Chapter 1
DENNIS
The party had been Jesse’s idea. Two hours in and it was still great. People danced along to the music that thumped hard in the room.
“So, I’m standing in front of the entire seminar, PowerPoint open, fully confident, and slide three comes up and it’s not my presentation,” I paused dramatically. “It’s my foolish friend’s pitch for a fantasy football league.”
The laughter that echoed was loud and genuine. I grinned and took a sip of whatever Jesse had mixed in a cooler.
“That’s mad, bro,” Luke chimed in.
“I was almost cooked that day,” I said to Luke.
I sat with some friends. Well, not really friends. The only person I could actually call a friend was the tall, dark girl that sat by my side said girl nudged me while giving me a disapproving look when I grabbed another drink.
“Dennis, stop drinking. How many have you had now?”
“Chill out Londa. I’m good.” She wasn’t a party person. I almost regretted bringing her along. Who knew she would try to spoil my fun?
She shook her head. “Savor the drink in your hands now because that’s your last one,” she said sternly. Dennis snorted. I knew I was getting tipsy, but would I stop?
No.
“Like you can stop me.”
“As long as you are near me, I will,” she trained her eyes to someone. “I’ll ask him for help.”
I followed her line of sight and groaned. Hale. I shot her a dirty look. “You both make me sick.”
She snickered. Hale had a stupid crush on her and would do anything for her. I surely wouldn’t be able to resist the giant of a man if she did ask for his help.
She smiled sweetly at me. “What’s going on with you lately? Anything juicy I need to know?” she trained her eyes to my phone which I was held.
“No. I should be asking you that question,” I looked to Hale and stared back at her pointedly. “Are you guys getting married soon?”
She punched me lightly, her eyes wide. “Shut it. We’re talking about you not me. You’ve been checking your phone since you got here.”
I scrunched my brows. “Yes, and what about that?”
“No, it’s not that. It the smiles you get on your face whenever you check your phone,” she narrowed her eyes at me.
I was sure that I was blushing now.
“See, I know that smile,” Londa smirked smugly.
I fought myself to keep a straight face. “It’s nobody,” I shrugged. “I’m just in a good mood.”
She stared at me for a bit. “Okay, if you say so,” she smiled. “It’s only a matter of time, though.”
“Hey guys, Jesse is organizing a game. Who’s in?” Luke said gaining the attention of the table.
“You wanna play?” I asked Londa. She gave me an unimpressed look. “C’mon. It will be fun,” I said dragging her along to where the others had gathered.
___
The game was something Jesse came with himself. He climbed on a table to explain the ridiculous rules of the game.
“Really? What the hell am I doing here?” Londa shot me a dirty look and excused herself outside. She wanted fresh air or something like that. She might even ditch me and go home. Just then my phone buzzed.
Carl
I’m here. By the door. Where are you?
Okay. I’m coming to you now.
I left the confused group and went to find Carl. I spotted him almost immediately. He was hard to miss – tall, dark hair, good looking. He wore a dark jacket over a simple shirt. He was looking around trying to spot me in the crowd.
“Hey,” I grabbed his arm. Carl turned.
“Hey”
“You made it,” I smiled brightly. I was glad Londa had stepped out. She would have a lot to say.
“I promised,” Carl looked around the room. “Nice spot.”
“Yeah. Jesse knows his stuff but not games apparently,” I rolled my eyes. Carl’s attention came back to me.
“So whatchu doing?”
I grimaced. “I was about to play a game.” I pointed at the group.
“From the look on your face, it wasn’t a wise decision.”
“It wasn’t. You want a drink?” I asked him.
“Sure”
“Come with me.”
We moved through the party with our hands held together. I poured Carl a drink from the cooler. I also poured one for myself.
“Were you able to finish the project?”
Carl hesitated. “No but it’s only to finalize it.”
I squinted my eyes at him. “Are really okay with being here?”
Carl beamed sweetly. “It’s okay, I don’t mind. Anything for you.”
“Right,” I pretentiously turned away from Carl. My heart fluttered. I grabbed another drink to hide my blush.
Carl pulled me closer to him, taking me by surprise. I stared at him wide-eyed. He held the side of my face and planted his lips on mine. PDA wasn’t my thing, but I don’t mind now as I reciprocated passionately. My body flared up at the touch of our lips. Carl disconnected our lips after a moment, leaving me breathless.
“If only we were someplace less crowded,” his eyes darted around.
“Yeah, it’s a pity,” I pulled away from Carl completely. I knew what he was talking about and I’m not sure I’m ready for that.
Carl frowned. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good.” I can’t explain why I was holding back. Just then, Londa found us.
Damn!
I noticed the scrutinizing look she gave Carl. She shot me a questioning gaze.
“No,” was what I told her. She raised a brow and shrugged. Carl was darting his eyes between us. I cleared my throat. “Carl, this is Londa,” he said. “Londa, Carl.”
“Hello,” Carl said easily, without a beat.
“Hello,” Londa smiled brightly. Her eyes told me that we had a conversation for later. “I’m heading out.” she said. “I’ve endured this place enough,” she muttered mostly to herself.
I frowned; I was her ride. “How are you getting home?”
“I’m joining someone.”
“You are ditching me for Hale?” I shifted backwards when she flung her hand at me. I lost balance but Carl held me before I could fall. I noticed her displeasure whenever I mention Hale that means she must really like him.
“Look at you, wasted. Can’t even stand on your feet,” she said distastefully. “You can’t drive back home like this,” She paused thoughtfully. “I can tell Jay to come get you. I know he’s not busy now,” She reached for her phone in her bag but froze when she saw me shaking my head slowly.
“I don’t know who you are but make sure he gets home safe,” she said softly to Carl. “Please.”
He smiled. “You don’t need to ask. I will.”
She hugged me. “Take care. Text me when you get home,” She whispered in my ear.
“Nice girl,” Carl said after she left. “Who is she?”
“My friend”
“Okay” Carl bit his lips; he didn’t look convinced. “You seemed really close.”
There it was. “We are. We’ve known ourselves for almost ten years now.” The statement seemed to make things worse. Carl’s face shifted a bit.
I rolled his eyes. Why do people always seem to think that bisexual people would cheat on their partners with the other gender. It was why I preferred to date only bisexuals.
“Who is Jay?”
“Another friend of no importance.”
“Doesn’t seem that way.”
I narrowed his eyes at him. “What do you mean? You haven’t even met this person.” I grabbed another drink.
“She was so sure that he would come get you.”
“Because he’s a good friend,” I whisper-yelled resignedly.
“Don’t get me wrong. I just want to know.”
“I know,” I was a little pissed. It’s not like we were even officially dating yet.
Nobody is perfect I said to myself in an attempt to calm down. This was Carl’s only imperfection. It wasn’t something I couldn’t handle though.
I signed heavily. “I’m bored now.” No, I was just feeling sick. I could hear cheering coming from the middle of the room. I wanted to go there but my body protested. “I’ve been here for over two hours. I think I’ve had enough fun.” I murmured to myself.
“Yeah? We could dip.”
“We should,” I grimaced. I handed over my car key to Carl. “You’ll do the driving.”
“Okay”
Carl steadied me as we walked toward the parking lot. He said something about his house being closer. I didn’t even fully register what he was told. I only grunted in response.
“Okay then,” Carl smiled. We reached my car. Carl unlocked it and me Dennis get in. I sank into the passenger seat. Carl strapped me in and then he drove.
