Mistakes Were Made(83)
Free jungle juice or not, Cassie should’ve pregamed. Greased the wheels of social interaction. It had helped at the a cappella party. How drunk did they have to get before that easy friendship came back fully?
Before it got too awkward, Parker suggested dancing, and Acacia was never going to say no to that. If it had been anything else, Cassie wouldn’t have said no to Parker, but as it was, she and Gwen begged off. The other three disappeared into the crowd, cups still in hand.
Cassie sipped her jungle juice. It didn’t taste like there was alcohol in it, which probably meant she’d be hungover as hell tomorrow.
“Don’t get too drunk,” Gwen said.
Cassie rolled her eyes. It was the first time they interacted properly since Gwen literally called someone to come take care of drunk Cassie—of course she’d be patronizing about Cassie’s intoxication level. “I’m fine, thanks.”
“I know. I just want you to have good motor control later.”
Cassie slid a glance at Gwen. “What?”
“When I take you home later,” Gwen said. “I want you to have good motor control.”
Cassie gaped at her. Gwen was so complete in her confidence, she wasn’t even looking at Cassie, wasn’t even smirking. She was calm, straightforward, certain. Cassie took a gulp of her jungle juice.
“Last time I hit on you, you called a friend to pick me up,” she said.
Gwen shrugged. “Last time you were desperate. You don’t look desperate now. You look hot.”
Cassie was desperate last time. Desperate to stop thinking about Erin, even if she hadn’t recognized it then. Desperate to have sex with someone else, to have a new memory to warm her on cold nights. Now, she was pretty happy with her memories—of Erin in the shower and the kitchen and her bedroom. Erin pushing her up against a building because she needed it fast, and then taking her time in the hotel.
Now, Cassie didn’t know if Gwen was worth the trouble.
“What if I’ve changed my mind since last time?”
Gwen peered at her. “Why would you change your mind?”
Cassie ran a hand through her hair. She looked at the dance floor, at the throng of bodies. She could see Parker, glancing over at them and quickly away. Cassie looked at Gwen, who was as hot as she’d always been, then back at Parker, who’d texted her for the first time in more than a month for this party, who was dancing with Gwen’s—best friend, maybe? Cousin? Cassie wasn’t sure what their background was.
“Are you dating someone?” Gwen asked.
“No,” Cassie said slowly. She thought of Erin. They weren’t dating, obviously, but the idea of going home with Gwen not even two weeks after she and Erin had spent an entire night, well, worshipping each other’s bodies, basically—it didn’t feel right. “Not really.”
Gwen raised an eyebrow. “Not really?”
“I’m not dating anyone,” Cassie said. “But I don’t want to go home with you.”
Now Gwen did smirk. “I don’t believe you.”
Cassie wasn’t sure she believed herself. She’d wanted to hook up with Gwen since before she’d met Seth, and now that she finally had the chance, she was turning her down? It didn’t make sense, except for how she couldn’t stop thinking about Parker texting her for the first time in so long. Cassie couldn’t go home with Gwen the first time Parker reached out to her again.
“I’m not going home with you.”
“That’s not the part I didn’t believe,” Gwen said, and walked away.
Not the part—? Cassie rolled her eyes. Gwen didn’t believe she wasn’t dating anyone? Who was she—Acacia? As though dating someone else was the only reason someone wouldn’t want to fuck Gwen? Erin had nothing to do with this—Cassie was trying to be Parker’s friend, and given that they’d fought over “fucking whoever the hell you feel like,” sleeping with Gwen would be a terrible idea.
At the end of the night, Gwen was the only one sober enough to drive, but she’d found someone else to entertain her, so the other four walked back to campus together. Parker draped an arm over Sam and an arm over Cassie. She was practically dead weight, but Cassie didn’t complain.
“This was fun,” Parker said between them. “You guys aren’t all bad.”
Acacia and Sam rolled their eyes at her, but it might’ve been the nicest thing she’d said to Cassie in months.
* * *
Thursdays always felt aimless—Cassie had class in the morning but her entire day was free after ten. She went to the grocery store to be productive, but then wandered the aisles, unsure what she wanted to buy.
It was Erin’s day off—Cassie had gotten a picture that morning of Erin’s hair spilling across her pillow as she lounged in bed. Cassie stared at sixteen different kinds of rice and texted her.
Cassie [Today 1:41 PM]
What are you doing?
Erin [1:43 PM]
This is way too early for a booty call Cassie
Cassie [1:43 PM]
I just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t wake you up on your day off
Before Erin could ask what that meant, Cassie was calling.
“Don’t tell me you came to Boston without telling me again,” Erin said as she picked up.