Jordan fills mine, then his, and looks around the party. 揑 don抰 think Liam is here yet.?
揑t抯 okay.?I take a large gulp of beer. 揑 don抰 really want to see him right now.?
The honest admission catches me by surprise. There抯 no one else I抎 rather come to a party with than Jordan. He抯 all chill, and I feel like it balances out my anxiety in this situation. And I think he might want to hang out with me too. I mean, why else would he have asked me to come tonight? That, or he抯 really shipping Liam and me.
Jordan nods thoughtfully. 揘eed a little liquid courage first??
I open my mouth to tell him that isn抰 it, but I抦 suddenly not so sure I抳e read things right. Maybe he didn抰 bring me here for Liam or for himself, but because he felt sorry for me. That would be the absolute worst. I don抰 want his pity.
It makes the most sense, though, as I glance around the party. Girls openly stare at him. Two eventually approach, hugging Jordan and then falling into conversation with him about the game.
I take another sip of beer and try not to eavesdrop. More girls are looking this way梐t Jordan and then to me. I was prepared to be invisible, but the looks these girls are shooting me tell me: 1. They see me, and 2. They don抰 understand why Jordan walked in with me.
I know that no one cares I抦 here, or, let抯 be honest, would have even noticed if it weren抰 for Jordan. I抦 nobody. And while being here is everything I抳e wanted since I moved in next door, coming with one of the most popular guys on campus was not the smartest decision. Talk about being thrown into the lion抯 den.
揟his is Daisy,?Jordan抯 voice cuts through my thoughts. He introduces me to the girls and steps closer to me.
揂re you in Chi Omega??one asks.
揘o.?
The other squints at me. 揧ou dated Jenkins last year??
I shake my head.
They抮e trying so hard to place me. They can抰 fathom why Jordan would hang out with me.
He touches my elbow, sending a jolt up my arm. Then, with a smile at the two girls, he says, 揥e抣l see you guys later.?
Gently, he tugs me with him. I offer a brittle smile and wave at the girls now glaring at me.
揥here are we going??I ask as he leads me onto the patio that spans the width of the house.
揕iquid courage.?
揧ou don抰 have to do this.?I pull free of his hold.
揇o what??
揌ang out with me.?
He chuckles. 揟hanks, but I like my nipples.?
On the patio, a large group sits around a long table. Beer cans cover almost every surface. A timer goes off, and someone yells, 揇rink!?
All around the table, people lift shot glasses and toss them back. I watch as people finish and refill the glass with beer.
揈ver done century club??He nods his head in greeting to people at the table and then pulls out a chair for me.
揑s that supposed to mean something to me??
揧ou抳e never heard of century club??He takes the chair next to me and grabs us each a shot glass.
揟rust me, I don抰 relish being dumb, so just assume if I抦 asking, I genuinely don抰 know.?
Laughing, he fills our glasses. 揟he rules are simple. You take a shot of beer every minute for one hundred minutes.?
揇rink!?
Everyone around us takes their shot, and Jordan holds up his glass, then waits for me.
揕ike power hour,?I say.
揧ep, except longer.?
揧eah, that抯 a lot of beer in less than two hours.?
揑t抯 the fastest way I know to get drunk,?he says. 揢nless you can stomach Everclear??
揟his is fine.?I take the shot, and Jordan immediately refills our glasses.
We抮e at the end of the table, and the people around us are coupled up and not paying us a lot of attention.
Jordan抯 wearing a hat, as usual. He lifts it and drops it onto one knee.
His black hair is messy, but it still suits him. I like how the ends are always a little unruly, just like him. 揧ou have nice hair.?
揅areful, that almost sounded like a compliment.?He pauses. 揥ait, are you drunk already??
揧ou抮e shit at taking a compliment.?
揙h, like you抮e so good at it??He shoots me a knowing glance. It抯 time to drink again, and he leans back casually in his chair as he takes it.
揊air point.?
It takes very few shots of beer before my stomach feels too full. So I skip the next several. Jordan smirks, toasts the air, and keeps going. I wonder if he needs some liquid courage tonight, too.
揥ho抯 Eric??
It takes me a second to figure out who he抯 talking about. 揌e抯 a friend of Jane抯。 He has a house off campus.?
揑s that where you usually party??
揙ccasionally. Mostly, we hang at our house.?I take the next shot. Jordan continues to refill my glass each time.
揇o you only go places your friends go??
揧ou ask that like it抯 a terrible thing. Isn抰 that why you抮e here? To hang with your friends.?I wave my hand toward the party that抯 growing in size with every shot we take.
揟he difference is if I wanted to go somewhere and my friends didn抰， I抎 go by myself.?
揋irls don抰 do that.?
He bobs his head. 揧eah, I guess that抯 not a quirk unique to you. Still, must be limiting.?
揑抳e survived just fine.?
揝ays the girl that抎 never had Fun Dip before.?His dark eyes lock on mine. 揥hat else haven抰 you done before??
揑抦 not a virgin,?I protest too loudly and gain the attention of people around us. I consider jumping over the fence to the safety of my own house but am afraid I抎 trip and fall or make a spectacle trying to climb over.
揙h, sweet Daisy. You抮e blushing.?He rests an arm around the back of my chair. The position puts just the smallest amount of contact between his forearm and my shoulder. 揟hat wasn抰 what I was asking, but now you have me thinking about you naked.?
My face is boiling, and my cheeks must show it because he chuckles then lets his thumb glide along my arm in a reassuring caress. 揜elax. I抦 sorry. I didn抰 mean to make you uncomfortable. Will it help if I tell you how I lost my virginity??
揘ope, probably not.?
He tips his gaze up and pulls his bottom lip between his teeth. 揔now any jokes??
The beer and the absurdity of this situation mixed with all the anxiousness and uncomfortable feelings I抳e been repressing comes out in a giggle. It starts small and builds. I can抰 stop, and soon I抦 hiccuping along with it.
揙kay, I think we抳e accomplished our mission.?Jordan stands and holds out a hand.
揑抦 fine.?I get to my feet without his help but then sway. 揙r not.?
揅atches up with you fast.?
I slip my palm into his. It抯 warm and rough, and my pulse kicks up as I slide my fingers through his.
One side of his mouth lifts in a smirk, but he holds my hand as we walk away from the table.
揥hat抯 next??I ask.
揑t抯 a choose your own adventure. We have swimming.?He waggles his brows as he stops us in front of the pool. People are stripped down to their boxers or panties and bras, swimming and splashing.
揘o, thank you.?
揇ancing??He turns us to an open section of the yard where the DJ booth is set up, and people are dancing.
揗aybe later.?
He continues through the options, which include more drinking games.
揅an we just sit and chill for a while??
揂bsolutely. That抯 my favorite party activity.?
We refill our cups, where he sadly drops my hand to do so, and then Jordan leads me to an area of the party I know well. The spot where so many times I抳e watched him and Liam sit and hang with the guys on the team. I glance over at my house and up at the tree house. It抯 hidden really well. Not that most people would look over into the darkened yard next door when there抯 so much going on here.