Read Online Social Skills by Sara Alva - Free Book Online Page A

much.”
    “I
figured. Which is exactly why we should go. You trust me, right?
    Not
exactly sure if he did, Connor nodded.
    Jared
hopped off the bed and took his hand. “Well, let’s go then.”

 
 
    The
handholding stopped as soon as they stepped out into the hallway, but Jared’s
smile did not. Connor used that to sustain him as they left the familiar behind
and trailed down dark, off-campus streets. Jared chatted amiably along the way,
doing much more than his share of keeping up the conversation.
    “So
what sorts of things do you do for fun?” he asked.
    “I…I
like practicing…violin, I mean.”
    Jared
halfway rolled his eyes, but the accompanying grin made it easier to bear. “Well
I coulda guessed that. And it’s definitely cool, you know. But what else?”
    “Um,
reading?”
    “I
said for
fun
.”
    Connor
knit his brows, wondering if he should just make something up that sounded more
interesting. Nothing believable came to mind, though, and the silence between
them dragged on to the point where it seemed too late to respond.
    “Okay…well,
what kinds of stuff do you like to read then? And don’t just say the stuff for
class.”
    Again,
Connor had the urge to lie, but who was he kidding? He was worse at lying than
he was at speaking in general.
    Staring
at his feet, he mumbled the truth. “Uh, sometimes, sci-fi.”
    “That’s
cool. My dad used to…well, he kinda got me into comic books when I was a kid. Some
of that is a little sci-fi.”
    Connor
looked up to give a grateful smile, but his attention was soon captured by
something else.
    “Low
key?” he blurted out, the first thing he’d said that wasn’t a direct response
to one of Jared’s questions.
    They’d
stopped in front of an old house with peeling paint and warped siding that was
bursting at the seams with people. The front porch and lawn were already
littered with red plastic cups as the partiers milled about, laughing and shouting
over the pounding bass from the music playing inside.
    “Okay,
so it’s a bit crowded, but it’s still more chill than a frat party. Don’t worry,
I’ll watch out for you—make sure you don’t get lost.”
    And Connor
hoped he would do exactly that, even though Jared’s tone told him he was being
teased. He followed Jared in and was greeted by a slap on the back so forceful
it pushed him into a wall.
    “Little
anthro dude!” Michael slurred after the violent welcome. “Good to see ya. Sorry
for bailing on you, but you know, that really ain’t my shit. Gonna go pro, so I
won’t have to worry about any of this shit anymore.”
    “You
keep telling yourself that.” Jared chuckled, and Michael turned on him with a
drunken glare.
    “You
only wish you was this good.” Michael thumped his chest menacingly and then
dissolved into the crowd. He returned a few seconds later with two of those red
plastic cups. “Drink up, guys. Especially you, little anthro dude. You
definitely need to loosen up.”
    “Don’t
mind him.” Jared leaned in close to murmur in Connor’s ear. “It’s surprising
how fast a big guy like him can get drunk.”
    Connor
shifted away instinctively—not that he didn’t want to be close to Jared,
but how could Jared want to be seen so close to
him
while they were
surrounded by football players, other athletes, and their gorgeous friends?
    A moment
later, when Jared tried to say something else, he rolled his eyes at his own
stupidity. Of course. The music was so loud, no one could be heard without
shouting if they were more than an inch away.
    Jared
led him further into the house, encouraging him to drink his first and then
second warm cup of beer while introducing him to various people who would surely
forget he existed in the next five minutes. He didn’t really talk to anyone,
but decided he looked engaged enough as he nodded and sipped at his beer.
    He
was just the token charity case, anyway, and he could see that in the eyes of the
people he met—
Oh isn’t that