the hook-up. {ethma}

chapter 7

emma chamberlain

INSIDE THE HOUSE is just as I feared. Packed, hot, and loud. Guys appear to make it their sole purpose to shout out to one another. Inane music is pulsing through the speakers and bouncing off the walls.

Eyes follow me as I walk by. I don't belong. They know it. I know it. Girls frown as if trying to figure out why I am here and who invited me, and guys take long looks at my boobs. I'm now cursing my choice of top. And Olivia.

Olivia, who darts like a minnow through the crowd in her quest to find Henry. The instant she does, he pulls her in and sticks his tongue down her throat. His hands grab her ass to haul her in closer.

Yeah. I don't have any desire to stand next to them now. My only refuge is to find a beer and a corner to nurse it in. Because of my three-inch boot heels, I hover at 5'10." High enough to see over most other girls' heads. High enough that when I move into another room, I instantly spot him. And he's looking directly at me.

Ethan Dolan.

Of course. I am now officially going to kill Olivia.

I want to look away, but I can't. I never can when it comes to him. His mouth hangs open slightly, as if he's shocked to see me here, which makes two of us; I'm shocked to be here. But then, as if it dawns on him that it's really me and not a nightmare, his lips quirk up at the corners and a glint comes into his eyes.

I wonder if all my happy parts are somehow connected to his smile because they flare at that expression, going warm and tingly. Which annoys the hell out of me.

Then he moves, walking away from the group of people surrounding him without a backward glance.

Disabled as I am by my uncooperative body, I stand unmoving as he comes for me. His big body cuts through the crowd like a blade. God damn, but he looks fine, his long striding legs encased in worn and faded jeans that hug his thick thighs. His moss brown t-shirt clings to his chest like a love song, highlighting the breadth of his shoulders and the leanness of his waist.

In a room filled with boys, Ethan is a man here. Bigger, stronger, and just more. In an odd way, he doesn't belong here either. But the difference is they want him to belong.

His eyes stay locked with mine the whole time. It's unnerving. And enough to make my toes curl in my beloved Vogs.

He stops just before me. Way too close for a casual acquaintance. Even with my added height, I have to tip my head back a little to meet his gaze.

"Emma Chamberlain," he drawls, "fancy meeting you here." That he appears pleased makes my insides dip.

"Not by my own volition," I mutter.

His lopsided smile grows. "Who suckered you into coming?"

"Olivia, my roommate and soon-to-be resident on the missing persons list."

A light laugh breaks from him, and his eyes warm. "I don't know... I'm kind of grateful to her."

"You can thank her when she stops sucking her boyfriend's face off. As for me, I'm leaving."

Dolans brows snap together. "Now? You just got here."

"How do you know? I might have been here for hours."

He shifts his weight onto one leg, bringing him closer. "Chambie, I knew the second you walked in the door."

"Bull." I say it reflexively.

But he grins. "I shit you not."

My skin is too tight, my flesh too warm now. "How is that even possible?"