Roommates with Benefits [18+ only]

24. Are you waiting for an invitation, Bennet?

TARA

"Ugh, I really shouldn't have let you convince me to come here." I complained the moment we arrived at the party. There were so many people, and a lot of them were already drunk or on the way to it. Not to mention the number of uselessly sexy costumes. God, I hate Halloween.

Lukas chuckled, placing a hand on the small of my back to make me walk. "You bargained for it."

"I didn't think you'd make it." I admitted. "I'm actually still sore."

"I told you it would hurt a bit." The jerk winked, pushing me inside the apartment.

The living room may have been big, but it was so full of people that I felt like running away immediately. I can't believe I even let him convince me to dress up for this. Not that I really put great effort into it. I chose Lois Lane. It was the easiest one – I had the shirt, the pants, even the vest, I only needed to buy the Daily Planet badge. It was really the only way I could fit my glasses into a costume.

The funny part was Lukas deciding he should dress as Clark Kent – you know, black pants, white shirt, black tie, and underneath that, a blue t-shirt with Superman's logo on it. The cute part were the fake glasses, though. "Where did you even get those?" I asked, hinting at them.

He neared my ear. "I'll tell you a secret ..." he whispered, "I actually need reading glasses. Shhh." He brought a finger to his lips.

"Seriously?" I chuckled.

Lukas smiled. "Yeah," he shrugged, "told you, I'm nerdier than you'd think." He teased, winking.

I rolled my eyes. "Wearing glasses doesn't make you a nerd."

"Good God, woman, I can't be a nerd, I can't be a bad boy ... make up your mind!"

I lightly punched his arm, chuckling. We crossed the mad crowd to get to the kitchen area, where there were fewer people. A lot of guys greeted him and exchanged a few words with him as we walked by. Like I said, either he's a social butterfly, or I'm a hermit. Maybe both. Nevertheless, Lukas was quick in parting from all, and, thankfully, he made sure to hold my hand as we walked, otherwise I would have probably gotten lost in the mayhem.

I won't deny I felt like a fish out of water. The loft was so packed, people dancing, drinking, some even flat out making out. It reminded me of that one party I went to in high school. It was pretty much the same, except there were small groups having deeper conversations than 'who should I bang tonight?'. Basically, teen wilderness with a touch of college seriousness.

In the kitchen, a voice rose above the rest, calling Lukas, so we headed that way. The deep voice I heard belonged to a tall, somewhat beefy guy that I think I've seen before with my roommate. He was dressed as a camouflaged soldier, the black paint on his face stood out against his dark brown complexion, the joyfulness of his brown eyes conveyed how happy he was to see Lukas. He was fairly handsome, and given his costume, with the olive-green tank top and all, his muscles were in full show, which was his purpose, I guess. "Wow, you actually came!" He exclaimed, laughing, directed at my roommate. "I thought you would be too busy with-"

He didn't finish the sentence, the guy next to him, dressed as Danny Zuko, elbowed him in the stomach. "You must be Tara." He smiled widely at me, and I would have sworn his friend gasped, as if suddenly realizing something.

"Uh ... yes, hi." I forced out a polite smile, unsure whether I should shake his hand or not. Is it still the main way to introduce yourself to someone? Do people really still shake strangers' hands nowadays? I hate physical contact.

"I'm Leo." He extended his hand, so that dilemma was solved for me. "And this is Dion." He hinted at the other guy.

"Nice to meet you." I nodded to both. I wasn't sure how to continue the conversation, or whether I should. Luckily, I didn't need to, they had a conversation of their own going on for a bit.