Love You More

Chapter 12: Callie

Feeling brave from the buzz of the alcohol, I proceed to down the beer Beckett hands me, and motion to grab the second one he got for himself.

"Why are you so nice to me?" I blurt out, ignoring the burn of the bubbles going down my throat and into my stomach.

He grins wickedly, and says absolutely nothing, just keeping sizzling eye contact with me as he drinks his beer. Beckett certainly seems to have a flair for the dramatics, he's a fan of long pauses and elongated eye contact.

Just as he opens his mouth to speak, Kenna walks - no - stumbles, into the kitchen. She is obviously wasted and I'm unsure what happened to her in the five minutes I was gone.

Taegan, Rob, Jace, and a girl I don't recognize skid in behind her, apology written all over their faces. I assume the raven-haired beauty in the skin tight rose dress is Kenna's roommate. 

"Guess you'll never know." Beckett's breath on my ear sends goosebumps down my spine and he walks over to join the group.

Beckett's eyes move to Kenna, who is now sitting on the ground, only held up by the cabinet she's leaning against. He yells to one of his buddies to grab a water, and gives it to Kenna.

"Drink this." He commands.

I cringe internally because Kenna does not take well to someone ordering her around. Surprisingly, she nods and downs the water. I notice already she looks less green and purse my lips in approval. My buzz is now in full force, and I realize for the first time that I might really enjoy college.

"Alright I'm fine now I just took legit, like, six shots in a row. Thanks for the water, Beckett."

She looks at him with stars in her eyes and slides a perfectly manicured hand onto his arm. A flash of jealousy courses through my body, and to my surprise, Beckett kindly moves her arm away and turns his attention back to me.

This makes me uncomfortable for multiple reasons. I'm really not used to being the focus of anyone's attention except for Colton's. In high school, Kenna was the crazy one that everyone wanted to be around. I usually disappeared somewhere quiet and nursed a single beer while I read.

I shoot him an apologetic look, and just as he opens his mouth to speak, I cut him off.

"I should probably get her home, I'm sure that drinking more is asking for alcohol poisoning." I say with a weak laugh.

I realize everyone is staring at me with their eyebrows raised. Is this not how college works? In high school we were so scared of getting in trouble that if someone was too drunk we usually left.

"I'm not leaving. I just had to puke and rally, duh." Kenna says, exciting from the bathroom next to the kitchen. She pops the top off a beer, chugs it, crushes the can, and shoots it perfectly into the trash can. The room erupts in cheers and she disappears back into the party, giving me the finger as she walks away.

"So, guess you're not leaving?" Beckett says as he slips an arm around my waist from behind to give me a beer.

"Guess not." I reply, the air in the room changing.

Four games of beer pong, two games of flip cup, and one round of some VERY intense game called Chandelier later; and I am extremely intoxicated. I think I'm holding it well.

Beckett sure holds it well. He was my beer pong partner, and I enjoyed every quip he made when I would miss a shot. He also taught me how to play flip cup, and I made sure he was next to me to make up for how slow I was. I like him. We could be really good friends. Maybe even Colton and Beckett could be friends?

That would be great! Also, guilt free.

I'm reminded of the guilt gnawing in my gut every time Kenna shoots daggers at me for being so close to Beckett. I don't understand why she's so jealous. I have Colton. In addition to that, both Rob and Jace have been trying to make moves on her all night, and they're cute!

My phone buzzes in my pocket. The first thing that I notice: it's 2 o clock in the morning. The second thing that I notice: it's Colton. He's supposed to be sleeping because he leaves for college tomorrow. My fuzzy brain debates if I should answer it. He'll know I'm drunk, and have a lot of questions because that's so not me.

I don't think he's jealous, and shouldn't be because we're practically married, but I caught the vibe that he didn't like Beckett. I think he would like that I'm drunk with Beckett even less. Making my decision, I press decline and decide to talk to him tomorrow when I'm feeling more myself. Tonight, I'm just a college student enjoying her first night out.

Scanning the living room, I don't see any familiar faces. I want to find Teagan and Kenna so that we can all walk home together when we decide to leave. I shoot them a text, and make my way through the throngs of sweaty bodies.

I hear an argument coming from down the hallway and for some reason unbeknownst to me, I move towards it, hoping that Beckett isn't involved in any way.

An extremely drunk boy with a backwards Ralph Lauren Polo hat on slides his arm around my bare waist. With unfocused eyes, he mumbles about how beautiful I am. I try to move away, but I stumble. He takes this as an invite to pull me closer. His breath reeks of vodka, and he has a beer stain down his salmon colored shirt.

His grip tightens on me, and my drunk body can't seem to get myself away. Beads of sweat start to form on my body, both from the heat of the room, and how nervous I am. I try to tell the creepy guy that I am not interested, but I can't get the words out of my mouth. We're crushed together by the many people on the dance floor, and suddenly his lips are crushing mine. Panicking, I find myself frantically pushing him away with my hands.

Suddenly, the crowd parts, and almost instantly Beckett is at my side. His tall form seems to tower over everyone else, which must be how he saw me. I swear this guy has a sixth sense for knowing where I am at all times. Normally, I'd find that extremely creepy, but right now he's my knight in shining armor.

His face is reddened, and I want to ask him if it's from the alcohol or because he's mad. Two seconds later, I get my answer when he raises his fist and knocks creepy dude to the ground. He leads me away from the screaming crowd that has their phones out filming the guy Beckett just put out.

He takes me to a room down the hall, but doesn't have us enter. Standing in the quiet hallway, he puts his hands on either side of my cheeks and says in a gentle tone "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
He wipes tears away that I didn't even know were streaming down my face, and I realize I'm shaking.

I shake my head no, and start to thank him for helping me. "It's really hard to hear you out here, is it okay if we go into this room? I know the guy, I promise I'll leave the door open. I'm sure you want your girl friends, and not a guy after all this, should I go get them?" He is speaking a mile a minute, and I realize this has shaken him.