Sebastian

There was a lot of things I wanted to do during my free time. Girls weren't one of them.

So when Ryan, my best friend and roommate, invited me to a party with the rest of the guys, I told him my usual excuse: I was too tired from work. Not a full lie, but if I wanted to go, I had enough energy for it. Parties just weren't my thing.

Never mind all the drunk and sweaty bodies; that wasn't what bothered me. The pretty girls themselves were reason enough for me to avoid those sorts of places. And no, I wasn't gay.

Any place where girls could entice me were off limits. A lot of the time, they didn't want anything serious anyway. They made you believe they did, then ended up crushing you when they had the chance.

I fell for it once, knew not to fall for it again.

"Hey, are you sure you don't wanna go?" Ryan tried to make sure for the tenth time, waiting by the door.

I waved him off and grunted as I lowered myself onto the couch with a beer in hand. I took a long swig, releasing a sigh of content before setting the bottle down on the coffee table in front of me.

"Just go, man. Have fun." I assured him.

"All right." He didn't look pleased, but knew I wouldn't budge no matter how much he insisted. "You got my back if I need a ride, though, right?"

"You know you can count on me, bro."

"You the best." He patted his hand over his heart and grinned goofily, blowing a kiss as he waved his fingers at me. "Byeee."

"Later." I waved back normally, grabbed my beer, and took another long sip.

Once he shut the door after him, I was left all alone.

About five minutes later, I leaned back against the cushions and blew out a deep breath. Talk about boredom. The house without Ryan was lonely and depressing.

A quick look at the time showed me that it was only half past nine.

Might as well go to sleep, I thought.

I quickly chugged the rest of my beer, disposed of the bottle, and went into my room. Thankfully, it wasn't long after I laid down that I knocked out.

The sound of my phone ringing woke me up no later than a few hours after I fell asleep. The night sky was still visible from my window, and the moonlight was the only thing illuminating my room.

I grumbled as I reached out to grab my phone, squinting at the bright screen. I quickly tapped the answer button before pressing the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, papiiii!"

I sighed in defeat at the sound of Ryan's voice and the drunk laughter in the background. I knew where this was going. I sat up and didn't give him time to say anything else. "I'm on my way."

"Can you— oh. How'd you know?"

I rubbed one hand over my face. "Because it's you."

Instead of sheepishly admitting that I was right—like he usually did every time he called me drunk—he cursed Nathan repeatedly. I pushed my eyebrows together in confusion, until I heard Ryan's voice sounding farther and farther away. Nathan stole and ran away with his phone, I figured.

"Hey, Sebby!" Nathan shouted into the phone, sounding completely out of breath.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Hey, man."

"Give me my phone back!"

"Can you pretty please bring me a slushee?" Nathan took his chance to beg before the phone got snatched away from him. "You're a dick." I heard him grumble as Ryan took control over the call again.

"You know where we are, right?" Ryan asked me.

I nodded, though he couldn't see me. "Yeah, man. Jake's house right?"

"That's the one."

"I'll be there in ten," I informed. "You want anything from the liquor store? I'm going to grab Nathan's slushee anyway."

"Nah, man, I'm good. Thanks, though."

"All right. See you."

"Byeee!"

I threw my phone on the bed and dragged my hands down my face. This was the regular. They'd invite me to a party, or to a club, or wherever there was alcohol, and I'd always decline. But I still ended up going to pick their drunk asses up. I didn't know why I thought this time would be any different.

After safely tucking my phone into my jean pocket, I grabbed a jacket and my keys, locked the door behind me, and drove to the nearest liquor store to grab Nathan's slushee. I also grabbed three water bottles and a pack of gummy worms along with it.

I finished the gummy worms on my way to the party, my attempt at using sugar to wake up—I wasn't really a fan of coffee.

When I arrived in front of Jake's house, I groaned in annoyance when I didn't find any available parking spots nearby.

Not wanting to walk with—not one, but two—drunk and fully grown men, I parked in front of the house and turned on my hazard lights. A quick text made the guys surface from inside the house with a girl by their side.

I raised a confused brow. They weren't the type of guys who had meaningless hookups. And the last time I checked, neither one of them had a girlfriend.

The girl was gorgeous as hell, though. She barely reached Nathan's nose, and he was the shortest one of the group, measuring 5'11".

Her and Nathan waited by the sidewalk as Ryan knocked on my passenger window. A bit hesitant and confused, I rolled it down.

"Hey, baby," he slurred, batting his eyelashes. "Are you interested in a fun night?"

An amused grin parted my lips and I shook my head at my drunk-off-his-mind best friend. But I decided to go along with it, just for shits and giggles.

"How much for an hour?"

He pushed his imaginary hair behind his shoulder, admiring his nails for a second before shifting his gaze back on me. "Well, I usually charge fifty an hour," he started, "but you're cute, so free for you, baby."

I let out a genuine laugh. Every time it was something new with him. Last time he chased after an opossum, claiming it was his lost dog. He never even owned a dog.

"Get in, you doofus," I ordered with a chuckle.

He winked, seeming pleased with himself. "'Kay, daddy. Whatever you say."

