The sound of dozen groups crowding into the living room filled the air as the pale brunette tilted back the dixie cup and swallowed as quickly as she could. The sight of the voluptuous beauty grimacing as she swallowed set off the imaginations of the men who witnessed the young woman finishing the stiff drink.
"
Ahh
!" she gasped as the last few drops escaped down the side of her mouth. Wiping the sleeve of her office shirt across her mouth, Kat flailed blindly for the cup of orange juice that her friend, Jake, held. He watched her struggle for a moment before sighing, putting his plastic cup in the path of her grasping hand.
"Happy Birthday Kat," he offered wryly as she took his cup and set to finishing it off as well.
"It's your birthday? Really? How old are you?" asked one of the smaller frat kids that had wandered over towards the little group a moment earlier, his eyes conspicuously stuck somewhere between her mouth and her cleavage. She raised a finger in response, stalling for a moment, and finished off the sweet orange chaser with the same gusto she had polished off her last drink. Jake's mouth widened with a big, unmistakeable yawn in response.
"It's a running joke our mutual friend started awhile back. Whenever Kat goes out, she drinks like she just hit legal age. We also have a bet about how long it'll take for her to stop getting carded as well. I'm betting at least another decade, personally," he added. His eyes wandered around the room, checking out familiar faces and unfamiliar figures. In response, the 'birthday girl' lowered the one finger she had been holding up and rotated her hand slightly as she raised another, flipping him the bird. Finishing off the rest of the cup with a slight shrug, Kat made no further comment. Refusing to acknowledge his existence, she handed Jake back the empty cup without a glance, which he accepted after a moment, reluctantly.
"So. . . do you go to school around here?" asked the newest addition to the group. He looked at her with absolute captivation, and in return, with barely a word spoken between them, Kat's brilliant blue eyes shone with a certain. . . wildness. She tucked back a loose, tangled strand of hair behind one ear, highlighting the spattering of freckles that ran across her face with her nose as the centerpiece.
"Here we go," Jake muttered under his breath, shaking his head as the scene played out in front of him.
"No, I'm actually here with someone," explained the kid, who although looking like he'd barely started shaving, unabashedly ran his eyes over the curvy freshman's body.
"Who?" Kat asked, taking a half-step closer, flashing him a brilliant, promising smile.
"
Oh
-kay, so we're going to leave. Nice to meet you. . . whoever you are," Jake said, awkwardly stepping between what narrow space remained between the two as he slung a protective arm around Kat's shoulder, directing her away.
"My name's Erik!" the kid spoke up behind them. In response, Jake just glanced back at him as they passed, staring at him the way he would a circus attraction.
"What are you
doing
?! We were just
talking
," Kat squawked indignantly as he pulled her away. She tried to dig in her heels to slow him down, but every time she tried, he just continued walking forward. She was a full head shorter than him, and he was significantly wider.
"Of course," he said, his voice lacking all conviction.
"Are you sure you weren't just getting jealous," she teased, changing gears and falling bodily again him when they stopped at the kitchen. He was looking for a familiar face in the crowd and he caught her instinctively, automatically concerned that she might fall onto the carpet. She felt light warm in his hands, and for a split second he wondered what she might feel like, naked, pressed again him. . .
"No. . . of course not," he said, caught off guard at the question and wondering if he was being honest as he tried to ignore the sudden twinge of desire that surged through him. He had always thought Kat was attractive, it had been months since he had last had sex and, most importantly, he had been so busy the last few weeks that he had barely had the time and energy to jer-
"Not even a little?" she asked, lightly pressing herself against him as she breathed the words towards him with full, inviting lips. He suddenly found himself staring down into those wild, dancing eyes, as her lips parted slightly as she moved towards him. His heart started thudding as he fought the sudden urge to pull her against him, to push her up against a wall, and figure out if her lips were as soft and as delicious as they looked. Another undeniable surge of desire coursed through him as he stood there, holding her in his arms for a moment longer than necessary before taking a hesitant step back.
"I think we need to get you home. Wait here for. . . a second," he suggested, speaking more to himself than her as he looked away from her with an effort, continuing to look for their mutual friend, Janice. He found her striking red hair standing out amongst a small crowd of sloppily dressed college kids, swaying gently in time to the music. Taller and skinnier than her friend Kat, she stood out.
"Janice?
Janice!
Remember how you warned me about how Kat gets when she's drinking? Well, she's there. You should probably start thinking about giving her a ride home before
she
starts thinking about giving somebody a ride," he explained in a rush, hand gently cupping her arm to get her attention. She took a moment to turn away from the group to face him.
"I
told
you. Okay though, I could use some fresh air," she said, flashing him a sweet, brilliant smile as she swayed a few steps closer towards him.
"Wait, are you okay to drive?" he asked, trying to keep his tone light despite the seriousness of the question as he stopped her, steadying her. Her cheerful, bubbly smile was infectious though, and he found his grin widening after a few moments, despite his concerns.
"Of course! I've only had. . . a couple of drinks," she burped, slurring slightly. What worried him was that she was entirely too enthusiastic about driving as she fished around inside her purse for her keys. Jake immediately pictured the front of her car wrapped around a tree in the middle of nowhere, windshield cobwebbed and bloody, engine lights flickering in the darkness as the hood smoked. He groaned despite himself, having a vivid flashback of his own close call with a drunk driver last year.
"Uh, actually, I think I'll just drop her off quick and head back if that's alright with you," he proposed, exchanging the empty cup he had been carrying for her car keys. She stared at the cup with a mixture of puzzlement and confusion for a moment, furrowing her brow in thought before her attention, and brilliant smile, returned.
"Okay, well thank you! You know which car is mine, right?" she asked.
"Yeah, considering you drove us here I think I can find it again," he quipped, grinning.
"Oh shut up! I just wanted to make sure," she said, shoving him gently as she laughed.
"I'll be back soon. Text me if anything interesting happens," he said, turning to move away.