Wild Love ✓

02| Hangover

Luca is really handsome, so I'm not surprised Sara tried to set us up. But before it gets too awkward, Luca asks, "A new game of beer pong is starting. You wanna play?" He tilts his head at the table with the two triangles made of red plastic cups.

"Sure. I'm great at beer pong." And that's not a lie. While I was still in high school, my brother would come and visit mom and I on the weekends. He would teach me how to play it. He said that if I wanted to succeed in college, I had to be great at beer pong.

Luca chuckles and follows me to the table.

Surprisingly, he is also pretty good at the game, not at my level, but close. The other team is sadly also good. This is the third round we are playing, and it's a tie. And both teams are stubborn enough that we keep playing until we have a clear winner.

I know I should have stopped playing after the first round, because this cup I'm drinking is my... honestly, I'm not even sure what number it is. I'm full on tipsy right now, giggling and laughing at everything. Luca has to steady me from falling on my face every time I jump when we get the ball in one of the other team's cups. Maybe wearing heels wasn't so smart after all. But damn, do I look good in them.

There are only two cups left on the table, one for each team, and it feels pretty intense. We have caught the attention of everyone—minus David and his girlfriend for the night—in the playroom.

It's Luca's turn to throw the ball and if it lands in the cup, we win. My heart is pounding really fast because of the alcohol in my body and the cheers.

Luca is holding the little ball in his right hand and moving it back and forth, testing his aim. Everyone has gone eerily quiet and I can't even hear the music playing in the background, only the sound of my pounding heart.

I glance at Luca's profile and see the look of concentration on his face. His eyes narrow a little, his eyebrows furrow in determination. His aim hasn't gone to shit even after all the alcohol he consumed, and he is taking this game a little too seriously, even more than I am. And I take beer pong really seriously.

He moves his arm a couple more times back and forth, then, finally, he throws it. I move my gaze from his profile to the ball just in time to see it land in the other team's cup.

Cheers and applause erupt from everyone. I jump up and down and throw my hands around his neck. Alcohol erasing my rationale.

He is taken aback and doesn't get the chance to react because I remove myself from him after two seconds.

"We won!" I cheer. "Good job." I high five him.

"Thanks. You played well, too."

"You are almost better than me at this." I fake a pout. He just laughs, but it's too low for me to hear it.

I go fetch myself some water while people are congratulating Luca for the win. Sara and Alex are still nowhere in sight. So I just lean against the wall and pop an Advil and chase with some more water. Ben insists on having Advil pills lying around so people can take them before they go back home. This way, the hangover is more bearable because the headache is less strong in the morning.

I'm about to go up to Luca to tell him I'm going to search for Sara when I see her walk up to me. I push off the wall while taking her in. Her hair isn't as neat as it was when we arrived, but the rest of her still looks decent enough to not give away what she and her boyfriend did in a random room.

"So, Alex is done showing you something?" I tease, my eyes flicking to her hair.

She smoothes a hand through her hair and laughs. "I heard Luca may take your place as the beer pong king."