glowers at me. “What was up with that? He was totally hitting on you!”

“Yeah, well… I don’t know. I just wasn’t comfortable…”

“With him? Or with the idea of a guy coming up and flirting with you?”

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