(22) Moi?

Every warm feeling that Theo enticed from her with his flirtatious words, secret touches, hazy eyes and charming smiles dissipated into thin air and was replaced by cold hard dread.

Makennah wasn't the type to drink her feelings but one drink simply wasn't enough. As Meredith rubbed her arm, Makennah tilted her head back and chugged her drink.

"Wooo now its a party! Let's get you another drink!" Grace downed her own drink, grabbed Makennah's hand and looped her back around to the bar.

Hastily, Makennah poured another Crown and Sprite over ice. "Let's dance!" She told the girls.

"Yes let's go!" Penny led the way to the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the living room.

"I love this song!!!" Grace screamed. "You are, you are, you are, you are, you are, everything that I dreamed of."

Try as she might, Makennah couldn't stop positioning herself in a way that she could see Theo and his ex girlfriend. Even though they were in the middle of a party, the two bowed their heads together in an obviously heated argument. Or she should say that Theo was pissed and his ex lovingly placed a hand on his bicep and gently squeezed.

"I'm feeling sexual, so we should be sexual!" Meredith noticed Makennah's somber mood so she raised Makennah's hand and tipped her drink towards her lips. Meredith sang all the words but comforted Makennah with a touch on her back. Makennah gulped down half her drink which helped loosen up her limbs for dancing. "Stop thinking about it. They're long gone. She isn't even supposed to be here," Meredith said in her ear.

"History has a way of repeating itself," Makennah told Meredith while she sipped some more.

Meredith laughed and slipped her finger under the same bralette strap that Theo touched. Meredith tugged on the string. "I don't see him doing this to his ex."

A faint smile touched her lips as she rolled her eyes and blushed. She thought no one had seen that. "Whatever. I'm gonna go get some fresh air."

"Come back soon!" Meredith shouted after her.

"With drinks!" Penny yelled in concurrence.

The smile she shared with her friends waned as she circled the back of the house looking for the doors outside to the patio surrounding the pool. As she meandered outside, she eased into the dark corners of the patio to hide away for a moment and maybe grab a seat. She perched on the edge of the railing and crossed one leg over the other.

Someone bumped into her from behind and almost toppled her over.

"Yo, I'm so sorry." The Guy was high as a kite but he smiled as best as possible. "Man I lost my lighter."

His friend patted his pockets. "I think you took my lighter last night."

"Does Donny have one?"

Inconspicuously Makennah reached into her bra and sifted out a lighter - ultimate friend maker. "Here. May I?"

"Heyyy new girl has a lighter!" The two guys pulled up two chairs. The one in a shaggy flannel fished a freshly rolled joint out of his breast pocket. He held the joint out for Makennah fo light. She flicked the lighter and blazed a fire over the end. "You can hit first. You have the lighter after all!"

"Go ahead!" His friend insisted.

Makennah simply handed it off to the flannel guy. "No thanks. I'm good." Mixing weed and alcohol wasn't a good move for Makennah. She wasn't huge on smoking anyways.

"So what's your name, New Girl?" Flannel asked.

"Makennah," she said with a smile.

Flannel pointed to himself. "Well I'm Levi and this is David."

David nodded his head casually while he puffed on the joint. He blew the smoke up into the sky. "Nice to meet you, Makennah. You a senior?"

"No I'm a junior," she admitted. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to or not but too late now.

"How'd you get invited?" Levi asked.

"I live with the Sinclair's," she informed them, hoping that said enough.

"Oh sick!" Levi said enthusiastically.

Makennah shifted out of the way when Levi and David had more friends join them for the joint. "What's up?" She said casually.

"Hey you can stay!" Levi begged when she got up to leave.

Seven or so of them sat around to pass the joint. Makennah perched on an arm of a chair and piped in every now and then. She tried to learn all of their names but they were so high, no one would keep on track. Before long they had her doubled over in laughter. Her laughter made all of them laugh harder too because they were all high. Before long, she wasn't even sure what they were laughing at.

Makennah danced a little bit to the music as the alcohol seeped into her veins. Her inhibitions faded in the presence of casual friends who didn't really know her.

"Hey guys I'll be back. I'm gonna get another drink!" She yelled over the music which seemed to be getting louder. Almost no one heard her except for Levi who promised he would reserve her seat.

Wiggling her skirt down into its proper position, Makennah weaved into the main room and found her way to the bar. Her friends were at the bar waiting for her.

Feeling fuzzy and warm, Makennah sidled up behind the bar and lifted up a bottle of vodka. "Shots!"

"Wow I am loving this Makennah!" Penny shouted.

"Wooo!" Grace just hollered and danced around like crazy.

Makennah poured a shot in each of their glasses and grabbed a cup for Meredith for her shot.

Grace unlocked her phone and held the camera up to Makennah. "First show me them titties!"

