I’m already getting ready to meet up with Lorenzo, Ayanna, and Luca. It’s late October, but the night isn’t too cold. I choose to wear a long-sleeved black dress that comes to a stop right above my knees, and a pair of black booties. It’s not like I’m going to be outside a whole lot anyway.
My curly hair is loose around my face, falling past my shoulders, and I keep makeup minimal as usual, focusing on eye makeup and a mauve lipstick.
Once I’m done, I get in my car and drive to Antoni’s to meet up with my friends. When I walk in, Lorenzo’s eyes widen as they travel over every curve on my body. He gives me a hug and whispers in my ear, “Damn, Mami. You’re gonna have me fighting the guys away.”
I grin and playfully smack him, then take a seat across from Ayanna and Luca.
“Damn, girl. You’re not playin’ around tonight,” Ayanna says with a grin.
“We ordered already,” Lorenzo says. “You picky about your pizza?”
“As long as it doesn’t have pineapples or onions.”
“All right, then we’re good.”
When the food arrives at the table, the four of us dig in, then Lorenzo has all of us cracking up. He doesn’t have to try hard to get people laughing.
As we’re polishing off our drinks, a couple walks in and goes straight to the counter and asks if they can leave flyers. The guy seems to know the lady at the counter, and she tells him it’s okay, then as they’re leaving, he glances at our table and heads over.
“Hey, you guys over twenty-one?”
He looks familiar, and I try to remember where I’ve seen him before.
“Yeah, why?” Lorenzo questions.
“I own the bar down the block. We’re having a Halloween party. Tell your friends.” He places a few flyers on our table, and then his green eyes meet mine. He looks away, then does a double-take. Tilting his head slightly, he gives me a smile, then says, “Have a good night.” He wraps his arm around the shoulder of the blond woman he’s with and walks out.
Ayanna picks up a flyer. “Cool. Costume party. Now we need to go shopping,” she tells me.
“You guys wanna go to this?” Luca questions.
“You don’t?” Ayanna fires back. “Fine, me and Nova will go, and all the guys will be looking at us.”
“All right, all right,” Luca says, giving her a kiss on the temple.
“Who’s ready to drink?” Lorenzo asks, standing up. “Because I am.”
* * *
An hour later, we’re one shot and one drink in, hanging out in one of the dorm rooms in Cashis Hall. The main lights are out, leaving a bright LED strobe to light up the room while music blasts from a stereo.
There are four rooms open for partying tonight, and a ton of students wandering in and out of each one, dancing, drinking, making out, and playing a variety of drinking games.
“You wanna be my partner for beer pong?” Lorenzo asks.
I shrug. “Sure.”
We partner up against a couple of jocks, and because of me, we lose.
“Damn, girl. We need to work on your aim,” Lorenzo says, swallowing down the last cup of beer.
I giggle, already tipsy, “Sorry. Hand-eye coordination isn't my thing, I guess.”
Lorenzo’s been a little more touchy feely tonight—wrapping his arm around my shoulder or waist, grabbing my hand to escort me through all the people when we move to another room, stuff like that.
We haven’t discussed dating or hooking-up, but I can tell he’s testing the waters. I don’t hate his touch, and like I said before, he’s definitely good-looking, but there’s a mental block keeping me from throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him.
That block is Elijah, so I keep drinking, hoping to drown him out.
The four of us go to another room and play another game called flip cup, which means drinking more beer. But it’s a cool game and there’s good music, so we have fun.
It’s just barely past eleven o’clock and I’m already feeling like I’ve been drinking for hours. We got an early start tonight, but I’m starting to think I should get some food to help absorb some of this alcohol. Of course these dorm parties never have food.
“You okay over here?” Lorenzo asks.
I nod and give him a drunken happy smile. “I think I drank too much too fast. Beer and those shots aren’t mixing well.”
His face shows concern. “You think you’re gonna throw up? Pass out?”
I snort and shake my head. “Nah. I’ll be fine. Just gonna slow down.”
“You sure?”
I shoot him another smile as my eyelids start feeling heavier. “Positive.”
He grins and leans in and places a quick kiss on my forehead. “I’m gonna find Ayanna and Luca. Don’t move. I’ll be back.”
God, he’s great. I wish I wasn’t hung up on Elijah, because Lorenzo’s an absolute sweetheart.
I stay where I am for a couple minutes, until a group of guys start crowding my corner as they talk about their last football game.
I start to get hot and sweaty, and the loud bass of the music triggers a headache. I need to find another room that isn’t as loud and crowded, and maybe a cup of water.
As I make my way out into the hall and into the next room over, I slide my phone from my wristlet and send a quick text to both Lorenzo and Ayanna and tell them where I’ve moved.
When I get into the room, I spot a girl holding a burrito and my stomach growls instantly. “Where’d you get that?”
She finishes chewing, her eyes red and glassy, probably like mine. “Not too far away,” she slurs. “Umm, go downstairs, go over a block or so, there’s a fast food place.”
I
