Part 5 (1/2)

Luckily, I was pretty good at playing things off when I wanted to, so instead of admiring her, I nudged her. Hey, you know Im all for equal flirting rights and all that, but I also gotta take care of my girls. d.a.m.n, I was a pretty nice guy when I thought about it.

If we dont see each other before, lets meet up at 11:00, I said. If we came together, we left together, so we liked to meet up to make sure everyone was still having a good time. All for one and s.h.i.+t. I pushed my hands in my pockets, feeling pretty proud of myself. We got the pre-party plan out of the way and now it was time for the night of epicness to begin.

Alright, Dad. See you guys later. Aspen started to pull Pris away, and when she did, I saw Pris lean over and whisper something to her. Aspen shook her head no, while turning back to look at us. Pris nodded, Aspen smiled and they disappeared into the kitchen.

Theyre being weird, I told Jaden.

Who? he asked, his eyes already scanning the kitchen through the gla.s.s door.

He had the right idea, so I mumbled a Nothing. After straightening my s.h.i.+rt, I looked over at Jaden. Are you ready for our night of epic proportions?

He gave his hair another ruffle with his hand to make sure it was effectively messy. I was born ready.

Blood pumped through my veins with so much fervor, I didnt even take the time to tell Jaden how corny his last line was. I strode into the kitchen with my boy at my side, on a mission. We were going to find girls and I was going to get my head on straight, because no good could come from the urge Id fought to pull Aspen back to me as shed been swallowed by the crowd.

Mattie hadnt been wrong about the ratio of female vs. males. There was a good two to one, which were odds I really liked. In fact, there were so many girls dancing around that I was having a hard time choosing which one I wanted to go for.

Dude, youve found something wrong with every girl. Im about to play this one solo if you cant make up your mind. Jaden leaned against the wall next to me. A fireplace with a mantle full of pictures of who I a.s.sumed was Matties Mall Girl was behind him.

Were not trying to decide between a Big Mac or a chicken sandwich here. This is some serious s.h.i.+t. We want epicness, we have to be choosy.

Jaden rolled his eyes, so I continued to scan the room.

What about them? he asked, pointing to a red head and girl with dark brown hair who were dancing with each other. My body perked up at the sight. Ill take Red and you can have the other one, he said.

Nah, Im not feelin her. I was starting to get a little worried about myself. I mean, this was a party and there were chicks everywhere, but none of them were really getting my blood pumping, if you know what I mean. What guy wasnt trying to hook-up at this party?

Apparently, me Okay, Sebastian. You pick, but Im telling you, if you dont pick some girls within five minutes, Im out. I at least want to get some dancing in rather than staring at your frown all night. Jaden pushed off the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

Im frowning? Why was I frowning?

Yeah, youve looked p.i.s.sy ever since we left the girls. I think youve been hanging out with them too long. Youre swapping testosterone for estrogen. I feel like youre going to start lecturing me on seeing women as more than a piece of meat any minute. I opened my mouth, but Jaden cut me off. Which I do. You know that, but I also want to have a good time and if theres a girl I meet who I like and were both willing, theres nothing wrong with that.

I groaned. He was right.

About that time a set of twins, freaking twins walked up to us. They had black hair, blue eyes and curvy little bodies that I suddenly really, really wanted to get to know better. Wow, how did we miss you ladies all night? I took a step closer, eagerness making my pulse rock out.

I was wondering the same thing, Jaden said from beside me.

Im Abby, the taller one who stood across from Jaden said. And this is my sister, Crystal.

Do you want to dance? I asked in my most suave voice. Yeah, I knew it was lame, this whole game guys and girls played, but what could I do about it? People had been doing it way before The Hook-up Doctor was around and theyd do it long after as well.

Id love to, she replied. I looked over to see Jaden and whatever her name was already locked in an embrace. I slid my hands to her waist as she wrapped hers around my neck. The song was fast, but we didnt care. Her body slinked against mine and for a minute, all I could think was, h.e.l.l yes, but then I remembered I hadnt checked my phone for a while. What if Aspen or Pris had texted and I didnt hear it?

Let me tell you, its not easy to slip your cell phone out of your pocket all incognito with a girl slinking her body as close to you as she can. Somehow, I managed it. While she was distracted, rubbing her hand though my hair, which annoyed the c.r.a.p out of me, I checked my phone for messages behind her back.

