room.
I settled for rolling into the kitchen, which was a straight shot from the door. I couldn’t get very far in, because a bunch of girls were standing around the table, giggling as they attempted to pour shots.
One of them was vaguely familiar, and I realized she must’ve gone to high school with me. I glanced over my shoulder to see if there was any way I could ease back out before anyone noticed me, but another surge of humanity had filled the corridor. There wasn’t any way to move forward or backward.
I was stuck. Shit.
“Heyyyyyyy.” The girl I’d recognized turned around, and now her bleary eyes were focused on me. “I know you. Didn’t you used to be Eli Tucker?”
Irritation, mixed with frustration over being boxed in, boiled up into rage. “Didn’t you used to be a fucking slut? Oh, wait. Looks like you still are.”
She frowned at me, but it didn’t take incredible powers of observation to see that she was too wasted to figure out that I’d insulted her. One of her friends, however, must not have been that far gone, because she slammed down the beer bottle she was holding and glowered at me.
“You fucking dick—”
“Oh, there you are, Eli.” Suddenly, there was soft, cool hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. “I wondered where you’d gone. This place is a zoo, isn’t it?”
Zelda Porter was standing next to me, touching me, talking to me as if we were here together, and I felt like maybe I’d accidentally huffed something strong, because nothing else made sense.
“He just called my friend a slut!” Outraged girl wasn’t ready to back down.
“You probably misunderstood him. Eli wouldn’t do that. It’s so loud in here, I don’t know how anyone can hear anything.” Zelda neatly insinuated herself between my legs and the table, blocking me from the view of the rest of the room, facing me. She rested her hands on the arms of my chair and gazed into my eyes. “Like I said, this place is a zoo. Let’s not taunt the animals, shall we?”
Her voice was low, clearly meant only for my ears, but I was distracted by the way her dress gapped at the neckline, giving me a mind-numbing view of those beautiful tits. I couldn’t answer her for minute. Christ, I couldn’t swallow or breathe.
I was also pretty sure I’d somehow stumbled into an alternate universe, because Zelda Porter, who barely gave me the time of day, who had never spared me more than a passing glance and who hadn’t really spoken to me aside from our little interchange earlier tonight, was gazing at me like we were best friends. Or more.
My face must’ve shown my shock and confusion. Zelda winked at me, an understanding smile playing around her lips. “I’m sick of this whole thing. Let’s get out of here, okay?”
I managed a nod, and she straightened, sidestepping until I had enough room to turn around. Zelda walked ahead of me, which was awesome for two reasons. One, she cleared a path for me to get through the hall. And two, it gave me a perfect excuse to stare at her exquisitely rounded ass as she moved.
God, I had a massive hard on. Great.
Keeping my eyes on that sweet booty, I rolled through the parted crowd until we reached the doorway. Zelda paused, glancing over her shoulder to make sure I was still there. She stepped aside as I sped up a little to make it over the threshold to the porch, but I noticed that she didn’t lean toward me to help, and I was grateful for that. Most people couldn’t resist.
“How the hell did you get here, anyway?” She cocked her head and studied me, mild interest in her gaze. “I’m assuming you didn’t roll all the way to Greek row from Liddleton.”
“The U-Van. It’s how Nate and I get anywhere further than a block away.” I turned toward the ramp, wondering if Zelda would follow but unwilling to give her the satisfaction of glancing backwards.
“That’s right. I forgot about that.” She maneuvered ahead of me neatly so that when I hit the bottom of the ramp, I had to stop abruptly to avoid knocking her down. “But you’re in luck. I have a car, and I’ll drive you back.”
“You don’t have to. I’ll call the van.” I reached for my phone. “Go back in and enjoy the party. I appreciate you helping me get out of there, but I’m fine.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m