Chapter Nineteen

s.

"So, girls, how does a weekday party sound? To make it even worse, a weekday COLLEGE party, when everyone is forbidden to leave the school grounds and we have to steal a staff's keys to do so" I ask.

We had all taken to doing yoga in the dance gym since they found out that I had the key. In lotus pose for the last forty-five minutes, we talked about everything under the sun.

The topic went from skin care, to Elliana's bad date, horrible murders that we've heard about, and the time Peony was almost hit by a train without any kind of awkward pauses in between.

"Um...like the absolute worst thing we could possibly do tonight. So I'm IN" Taylor says excitedly, perking up at the thought of it.

"I've never even BEEN to a college party before. How'd you even get invited? Or even hear about it?" Elliana asks.

"My brother, of course. We were practically joined at the hip as kids, but I haven't seen him since I got back. Soooo...what do you guys think?".

"I'm thinking we'd be really rude if we didn't go. You know, for the sake of your relationship with your brother whose name and age is..." Peony trails off, making us all burst out laughing.

"His name is Ace and he's seventeen" I tell them.

Every single persons eyes in the room light up like fireflies.

"That decides it then. We're going to the party and I call dibs on Ace, because if he looks anything like Selah, he's gorgeous" Kennedy says, standing up on her mat.

After five minutes of them bickering about TAKING TURNS with my brother, I clap my hands loudly and they turn to me, still in combative mode.

"Here's the plan".

*

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it, Dave?" I ask as I pass the guard that I see every night on my late trips to the dance gym. He knew that I had permission to be out after curfew, and didn't find my gym duffel full of party clothes out of the ordinary.

"Yes it is. Quiet nights are when I enjoy my job the most. Besides when I get to see you, of course" he says with a grin.

I fight hard to keep the grimace from showing on my face. Ever since I'd jokingly told him that I liked a man in uniform, he's been making flirty comments every time he sees me.

The only reason that I wasn't absolutely terrified to walk past him at night, was because of the fact that I could scream and alert practically everyone on campus if he ever tried anything.

"I actually need a favor from you" I say and he smiles, taking a couple of steps toward me. He doesn't get close enough for me to feel panicked, so I stay where I am.

"Anything".

"I may have lost the key to the dance gym. I'm sure it's just in my room somewhere, but do you think I could borrow yours for today? I feel kind of stressed and I really need to dance it all off".

He takes the key ring from his waist and I reach for it before he can take the key off for himself. "Thank you so much. You're the best, Dave" I say, quickly searching for the key that I need and pulling it off.

"No problem. Are you sure you don't want me to walk you there" he asks as I pass him back the key ring.

Deep breaths, Selah. Everything is okay. "No, thank you. I'm perfectly fine to walk there on my own. I'll see you later, though" I tell him, forcing my shaky legs to walk away instead of run.

I should've been nervous seeing the girls sneak around the back of the building as we talked, but I was fearing for my life instead.

My fight or flight was still triggered being alone with guys. And definitely by old, sleazy, muscular men who flirt with teenagers.

Luckily, the girls went by without a hitch and I took the key to the boat house without him noticing. We'd made sure of the fact that our phones were off, too paranoid that they'd make a noise even on DND.

I stand outside of the dance gym for five minutes, forcing myself not to wear my internal panic on the outside. Once I feel like I can properly breathe again, and my legs don't feel like jelly, I push into the room.

"You made it. I was starting to get worried" Elliana whispers, even though she doesn't have to.

"I have the key and the clothes. It should be smooth sailing from here, guys. He's the only security guard out this late at night".

And it was.

Earlier in the day I had Peony park her car in the parking lot of the building behind the school, using an excuse that she'd left some important papers in it to give her lot access.

We head over to the boat house, which isn't used in this weather, and get all dressed up. The key to it unlocks the door to enter, as well as a huge door that leads off campus and allows boats to be transported in and out for maintenance.

My brother sent me a picture of a copy he'd made when he attended the school last year, and said that he'd give it to me once I got to the party. That way I'd be able to sneak off of campus whenever I wanted. And I'd definitely take advantage of it.

A red, latex bodice dress hugged every curve I had for the occasion, and appeared almost painted onto my body. Nude, patent leather pumps went along with it. I only wore lip gloss and a bit of mascara for makeup since I hated the feeling of anything extra on my skin.