Nothing.

Instead of being all mopey like I had for most of the night, I tried to get into what I was doing. I had a pretty girl in my arms. A guy definitely shouldnt have to talk himself into enjoying that. Do you live around here? I asked close to her ear, inhaling a deep breath. d.a.m.n. Flowers. I hated that c.r.a.p.

No. My sister and I are staying with my cousin for the summer. Its her house.

That sucks. Id love to get out of this place for the summer and youre stuck here.

Her hand traveled up my back. I dont know I think Im starting to enjoy it.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Every warning bell in my body erupted. I was pretty sure she just told me Im the reason she was starting to enjoy herself. Me-- too I tried to say, but just about that time, Aspen caught my eye on the other side of the room. She stood with some guy, her arms flailing around as she spoke animatedly. She cracked me up when she got excited like that, talking with her body just as much as she did her mouth. I chuckled.

The guy pulled her close to him and they started to sway to the music just like I was doing with Crystal, but all of a sudden, I wasnt laughing any more. The muscles in my body tightened, like Id worked them out too hard and got a cramp. I was sweating and felt like Id had too much to drink when I hadnt.

You what?

Huh? I asked, startled. I couldnt believe I almost forgot I was dancing with this girl.

You said me, but then you stopped.

Get it together, Bastian. Whats wrong with you? Nothing. I guess Im pretty lucky you decided to come for a visit, huh?

I could hear the smile in her voice when she replied, Maybe.

I tried to focus on the girl in my arms, I really did, but my eyes kept darting to the other side of the room. The guy dancing with Aspen tried to slide his hand under the back of her s.h.i.+rt, and I stiffened, immediately pulling away from Crystal. Aspen did the same with hand boy over there, turning her nose up at him in a playful way and walking away. Thats my girl.

Are you okay? Crystal stepped back and looked at me. The girl was beautiful. There was no reason in the world I should be so distracted, but I was.

Want to just chill for a minute? As much as I wanted to be into her, I wasnt right now and I didnt want to lead her on.

She bit her bottom lip and then smiled. I found the quietest corner of the room that I could, but one that still gave me vision to scope out the living room in case I was needed. I stood in the corner, with Crystal in front of me. She showed a lot of skin. Way more than Aspen, but not quite as much as Alex did, which was nice. So, I think it must have been your cousin who met this guy I work with. Hes the one who told me about the party.

Crystal ran her hands down her s.h.i.+rt as if she was trying to smooth it out. Matt or something like that? Paula told me about him.

They hooking up? I asked, not sure why I cared. Okay, so thats a lie, if they were hooking up, I knew he couldnt have Aspen because she wouldnt be down for that. Which meant she couldnt get hurt and I could go back to being my normal self.

I dont think so. They didnt, yet at least. Who knows what will happen tonight though.

Great. There went that plan.

We talked for a little while. She was pretty cool, liked to laugh and I found out her boyfriend dumped her when she told him she was leaving for the summer. That sucks. Sounds like a jerk, but its probably better, anyway. It was pretty obvious I wasnt going to hook-up with this girl tonight and I was okay with that. I wasnt feelin this whole thing and she seemed to still be caught up on her ex. My night of epicness was turning out to be anything but. She was pretty fun to talk to though, so I didnt mind.

Why? she asked.

Whats the point? Relations.h.i.+ps never last anyway. Better to end them quick rather than drag things out. I didnt care how jaded I sounded, it was how I felt. Anyone who had seen what I had would feel the same.

A guy who doesnt believe in love? Wow, I dont run across that every day. Wed never see eye to eye on this, so I just shrugged, scanning the room for my friends. I saw Pris standing alone in a corner, her mouth tight. She obviously wasnt having a good time. Just as I was about to tell Crystal I needed to go check on my friend, I saw Aspen with another dude. He had this c.o.c.ky smirk on his face and she was looking up at him batting her eyelashes in a way Id never seen her do before.

What was she doing? She put an arm around the guys shoulders and he did the same to her. They were laughing. With each pa.s.sing second that they stood there, him looking at her like she was his perfect score for the night, my gut started to squeeze tighter. Was she flirting with this guy? And if she was, which was super freakin weird because Id never seen Aspen flirt before, but why couldnt I take my eyes off her?