Free From Deities by Mary Ting

would not judge since I liked my roommate…sometimes.
    Taking a deep breath—since I didn’t know a single soul besides Emily—I walked in. The music vibrated loudly through the air. The bass boomed, and I felt as though the place thumped like a beating heart.
    Observing the people around me, I saw that they took up every inch of our place. Being that our dorm wasn’t that big in the first place, Emily’s version of a small party seemed a lot larger. A group to the side was dancing, another was taking shots of drinks, and a few people were sitting on top of each other on the sofa, and on the stairs.
    “Skylar,” Emily said loudly over the music, holding a red cup in her hand. Placing her hand on my back, she led me into the living room. “Everyone, this is Skylar, my roommate. Isn’t she the cutest?”
    “Hey, Skylar,” I heard from the crowd around me.
    Waving my hand shyly, I smiled at the group of girls standing adjacent to Emily. They must have been her closest friends.
    “Want something to drink?” Emily asked.
    I hadn’t noticed until now, but Emily was somewhat tipsy, and her breath stunk of alcohol. At least she was home, but where was Dex, her boyfriend?
    “No, thank you. I’ll be back. I need to make a few phone calls,” I said, using that as an excuse to get away. This was not my type of crowd. Heading toward the stairs, I sensed all eyes on me, especially the guys, and it felt as though they were visually undressing me. A few even approached me, but I pointed my hand up. That was a mistake. One boy thought I meant for him to follow me and so he did, right behind me, groping me.
    “Hey,” I snapped and turned, feeling irritated. “I’m not that type of girl. Get lost.”
    Getting the message, the guy raised both of his hands.
    Exhaling a heavy breath, I shook my head and closed the door behind me. I fumbled inside my purse to look for my cell phone so I could call my mom and Mason, but stopped when Ian’s familiar smell tingled my nose. Before I could even wonder why it’d invaded my space, there was a soft knock on the door.
    “Come in.” I didn’t need to ask; I was almost certain who it was.
    The door cracked opened. “Hey,” Ian greeted. “Why are you upstairs? Are you antisocial or something?”
    “Something,” I snorted, and then paused. Why was he here? “When you texted ‘see you at the party,’ did you mean this party?”
    Ian shut the door behind him with his feet while holding two red cups in his hands. “Which party did you think I meant? Actually, I’m at all the parties,” he chuckled. Pacing several steps toward me, he handed me a cup. “Here. I got this for you.”
    I looked at the cup he’d offered. “Thanks, but I don’t drink alcohol.”
    “It’s not alcohol, silly. It’s just punch.” He was staring at me with his charming grin.
    It would be easy to let him down if he wasn’t so darn good-looking and amiable. Grabbing the cup out of his hand, I set it down on my desk. “Thanks.” I smiled. “Enjoy the party. I’ve got some studying to do.”
    “Do you need help?” His tone was too playful.
    “No, thanks.” I laughed lightly; I had to give him some credit for trying.
    “Then how about a toast before I go.”
    “A toast for what?”
    He grinned. “To our new friendship. Hurry up before my arm falls off. I’m not asking you to sleep with me. It’s just punch. You do drink punch, don’t you?”
    I grabbed the cup. If it would make him leave, I would do it. “Okay, here.”
    “To us…our friendship. To new beginnings, to the future…and to potential.” He clanked my cup and gulped down his drink. Instead of doing the same, I smelled for anything unusual and took only a tiny sip.
    “I took a sip. I’ll drink the rest later when I’m thirsty.” I placed it back down again.
    “Okay, so how about one dance?”
    I narrowed my eyes at him. “I think you know that I have a boyfriend.”
    Taking a step toward me, his beautiful blue eyes