Honey Whiskey

Ashlyn

When we step onto the front porch, I can feel the eyes of the people out here land on us. I begin to scratch at my wrist, it's a nervous tick that I wish I could kick. As we reach the front door, a guy in a Hawaiian shirt tells us it's $5 to enter, $10 to enter and buy a cup, or $20 to enter, get a cup, and a joint. Cue my first panic attack, I didn't bring any money and I don't think Morgan did either. We paid for our food earlier with Apple Pay, and I don't think Hawaiian shirt dude is able to take anything other than cash. "Shit," I whisper to Morgan, "I didn't realize we had to pay to get in." When I begin to backtrack, I feel someone put their arm around my shoulder. I look over to see Jake and see that his arm is around Morgan as well. "Not to worry, ladies!" He begins. "Jake is here to save the day! Hughie, be a doll and hand over two cups for my guests." I am internally cringing at the fact Morgan is choosing to sleep with such a fuckboy. Honestly though, who speaks in third person? I make a mental note to give Morgan shit about this later.

Jake hands us our cups and directs us inside. He points over to where the kitchen is and says the keg is in there, points around the corner and says the bathroom is down thataway, and says upstairs is off limits, unless you're invited like Morgan is. While he drags her up the stairs, she looks back over her shoulder at me, with a shrug and a smile that says "sorry, love you!" This is great, I'm at my first college party and I'm alone. I'm either going to get drugged and killed or I'm going to die from a panic attack, either way tonight is the night I'm dying, I'm sure of it. I make my way to the kitchen, because I figure that some liquid courage will help me survive the night until Morgan comes back down.

There are a few people standing around the keg, smoking their newly acquired joints, and laughing louder than the music-- which I didn't think it was possible to hear over the music. I'm about to try to shimmy my way in between the stoners when someone grabs the tap and reaches for my cup. It's the guy from the cafe earlier who was talking about the party. "Hey pretty lady! I can fill that cup up for you!" He shouts and I had him my cup, watching as he pours, not taking my eyes off my cup. My parents drilled it into my head that it's incredibly easy to get drugged at parties or bars, so you should never look away from your drink. I smile at him as he hands my cup back over, and he's immediately distracted by someone shouting "Nate! Hook me up!" He laughs and reaches for the other guy's cup. Okay, so, that's Nate; noted.

I realize I can't breathe in the kitchen with all of the smoke around me, so I head to the living room. Sitting on one of the couches is the group of chatty girls from my earlier class. They really went all out tonight. Their makeup is done well, their hair is done nicely, but they're barely wearing any clothes. This has me confused. Why are they in their bras and underwear in the middle of a party, with their clothes lying to the side of them? Then I realize that the people on the couch facing them are also practically naked and on the table in front of them is a bottle that they are spinning. "Hey! New girl! Come join us!" One guy from the other couch says. He's completely naked, I'm assuming, because he has a throw pillow covering his crotch and there's a pile of clothes next to him as well. I can feel my face getting hot from the realization, and I begin to scratch at my wrist again. "Come on!" one of the blondes from the chatty group says, as she jumps up and grabs my arm and leads me to the couch. It's incredibly hard not to stare at her boobs that are pushed up to her chin by her bra.

I settle in between the blonde and a redhead from the same group. Suddenly, I feel extremely overdressed and extremely anxious. I take a couple gulps of my beer and then ask what they're playing. I'm assuming spin the bottle, but why are they taking off their clothes? "It's pretty much spin the bottle and truth or dare, but if the bottle lands on you, you have to complete a dare OR you have to strip. If you end up naked, you lose." The blonde answers. Fuck my life. I don't want to play this. As I'm about to make my exit, someone spins the bottle. I watch with wide eyes as the bottle spins around and around, until finally slowing down. I think it's about to land on me, but God must be real, because it points at the redhead next to me. "Okay, Kenna! I dare you to suck Chad's dick." The guy who spun the bottle says. I could probably catch flies in my mouth with how I'm holding it open in astonishment. I'm assuming naked throw pillow guy is Chad, but when he doesn't make any movement or show any sign that they're talking about him, I figure he's not. "EW! You couldn't pay me enough!" Kenna shouts. "Who's Chad?" I find myself asking the blonde beside me before my brain gives my mouth permission to speak. "You know the guy collecting money in the Hawaiian shirt? That's Chads brother. They're twins." She responds. I nod my head in understanding and then turn back to watch the interaction between the bottle spinner and the redhead, apparently named Kenna. "Well then you must lose an article of clothing babe." Bottle spinner says. Kenna doesn't break eye contact as she stands up and acts as if she's going to remove her underwear, but she continues to move her hands lower to her feet and removes a ballerina sock from her foot then flings it at the guy. All of the men in the group groan, but I can't help but smile at the smirk she has as she's giving them the bird. She seems pretty awesome.

It's Kenna's turn to spin since she was dared last and it seems my luck ran out because the bottle lands on me. I feel the blood drain from my face and look around as everybody's eyes land on me. I immediately start to scratch my wrist, as I turn to look at Kenna. Her evil smirk is now directed toward me and it doesn't seem as awesome as it did before. "Before I dare you, what's your name?" Kenna asks. "Ashlyn," I whisper, but it's a loud enough whisper that she can hear me. "Okay, Ashlyn... I dare you to give Ryan a lap dance." Did I mention that Kenna is definitely not as awesome as I thought she was mere seconds before? I can feel my pulse accelerate and a cold sweat break out along my hairline.

I hear a mixture of "oh shit, that's cruel Kenna. It's her first turn." and whistles and cheers. I look around to try to figure out which one is Ryan, but it doesn't take long for me to find him because he's the only guy looking at me as if he's the predator and I'm his prey. I look around again, trying to find someone to feel pity for me and say we can skip this round but I come up short. I look around for Morgan, but again strike out. "You can just take off your shirt instead, if you don't want to ride Ryan." Kenna says while laughing. Heat flares my skin from my chest to my cheeks. I feel like I can't breathe. I've never been in such an uncomfortable situation, especially without an exit in sight. I don't want to do either of these options, and while I'm planning my run to the front door, I feel hands tugging on the hem of the shirt on both sides. I immediately clamp my arms down to prevent my shirt from going over my head, but that doesn't seem to help because in the next second, I see a sliver of darkness cover my eyes as my shirt is being taken off of my body. I completely freeze, from shock, from embarrassment, from disbelief. I feel tears begin to pool in my eyes when I hear a boisterous voice yelling, "WHAT THE FUCK?!"