We get to the car and drive off with no problem, blasting music and singing at the top of our lungs on the way.

I text my brother that we've arrived, our music quickly drowned out by a decibel of noise that was definitely very bad for your ear health. The frat house was huge and imposing, though it still couldn't fit the amount of students at the party.

They poured out onto the grass, red cups in hand and littered at their feet. The amount of bodies pressed together, gyrating and jumping to the music didn't allow for the cold to penetrate the party bubble.

Beach balls were being hit back and forth over the heads of the students, people falling and scrambling to make sure they didn't touch the ground.

A girl laid on the floor after falling, cup held in the air in triumph, proud that she didn't spill any when she fell. It didn't matter that her head was less than an inch away from a decorative rock in the grass. Her level of inebriation allowed for no fear.

A group of people were playing around with a miniature taser along the edge of the grass, pressing it to their skin and screaming at the pain. Yet, they went in again for seconds and thirds.

Two second floor balconies a couple of feet from one another had students jumping to and fro, a trampoline poised underneath the gap to catch them if they fell.

"Baby sister!" my brother yells over the noise, elbowing his way through the crowd. I run, throwing myself at him, and he spins me around in a circle, away from the mass of people.

"It's been so long. You've gotten so freaking tall!" I say, looking him over once he puts me down on the cement.

"And you've grown up to be so stunning. I remember when you chipped off half of your tooth jumping off of the swing set one day. And now, look at you!".

He pulls me into another hug, and then holds me at arms length, as if comparing me to the little girl he once knew. He was the male version of me, made gruff with a well taken care of beard and mustache combo. If not for it, he'd look just the same as me, with broad shoulders and huge arms.

"First, here's the key to the Boat House. You should leave it in the car so that it doesn't get lost. And second, introduce me to your beautiful friends" he says, looking at the girls over my shoulder and holding out a more worn key than the one I used earlier.

I go to put it in the car and the girls introduce themselves, all of them making flirty comments, deeming that he was just as attractive as they thought he'd be. He leads us into the party where it's even more chaotic, the marble floor slick from the bubble machines they had all over the room.

A giant cup pong game with beach balls was being played, one side of the room versus the other. It was like the game being played outside mixed with volleyball, while the people in the front tried to spike it into the cups.

In random corners of the room, people were practically having sex against the walls. And in others, they were ACTUALLY doing it. Another group was sliding down the grand staircase on toddler mattresses, blocked from flying into the cup pong crowd by a group playing as a barricade. A couple of times, they were turned into bowling pins.

My brother takes us over to his group of friends at the top of the staircase, which we had to risk running up while two girls were flying down, their red cups in hand. They were standing at the top, handing out mattresses to whoever wanted to take a turn.

"Damn. You want next? I'll say fuck the line for you, baby" One of the guys proclaim, looking me up and down and licking his lips. Ace punches him in the stomach and he groans, glaring up at him.

"This is my little sister! She's off limits, Derek" he warns, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "Well, your little sister's hot. And so are her friends. You want a turn, cutie?" he asks Elliana, holding out a mattress to her.

"Yeah, I do!" she says excitedly, taking another one and handing it to Kennedi. Peony, Taylor and I laugh as they throw themselves down the stairs, screams peaking out over the music, somehow.

"I'm Carter, by the way" the second mattress guy says to us, politely shaking our hands. "Well, Carter, how about you drop this job and take a ride with me?" Peony suggests, grabbing one of the beds.

He drops them quickly with a nod of his head, and I giggle at how eager he is. He seemed sweet. They go down together, Peony shouting 'Fuck yeah' along the way.

Taylor grabs one for the both of us and turns to me with a wicked grin. "I can already tell this night is going to be sick!".

She couldn't have been more right.

***

I'm shaken awake the next morning by Elliana who looks half asleep herself. "What? What is it?" I ask grumpily, turning the other way and putting a pillow over my head.

"We missed classes today. And Damien texted me and said that Armani's really worried about you. We forgot to turn our phones back on yesterday".

Fuck.

On Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's, we have half of our classes and on Tuesday's and Thursday's we have the rest. It was now twelve, when classes started at eight and ended at eleven every day. That was due to the fact that we'd gotten into the dorm past two in the morning.

And double fuck.

I'd have to hear Armani complain about the fact that I missed his texts yesterday.

