for her. “But don’t be. We’re all good.” He pauses a beat. “Hey, why don’t you stay at Connor’s tonight?”
She looks up at me, her eyes wide and questioning.
I nod, maybe a little too enthusiastically.
“If that’s okay with you?” she says into the phone.
“Yeah,” Trevor responds. “It’s fine. I’ll even get up and make her breakfast so you can sleep in.”
“Are you serious right now?” Ava mumbles, almost in tears.
“Yeah, and I’ll be here until Krystal gets in.”
“Trevor…”
“Hey, I’ll even call the school and tell them you’re sick.”
Ava stares at me, her mouth agape. She asks Trevor, “What have you done to my brother?”
He chuckles. “Hey, Ava. I need you to promise me something, okay?”
“Yeah?”
“Have a good night and quit stressing!”
Ava laughs once. “I will.”
“Good, I’ll see you when I get home from work tomorrow.” He hangs up without another word, and Ava’s eyes are huge when she looks up at me. “What just happened?”
“I don’t know, but don’t question it.”
“So we have the whole night.”
“And all of tomorrow…”
“What do you want to do?”
“The possibilities are endless.”
She looks back at the house. “Do you want to drink away your loss until you can’t feel your face?”
I chuckle. “Kind of, yeah.”
Ava
Back in the pool house, we sit around with the people Connor’s spent the most time with since he got here. The only girls here are me and Karen, and it’s kind of perfect.
I’m buzzed.
Connor is drunk. And drunk Connor is a hundred times goofier than sober Connor.
Mitch makes a crack about Karen’s mom, and Karen threatens to stab him in the dick with a dart she’s holding for some unknown reason. Connor removes his arm from around me to fish out his phone, his lids heavy, thumbs slow to move as he goes through his contacts trying to find a number. He gets to Shit-For-Brains-Mitch and dials. I giggle, watching Mitch take his phone from his pocket and hold it to his ear, his eyes narrowed on Connor sitting on the floor opposite him. “What?” Mitch answers.
Connor slurs his words. “Hey, man. I have a question.”
“Okay?”
“What has a small dick and hangs down?”
“What?”
“A bat.”
“And…?”
Everyone watches the conversation, their heads moving from side to side.
Connor says, “What has a big dick and hangs up?”
“What?” Mitch responds.
Connor hangs up, and the room fills with the kind of laughter that comes with drunken idiots and stupid jokes. “Confirm or deny, Ava?” Oscar asks.
“I mean, I don’t have a lot of sources, but I’d say it’s pretty fucking big.”
“Burn!” Mitch yells, looking at Rhys.
And I’m too late to realize what I’ve just said. “No, that’s not what I—”
Connor covers my mouth with his palm. “That’s absolutely what she meant.”
Rhys glares at Connor. One second. Two. Then he busts out a laugh. “Thank god you’re finally getting laid. We’d all started calling you Mary behind your back.”
“Mary?” Connor asks, confused as he turns to me for answers.
“Virgin Mary.”
“Ohhh.” He nods, slowly, his lids heavy.
“How was your first time?” Oscar asks him, and I don’t know how we got to this conversation. Is this what guys talk about?
Connor says, “The first six seconds, I was kind of nervous. But the last six… that was fucking money!”
I use his bicep to block my cackle, but I’m the only one who tries to keep it together. Everyone else has lost it. “I need another drink,” I announce.
Connor stands up. “I got you.”
I get to my feet. “I’ll come with.”
In the corner of the room, a bar cart is set up with as many different spirits as you’d like. Connor grabs a bottle of tequila and a few packets of salt, plus some lemon wedges. He turns to me, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. Then he steps forward, his mouth to my ear. “Would salt hurt on your pus—”
“Connor!”
He ignores me, moves closer again until his front’s pressed against mine. “Because I could lick that all night.” He puts all the things back on the cart and leans against a wall, tugging on my top until I’m standing between his legs. Dipping his head, he kisses my neck, his lips parted, tongue leaving a trail of wetness across my jaw until his mouth finds mine. His hand slides down my back, resting on my ass. He squeezes once. Hard. And I jerk against his touch, pulling away. Eyebrows raised, he stares me down, taunting, teasing. “You’re very handsy when you’ve been drinking,” I say through a giggle.
“I can’t help it. You’re hot.” He kisses me again, his