Ready Or Not

Ch 4 - Fate

** Luke's POV **

I created a couple of concoctions for us, and we moved back to our corner. There was an unoccupied couch right next to us. I have no idea why we didn't sit on it. But our spot on the floor was great for people watching, something I didn't do often because I was usually the one being watched.

Jordyn did loosen up and was more talkative after a little while. I found out that she actually had quite a great sense of humor as we shared a lot of laughs making fun of what was going on around us. I must say, it was quite an eye opener watching from the outside. I actually questioned my morals, for like a whole three seconds. Our behavior wasn't unusual for a group of guys in our position, but it honestly made me feel guilty as I sat there viewing it from another perspective. I was no different than them. Mum would be disappointed if she knew. But whatever. It certainly wouldn't be the first time, nor the last, that I disappointed her.

Jordyn's sister didn't pay a bit of attention to her, which I thought was extremely rude. Surely she knew how insecure Jordyn was and should have at least checked on her. I don't even know why that bothered me, but it did. But it was okay, because I was enjoying keeping her company. Oddly enough, it was refreshing to just chill with someone for a bit instead of immediately inviting them to my room.

On our third trip for more drinks, I just took the whole bottle of whiskey and a couple cans of Coke back to our corner. In the end, we just said screw the soda and drank straight from the liquor bottle. Well, it was mostly me doing the drinking.

After a while, Jordyn started getting quiet again. I nudged her shoulder and asked, "Are you getting tired or am I boring you?"

"Nah, neither. I'm just thinking too much. Sorry."

"Thinking about what?"

"You," she said, looking me directly in the eyes, with a look that I interpreted as potentially suggestive, though I wasn't sure.

I was about to ask her to elaborate on her simple response when she started laughing.

"Wait. I don't mean that how it probably sounds! I'm just saying, I'm thinking about how nice you've been to me. That's all. I mean, you probably only approached me because you felt sorry for me. But I still appreciate it."

I was slightly taken aback. "Jordyn, why would I feel sorry for you?" I mean, yeah I had felt bad that she was alone and looked uncomfortable, but I didn't feel "sorry" for her in the sense that she was insinuating.

"I don't know. The same reason everyone else does? Luke, I'm not stupid. Look at me. And look at the other girls here. I was invited here by default because I was with my gorgeous sister when she got invited." She shrugged and took the bottle from me and downed a drink. I was about to protest her self loathing when she continued. "I've kind of figured what the purpose of this little get together is. And I'm sorry you got here late and I was the only one who hadn't been claimed. I bet that was a huge disappointment," she snorted as she laughed. It was adorable.

I was embarrassed that she could see things so clearly. For some reason, I cared what she thought of me. I didn't want her to think that I was an asshole just looking to get some like everyone else in the room, even though that's exactly what I was.

"Jordyn, you're crazy. First of all, you need to stop hating on yourself. I can tell that you're a great person. Secondly, I didn't approach you because I felt sorry for you. As a matter of fact, my very first thought was that you were beautiful. So there goes your theory about me being disappointed right down the drain."

She stared at me quizzically for a moment before speaking again. "Beautiful? Luke Hemmings, you need to get your eyes checked, dude. I know a good optometrist. I can give - "

I placed my fingers on her lips to stop her words. It kind of broke my heart that she either couldn't see or couldn't accept how attractive she really was. I wondered what she had been through to have such low self-esteem.

She froze at the physical contact and looked at me with her wide brown eyes. Fuck, they were gorgeous. I shook my head to rid the thoughts that were rapidly getting me excited again. I wished I could think of a smooth line to get her up to my room. I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, Jordyn staring at me expectantly. But I couldn't think of a damn thing to say that wouldn't prove me to be the jerk that I was. I may or may not have run my thumb across her lips unnecessarily - lips that I very much wanted to kiss - then removed my hand, and said nothing at all.

However, fate has a funny way of working things out sometimes. Just as I removed my hand from Jordyn's lips, Calum and the two chicks that were with him walked by. The girls were literally hanging onto Calum, and not one of them were paying attention whatsoever to where they were going. This resulted in one of his specials of the night tripping over my outstretched legs. Her pointy heels hurt like hell, but the worst part was that her drink went flying, right into my chest. The contents saturated my shirt and the crotch of my pants. And Jordyn's shirt wasn't so fortunate, either. How convenient, eh? It kind of sucked, but at the same time, it gave me an excuse to go to my room, and take Jordyn with me. I made a mental note to thank Calum later.