"Ay! This is lit!" Brice moved to the beat of the music as we entered the party. There were people at every corner, talking and dancing. It was so hot that my skin began to moisten, and the music was deafening.

        I just wanted to go home, listen to my music and watch some movies.

        Estella clutched onto my arm as she took everything in. I smirked at her. "You're not gonna fly away, you know."

        I said this, but I wasn't too annoyed.

        Estella stared at me with round eyes. "I've never been to a party without my girls."

        "Don't worry." We stopped, and Brice stood in front of us. "We gotchu." He rubbed his thumb along her cheek, and she sent him a close-lipped smile. "Although," he said with his eyes running up and down her body, "with you looking this fine, some guys may come running."

         Estella giggled, and my brows knitted together.

        Estella was wearing a form-fitting black dress with high wedges to go with it, and it was complimented with a heavier amount of makeup than what she usually wore.

        She looked very attractive. But it didn't look like her, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

        "Can you get the drinks, Brice?" I said, changing the topic.

        "What do you want?" he asked. "Alcohol? Punch? Soda? Water?"

        "Water," I said.

        "Punch," Estella answered.

        "Got it. I'll be back." Brice turned around and headed for the kitchen while Estella and I moved to the living room.

         There was only a one-person couch available, so I motioned for her to take it. Estella sent me a sideways glance.

        "We can both sit on the couch, you know."

        I shook my head. "I'll squash you."

        I was a much bigger person than Estella—weight and height wise—but I liked her confidence.

        She playfully slapped my arm. "I don't mean we sit side-by-side. You can sit down, and I'll sit on your lap."

        "No, thanks," I said. "Sit." I motioned to the chair, and she sat down.

        "Do you not want me on your lap?" She stared up at me while I stood beside her with my arms crossed.

        "Don't take it personally, Estella."

        "I know, I know," she said. "You don't like touching people." She raised a brow. "Why's that?"

        I shrugged. "There's no reason."

        I didn't like people. What other reason did I need? Although, Estella and the boys weren't so bad.

        She crossed her legs and leaned an elbow on the arm of the couch. "I need to soften you up. I like hugging and being close to my friends, so this isn't going to work out."

        I got down on one knee and looked at her. "So, I'm your friend?"

        She held my gaze. "Yeah. I don't know why, but you are." I rolled my eyes. "I don't like my friends being physically distant or emotionally distant, for that matter. I still don't know much about you." I sighed, and almost stood up, but she stopped me. "But we'll only work on the physical for tonight."

        Even the sound of that gave me chills. What the hell did she mean "work on the physical?"

        "I have your back," I said. "Isn't that good enough?"

        "You have my back?" She bit her lip with a smile.

        "When we're here, I'm the one who's gotchu."

        Her smile wavered. "What about Brice?"

        "Brice has to be here to have your back."

        "And why wouldn't he be here?" An expression of fear took over her face.

        I stood up and crossed my arms again. "You'll see."

        "There you are." Brice came into our line of vision, and he made his way over to us. "Here you go." He handed me my bottle of water and then Estella her punch. He had an Icehouse beer for himself. "This is what I'm talking about." He opened the beer can and took a huge gulp.

        "The punch has alcohol," I said, and Estella froze. "Just wanna let you know."

        Her eyes widened. "W-what? Wait..." She eyed the drink before moving her suspicions to me and Brice. "Should I even be taking a drink from you, Brice?" He sent her a blank look. "Jax, you said you have my back, but you're a boy. Should I even be trusting you?"

        "Really?" I brought my bottle of water down from my lips. "I don't even want you on my lap, so do you really think I'll be in on a plot to rape you?"

        She thought about it and shrugged. "True. Even the thought of you having sex is odd since you don't like touching people."

        Brice busted into laughter while Estella took a sip of her punch. I narrowed my eyes. I didn't have to constantly be touching people to be good at sex.

        Too bad she'd never find out.

        "It's pretty good." She nodded in approval, and Brice moved closer to her.

        "I don't have to rape girls, Estella," he said. "They come to me willingly. Now..." He got down on one knee and placed a hand on her thigh. "Since Jax refused the offer, can you sit on my lap?"

        They stared at each other while I resisted the urge to clear my throat.

        "Yeah." She bounced up to her feet, and he sat down in her place. He patted his leg, and she willingly sat down on it. Brice wrapped an arm around her middle and pulled her closer, making her giggle. "Much better." She glanced my way with pursed lips, and I rolled my eyes.

        Not long after, one of the guys from hip-hop company ran into the living room, and once his eyes locked on Brice, he ran over. "Brice!" He stopped in front of us, catching Brice's attention. "Stephanie's looking for you."

