“The heat got to you. Sit,” Scot urged, and Lily sank down next to him on the outdoor love seat.
“This is really nice. I’ve never seen a teenager with his own balcony. But then again, I haven’t been in many guys’ rooms.” She had no idea why she’d just said that. For some reason, she felt like telling her life story, and she shut her mouth to stop herself from spilling her guts.
“You’ve been in Tristan’s room,” Scot countered quietly.
“Sure. Thousands of times.” Lily saw a question steal across Scot’s face, and then disappointment. “Oh—but not like that.”
“Really?” Scot narrowed his eyes, disbelieving. “Never? Isn’t he your boyfriend?”
“We only just started seeing each other like that.” Lily started laughing. She had no idea what was so funny, she just couldn’t seem to stop herself. Lily took another sip of her drink, trying to calm down, but instead of cooling her off, the drink only made her feel hotter and more flushed. She put the sweating side of the glass against her cheek.
Scot stared at her for a long moment, an unreadable expression on his face. “I knew you were it.”
“What?”
“The only girl in town he hasn’t been with yet.” Scot took the drink out of Lily’s hands and slid closer to her. She moved away and her back hit the arm of the love seat. Lily tried to stand up, but Scot leaned over her, putting his hand on the armrest and caging her against the cushions. Lily’s vision swam unsettlingly, and she froze, trying to keep the horizon from tilting back and forth.
Lily was still trying to make the floor stop spinning underneath her when she felt Scot’s tongue in her mouth. She tried to squirm away but she felt dizzy, like any sudden movement would make her slip off the edge of the world. Heat prickled under her skin. She twisted her head and closed her mouth, evicting Scot’s slug-like tongue. Her skin burning with fever, Lily pushed against his chest.
“Stop. Scot, stop now,” she managed to say as white and blue blobs of light flashed in front of her eyes.
“Why?” he said, annoyed. “You think Tristan isn’t doing exactly the same thing right now?”
“What do you mean?” Lily asked.
“You really have no clue, do you?” Scot stood and pulled Lily up after him. “Okay. Let’s go find your brand-new boyfriend,” he said with a sneer. “Let’s see what he’s up to.”
Scot nearly dragged Lily after him. Her legs were heavy and clumsy. As she stumbled down the steps, Lily heard a few bystanders on the landing say the word “drunk” and something clicked in her fuzzy head. Lily stopped dead and yanked on Scot’s arm, turning him around to face her.
“Did you put alcohol in my drink?” she asked. She must have said it louder than she’d intended because the room got quiet all of a sudden. “Did you?” she repeated, intentionally raising her voice this time.
“A little vodka,” Scot admitted with a casual shrug.
“How could you do that?” she asked. The only other time Lily had tried alcohol, she’d spent the night in the ICU with a fever of 115 degrees. She ran her hand across her forehead, and it came back dripping sweat. “Oh, no.”
Scot’s eyes widened with fear when he registered just how pale and sweaty Lily was. “It was half a shot. I swear,” Scot said, pleading his case to the gathering crowd.
“Are you okay?” Breakfast asked in her ear.
Bleary as her vision was, Lily felt Breakfast take her arm before she actually saw him do it. She leaned against him, her head spinning and her vision bending sickeningly around the edges.
“Tristan. I need Tristan,” Lily whispered desperately. She felt a building sensation in her body, as if she were a roller coaster reaching the top of its climb. She knew that in a moment she would be powerless to stop the descent.
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Breakfast said gently.
“I need Tristan now!” Lily insisted, shouting over him.