I pushed the matted hair away from my forehead, feeling beads of sweat underneath my fingers. “Maybe later,” I said. I was already having a hard time standing up in my heels. I figured I better practice some more before adding alcohol to the mix.
“You sure you don’t want one?” Alex prompted with a smile that I used to daydream about in school. But something was different now.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” I opened the fridge, pulled out a can of Diet Coke, and cracked it open while the boys behind me laughed among themselves. I wondered if they were laughing at me, but I was too chicken to confront them about it. Feeling myself blush, I moved away and shimmied past the girl with red hair, who was inking a dolphin on her own hip now. A Ping-Pong ball soared past my head and bounced off the marble island in the middle of the kitchen.
I made it back to the living room in one piece, squeezed by a couple who were making out against the door, and danced around someone doing the worm, to get to the nearest couch. When I reached it, I found Millie chatting to Paul and Alison from the diner.
“… and then I thought, whatever, I’m going to have fun without him — hey, birthday girl, come sit.” She patted the sliver of space beside her.
“Hey.” I squeezed in between Millie and the armrest, feeling instant relief in the balls of my feet. “When did you guys get here?” I followed Millie’s gaze to Alison’s lap and saw that she and Paul were holding hands. They had obviously made it official.
“Just now. Ursula let us off early.”
“Happy birthday, Sophie,” Paul added cheerily. “Great party.”
“Thanks.” I shrugged. “It’s not mine. I don’t know most of these people.”
“Oh, sure it is,” Millie interjected, waving her hand dismissively. “And if Alex’s friends didn’t know you before tonight, then they definitely will now, thanks to that dress.” She drained her drink and sighed satisfactorily.
“Yeah,” Paul agreed, causing Alison to dig her nails into his lap. “Ouch!” he yelped. “Sorry, I was just saying.”
“Time for a refill, I think.” Millie sprang to her feet and sauntered through the parting crowd with more attitude than Beyoncé. I envied her ability to walk so effortlessly in her heels without experiencing the urge to lie down and chop her feet off.
I went in search of a bathroom. The sound of vomiting from downstairs prompted my journey to the second floor, where, after knocking three times, I swung the door open and came face-to-face with a half-naked couple. It was a traumatic moment for all of us.
I quickly shut the door and made my way farther along the upstairs hallway, stopping outside Millie’s parents’ room and rapping my knuckles against the door. When there was no answer from inside, I eased my way in, praying I wasn’t about to encounter another scarring scene. The bedroom was empty.
The narrow door beside the wall of closets meant my memory had served me correctly and that they did have an en-suite bathroom. But as I approached it, the handle was yanked downward from the inside and it swung backward on its hinges. I jumped back and landed against the bed. I shot my hands up and covered my eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here.”
My explanation was met with a deep laugh. “Relax, Sophie. I spilled some beer on myself and all the other bathrooms were ocupado.”
I unsheltered my eyes and found Robbie Stenson leaning against the doorway, holding a red cup in each hand. “Do you want one? I’ve got a spare.”
“Um, thanks.” I was glad to know Robbie wasn’t holding our basketball tournament debacle against me. “I’m not sure if I should drink — it’s hard enough to walk in these heels while sober. I don’t want to risk my life by doing it drunk.”
He flicked his floppy hair across his forehead and smirked. “It’s just cranberry with seltzer, but it’ll give you a nice buzz. I think it’s the sugar content or something.”
“Cool.” I reached for the cup in his outstretched hand, feeling hot all of a sudden. “I am pretty thirsty.”
“No kidding.” He sat on the bed with a plonk and arched one of his perfect eyebrows at me. “You were dropping some killer dance moves earlier. Why didn’t you use some of that talent on the court? Then we might have had a snowball’s chance.”
I smiled into the cup. “I’m not sure I could have dribbled the ball and done the robot at the same time.”
Robbie snorted with amusement. “It might have intimidated our opponents.” He stared unblinkingly at me as I drank. “You look great, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Suddenly I had a feeling our conversation might mean something different to him than it did to me. What was it about this dress?
“I should get back downstairs,” I said, setting the empty cup on the nightstand.
“I thought you had to go to the bathroom?”
“Not really anymore. I think I was just feeling overheated.” I rose and teetered to the door as my feet began to ache again.
“Maybe I’ll catch you later,” he hollered after me.
“Yeah, maybe,” I said, gripping the banister and lowering myself carefully onto the stairs.
Back in the kitchen, I found Millie cuddling up against a boy with a questionable goatee. She was leaning into his shoulder and giggling like a little girl. Her attempts to forget about Dom were obviously going well.
“Sophie.” She grinned broadly and stood up when she saw me. “Come meet Marcus. He’s so great.” She shuffled closer and dropped her voice. “So much more fun than boring Dom. I don’t know what I was thinking with that guy. Obviously we’re not compatible, he’s way too serious.”
Suddenly she was looming back and forth in front of me, and I was starting to feel funny. “Can you stand still?”
“Have you been drinking, Soph?”
Her eyes grew too big for her face and her mouth was hanging open at an unnatural angle. I shook my head and felt it spin.
“You sure?” She came up close until I could see every freckle on her face. They moved around like a puzzle and then disappeared.