"Why are we here again?" Ryan asked as they approached the entryway of the large house.
Bailey rolled her blue eyes. "Because we're freshman in college. We're here to make friends, experience new things, and party. We were lucky to get this invite, so don't be a wet blanket or next time I won't bring you along."
Ryan's whole tall, lanky frame slouched in defiance. Parties, any kind of party, was not his scene. He liked his socializing done one or two people at a time. The only person who could have talked him into coming was Bailey. But he still wanted it known by his words and posture that he was going reluctantly. "I didn't get the invite. I'm just your plus one, and I said I'd rather stay in my dorm room."
"And I ignored what you said and chose to drag you here anyway," the bubbly blonde chided as she playfully slapped his arm. "It'll be good for you. You're always talking about how terrible you are with women. I'll help you get the confidence boost you need to get laid!"
Ryan stopped walking as his brain didn't have enough processing power to understand that last sentence and walk at the same time. For the briefest of moments, he thought that Bailey had offered to have sex with him at the party. He would have been more than okay with that.
The day they had met at orientation had been the day his crush on her began. He had been so awkward when introducing himself to her during an icebreaker. Bailey, however, had accepted him just as he was, and then placed him firmly in the friend zone. But every once in a while, he misinterpreted something she said as a possibility for something more. He knew he was probably wrong though, because he always struggled to communicate with the opposite sex.
Still, Ryan was eternally grateful to have met her. Bailey had helped Ryan come out of his shell bit by bit over the last couple of months. They helped each other in their classes when they could. Most of all, Bailey helped Ryan overcome a strong bout of homesickness he felt at the end of the first month. She was a good friend, possibly the only real one he had made on campus. And he was pretty sure he was in love with her. He kept hoping she would make a move on him, but she never did, and he didn't want to ruin everything by asking for something more.
But she had mentioned getting laid. Him laid to be specific. And his ears had perked up and wondered if she was coming onto him at last. But as his eyes met hers, and he watched her head tilt in confusion, he realized he had mostly likely misread the situation.
Bailey cut back in. "Yes, laid. I thought boys thought about sex all the time. I can be your wingman. Or wing woman as it were."
"Wing woman, sure. It won't matter. I'm terrible at-"
"Talking to girls, I know!" Bailey finished for him as she rang the doorbell.
"Except for you," Ryan pointed out.
Bailey smirked. "Because we're such good friends!"
Ryan almost said something. He almost let it slip that he didn't want to be her friend. He wanted to be her lover. But that would have been horribly cheesy and pathetic. And she would have laughed at him. And she'd tell him that she didn't see him that way. And their friendship would effectively be over. So instead of saying anything, he turned to leave. But Bailey caught his shoulder.
"Hey, you can do this," she said in all seriousness as she spun him back around. "I'm with you all the way." She booped his nose and winked at him. "Until you go all the way that is."
Ryan was about to point out that most likely meant she'd be with him forever, when the door swung wide open to reveal Topher Steward. Everyone knew Topher. He was the guy on campus that could get you things. The kind of things that you needed a fake id to get. Or the kinds of things that helped you ace a test without studying. Or the kinds of mind altering substances that police would absolutely arrest you for having in your possession. And he was always on the lookout for the next thing to sell to his fellow students.
"Oh good, you're here, you're here," Topher said with open arms and a wide grin. As he pulled them inside a large foyer, he spoke loud enough for anyone in the house to hear. "I was worried we were going to have to start the party without you."
Ryan had a brief second to take in the place as they were shuffled into the lavishly decorated interior. It seemed even bigger on the inside. There were stairs that led left and right to a second story. To his right, there seemed to be a study, and beyond that an entryway to what was probably a kitchen.
Topher was leading them to a large room to their left that had a pool table near the middle, shelves of books along one side of the wall, and a fully stocked bar in the corner. There were already thirty or forty people huddled in groups around the room, talking amongst themselves. Ryan thought he knew a few people from around campus. But there was one person he absolutely recognized, because she was probably the hottest girl in a thousand mile radius. Ryan only knew her name was Tiffany, along with the fact that she was a senior with dark hair, an hourglass figure that could stop traffic, and a gorgeous face.
This vision of loveliness stood watching as Topher ushered in what looked to be two naive freshmen, a guy and a girl, into the room. The guy had spotted her, and was now gawking at her tits as if they were celebrities that might give him an autograph. She was used to men staring at her, but they usually did it with a little more subtlety. She shot him a look and a gesture that said my eyes are up here, then made a motion to Topher to start whatever he had planned. She had other places to be. She wouldn't be here if Topher hadn't paid her, and he said he'd only need her services for a 90 second demonstration.
On top of that, he'd also paid for her to recruit several of her more attractive sorority sisters who had come as well. That hadn't been hard. She ran their sorority, so with a snap of her fingers, they would go to whatever party she told them to. But she wasn't being paid to be lusted after by a lame freshman. She tapped her foot and looked around again for anyone worthy of her company. It took more than a cursory glance, but she finally saw Frank, one of the few good athletes on campus. As usual, he had brought his girlfriend, Kim. That was a pity. She'd totally jump Frank's bones if Kim didn't have him on a two foot leash all the time.
Frank was wondering why they were all just standing around. Usually when he came to one of Topher's parties, the party was raging by the time he walked through the door. So far this was a very quiet and subdued affair, definitely not his preferred scene. He liked his parties loud, because that way he couldn't hear his girlfriend's incessant complaining or trying to draw him into a fight. He would have already cut and run if Topher hadn't told him that it'd be worth his while. So he tried to wait patiently, and hoped his girlfriend Kim would do the same. But by her posture and the expression of discontent on her face, she was going to do no such thing.
"Babe, look at who's here," she said derisively. "I'd talk with, maybe like, two or three of these people. And there's no music, and nobody's drinking! We're leaving."
He slid his hands around Kim's tight waist and pulled her towards him to hopefully calm her foul mood. She felt so soft against him, and she smelled terrific. "Babe, give Topher a chance. He said-"
Kim pushed his arms down and stepped out of his embrace. "I don't care what Topher said!" she hissed louder than she knew Frank would like. "I said we're leaving."