He climbed into the backseat and I signaled for Nathan to approach my car with a quick head nod.

Obliging, he neared my car and bent down to stick his head in through the window. "Can we pretty please give her a ride? Her name is Aleah, and she's my sister's babysitter. She came in her own car, but she doesn't want to drive drunk."

My eyes snapped over to her, and she bit down on her lip nervously as she looked back at me.

"I don't mind driving her home." I said, my eyes still on her. "Let's go, though. It's cold out and she looks like she's freezing... which is why I have no idea why you wanted this," I added as I handed him his melting slushee.

Nathan beamed, jumping up and down in excitement like a kid during Christmas as he grabbed it from me. "Thank you so much! Come on, Aleah. Do you want to sit in the front or back?"

"I don't mind." She smiled lazily. She looked drunk and tired, but more tired than anything.

"Yo, Aleah!"

She snapped her head around as a guy stumbled out of the party shouting for her. She frowned, hugging herself as he approached her and swung an arm around her shoulders. She looked uncomfortable, and something about the way he held her made me vigilant.

The guy turned his attention over to us—Ryan was already knocked out in the backseat, Nathan was waiting by the car looking confused as he sipped his slushee, and I was gripping the steering wheel harder than needed.

"I got her from here, guys." He waved us off, starting to lead her away. "Thanks!"

She tried to anchor her feet to the ground to stop him, but he was a lot stronger than she was. She looked back at us pleadingly, and that was enough to set me off. I got out of my car and stormed towards them, blocking their way.

He looked up at me. He was at least four inches shorter than I was. It was an advantage, but I wasn't planning on fighting him.

"Let me take her home." I tried to sound calm. "She's drunk. Whatever you want with her, she can't consent. And I'm not gonna stand around and let you take her away for your selfish needs."

He snorted, holding her to his side tightly. "What? Caught feelings, man? Won't be long before she ditches you, too, if you did."

Now I was confused. What the hell was he talking about? I was just trying to get her home safely.

"Look, man. I don't even know her, and I don't want any trouble. Just let me take her home."

I reached forward to take her from him and she reached out for me, but he wouldn't budge.

"What makes you think I won't get her home safely?" He scoffed, his eyes going back towards Ryan and Nathan. Then he looked up into my eyes and smiled knowingly. "Oh, I see."

I looked back at my friends in confusion, raising a questioning brow at the guy. "See what?"

"You guys are planning a foursome, huh?"

I sputtered in disbelief just as she reached up to slap him.

"How dare you?" She spat angrily.

He clutched his aching cheek, smirking down at her. "I knew you were a slut, but that much of a daring slut? Damn, you're really down for whatever."

I saw red. There was nothing I hated more than that damned word. Before I could stop myself, I closed the gap between us and swung on him. I was breathing heavily, trying to calm my anger down as I watched him lying on the ground.

Aleah ran to my side, wrapping her arms around me before trying to pull me away. "Let's go," she pleaded.

But I was livid.

"Let me hear you talk to a lady like that again, and I won't stop at one punch. Consider this your warning."

Cupping his jaw, he looked up at me and could only nod.

I allowed Aleah to pull me back to my car just as people piled out of the house to see the commotion. I opened the passenger door for her to get in first, then opened the backdoor to usher Nathan in. He smiled sheepishly when I looked at him expectantly, finally getting in after he took a picture of the guy on the ground. I then made my way around to get into the driver seat.

After making sure she was okay, I drove out of there before anyone even thought about calling the cops.

"Where do you live?" I asked once we were a good distance away from the house, glancing over at her for a quick second.

Her lips were pressed into a tight line and her brows were pushed together. She was silent for a moment.

"Is it okay if I crash at yours?" she eventually asked in a soft, timid voice.

I stopped at a red light and turned to her, confused. "Um, you don't know me... didn't your mom teach you that it isn't safe to trust strangers?"

"For starters, I'm already in your car." She pointed out with an arched brow, one side of her lips turning upwards in a teasing smile. "But I guess I'll go along. Are you a pervert? You literally just punched a guy for disrespecting me. I highly doubt you are."

"Well, yeah—" but she wasn't done.

"The sweetest guy I've ever known is sitting behind me slurping on his red slushee that you bought for him. I'd say he's your friend, so you're a good guy in my eyes. But if I needed more reason to like your persona, you're also friends with a guy who acts gay when he's drunk." She looked back at Ryan and laughed to herself, probably remembering. "But even if they weren't here, I'd easily trust you with my life after what happened back there."

I turned a corner and realized it was only a few more minutes before we arrived at the house. I raked a hand through my hair nervously. "I don't know if I should..."

"If it's a bother, I understand," she assured with a sigh. "Drop me off at a hotel or something nearby. I just can't be seen by my parents like this."

I tried to gulp down my nerves as I pulled over and turned to look at her, my hands trembling as I reached up to drag them down my face. "Please don't tell me you're a minor."

"What, no!" she blurted out as soon as the question left my lips. "I'm twenty-one, attending my last year at college. My dad is just a strict man, that's all."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, continuing my way to our house. "You can crash in my room. I'll sleep on the couch. I don't feel comfortable ditching you at a random hotel."

"Thank you."