"No!" Makennah screamed and slapped her hands on her warm cheeks.

"Yes do it!" Penny insisted.

"You can't stop now!" Meredith added, motioning to the shots as if that were the action that tipped the scale into a night of terror and drunken mistakes.

"Do it, do it!" Grace chanted.

Makennah stomped her foot. "No one is seeing my boobs, Grace!"

"No one is even looking!" Penny instigated, glancing around.

"Well I'm not doing it for the camera!" Makennah pointed to Grace who impeccably balanced her phone for a drunk person.

"I won't show anyone, I swear! It's just for us!"

"Stop being a pussy!" Meredith rolled her eyes as if she would lift her top if she were in Makennah's shoes.

"On the count of three!" Grace yelled over the bar, leaning over to get a better angle. "One..." Makennah rolled her eyes. "Two...."

"I'm definitely not doing this!" Makennah yelled.

"Three!"

Groaning at their ridiculousness, Makennah raised her glass. "Cheers!" Tilting her head back, she downed the shot and swallowed hard. Peeling back the cups of her bralette to the tops of her nipples, Makennah ignored her common sense, pushed her breasts together, and shimmied for the camera. The light from Snapchat captured every second of her exposed skin on camera as Grace, Penny, and Meredith cheered while busting up laughing. Penny almost fell over as she clutched her sides from laughing so hard.

"High five, Dude! I didn't think you'd do it!" Leaning across the counter, Meredith raised her hand for a high five.

"I didn't think I'd do it either," she quietly admitted as she slapped Meredith's hand. "Do not send that video to anyone, Grace!" Makennah pointed an accusatory at her.

A devious grin played on her lips. "Moi? What ever do you mean?" Grace laid a feathery hand over her heart and feigned innocence.

"Do not let her do anything!" Makennah told Penny who completely ignored her.

Meredith shared a mischievous smile with Grace and Penny before she dodged behind the bar with Makennah. She plucked the bottle opener off the counter and cracked open another Corona.

"Don't worry. She's harmless."

"She doesn't seem like it." Her words slurred just slightly as she poured another drink. Overall, she didn't feel that drunk but Crown Royal tended to tie up her tongue.

"I'm gonna check on Grace," Meredith informed her before she escaped into the crowd to find Grace. Through the crowd, Makennah spied Penny's copper hair and Grace beside her losing themselves to the music.

"Hey you're the girl who makes the Penny right?" A guy asked. "Can you make my girlfriend one?"

Makennah found a level of comfort behind the bar again, mixing drinks. "Sure! Just one?"

He nodded. "Yeah. What's in it?"

Makennah gathered all of the ingredients and rounded up a glass with ice. "Whiskey, lemonade, and peach schnapps."

"Yo, can you make me one too, Makennah?!" A girl that Makennah had never met before asked.

"Um...yeah?" It came out more like a question just because she didn't know the girl.

Several more people lined up and Makennah wound up mixing seven Penny's. Her name travelled like wildfire along with the drink and her status as the new girl who wasn't so invisible anymore.

One of Makennah's favorite songs came on, blasting through the speakers and filling the house. She caught the beat in her head, worked its way down to her shoulders, her torso, and landed in her hips. She sang the words with some drunk girls as they picked up their Penny's. Even without her friends, Makennah found a way to be comfortable and chill. It might also have had something to do with the three mixed drinks now in her veins, pumping through her heart.

"And here you are again. Hiding behind the bar."

At the familiar sound of his voice, Makennah just spun around and rapped all the words with Nicki Minaj. "Word to A$AP, keep me Rocky, I'm from New York so I'm cocky. Say he mmmhmm with my posse, copped me Chloe like Kardashi." She hummed past the curse words and expertly nailed every line.

When she ran out of breath, Theo flicked her hair over her shoulder and smiled into her eyes. His stare was vaguely distant from the Jack, but he was still very present and engaged. Unsurprisingly, he held his liquor well. She expected nothing less from Theodore who was always good at everything. "Impressive."

"Thank you. Would you like a drink?" She offered, spinning back around so she didn't have to look into his face and dream about all of the things she would do to him. He was so hot that it hurt.

She distracted herself by dancing to the music, twirling her hips and loosening her limbs with the melody.

Theo crept up behind her and hung like a close shadow at her back. His chest brushed against her back as Theo reached around her to fetch a glass. "Let me try whatever it was you're drinking."

All of Makennah's senses kicked into overdrive at the nearness of him. Because she would completely freeze up otherwise with him standing so close, Makennah kept her hips circling, moving her body with the beat. She had to keep herself loose.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" She asked over her shoulder without looking at him.

"I'm a big boy. I can take it," he whispered in her ear. So close that his nose nuzzled into her hair. A shiver raced down her spine but she disguised it by dancing.