        Brice's eyes widened. "For real?" The guy nodded. "I gotta go. I'll be back."

        He helped Estella get off of his lap before running off with the guy. Estella watched him with her back facing me while I stifled a laugh.

        She spun around to face me with a scowl on her face. "Who the hell is Stephanie?"

        Any urges to laugh went out the door. Estella didn't usually use the word "hell."

        "I don't know." I honestly didn't. Brice and I were friends, but we weren't all up in each other's business like that.

        Estella's shoulders slacked. "Why's my mind making assumptions?"

        Maybe because your mind is right?

        "Hey." I walked over and stopped in front of her. She slowly looked up at me. "We're at a party. Might as well have some fun and not let it bother you."

        At that moment, the music changed to some Rihanna song, and Estella's eyes lit up. She placed her cup of punch and my bottle of water down. "Let's dance."

        She grabbed my hand and began to drag me to the dance floor.

        "Estella, no," I said, but she continued to pull me to the dreaded spot. "I don't dance."

        She slowed her pace, sending me a look. "You're in hip-hop company."

        "I dance then," I said, "and when I'm practicing, but I don't dance at parties or social gatherings."

        I never felt like it.

        Estella moved us to the middle of the crowd, and she watched me carefully. "You're one strange boy, Iago Velasco."

        I smiled. I really liked the way she said Iago.

        "But I don't care," she said. "It's your week of servitude, and you're dancing with me." She grabbed my hands in hers and moved to the song. "Come on, Jax. I know you can dance better than this." I playfully frowned at her before putting some effort in to move to the beat. "Yeah, Jax! I knew you had it in you."

        She continued to cheer me on, as if I was doing something important, even though I was just dancing. Not a lot of people cheered me on.

        I liked it.

        She released my hand, and we moved to the song together, laughing and dancing. I hated parties, but this one wasn't too bad.

        Then Estella glanced over, and she stopped. Her face dropped, and I slowed down, too, and followed her gaze.

        Brice stood a couple people away from us with his arms wrapped around some girl as she was grinding on him.

        Shit.

        I refocused my attention on the girl in front of me, who watched the pair with her expression crumbling.

        "I'm guessing that's Stephanie," Estella said.

        "Estella..." I started, but she turned on her heels to walk off, and I grabbed her. "No, no, no." She struggled, but my grip didn't loosen from around her. "You're not running off and ruining your night because of that. I won't let you."

        She relaxed in my arms, but I didn't let go of her. Her hair smelled like fresh coconuts, but her body wash was too harsh. It was jarring in comparison to her usually natural scent.

        I let go of her and turned her around to face me again, and Estella sighed. "I feel like an idiot," she said. "What am I thinking? Brice is a junior. He's sexy and popular. I'm delusional to think he'll give me—a sophomore band-geek who's immature—the time of day. I should have seen this coming."

        She groaned and covered her face with her hands.

        I studied her with my hands in my pockets. "Estella?" She peeked up at me. "Do you know what you deserve?" She waited for me to continue. "You deserve a guy who doesn't run off to other girls because you on his lap is all he wants. A guy who doesn't make you feel good and special only to do the same to the next girl. A guy who only makes you feel good and special because you are to him and because you're the only one in his eyes. That's the guy you deserve."

        We held eye contact, silently as the music and people continued around us. Brice was my friend.

        But he wasn't that guy.

        A small smile broke on Estella's face. "I don't care if you don't like hugs."

        She got on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my shoulder. I tensed up at first, but gradually relaxed and wrapped my arms around her, too.

        Whenever I hugged people, there was usually a strange feeling that followed. This situation still had that, but the feeling was different from the others.

        "Jax," she whispered, and her breath brushed against my neck. Goosebumps spread along my skin, and I couldn't take it anymore.

        I gently untangled the two of us from each other, needing some distance again.

        "Thanks," Estella said, and I nodded.

        The music changed again, but this time, to something slower and more...sensual?

        Hell no.

        I turned around to leave, but Estella grabbed my arm. "Uh-uh. You're not leaving that easily." She grinned, and it was good to see that awful expression of hurt gone from her face.

        Estella had a beautiful smile, and it was nice seeing her show it.

        "Estella, do you hear the music, right now?" I glanced around at all the people on the dancefloor pretty much grinding on each other.

        No.

        "Don't be a baby," she said. "Are you nervous around me?"

        I chuckled while running my hands through my hair. "Why would I be?"

        "Then let's do it." She moved in a way that there wasn't much space between us. "We're friends, having fun at a party. There's no harm in that." She was really close. "Hmm?"

