Big Shot | ✓

18 | inside out, pt ii

A game of flip cup might have been the worst possible idea, but I couldn't bring myself to deny the birthday boy. After dinner, we'd cleared the table off and set up a row of orange solo cups (because the color red on campus was blasphemous) filled with Corona seltzers, because we weren't savages. It was later in the night now, which meant the drinks were heavier, the music was louder, and the fuse of whatever was going on between Reid and I was growing shorter.

So naturally, we'd each been named the anchors for our flip cup teams - a classic girls versus guys matchup. The guys took an early lead, but all the birthday drinks clearly had gotten to Derek as he couldn't flip the cup to save his life.

By my turn, I'd had a few seconds head start on Reid, but that didn't matter. He'd chugged it like it was water and immediately started flipping his cup with all the dexterity you'd expect him to have, his biceps flexing against the sleeve of his shirt and his tongue poked out of his lip in concentration.

"Shit," I grumbled as my first few flips were total fails, and I chalked up the cheers from both the guys and the girls teams as the root of my distraction.

Reid flipped the cup so aggressively it went flying off the table, giving me enough time to eventually get my cup flipped over and win.

"Fuck yes," I cheered out as Kayla, Bree, and Lana tackled me into a team hug.

I then turned to Reid with an innocent shrug. "Can't win 'em all, kid."

"Apparently not," he grumbled.

To avoid any unwanted late night noise complaints from our neighbors, the party began to die down. A few people offered to help Bree and I clean up, but even I'd shooed Bree away so her and Lana could resume their never-ending One Piece conquest. Like I said, I didn't like people in my kitchen, and that included before, during, and after.

"You gonna be okay if we go?" Kayla asked me as she pulled me into a hug. I glanced over her shoulder, where JJ was waiting by the door with Reid.

I slid her a conspiratory smirk. "Use protection, please."

Kayla rolled her eyes, but mirrored my smirk. "Oh please, you're one to talk."

I arched an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"

Kayla's smirk widened. "Reid couldn't take his eyes off of you the whole night."

"Get out of my kitchen," I groaned as I turned away from her and made my way to the sink.

"Love you, bye!" she called before I heard the door click behind her.

I sighed and shook my head before putting on some more mellow music and beginning to clean up, humming to Jennifer's Body by Hole as I started scrubbing the dishes.

"You really do listen to the weirdest music sometimes."

I nearly dropped the plate in my hands when I looked up to see Reid standing on the other side of the kitchen island. "Holy shit, what are you still doing here? I thought you left with Kayla and JJ."

Reid shook his head. "Not really interested in a threesome. Besides, it's bad manners for me to just leave you with..." he gestured to the dishes in the sink and the stacks of trays half-filled with leftovers. "...all this."

I scoffed and turned my attention back to scrubbing steak juice off of a plate. "Is this how you think you're going to win back my favor?"

"No, but it is how I'm gonna get you to hear me out."

"Fine." I heaved out a sigh as I ran my finger over a chip at the edge of the plate. At the very least, I had an excuse not to look at him head-on, because that was potentially hazardous for my health.