nice, Jared let his little tutor tag
along
. No one seemed particularly surprised, probably because Jared came
across as the kind of friendly guy who would be prone to such a thing. And for
once it didn’t really bother Connor what people thought. As long as Jared was
next to him, he felt safe—an unfamiliar sensation in public, though definitely
a pleasant one.
Jared
was like a security blanket. A tall, muscular, dark-haired, strikingly handsome
security blanket…that was about to be ripped from his side.
He spotted
Veronica standing by the makeshift bar with a lost expression, wearing a faded
t-shirt that hung off her shoulder and a pair of sweatpants. Eventually she
began wading through the crowd, yelling at various people who pointed her in
the direction of where he and Jared were standing.
“Shit,”
Jared mumbled, not really loud enough to be heard, but Connor could read his
lips as well as his expression. “I’ll be right back, okay?” He took off to
latch onto Veronica’s arm and steer her toward the front door.
A
few minutes of separation felt like an eternity as Connor stared out into the
sea of unfamiliar faces. He found a darkened corner and took up residence
there, more secure within the partial embrace of the walls.
“Hey.”
A tiny blond girl startled him by wrapping an arm around his waist. “I don’t
think I know you.” Her breaths came out with little puffs of beer-smell mixed
in with the scent of cherries, probably from the red shimmer that covered her
lips.
“Um,
I’m Connor.”
The
girl giggled sloppily, nearly dropping to the floor before she used her grip on
Connor to stabilize herself. “Yeah, I didn’t know you.”
“Well…now
you do?” He craned his neck over her high ponytail to catch a view of the front
door.
“I
need a beer pong partner. You wanna play?” She pushed in closer, apparently
glossing over the need to introduce herself.
“Uh,
I don’t really know how…”
“Hey,
Con,” Jared’s voice cut through. A momentary thrill enveloped Connor at hearing
the newly assigned nickname, but his elation was quickly dampened by the frown
on Jared’s face. “Ronnie needs someone to take her home. She’s acting kinda
weird. Think maybe she’s high or something.”
“Oh,
pooh,” the little blonde said. “He was gonna be my beer pong partner.”
Jared
smirked. “Don’t worry, he can still do that.”
Connor
started to shake his head, but Jared clamped a firm hand on his shoulder. “Hey,
I promise I’ll be back in like thirty minutes. I don’t want to stop you from
having a good time, okay?”
He
shook his head even more frantically at that, eyes shooting wide, but Jared
just smiled and disappeared into the crowd.
Little
Blonde still had her arms around his waist, and she tugged on his shirt. “Well,
come on then, let’s go play!”
Just
as he’d suspected, Connor was terrible at beer pong. Onlookers laughed
themselves under the table at his miserable aim, as the tiny Ping-Pong ball
repeatedly shot wide of its mark. His opponents, a boyfriend and girlfriend
duo, had considerably better acuity. Little Blonde chugged the first beer in
which the other team successfully landed their ball, and Connor reluctantly
gulped down the rest. After the first few minutes of craving an escape while
mentally cursing Jared, he grew more resigned to his situation.
When
they finally lost, Little Blonde dragged him over to the kitchen and poured him
a shot of vodka in his now-emptied last cup of beer.
“Here’s
to losing with style.” She attempted a clink of her cup but missed, tipping
precariously until Connor reached out to support her. “You were so bad, it was
hysterical.”
“Well…I
aim to entertain,” Connor said with a sudden burst of levity, surprised by the
way his lips had trouble catching up with his words. He swallowed the shot and
grimaced uncontrollably as it burned down his throat.
Little
Blonde giggled and stretched to drape her arms
along
. No one seemed particularly surprised, probably because Jared came
across as the kind of friendly guy who would be prone to such a thing. And for
once it didn’t really bother Connor what people thought. As long as Jared was
next to him, he felt safe—an unfamiliar sensation in public, though definitely
a pleasant one.
Jared
was like a security blanket. A tall, muscular, dark-haired, strikingly handsome
security blanket…that was about to be ripped from his side.
He spotted
Veronica standing by the makeshift bar with a lost expression, wearing a faded
t-shirt that hung off her shoulder and a pair of sweatpants. Eventually she
began wading through the crowd, yelling at various people who pointed her in
the direction of where he and Jared were standing.
“Shit,”
Jared mumbled, not really loud enough to be heard, but Connor could read his
lips as well as his expression. “I’ll be right back, okay?” He took off to
latch onto Veronica’s arm and steer her toward the front door.
A
few minutes of separation felt like an eternity as Connor stared out into the
sea of unfamiliar faces. He found a darkened corner and took up residence
there, more secure within the partial embrace of the walls.
“Hey.”
A tiny blond girl startled him by wrapping an arm around his waist. “I don’t
think I know you.” Her breaths came out with little puffs of beer-smell mixed
in with the scent of cherries, probably from the red shimmer that covered her
lips.
“Um,
I’m Connor.”
The
girl giggled sloppily, nearly dropping to the floor before she used her grip on
Connor to stabilize herself. “Yeah, I didn’t know you.”
“Well…now
you do?” He craned his neck over her high ponytail to catch a view of the front
door.
“I
need a beer pong partner. You wanna play?” She pushed in closer, apparently
glossing over the need to introduce herself.
“Uh,
I don’t really know how…”
“Hey,
Con,” Jared’s voice cut through. A momentary thrill enveloped Connor at hearing
the newly assigned nickname, but his elation was quickly dampened by the frown
on Jared’s face. “Ronnie needs someone to take her home. She’s acting kinda
weird. Think maybe she’s high or something.”
“Oh,
pooh,” the little blonde said. “He was gonna be my beer pong partner.”
Jared
smirked. “Don’t worry, he can still do that.”
Connor
started to shake his head, but Jared clamped a firm hand on his shoulder. “Hey,
I promise I’ll be back in like thirty minutes. I don’t want to stop you from
having a good time, okay?”
He
shook his head even more frantically at that, eyes shooting wide, but Jared
just smiled and disappeared into the crowd.
Little
Blonde still had her arms around his waist, and she tugged on his shirt. “Well,
come on then, let’s go play!”
Just
as he’d suspected, Connor was terrible at beer pong. Onlookers laughed
themselves under the table at his miserable aim, as the tiny Ping-Pong ball
repeatedly shot wide of its mark. His opponents, a boyfriend and girlfriend
duo, had considerably better acuity. Little Blonde chugged the first beer in
which the other team successfully landed their ball, and Connor reluctantly
gulped down the rest. After the first few minutes of craving an escape while
mentally cursing Jared, he grew more resigned to his situation.
When
they finally lost, Little Blonde dragged him over to the kitchen and poured him
a shot of vodka in his now-emptied last cup of beer.
“Here’s
to losing with style.” She attempted a clink of her cup but missed, tipping
precariously until Connor reached out to support her. “You were so bad, it was
hysterical.”
“Well…I
aim to entertain,” Connor said with a sudden burst of levity, surprised by the
way his lips had trouble catching up with his words. He swallowed the shot and
grimaced uncontrollably as it burned down his throat.
Little
Blonde giggled and stretched to drape her arms
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