        We both said nothing at first.

        Then I placed my hands on her hips, spun her around, and pressed her flush to me. "Like this?" I said, and she turned her head to the side to look at me.

        "Yeah." She reached her hand back to grab my hair while moving her hips to the music.

        We maintained eye contact the whole time as one of my hands moved up to her waist while the other remained on her hip. Estella's lips parted, and my gaze dropped down to them. Her lip gloss was gone now, but they looked more natural. More like her. She was so soft and curvy. This was the closest I'd ever been to Estella.

        The booming music didn't annoy me anymore. The clusters of people no longer agitated me, even when someone bumped into us.

        I only focused on her.

        "Do friends do this?" I muttered, and she snickered, still holding my gaze.

        "Does it make you uncomfortable?" She released her grip on my hair and grabbed my arms to wrap them around her middle. "Does it?" she repeated.

        I swallowed. I wasn't uncomfortable. I just felt...different.

        "A man of few words." She removed herself from my grasp, giggling, as the song ended. We were facing each other again and everything was hitting me once more.

        The people. The music. But it was more tolerable now.

        "Estella." Brice popped up beside us, and Estella and I removed our gazes from each other. "There you guys are. Wanna dance?" he asked her, and she hesitated. I cleared my throat again because it suddenly felt tight. "Do you? Unless I'm stepping in?" Brice snuck glances between me and Estella.

        "Go for it," I said. "I need more water." I walked past them in pursuit of the kitchen.

        "Jax!" Estella called to me, but I kept walking.

        What the hell was I thinking dancing with her like that? Ximena and I didn't even dance like that, and we were apparently in a relationship.

        I shook my head when I reached the cooler, and I retrieved a bottle of water.

        "Jax," a female voice said, and I turned around to see Sabrina Fraser in front of me. I almost choked, even though I didn't drink any water yet. "Hey." She waved, with her eyes looking hollower than usual.

        She lost weight and wore loose-fitting cloths, as usual. She didn't change much, but she seemed so foreign. The last time we spoke was the end of our freshman year.

        "Hey." I leaned against the dining room table. "What's up?"

         "Nothing much." She moved over to lean against the table as well, and we stood side-by-side. "I don't know why I'm here."

        I drank some of my water. "Me neither."

        I glanced over to the crowd of people to catch a glimpse of Estella dancing with Brice. They were smiling and talking, as if she wasn't upset earlier at the fact that he left her to dance with another girl.

        I drank more of my water.

        "I'm sorry about the way Brice treated you," I told her. "It wasn't right."

        If there was anyone who should have had animosity towards Sabrina, it should have been me, not him.

        "Fuck, Brice," Sabrina said. "He's dead to me, like a lot of people."

        I frowned. Like I was dead to her after we broke up. Man, I should have hated this girl, but looking at her pale skin and thin body, all I could say was, "How are you?"

        She drank some of her beer first. "I'm existing," she said. "Existing for now."

        "How's your brother?" I turned to the side to watch her. "Does he watch out for you more? Or is he still obsessed with his girlfriend?"

        Sabrina lived with her brother, Leon, in a peculiar part of Creek Rowe. It was between South Creek and Central Creek, not as bad as where I lived but not as nice as where Estella lived. I used to think Leon Fraser was a dope guy. He bought beer for himself and Sabrina, offered us drugs when he had some, and even once offered me a prostitute that was coming over.

        I always denied everything he offered, but I still thought he was cool. Now, he was just neglectful in my eyes. He didn't give a damn about anyone but himself.

        Reminded me of four people I knew very well.

        Sabrina didn't answer. Instead, she took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. I scrunched up my nose. "You still do that?"

        She blew the smoke in my face. "Don't sound surprised."

        She smoked a lot while we were together, but it'd been years. I expected things to change, and a thought crossed my mind. "Do you still cut yourself?" I whispered, and she chuckled.

        She used to do it along the inside of her thighs so no one would see.

        "I'm not your problem anymore, Jax," she said.

        "I know—"

        "Consider yourself lucky that things didn't work out between us." She pushed herself off of the table. "Brice is lucky, too."

        My eyes involuntarily returned to Brice and Estella, and they were still dancing, even closer than before. I quickly looked away.

        "I feel sorry for whoever ends up with me," Sabrina said. "Enjoy your life, Jax." She walked off without another word.

        I twisted my lips to the side and examined my water bottle. I felt sorry for whoever ended up with me, too. Ximena was the best bet.

        "Jax!" I glanced up on time to spot Estella running towards me with her arms out.

        Before she could pull me into a hug, I grabbed her arms and placed them down. She almost pouted.