I force myself up and into the bathroom, coming out in a bath towel once I've fully gotten myself together. The girls are all gone, having headed to their rooms to do the same.

I get dressed in a nude thin strapped crop top and matching, slightly baggy jogging pants. A pair of white sneakers complete my outfit.

Instead of turning on my phone, I head straight to IA, immediately being stopped by the security guard.

"You're not allowed in here, Selah Stryker".

I roll my eyes, having completely forgotten about that stupid ban.

"I need to see Armani. Can I come in for five minutes? I really need to talk to him".

"You are something else. Weren't you banned for being in Cason Jett's room? Young girls should hold themselves to a hire esteem. They don't seem to these days".

"Right. As if any girl or woman cares about what you have to say. Absolutely no one is interested in impressing you, Mr. Horwitz. You have sweat stains on the collar of your shirt. Get that together before trying to tell me how to live my life" I say, walking past him, daring him with my eyes to try and stop me.

"If the Dean hears about THIS, she'll also hear about the comments you decided to make. You may not have any bleach at home, but you sure do have a hell of a lot of audacity".

I head into the dorm and up the stairs quickly, not wanting to alert the Dorm Master. He probably wasn't here anyway, since he had other duties to perform besides babysitting the students. A shame, since he didn't seem to do this one so well, in the first place. But he was trying his best.

I twist the knob on Armani's door and it opens, so I just walk in. He's sitting at his desk, typing away on his laptop. His head swivels to look at me, and he jumps out of his seat, knocking down a closed bottle of water.

"I KNOW" I say before he can speak, closing the door behind me. He looks absolutely pissed, but pulls me into him anyway, kissing me all over my face as I stare up at him.

"I was so worried about you, baby. Why would you do WHATEVER it was that you did? If you were having an off day and didn't want to talk, that's FINE. I will give you space when you need it. But radio silence, Selah? And I couldn't find you ANYWHERE. Where were you?".

I listen to his entire rant, holding back my laugh because of the fact that he keeps stroking my hair and kissing me between words. "I went to a party" I answer.

"You ignored me all day because you went to a party?" He asks, letting his arms drop to his sides. I wanted to take and wrap them back around me, never allowing him to let go again.

"No. We snuck off campus and had to turn our phones off in case we got a call or something. We were super paranoid about making noise. I forgot to turn it back on. I'm sorry".

He clenches his jaw, turning away from me just long enough that I can appreciate the ticking thing that happens when he does that.

"Right. And you don't think that I should've known that you were going to a party, either?".

I scoff, taking a step away from him. "When you look in the mirror do you see my dad standing there. You can't lecture me about anything. I can-".

"Shut up. You can shut up" he says, putting his hands in my shoulders and putting me down onto his bed. "And fucking listen for once in your life".

I laugh, leaning back on to my palms and crossing one leg over the other. "Yes, sir".

Why is he so hot when he's angry?

"If I disappeared for the day and went off to some random party that you didn't know about, you'd be pissed. That's a boundary that you won't cross again. It's disrespectful to our relationship".

"What relationship?" I ask, raising a brow at him. He groans, getting onto his knees in front of me. I uncross my legs, letting him settle between them.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Selah? That's what you want, right?" He asks, resting his hands on my waist.

"Yes and yes" I respond happily, snaking my arms around his neck and kissing him once and then twice. I go in for a third, but he turns his head.

"You're not getting out of this with kisses, Sunshine" He grumbles.

"Can I get out of it by saying I want more kisses, but somewhere else?" I ask.

His eyes cloud over with lust and it feels like he sucks all of the air from the room in one breath. "No. You don't deserve any kisses, anywhere. As much as I'd love to do it until you can't take it anymore, I'll have to decline. If we don't communicate, this relationship won't last for very long".

I frown, kissing him again. "Don't say that. We can talk forever, if that's what we need to do. I'm listening, I promise".

"Thank you. I just want you to understand that I'd like to know where you are and if you're okay when you leave campus".

"You're right, and I already knew that, but I'm not used to all of this relationship stuff. I'll let you know if I'm going out somewhere.  I won't forget that I don't always have to be the only one looking out for me. I have you, too. And I never want to let you go".

He tucks his fingers into the waist band of my jogging pants. "Then we have no more talking to do".

Oh, I can get used to this whole boyfriend thing.