Page 32 of Bad Behavior

“You look like you could use one of these!” a blonde girl says, holding out a bright yellow jello shot. She is clearly drunk, but also clearly happy. She beams at me. I can’t not trust her.

“Thanks,” I shout. “Cheers!” I take the jello, eating it in quick bites. I try not to chew too much, because the jello shots are made with something kind of noxious. I make a face, crushing the plastic container that the shot was in.

The drunk girl reaches out and pets my hair.

“You’re pretty,” she says, her cheeks as ruddy as ever. “Like… I wish I was that pretty.”

She is drunk. “Hey. I’m Emma,” I say into her ear.

“Cher,” she says with a giggle. “I’m kind of fucked up right now.”

“You’re fine,” I assure her. “You’re just drunk.”

She beams at me, nodding. I kind of long for her level of not caring. We don’t know each other from Adam, but she is petting my hair.

Maybe I should get drunk. I could pass out jello shots at this party. I could be that girl.

“Can I have another shot?” I yell.

“Yeah, good idea!” she shouts. She takes me by the hand and tows me over to a cooler where the jello shots are kept. She dips into the cooler, and comes out with a red one. “Here you go!”

I chew the red one, wincing again at the taste. I don’t know what they put in there, but it is almost eclipsed by the sugariness of the jello… almost.

“Come on. Come jump,” Cher insists, taking my hand again. She starts to run, and I do too. At the last moment before we fling ourselves onto the trampoline, she lets go of my hand.

Then I’m flying through the air, grinning stupidly. I land just after Cher does, hitting the trampoline’s surface. She squeals really loudly, and I let out a little scream as we bounce for a couple of minutes.

Eventually we scramble off the trampoline, to make room for the next person. I’m out of breath and so is Cher. We take a minute to reassemble ourselves, fixing our hair and laughing.

That’s when I look across the back yard and see Gunnar and Jameson emerging from the house. They both look like freaking models, both in head to toe all black. They look so alike for a moment, it’s almost as if they are twins.

Like a magnet, J’s eyes come straight to me, my hair disheveled and my eyes bright. He looks surprised to see me, like I can’t have any fun on my own. That thought makes my smile dim a little.

Gunnar heads over to the beer pong table, and Jameson comes toward me. He’s not wearing his leather jacket or carrying his helmet, so he must have come by the ancient Jeep he sometimes drives. Cher giggles, pulling on my arm.

“That superhot guy is coming to talk to you,” she says with a grin.

“Yeah, I think so. He’s a friend,” I tell her, blushing.

She looks at me with wide eyes. “Oh yeah. You’re going to get laid tonight.”

“It’s not really like that—” I protest, but she’s already winking and nodding. She turns away, and finds a random guy to talk to instead.

When Jameson reaches me, looking tall and forbidding, he has to lean in close to make himself heard. He accidentally brushes my hair with his hand, the gesture oddly intimate. “What are you doing here?”

His low voice sends goosebumps all over my body. I cock my head, then lean close to his ear.

“Having fun. What are you doing here?”

He looks amused. “Gunnar dragged me here. Of course, he spotted someone right away and left me. I’m glad to see you, because I don’t know anybody else at this party.”

I smile. “Yeah, I don’t really know anyone either. I just had to get out of my house and do something that doesn’t involve studying for a while.”

He looks around the backyard. “I think I need a drink.”

“Oooh! You should have one of the jello shots I just had,” I tell him. “They’re pretty strong. I already feel a little… fuzzy.”

And it’s true. Everything does seem to have a slight halo. And it might be my imagination, but I feel warmer, like I’m being wrapped up in a hug by someone much bigger than me.

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