Something Gained (USC Series Book #1)

chapter forty-two

SOMETHING GAINED
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AIDAN

People packed the bar full. We are lucky we came early and got a spot because I am pretty sure security guards are sending people home due to how busy it has become.

It is two hours until the clock strikes midnight and it's officially a new year. I can't say I am exactly upset to say goodbye to this year. There have been good and bad moments, but this past month has seemed like hell brought to earth.

The soccer team decided as a collective that we should spend New Year's Eve cramped in Miller's Bar. I would assume they knew how jammed packed full of people it would be on one of the biggest nights of the year, but then again, they are some of the biggest idiots I know, so I don't think that possibility crossed their minds. Of course, the idea of coming early was courtesy of me.

The room is bustling with activity. The room is so hot from the dancers in the centre of the bar it feels like a sauna. From my stool at the bar counter, I can take a thorough survey of the bar and everyone in it.

In the middle of the dance floor, people have created a small circle and in the center, Tyson and Camron attempt salsa dancing. Their dance moves aren't even on beat with the music, but they seem to have fun, which is all that matters, I guess. Somewhere in this room, Lilly is standing, having a casual conversation with Nathan, another freshman on our team.

Since Lilly has been staying with us for a week now, I invited her tonight. She took it up as long as she didn't talk to any strangers, let me know when she was ready to leave and she didn't drink. She had to use a fake ID to get in here, but nothing we didn't think of prior to coming. But so far, it is going alright.

Malachi sits on the stool right next to me, remaining quiet and passive as he takes slow sips of the beer he has been nursing since we got here. A girl saunters up to the bar counter and I notice Malachi's attention shift from swirling his drink around in its cup to the girl. I follow his gaze, spotting a familiar face.

Brinley.

My mood plummets into chaos and unanswered questions I would prefer to stay unanswered, swim through my mind. That might mean... No, she probably isn't. She has other friends besides Brinley and Anna and vice versa, right?

"Do you know who that is?" I ask, realising that Malachi is still staring at her.

His eyes track her as she wanders away, swaying her hips back and forth. Malachi lifts his drink, taking a slow sip with a slight smirk, tipping his lips upward.

I roll my eyes, settling them on Brinley as she makes her way through the crowd, following her until she stops at a table with none other than the girl I am in love with. I close my eyes, take a breath of air and reopen them, hoping my eyes aren't playing a cruel joke on me.

Nope. There she is. In the flesh.

She doesn't appear to have noticed me yet or detected my stare that is glued to her. With resistance, I draw my attention back to the bar counter and where the bartender is preoccupied making drinks for a group of guys crowded on the opposite end.

Once he hands the drinks off, hastily I wave him over. "Two tequila shots, please," I say.

A glance in my peripheral vision reveals Malachi staring right at me, disclosing the smallest sliver of confusion. "Drowning in our sorrows, are we?"

I shrug just as the bartender places the shots in front of us. "You could say that."

Malachi snorts, bowing his head down and shaking his head, mumbling under his breath, "Dude, leave that for me."