Dale gave me a heated once over that had me rolling my eyes so hard I think I hurt myself. It felt so practiced that I was certain he’d used it on lots of girls. Dale was cute, don’t get me wrong, but he seemed to poach Oakley’s appeal for himself. “Let me get you a drink,” he said with a wink.

“Just water for me,” I replied. I needed to keep my sobriety if I was going to keep Oakley out of trouble. The moment he walked through the door, he seemed to buzz with excitement. He was a true extrovert, shining in the adrenaline of others’ attention. It wasn’t bad, it was like staring at someone meant to be in the spotlight. Once again, I couldn’t help but feel like his dreams of working at the flower shop were a lie.

“Water? You’re no fun,” Dale whined. “Oh shit, there’s Kaydence. Fuck, I swear she’s the hottest girl I’ve ever seen. Be right back.” Dale disappeared without getting me a drink, and I couldn’t help but laugh at how he fumbled across the room to see a girl with long blonde hair, alluring eyes, and bright red lipstick.

“I’ll get you a drink. Would you like sparkling or flat?” Oakley asked while spinning my hair on his finger.

“Only the finest water from Fiji for me,” I teased back. “Tap is fine.”

Oakley disappeared through the crowd, and I leaned against the wall, people watching as I waited.

“Hey there, Balls,” a familiar voice called out. Ahh, Heath. Fuckboy freshman extraordinaire.

“Hey. Did you enjoy the game?” I asked politely.

“Yeah. It was good. I would have preferred to watch it with you, though,” he said, standing alarmingly close to me. I had not forgotten the full-on boob squeeze. He smelled sickly sweet, I’m guessing from whatever the red liquid in his cup was.

“Yeah, too bad players have to, you know, watch the game with the team and all,” I snarked.

“I know, baby. If they let us, I would’ve brought you down to the sidelines and let you watch as my special VIP,” Heath told me, trying to be smooth, my sarcasm having gone right over his head.

He shot a hand up surprisingly fast for a drunk dude and started stroking my face. “You’re so soft. And pretty,” he said with all the charm of a teenager trying to ask out a girl for the first time. He dipped his head like he was going in for a kiss.

“What the fuck, man?” Oakley yelled, standing in front of us. His rage was palpable.

Heath lifted his head to look at Oakley. “Hey, man!” Heath babbled, absolutely oblivious to Oakley’s anger. Alcohol was a powerful thing. I mean, I didn’t think Heath was all that bright to begin with, but this was next level.