Hot Line | ✓

chance e n c o u n t e r s

if you don't come to my party i will kill you

tee sighs, tossing her phone back on the bed as she continues the call with her client. a moment later it buzzes again.

seriously, teagan. i will kill you. as in the permanent kind. it's my god damn birthday. you can leave your brother and zoe alone for a night and come hang out.

she has a point. if she could leave chris and zoe alone for an entire month to travel europe, then why couldn't she leave them alone for a night to go celebrate a friend's birthday?

she sets her phone back down and continues her call, this client being particularly chatty. after a mere five minutes, he finally feels satisfied and she hangs up the phone.

her feet dangle off the end of the bed before she sets them on the ground, pushing herself up and heading towards the living room. chris sits in his usual spot, the television switched on to the sports center while zoe plays with her dolls on the floor in front of him.

"chris?"

his gaze moves from the tv to her. "yeah?"

"would you mind if i went out tonight? it's my friend's birthday and she really wants me to go. i tried to tell her i couldn't but she just keeps pushing."

he lets out a sigh. "tee. of course you should go. you know it makes me feel like shit to see you wasting your life in this house."

"are you sure? will you be able to watch after zoe?"

he glances down at her, a smile playing at his lips. "i don't know. she looks like she's getting pretty wild with those dolls of hers."

tee laughs. "i shouldn't be gone long. i just need to stop by for a few hours."

"i don't care how long you're out. go be young."

she smiles, nodding her head before taking off towards her bedroom to get ready. she plugs in her curling iron, waiting for it to heat up while she applies her makeup. after thirty minutes of primping and preening, she's finally ready to go.

she says a quick goodbye to chris and zoe one last time before getting into her car, plugging the address of the party into her phone's gps. only a ten-minute drive.

all star by smash mouth blasts through her speakers and she finds herself putting the song on repeat for the entire drive over.

the street is full of cars and she has to park two blocks away from the house. her arms naturally wrap around her body as the seattle night breeze hits her. minutes later, she's at the front door. the booming bass indicates that a knock isn't necessary to enter and she opens the door, her eyes widening at the mass amount of people.

she scans the crowd, hoping to find the seemingly-popular birthday girl. just as she spots her playing a game of beer pong, a figure blocks her view.

"care for a drink?" he asks, a drunken smile spread across his lips.

she takes in his freckled features and hazel eyes, pursing her lips in consideration. "i'll pass."

"just like that, huh?" he laughs.

"just like that," she says bluntly.

"i'm benny." he puts his hand out, the same drunken smile still on his lips. "nice to meet you."

"i'm leaving," she says, smiling sweetly at him before making her way through the crowd and towards the birthday girl.

finally, their eyes meet and a relieved smile finds her lips as her friend makes her way towards her.

"teagan!" she shouts, throwing her arms around her shoulders. "you came!"

"i'm here." she laughs, hugging her friend back. "happy birthday, samantha."

she looks past her friend to see a guy staring back at her, a quizzical expression set on his face. she notices his sharp jaw line and disheveled dark hair and can't seem to break her gaze from his. he takes a sip from his beer before finally looking away, shaking his head lightly.

"i didn't think you'd make it," samantha says, pulling her attention away from the mystery guy and back to her friend.

"you're right." tee shrugs. "i should get out more."

"well, do you want a drink?"

"i already asked her," a familiar voice pipes in. she looks over her shoulder to see that benny guy stumbling towards her. "is this your friend, sam?"

"yeah, this is teagan. she's in my us history class."

"history?" tee turns her head to see the mystery guy has now joined them. his beer is gone and his arms are crossed over his chest as his eyes rake up and down her body, inspecting her like she's some sort of science project.

her voice sounds weak as she says, "yeah. i'm a history major."

his face lights up with a smile and for some reason, beyond her, it makes her want to smile. something about him seems so familiar. so comfortable.

"teagan, this is my brother," samantha says, throwing an arm around the man's shoulder. "evan, this is teagan."

"hi," he says quietly, a shy smile on his lips.

her eyes widen in realization. evan. samantha. benny.

she bites her lip nervously, trying to suppress the smile that's threatening to break through.

"i had a feeling you were a lip biter," he says with a laugh.

samantha furrows her eyebrows. "what?"

benny's eyes widen. "wait. you're teagan?"

"i'm sorry am i missing something?" samantha says, her words going ignored by the rest of the group.

"want to go outside?" evan asks, his eyes still trained on tee as if she's going to disappear any moment like she did in his dream.

unable to form a coherent sentence, she nods her head and follows him towards the back door. there's a group of people outside but he leads her past all of them and to an empty swing set.

"this is my brother chad's house," he says, taking a seat on one of the swings. she follows suit, sitting on the swing directly next to him.

"you're real," she mumbles, cursing herself for letting that be the first thing she says after appearing mute for the last five minutes.

he laughs. "yeah, i think so."

"i just meant," she pauses, "you're here. why are you here?"

"it's my sister's birthday. i told you i had plans friday night." he smiles shyly, his smile making her heart race faster than she'd ever thought possible.

"can i, um, touch you?"

"what?" though his tone screams confusion, his face still wears a smile.

"just to, you know, make sure." she pauses. "that you're real."

he laughs, getting off his swing and standing in front of hers. their faces are only inches apart and her breath hitches in her throat. suddenly, it feels as though she's forgotten how to move altogether.

he hesitantly reaches for her hand and brings it up to his face, her palm resting gently on his cheek. the warmth underneath her hand is all the reassurance that she needs, a smile breaking out across her face.

"real enough for you?" he whispers.

and before she knows what's happening, she's leaning towards him and he's leaning towards her.

"our date was supposed to be tomorrow," she whispers, her eyes flickering down to his lips that only sit inches away from her own.

"tomorrow can wait."

and then his lips are on hers.