        Just because we hugged and danced—closer than necessary—didn't mean she could hug me whenever she wanted.

        "We're leaving," Brice said. "We have to get Estella home before her dad comes."

        We drove in Verda, and I picked both Brice and Estella up, so I had to drop them home. "Let's go."

        I was more than ready to leave, and we made our way out of the house.

        Half an hour later, Estella and I sat in Verda with the windows down and the stereo off. We had dropped Brice off, so it was just the two of us. One of my hands drove while the other arm hung out of the car window.

        "Why do people do that?" Estella asked, pointing to my arm outside the window. "I don't get it."

        "Why not?" I wiggled my fingers, enjoying the breeze that blew through them.

        "What if something cuts your arm off?"

        I sent her a look. "That's very unlikely. A lot of things in life could potentially be dangerous. If you lived in that fear, you wouldn't do anything."

        "Okay. Like, you're afraid of people being close?"

        I was silent for a second. "I'm not afraid. I just don't like it." I focused ahead.

        "Because you're afraid," she said. "Why? I don't know."

        I chuckled. "Going all psychologist on me?"

        "Tell you what." Estella adjusted herself in the seat. "Let's try facing our fears together." I snuck peeks her way. "You'll try being more open, emotionally and physically, especially to me." She grinned. "And I'll try sticking my arm out of this window while you're driving."

        "Don't even." I shook my head. "I have to try being more physical and emotional with people, and all you have to do is stick your arm out of a car window? How's that fair?"

         She placed a finger on her chin. "Okay. Then, I'll try doing other things. Like start driving, maybe learning how to do my laundry and even cooking. I'll try doing all the things I've been procrastinating on. Is that better?"

        All the things she had to do still seemed more appealing than what I had to do. I didn't like people. Was that such a bad thing?

        "Fine," I mumbled. "It's a deal, but don't expect too much."

        She squealed with a clap. "I won't. It'll be a process, but it'll be good. From now on, me and you are going to do everything that scares us."

        I smirked. "Okay, so stuff your arm out that window."

        Estella's facial features tensed up. "O-okay." She slowly inched her arm to the window, but whenever it got close, she pulled it back to herself.

        "Estella," I said, "come on. You have to do everything that scares you."

        It was kind of fun, since I didn't have to do anything yet.

        She closed her eyes, and she finally put her whole arm out. Estella screamed with her eyes opening wide. "This feels so weird," she said with her arm still out the window.

        I laughed. "Keep it out there until we reach your house."

        "What?!"

        I nodded. "Face your fears. Don't you feel courageous, Estella?"

        She squealed again while I continued to laugh at her.

        This was fun.

        I was disappointed when we finally reached her house because that meant she could take her arm out.

        "Finally." She brought her arm back to herself when I parked Verda in her driveway. "This is going to be harder than I thought."

        "No backing down now," I said.

        "Maybe, I'll finally have an excuse to text Brice," she said, and my expression fell. "He gave me his number, but I haven't had the courage to text him yet."

        "So you still,"—I cleared my throat—"wanna be with him?"

        "Yeah." She hid her face from me. "If I don't show that I'm interested, I can't expect Brice to be exclusive with me."

        Made sense.

        "Don't change yourself for him," I said, and she rose a brow. "You shouldn't have to wear tight, revealing clothes, or harsh body sprays or drink alcohol or curse or do anything else to impress him. Be Estella and be the person you're comfortable being. If he's right for you, that'll be good enough for him."

        She smiled. "Estella is good enough?"

        We looked into each other's eyes. "You're more than good enough."

        "I'll keep that in mind." Estella opened the door and stepped out. "Open your door, too."

        My brows furrowed. "Why?" I did it anyway, and Estella closed her door before making her way to my side of the truck.

        I stepped out when she stopped to my side, and we stood in front of each other.

        "Hug me," Estella said, and I released a shaky breath.

        Damn it.

        This was the not-so-fun part.

        I ruffled my hair. "Estella."

        "Face your fears," she said. "You're afraid of people, for some reason, but you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm Estella. There's nothing to fear." I sighed, but she held her firm but relaxed expression. "Hug me."

        My movements were cautious, but I eventually opened up my arms and enclosed them around her. The smell of coconut remained in her hair, but the harsh body wash wasn't as prominent. I was glad. Estella wrapped her arms around me, and she leaned into me.

        "Isn't so bad, right?" she said, and I slowly relaxed into the embrace.

        No, it wasn't.

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* This tends to happen with the books I write, where they get interesting around the 10-12th chapters. This is no different as after this chapter, things get more interesting in this story. 😁