Music faintly pumps through the door as I walk up to my brother's house, tugging on my tank top. When i try the knob, it's open so I let myself in. The volume racks up a few notches as I step inside. Sweat and alcohol invade my nostrils as i glance around the room, filled mostly with people I don't know.
I spy David leaning against the low wall between the kitchen and living room, his arm around Mary Margaret, laughing. I make a beeline for them, tapping my brother's shoulder.
"Emma!" His joy is infectious and I find myself smiling. He's always been the more open and optimistic of the two of us. Where I throw up walls when people try to get close, David wears his very large heart on his sleeve. Mary Margaret is cut from the same cloth. They really are perfect for each other.
"Everyone, my ever elusive sister finally makes an appearance at one of my parties."
I roll my eyes at him, "you know I work a lot, David."
"Too much."
Ashley, a kind blonde girl, chimes in, "come on, Dave, give her a break. Emma is my hero. She saved my butt in chemistry last semester. That stuff takes time!"
He shares a look with Mary Margaret but neither says anything more about my lack of a social life. Thankfully. They go back to discussing their favorite NFL teams so I tune them out, fidgeting.
M&m and David have these parties every weekend,they look forward to them all week. I don't get it. It's just a bunch of people drinking and half-ass dancing to the top 40 hits in a really warm room.
For something to do, I move to the counter laden with half empty bottles of alcohol and load a plastic cup with some whiskey and coke.
"Alcohol?" A smooth, accented voice cuts through the music as I feel a body sidle up to mine, "I didn't peg you as one that would partake in spirits."
"And you know everything about me from the three minutes we spent together?" I lean my hip against the counter as I turn towards Killian Jones. He's traded the v neck for a black button down with the sleeves pushed up and half the buttons undone, giving me a healthy view of the dark hair on his chest. I can see a hint of a tattoo on his wrist as he takes a swig from the Captain Morgan bottle in his hand.
He steps a little closer to me, "I'm good at reading people. And you seemed a little judgmental in the hallway there, Emma."
"Hardly. I was just on duty, I'm resident advisor of those girls, I have to be stern and uphold the rules."
One eyebrow quirks up as he smiles, "and when you're off duty?"
I take a big gulp from my cup, "I drink."
"A lass after my own heart. Cheers to that." He taps his bottle to my cup then sips his rum again. I drink from mine, suppressing a smile.
When I check the time on phone, Killian mutters, "you really don't want to be here."
"What? How did- what makes you say that?"
"I told you, I can read people. When I walked in, you were completely checked out of their conversation," he gestures at Mary Margaret and the others with his bottle, "eyes glazed over, toe of your boot tapping, you must've checked your phone a dozen times in ten minutes, waiting for it to be an acceptable time to leave." At my surprised face, he smirks, "you're something of an open book, love." He swigs his drink, eyeing me over the lip of the bottle. "Which begs the question, why are you even here if you want to leave so badly? Is there a boyfriend among that group?"
Could he be more obvious.
"No, no boyfriend. This is my-"
"Killian," David exclaims, throwing an arm around him, "good to see you. I see you know Emma. Good, good. She needs more friends. It's impossible to get my little sister out of her dorm."
"little sister?" His eyebrows raise in surprise.
"By four and a half minutes," I mumble, "and he'll never let it go." David pretends not to hear me but Killian smiles.
"From your stories of her, I assumed she was a freshmen here. It's good to see the beautiful face that goes with the stories." He stares at me in a way that makes my body flush. I drop my eyes to his chest, which does little to relieve the heat as I eye his tanned skin again.
David seems oblivious to his friend's flirting, or maybe just uses to it if the rumors about Killian are true. I've heard he sleeps with a different girl every night.
"Have you two known each other long," David asks, standing in front of me slightly. Maybe he's not so oblivious then. I almost roll my eyes.
Killian shakes his head, an embarrassed smile crossing his features, "no, we just met today actually. Emma was witness to one of my ... ah, dalliances meeting another. It wasn't an ideal circumstance."
"It happened on my floor," I clarify, as David still looks confused.
"Emma was kind enough to give me some advice before sending me on my way," his eyes dance with laughter, appealingly. What is wrong with me? I cut my eyes away from him, watching Mary Margaret. Staring into his eyes? Sneaking glances at his bare chest? Just because he's attractive, yes i admit it, he's attractive, doesn't mean I need to be standing here ogling him.
"Well I had to see what was up, he was getting yelled at so loudly it was disturbing my hall." I say, as disinterested as possible, sipping my drink again.
Killian's smirk suggests he knows what I've been thinking. I don't like that I want to stay and talk to him more so I pipe up, "is August here? I've been meaning to talk to him."
David shakes his head, "I haven't seen him, but there's so many people here. You could ask M&m."
"I'll do that," I nod at them and turn around, hurrying away.
Mary Margaret confirms that August, my only other friend besides her and my brother, isn't there, so I stick with her, listening to her chatter about a project she's working on. The night creeps by as people come and go, talking to me and Mary Margaret. I refill my drink a few times.
David joins us after a while and, annoyingly, I look around the room for Killian, trying to be casual. He's fiddling around on his phone, sitting on a couch behind Mary Margaret so I can watch without being obvious.
As the night goes on, a pretty black girl sits next to him and I stare as he shares his rum with her, laughing at whatever she's saying to him. When she leans into him, her lips right at his ear, his eyes find mine. I'm pinned by his gaze, embarrassed at being caught staring but unable to look away. He grins and winks at me, his hand landing on her knee. I look away and angrily set my cup on the table beside me.
"I'm gonna go," I mutter to David, angry that I'm mad at all. Killian Jones should not be able to rile me up so easily. I vow to put him out of my mind. Should be easy enough. Even though our school is small, today is the first I've ever seen him so it should be easy to ignore him. My life can go on as it was.
That's what I want.