One Temptation

Party Night (Chapter 28)

I LOVE THIS CHAPTER SO SO MUCH. LOVE ITTTT

Songs for this chapter are 'Strip That Down' by Liam Payne. And 'Careless Whisper' by George Michael.

I've given the link to 'Strip That Down' above but I can't attach 'Careless Whisper'

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The second we walked in, the music slammed into me, vibrating through my body like a second heartbeat. The smell of sweat, alcohol, and smoke was heavy in the air.

My eyes scanned the room—familiar faces everywhere, people in my class or, some who even moved schools a while ago, people I hadn't seen in months, people I'd rather not see at all.

I hadn't been to a party like this in a long time. Not since everything went down with Jaxon. Everything suddenly felt overwhelming.

Most of the basketball guys were standing near the drinks, immediately when I walked in they skipped over Lia and Em, and eyed me down like some piece of meat. One guys eyes glued to my chest and the others to my legs.

Disgusting.

If I screw this up... The thought hit me hard. If I made one wrong move, if I did something stupid, it'd be all over the school by Monday. Senior year, my reputation—everything I'd tried to piece back together after Jaxon—it'd be ruined.

I took a breath, forcing my shoulders to relax. You're here for a reason.

I was about to keep walking when some random drunk guy who I'd never seen in my life stumbled over to me. He handed me a red solo cup, "Here sexy, have a drink." he said, then walked away, tripping.

I held the cup far away from myself as Em and Lia looked at me.

"I wouldn't drink that if I was you," Em said, her face full of worry.

I threw the cup far away from me, "I wasn't planning to."

Lia shuddered before pulling me by the arm, "Let's go find the others," I grabbed onto Em who was too busy talking to another girl I'd never seen before.

We walked over to the middle of the room, the drinks were set up in the kitchen which was in front of the living room. As we walked by, the basketball guys followed my every move like I was a puppet.

I was basically squirming under their gaze when Lia pulled me into her, "Ignore them, they just want a reaction to tell Jaxon when he gets here. Stay calm and confident. And if they start anything, throw that 5-inch David Jones heel right at his dick, full speed, remember that."

I grabbed the first drink I saw from a table, and took a long sip. It burned in my throat, but it settled the nerves.

"Look who it is." Jake's voice cut through, a grin on his face. His eyes flicked to Em, and for a second, I swear he softened. "Emma Marine, you look beautiful."

She smiled, cheeks flushing slightly. "Thank you, Jake, you don't look too bad yourself." Their eyes met for a beat longer than usual. It was subtle but enough to make me smirk.

Before I could tease her, Cole came over to Lia, and he looked at her what I'd imagine love looked like. She was wearing the dress he got her, and it clearly had the intended effect.

"You look..." His voice was a whisper to her. "Incredible."

Lia blushed, "You think?"

"I know." He leaned in, brushing a kiss on her cheek.

I glanced around the room, feeling the drink warm me up. Then I saw him—West—outside on the porch with Elana hanging off him. My chest tightened.

He looked tipsy, his usual smirk softened by the alcohol. My stomach flipped, and I bit my cheek, unsure why it bothered me.