One Drunken Night

Paired Up

I slid into my seat in Psych 101 right as Professor Ramirez started the lecture. Headphones dangling from one ear, still thinking about the redhead I’d left in my bed earlier that morning. Life was back on script. Parties, easy hookups, zero complications. That one night with Sienna? Old news. Buried.

Ramirez launched into the details of the big group project — thirty percent of the grade, research a psychological phenomenon, deliver a solid presentation in four weeks. Groups of five this time, randomly assigned. I leaned back, unbothered. Bigger group meant more people to carry the weight while I coasted.

Then came the names.

“Liam Hart… Sienna Vale… Marcus Chen… Kara Reyes… and Tyler Brooks.”

My stomach tightened. I scanned the room and spotted Sienna a few rows over. At the exact same moment our eyes met, her face brightened for half a second and she gave a small, hopeful wave.

I looked away immediately, pretending I hadn’t seen it. Stared down at my notebook like it held the secrets of the universe.

Don’t engage. None of it happened.

When class ended, people started forming their groups. Marcus found me first — the quiet, organized engineering type. Tyler showed up right after, some laid-back dudebro. Then Kara Reyes walked over.

Kara was hard to miss. Long legs, dark wavy hair, confident smile. She slid into the seat next to me. “Hey, group! This should be fun.”

Sienna joined last, bag on her shoulder, expression carefully neutral now. She’d seen me ignore her wave. The disappointment was there, quick and quiet, before she locked it down.

We exchanged numbers for the group chat. When Sienna’s name popped up, I felt that annoying little twist again but shoved it aside. Just another contact.

Marcus took charge. “Library, Thursday at four? We can brainstorm topics.”

Everyone agreed. I kept my responses short and easy, mostly directed at Marcus and Tyler. Kara laughed at my half-assed jokes and leaned in a bit, but I didn’t push it further. Sienna stayed quiet, professional, chiming in only with smart suggestions about possible topics like attachment theory or social influence.

I barely looked at her the whole time.

The next few weeks turned into a routine of deliberate distance.

I showed up to every meeting, but I kept my involvement surface-level. Volunteered for the PowerPoint slides because it was low effort. Cracked jokes. Flirted lightly with Kara because it was easy, but nothing more. Whenever Sienna tried to speak directly to me or extend a conversation beyond the project, I deflected — short answers, quick subject changes, or suddenly remembering I had somewhere else to be.

She’d clearly heard the campus stories by now. After that first ignored wave, she stopped trying. She kept her space, polite and focused on the work. Disappointed, but not surprised. Smart girl.

It should’ve felt perfect. Clean separation. She was treating me like the playboy I was, and I was free to keep doing what I did best.

Instead, every Thursday at four I found myself hyper-aware of her sitting across the big table — quiet, smart, never pushing, never bringing up that night. Kara would lean into me, whispering something funny, and I’d laugh along while catching Sienna’s quick glance away.

By the third meeting I was almost relieved when Marcus and Tyler had to leave early for another class.

Kara stuck around for a bit, chatting casually. Sienna packed up her stuff slowly.

“I’ll send the updated research notes tonight,” Sienna said, voice even.

“Cool,” I replied, not meeting her eyes.

She left without another word.

Kara eventually headed out too, leaving me alone at the table. I sat there for a few minutes, staring at my half-finished slides. My phone buzzed — a text from the guys asking where I was. I replied and shoved the phone away.

This was better. No messy conversations. No feelings. Just a group project that would end soon and then we could both pretend that one drunken night never happened.

Exactly how it should be.