Down below

Chapter 18.

Loki was waiting for Elianah in the living room. He opted for a dark blue cotton shirt that he rolled up to the elbows and gray jeans with white sneaker. He looked in the mirror and decided to tie up his hair in a bun, the night being muggy and warm. He finally heard the bathroom door open and he had a hard time not to ogle when Elianah came out. She was wearing a light blue denim shirt dress and a paire of criss cross strap high heel sandals. She had magenta lip gloss on and her smokey eyeshadow made her blue eyes pop.

'You look nice.' he said as if he was just making small talk about the weather.

'You too. Like a regular human being.' she replied and smiled.

'I'll take that as a compliment.' Loki nodded and opened the door for her.

She gave him two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc as she walked past him. He caught a whiff of her perfume; it was light, yet eloquently sensual, like a secret promise. He slowly exhaled, telling himself to get it together and followed her.

They picked up Claire on the way who had two six-packs and a bottle of vodka with her. The taxi stopped in front of a suburban apartment complex. It had its own sand volleyball court, a massive patio at the back with a swimming pool. There were already people drinking and chatting outside the lawn. This part of the town was occupied mainly by students, renting flats off-campus. Claire waved at some of them while Elianah was talking to Loki about the neighborhood, so she didn't have to say hello to anyone, preparing him what to expect.

'Ellie freaking Martin! Is that really you?' they heard a deep voice.

Loki turned around to see a tall guy with amber eyes and brown, curly hair smiling at Elianah. He had an imposing figure, wearing a gray T-shirt and black shorts, looking over his dark sunglasses despite the late hour. He must have been one of those football guys Elianah mentioned him earlier.

'In the flesh.' she smiled and Loki could tell she felt awkward.

'Back from foggy Albion, I see, with extra baggage!' he grinned, eyeballing Loki who was standing there cool and collected, waiting for the right moment to figure out what this guy's deal was.

'Ha-ha, very funny. Tyler, this is Leo, an old friend of mine. Leo, meet Tyler.'

"The dealer." Loki added in his head and grinned at him, shaking his hand.

Tyler had a strong handshake, he was full of energy and vivacity, currently wondering whether Loki and Elianah were friends with benefits or not, imagining her body under that dress. Loki squeezed his hand a bit harder just then and Tyler looked at him.

'The man has a strong grip. Welcome to America. Is this your first frat party?'

'Thanks.' Loki replied. 'Indeed, it is.'

'Well, then, let me show you around until the ladies catch up.'

'Ty, I don't think that is a...'

'Jesus, woman! Let your friend have some true sense of how we party around here. Liv is inside by the bar. Warning, she is on the prowl.'

'Yeah, I heard.' Elianah said, looking at Claire.

'She will tell you. I escaped, she was gesturing with her hands way too much. Let's go, Leo. I'll show you around.'

He showed Loki the swimming pool, introduced him to some grinning girls wearing tiny bikinis, drinking some sweet liqueur from plastic cups. They were all very welcoming and nice to him, giving him hugs and kisses, smelling of sun lotion and alcohol. He took him to the volleyball court where mixed teams were striking a ball over a net with their hands. Everybody seemed to know Tyler and Loki noticed he was slipping little packets to some of the students when shaking their hands. Tyler gave him a cold beer and they went to one of the quiet corners of the garden and sat down on the grass.