As Makennah poured the Sprite into the cup, Theo pressed even closer, barricading her in behind the bar by placing both of his hands on the counter around her. "Don't wimp out on the Crown," he whispered in her ear again.

"I would never," Makennah said back resisting the urge to look at him. After all, she knew exactly where he was....every piece of him.

"You trying to show off those dance moves?" Theo inquired, dipping his head to speak directly into her ear over the loud noise of the music. She felt his breath rake across her neck and cheek. Before Makennah could respond, his right hand dropped to her hip and touched per purposefully without hesitation like he normally did. There was no question about his intentions or whisper of a secret touch. His hand held her hip, thumb grazing the top of her butt. His own hips nestled in behind her own, lightly matching her movements while still maintaining a breath of air between them. When her hips circled, she felt his body behind her, a whisper away.

Shakily, Makennah reminded herself to move naturally with the music instead of putting on a show - which wouldn't be okay with so many eyes watching them - and poured the Crown over his Sprite.

"Tell me what you think," she told him, holding up the glass.

Theo tasted his drink, wrapping his whole hand around hers on the class before removing it. So many touches from him was sending her brain into overdrive.

"I like it." That was all he said before his focus returned to her dancing.

Makennah pretended she was leaning over to get something, but really she just used the leverage to back up into him for a moment. He stood his ground solidly and held her hip snugly against him. Any sliver of space between their hips disappeared.

On every level, their dancing passed boundaries. They weren't acting like friends anymore. She didn't know what to consider it. But her heart raced and

Her belly tightened with his intimate touches. Delightful tingles shivered over her body as his hand slid down to guide her hips, splaying his fingers over her thigh.

Chemistry bubbled between them naturally moving their hips together. Their movements flowed together like one. Makennah would be lying if she said she wasn't a little turned on for him. She hasn't danced with anybody in ages and the last time she did, it wasn't enjoyable for her at all. Not to mention, she couldn't remember the last time she actually found herself attracted do someone who might be as attracted to her.

"Hold on, my phone is going off." Theo backed up a hair to retrieve his phone from his pocket. Makennah used that opportunity to spin around and face him. It's not that she didn't want to dance anymore; it's that she was very aware of all the eyes that could be spying on them and any of those eyes could be Matt's. Plus, she could feel their moves intensifying, gravitating together far, far beyond casual or informal.

"Just my dad. Probably wondering where I am. My mom will tell him," he explain. "But I do have a Snapchat from Grace?" He looked confused and glanced to Makennah for explanation. "She's never snapchatted me before."

Her eyes widened and she reached for his phone. "That little..."

"Whoa." Theo backed away, holding his phone above her head so that she couldn't reach. "Now I'm very interested."

"No!" Makennah yelled. "Give me the phone! I'm gonna kill her!"

Laughing, Theo nudged her away and unlocked his phone, sliding to open Snapchat. The yellow screen emitted shades of light over his smile. "What is it? And why are you so eager to hide it?"

"Theo please!" She would literally stab Grace for sending that video to Theo.

"I bet it's something of you considering you want to hide it so badly." Laughter shaking his shoulders, Theo easily muscled her away so that he could click on Grace's snapchat video without Makennah interrupting him.

Her arm was just out of reach of the phone. Theo presses the video. The sound blasted through his speaker as the video started with Makennah taking a shot of vodka.

"Oh my God." Covering her face with her hands, Makennah darted away. There was no way she was going to stand there and face humiliation while he watched that.

"Makennah!"

Over the music she somehow heard Meredith's voice.

"She sent it to him!" Makennah screamed, running to her friend.

"What?" Meredith asked, confused.

"Grace sent Theo that video of me!" Everything was more dramatic when she was drunk but it really felt like a big deal.

"What's the big deal?" Meredith smiled. "It's not like he won't like what he sees!"

Makennah tried to hold her resolve but she burst into laughter, because honestly Meredith probably wasn't wrong. She didn't like it but she knew her assets. She wasn't ugly from the neck down. Soccer formed her physique into something Makennah could be proud of.

"There's no way I can face him!" Makennah screeched, holding onto her friend for balance.

"Relax! I can see his face from here. He's loving it!" Meredith jiggled Makennah's shoulders.

"Nope! I'm hiding!"

"Good idea! Let's go see who's banging it upstairs!! I bet we can catch some cheaters!" Meredith grabbed Makennah's hand and raced towards the stairs.

"You're my kinda gal!" Makennah yelled, trying to keep up with Meredith.

As they mounted the stairs, Makennah spotted Theo moving through the crowd towards her. He weaved left and right as fast as possible while balancing the drink that she made him. His gaze connected with hers as she climbed the stairs. Instantly her cheeks flushed red.

Theo tilted his head back and smiled, winking slowly.

Makennah shook her head and followed Meredith to the top.

——————————————————-

Next part coming tomorrow!

Xoxo

W. Carolina