Redesigning Fate (Revive #1) - A. M. Wilson Page 0,72

we arrive, and the sound of low bass is rumbling from the propped open entrance. We make our way to the door, Elias leading me with a hand on the small of my back. Stepping inside, the roar of the music is deafening.

“Elias!” Someone shouts immediately upon our entry. A handsome young guy with rich, milk chocolate skin comes bounding into the entryway, giving Elias one of those one-arm-slap-on-the-back man hugs.

“Good to see you man!”

“Hey, man. You too,” Elias replies, grinning. This is exactly what he needed. What we both needed. I can tell by his demeanor that Elias is finally relaxing after the day we’ve had.

His friend turns his body to me, running his eyes up and down me once, appraising me as if I were a shiny, new toy.

“And who’s this lovely lady you have with you?” he asks Elias while extending his hand to me.

Allowing him to engulf my small hand in his rather large one, I give him a shy smile. I want to know Elias’s friends. More than that, I want them to like me.

“This is Marlena. My girlfriend,” Elias shouts back. Then, turning to me, he says, “Marlee, this is Wes. He’s one of my friends from high school.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Wes.”

“The pleasure is mine, Marlena. You have a beautiful name. It goes well with your beautiful face,” Wes says, while winking in my direction. I can’t help but laugh at his playfulness.

Elias butts in with a scowl. “All right, man. Stop flattering her and let us in the door, will ya?”

We make our way up towards the bar to grab some drinks. We place our order with the spunky female bartender, Kimi, and she hands me a chilled bottle of Budweiser. I take a welcome sip, using the moment to scan the people surrounding us. I haven’t been to many parties in my life, but this has to be the most casual party I have ever been to. The bar top is full of people playing some drinking style card game that I have never seen before. I can’t really catch the gist of it, but I keep hearing someone talk about some green man on the cup. Either they are drunk or on some hallucinogenic drugs.

Shrugging to myself, my attention drifts from the bar top, where people come to mingle and refill their red plastic cups, to the open space where tables once sat. Some people have congregated around a couch that was brought in, watching a couple guys playing Halo on an Xbox set up in place of the jukebox.

From the corner of my eye, another guy catches my eye. He’s similar in size to Elias with long, shaggy brown hair that falls over his forehead and ears. He has a hoop in one ear, and his eyes are a deep, jade green. Tipping his beer back, he takes a swig before heading in our direction.

“Hey, you guys made it,” he says as he approaches. He and Elias exchange the same strange man-slapping hug I witnessed before with Wes. I briefly wonder if it’s something they started in high school. “I’m Kyle,” he says, offering a small smile. He doesn’t reach his hand out to me, though.

“Hey. Marlena. Nice to meet you.”

“Do you guys want to come join me in a game of beer pong? Sin modified the pool tables into two games of pong.”

“Yeah, we’re in. It’s been a long time since I’ve played.” Elias admits.

“Are you sure you want to play with me? I suck at this game. I’m sure you could find a different partner if you wanted to.”

“I don’t think so. You’ll play with me.”

“Okay. Your loss,” I acquiesce, although, I can’t keep the smile from tugging on my lips. I enjoy playing games, but I don’t want to be the reason he loses. Anxiety, I guess.

“Great,” Kyle says. “Grab a couple more beers each and I’ll meet you over there. I need to find a partner quick.”

We stop to grab some more drinks and decide to take two shots of vodka each before we make our way to the other side of the room.

My blood is warming quickly from the alcohol seeping into my system and the room full of bodies. The boys have set up makeshift beer pong tables out of an eight-foot piece of plywood atop each of the pool tables. Messages decorate the wood in various types of ink from previous partygoers, I’m assuming. Everything from who’s hot, who’s not, different