have so much more to do with her.” I grabbed a shot off of a passing tray and gulped it down.
“Hey, take it easy,” he said, shaking his head at me.
“I’m sure you’ll have fun without me.”
As I walked away, I heard Seth shout at me. “Avery! You left the game!”
“And you’ve clearly not quit playing.” I kept on going and found another tray of shots.
The boy holding it was a real cutie, but he was also not my type with sandy-blond hair and a surfer smile.
“Give me another,” I said, sticking a dollar in his pants.
He handed me the shot, and I wasted no time gulping it down too.
When I turned away from him, Abi walked up. “Don’t let her keep going at that pace,” she said, taking the dollar out of his waistband.
I stuffed the bill in my top as she passed it to me. “It’s fine. Seth likes to move fast. So can I.”
“You’re two shots in, and we’ve only been here five minutes. Pace yourself, Avery.” She turned back to the guy. “Baby steps for her, or I’m coming after you.”
I glanced across the room and found Seth was watching me as his girl of the hour fought for his attention. She was doing well at holding her own, but I wasn’t bothered. If she wanted him, she could have him.
Even though I was trying to be strong, I couldn’t stand to look at them together anymore, so I went into the kitchen, where I found a different guy making another tray of shots. “There you are, cutie. Just the man I was looking for.”
“Who? Me?” The guy looked confused. “You must be thinking of someone else. Aren’t you that rugby player?”
“Yes, and I want a shot. Are you going to give it to me, or what?” I gave him a smile, and he smiled back.
“Yeah, sure. Here. Take two.”
“Don’t mind if I do. Just don’t tell Abi.” I took them one after the other, and I began to get warm and tingly. I just wanted to drown the pain. I didn’t even usually like to drink shots.
“Your secret is safe with me, sweetheart. Do you want a Jell-O shot too? They’re in the fridge.”
“Oh? I’ll help you with those.” I waited until he walked out with the tray and went over to the fridge. They were so colorful and pretty. I hadn’t ever really had them before, but I liked Jell-O enough to give it a try. Besides, how much of a punch could they really have?
I had four, trying one of each flavor they had to offer. Then I shut the fridge, leaving them where they were.
I walked back out to the front, and Abi was nowhere to be found, but while I looked around for her, the room was starting to look a little off-balance. Or maybe that was just me.
I turned and came face to face with the girl Seth had chosen over me. I had heard her friends call her Britany, and she was with Lizzy, one of her cheerleading cronies.
“Wow, you really tried, didn’t you?” said Britany as I passed by. She was standing with a few other friends, who all giggled with her, laughing and whispering.
“I beg your pardon?” I stepped closer. “If you have something to say, say it.”
Britany rolled her eyes. “You know, the whole makeup and hair thing? It was a good effort for a plain Jane, but we all knew Seth would come to his senses.”
“That’s right,” said Lizzy. “He knows who takes care of him.” The two girls slapped hands, and I reached for a drink off of the cutie’s tray as he passed. I snagged it just in time, and he was none the wiser. As I downed it, I knew I was going to regret it.
“Wow, lush much?” Britany laughed. “Sorry, I can’t stand around and talk. I’m going to go fuck your dream boy.”
Lizzy and Britany giggled, and as they turned to put their heads together and laugh, I had a strange urge come over me. I lunged for Britany, but Seth caught me around the waist before I could do any damage.
“Whoa,” he said, pulling me close. I fought against him as the other girls laughed.
“Control your dog,” said Lizzy. “See what happens when you bring in strays?”
“Come on, Seth. Let’s go back upstairs. You don’t want to waste your time with her. She’s probably got a dick bigger than yours.”
Seth sighed. “I don’t need this shit, girls. Not tonight.”
Hearing