About Last Night

Chapter One: New Year's Eve 2010

The music blasted through my ears. I can feel the vibrations on my chest and the screams of the people around me getting louder. Their bodies swaying to the beat. Their words were incoherent as they lifted their heads and down more alcohol. 

This is not where I want to be. 

From where I sit, I can see my best friend put on her best cool girl persona to impress her boyfriend’s friends. I rolled my eyes as I took a sip from my cup. I’m not a heavy drinker but honestly, there’s nothing to do here but drink. 

“I can see you’re having so much fun,” his voice towered over the noise. I whipped my head around to see a tall guy wearing a navy blue hoodie and smirking profusely. He was holding a red cup, like mine. Arms crossed as he eyed the direction I was looking at. I scoffed. “Please. This is my scene. I live for this moment!” I gave him an exaggerated grin. It was quiet for a while. He stared back, searching my face for any sign of humor. We both burst into laughter. 

“Alright alright. You don’t have to convince me that hard,” he said as he traveled around the kitchen island to sit to my left. We both faced the living room where the majority of the party-goers are drinking, talking, dry humping, or all of the above.  

“She really is pretty. She your friend?” 

“Yeah! Do you know her?” I asked loudly as the music picked up the tempo.  

“Not that much, no. But I heard a lot about her from Ryan,” he replied. “He won’t shut up about her.” 

I blanched, “You’re Ryan’s friend?” 

“Yeah,” he grinned.  

“Why are you not over there?” I was confused. Ryan’s friends haven’t left the couple alone since he introduced Liv to them thus, leaving Liv no choice but to socialize and leave me here to die from social interaction or lack thereof. 

“Well for starters, Ryan already introduced Olive to me the other day and those bastards right there are just gauging if Olive is a worthy candidate to date if ever they’ll break up.” What. The. Hell. Assholes! Boys are such assholes. 

“Whoa. Whoa easy there,” he grabbed my hand and yanked out the squeezed plastic cup. 

“Assholes,” I said aloud. He set the cup down on the island. 

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Not the best poster boys for our species, no but Ryan, he’s great. Don’t hold those idiots against him.” 

“Why does he hang out with them then?” I asked a little bit too aggressively. 

“They’re his teammates. They’re fun, reliable and they work well together. He values their friendship however, they’re just boys,” he shrugged. I returned my gaze to my best friend, then to her boyfriend. I should keep a close eye on Ryan. If these are the type of friends he hangs out with, there’s a huge chance he acts like one of them too. I should warn Liv about the red flags before it’s too late. 

He sighed audibly. “Here,” he offered me his cup. The stench of alcohol reached my nose as the liquid swirled inside. I looked at him incredulously. “Jesus Christ,” he mused. “I didn’t put anything in the drink, woman.” I didn’t budge. Judging from what he said about Ryan’s friends I have no reason to trust him. He sighed. He took a sip from the cup and put out his tongue for me to see. “What are you? A six-year-old,” I mocked. We both burst out laughing. 

“I’m Erik btw,” he grinned.  

“Riley.” 

He offered me his drink again. This time I took it but I didn’t take a sip. He eyed the cup for a while. “So tell me Riley, are you always this uptight?” I let out a fake laugh. My left hand was on my chest, feigning offense, “Yes! Yes, I am.” And we laughed some more. 

For the rest of the evening, he kept me company. It turns out, he was the host. His parents flew to the States last minute because of businesses his Dad needs to take care of. As a consolation, they allowed him to host a party on the condition that he must be responsible. He invited all the Uni students who didn’t or can’t come home to their respective provinces for the holidays and the ones who already live in the city. He was a senior engineering student and part of several clubs and a student representative. Yikes. It's quite rare to find someone as dashing as he is, has a social life, and is doing well academically. Where does he get the time? I can barely show up on time on my 10:30 AM Lit. 

“Hey, why don’t we come out and chill at the pool?” He offered. It was getting rather stuffy inside as more guests arrived. I nodded. He grabbed my hand and lead the way to the backyard.  A few people were already outside. Preferring the chilly air to the booze-filled one. Floaties and confetti have littered the pool. Some couples were swimming. Others were taking a spot in the dark corners, making out. The rest were just talking and drinking. Aside from that, the backyard was quite beautiful. The plants were well maintained and beautifully set up. The hanging lights lit up the backyard with a warm glow making the place look and feel magical. We took a seat across from a couple who were getting it on the pool. 

“Wow,” I gulped. “That’s quite a view.” He followed my line of sight and chuckled to himself. “Andrew!” he called out. “Man, not on the pool.” Andrew didn’t even flinch. He devoured the girl hungrily. His back flexing as he ran his hands all over her body. 

“Dude!” He continued. Still to no avail. Andrew proceeded to cup the girl’s left breast. Massaging it roughly on his right hand then pinching her already hard n****e. The girl left out an audible moan. I cleared my throat. Not sure how to process the scene. Erik picked up the nearest item he could find, his slipper. He raised it above his head, took aim, then threw it at Andrew’s head. A loud smack reverberated across the place as the slipper collided with his head. 

“What the hell!“ he yelled. He looked around frantically and found Erik’s eyes. 

“Dude, not on the pool,” he commanded. Andrew turned to the girl and whispered something in her ear. She chuckled and gave him a kiss on the mouth. She pried herself off of Andrew and started to swim towards the ladder which was conveniently close to us. She turned her eyes on Erik. 

“Will you be joining us, Erikl” She said in a sing-song voice. She didn’t break eye contact as she lifted herself off the pool. Seducing him with just her look. When she was out I could finally have a good look at her. It was incredible. She was wearing a teal two-piece bikini that left little to no imagination. The small triangles of her top cushioned her huge breast and outlined the hardness of her n*****s. While her bottom hugged her wide hips snugly. 

Erik chuckled. “Just get out of here, Sal.” She gave him a wink and disappeared inside the house. 

Andrew started to swim to our side of the pool too. 

“You didn’t have to hit me so hard, bro,” he complained. “Well, I thought I’d remind you which head you should listen to,” Erik joked. He turned to me. “Riley, this is my younger brother Andrew. He is terribly ashamed of the behavior he showed earlier.” A smile was playing on his lips. Unsure of what to say, I managed a, “Hey.” 

“Hey!" he said to me as he came out of the pool. His trunks hanging on for dear life. I tried my best to suppress my gulp as I took in his body. Chiseled from-- everywhere! I feel like I'm staring at some sculpture intricately made by an artist. "Just for the record, I’m not ashamed,” He winked at me. “Don’t be fooled by brother's charms. He’s worse than me!” Erik grabbed his other slipper then slapped his brother’s head once more. 

“Owww!” He yelled. “Get out of here,” Erik joked. 

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” He wiggled his eyebrows as he started to depart. “See you around, Riley.” Then followed the girl to the house.