Honestly, dancing with Nabila was so much fun that I forgot about Angelo for a while.

Eventually, I noticed him. He was still standing at the spot that I had left him, nodding his head along to the music.

Facing him, I grinned, then began mimicking his movements.

He arched an eyebrow, then smiled.

I began doing the two-step. He did the same. As I sped up my movements, he followed along, falling in line with the beat. I stepped closer to him until his intoxicating scent was the most prominent smell in the room.

Looking up at his eyes through my lashes, I smiled, then turned and backed up until I was pressed against his crotch. He placed his hands on my hips.

I craned my neck backward until my mouth was near his ears. "Just follow my lead."

I began to grind against him. He moved with me, and soon I felt him hardening. My skin began tingling: whether from being near him or the effects of the alcohol, I wasn't sure.

Honestly, I'm not sure how many songs we danced to - I was too focused on him to notice much else. At some point, his hands moved to my stomach and we started making out.

Eventually, my legs got tired, so I broke apart and led him to a seat. He sat down, then pulled me into his warm embrace, resting his head on my shoulder. Some people were giving us side glances, but I didn't care.

When I'd fully settled, I asked, "Where's Nabila?"

Angelo replied, "Having fun." He pointed in her direction. She was grinding against some guy, not too far from where I'd left.

My mouth dropped open. Oh my god, yes!

Precious tapped my shoulder, drawing my attention to her. She leaned down to me, smirking. "Well, I can see you are...bonding."

My cheeks warmed as I rolled my eyes, smiling. "Yeah, yeah."

"Come on, I wanna introduce you to some people."

"Oh thanks, but we're-"

"Sounds good," Angelo interrupted.

I frowned. But I don't wanna get up!

Precious replied, "Great!"

Reluctantly, I stood up. "Hold on, I wanna let Nabila know."

"Wait, there's no need to spoil her fun!"

Gee, would have been great if you'd given me that same consideration!

I replied, "True."

Angelo and I followed her outside to the lawn. She led us to where a group of about three guys and two girls were. The guys were playing pool, while the girls were lounging on the bench, watching them. Empty alcohol cans were littered around them.

The two girls happened to be Emma and Amelia, who I'd run into on my first day in the dorms. Amelia was my dormmate, so I saw her fairly regularly. From what I had gathered, Emma was her girlfriend.

I smiled at them. "Hi."

Emma returned the smile. "Hi."

Amelia grunted a reply.

Bitch.

Precious gestured at the guys. "Aimee, Angelo, these are Miguel, Jack, and Dustin. Guys, meet Angelo and Aimee."

While Dustin and Jack were over 6 feet and around the same height as Angelo, Miguel was closer to my height, so around 5'9. He was also slimmer than the other two, who were muscular.

Jack was pale with striking blue eyes and blonde hair. Dustin was a shade darker than him, with straight brown hair and a lightly bearded face. Miguel's skin was a tawny beige, and he had a buzz cut and sharp features.

I smiled at them. "Hi." They echoed my greetings, including Angelo.

Hitting the billiard ball, Dustin asked, "Do you both go here?"

"I do," I replied. "Angelo doesn't."

Precious smirked. "He's here for a 'friendly' visit."

I groaned.

"And now, I take my leave." Grinning, Precious walked away. "Have fun y'all!"

"Friendly, eh?" Miguel waggled his eyebrows at me. "Suddenly I'm very interested in becoming 'friends' with you."

I laughed in a strained manner. Don't hold your breath.

Standing upright, Dustin waved the cue stick at us. "We're almost done with this game. Any of you wanna join the next one?"

I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm good."

"I'll play."

I look at Angelo, blinking. "You will?"

He shrugged. "I'm good at it."

"I'll play against you." Miguel grinned. "You'll be fine, as long as you don't expect to win."

Angelo smirked. "I guess we'll see."

. . .

Angelo and Miguel played three games in total: Angelo won all of them.

After the third one, Angelo put down the cue stick and walked over to me.

"Hey come back here, we're not done!" Miguel protested.

Smirking, Angelo sat beside me. "I've gotten tired of winning, so we in fact are."

Grinning, Jack whistled as he started rolling a joint.

"Damn!" Dustin exclaimed. "I'm embarrassed on your behalf, Miguel. How do you talk shit and then end up losing?"

Putting down the stick, Miguel grumbled, "Fuck off, I'm still a bit buzzed so it doesn't count."

"Well, I'm sure Angelo would be happy to face you some other time when you're soberer." I grinned at Angelo. "Right?"

He smiled enigmatically. "Of course."

"Good luck catching him sober." Jack picked up the joint he'd rolled, lighting it. After taking a hit, he handed it to Amelia, who did the same then handed it to Dustin.

After taking a puff, Dustin asked me and Angelo, "Y'all interested?"

Angelo replied, "I am."

Eyebrows raising, I looked at him. "You are?"

He shrugged, taking it from Dustin, then taking a hit.

Since when do you smoke?

"I am as well then." I took it from him, then took a hit myself. I coughed a bit as the harsh smoke went down my lungs. Damn, it's been a while.

Miguel walked up to me, taking the joint. He grinned when his fingers brushed against mine. "Appreciate it."

I recoiled. "You're welcome."

Ew!

. . .

Angelo and I spent the next few minutes smoking in silence, enjoying the music coming from indoor and the banter that started between Miguel and Dustin. Eventually, Amelia and Emma left, and Miguel, Jack, and Dustin went back to playing pool.

Once Angelo and I were alone, I asked, "So...you smoke weed?"

"How'd you figure that out?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be a smartass. When did you start?"

He shrugged. "15, 16? It was at my first party anyway."

"Ah. So you've been smoking regularly since then?"

"Nah, I used it periodically. I only started using it earlier this year because...well, you can guess why."

Max.

"Yeah. Did it...help?"

He shrugged. "Somewhat, I guess. It helped me sleep, as well as avoid some things at the moment. Plus, most of my trips were good."

I began to feel lightheaded. "Mo-most of them?"

He hesitated, then said, "Well...sometimes, the weed would amplify some of my more negative emotions and make me think...negative thoughts."

"Oh." My gut clenched. "I'm...sorry you had to go through that."

He shrugged. "Yeah well, that's in the past. I'm alright now. Speaking of alright, this music isn't bad."

I giggled. "'Isn't bad'? Why not good?"

"Because they're not..."

I could do with some goodies. I wonder if they have food here? Well, there are drinks...no, not the same. I need food. Real food. No meat, of course, I will not be eating any animals. All those poor animals trapped in zoos. I wonder how they-

"Aimee?"

I blinked, focusing on Angelo. I giggled. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Pay attention, I said..." He paused, then giggled as well. "I don't remember. Fuck, we're both high as shit right now, aren't we?"

"No, shit isn't high. It's flushed down toilets, so it's low. Therefore, by your logic, we are low right now."

"I-" He paused, frowning. "Hmm, good point."

We definitely were 'high as shit' then.

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