Smothered Emotions

Chapter 8

"Chug! Chug! Chug!"

I clasped a chilled coke in my hand as I witnessed River down a keg of beer. Vomit crept up my throat in response to River's antics, but I suppressed it as best I could. I never understood the obsession with chugging poison, but that's the American way, I guess. Henry lightly elbowed my side, and I looked up to see him grinning at me. I looked down coyly, feeling eyes burning through me: Vanessa. Kelly was egging River on beside me, spilling her drink as her fist punched the air. How this flew over the Malibu PD, I had no idea. The sun was setting on the horizon, and I scanned the beach to get an idea of how many people were at this party. I could see heads bopping through the ocean of college kids as EDM blasted through the air.

"Are you gonna be chugging any beer?" Henry nudged me again with a smirk.

"Absolutely not," I gagged in disgust. I watched as River sputtered some beer and held his stomach. The thought of watching him regurgitate all over the pavement turned my stomach, so I shielded my eyes. Unfortunately, I could still hear the wretched noises escaping his lips.

"Let's go to the bar. I can make you an awesome mixed drink." Henry nodded towards the makeshift bar Vanessa's sorority created. Students cheered to some random famous DJ in the background, and some frat boys were shotgunning beers in the distance. I don't know how they could afford all this, but I was impressed despite my stance on sororities.

"Okay."

I have no idea why I accepted. That was the main rule I had been adamant about following from my parents. My mother told me alcohol makes people like me unpredictable. I'm positive testing this theory out at a college party was a terrible idea, but unfortunately, Henry's gorgeous face was enough to make me succumb to peer pressure, so I proceeded to follow him.

He placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me to the bar. My heart rate soared as I imagined his hand falling to my hip. To distract my thoughts, I watched as some guys played with kerosene around the bonfire in the distance. It seemed they were participating in a contest of who would set on fire first. I prayed there wouldn't be any injuries occurring tonight, but I had a feeling that was too much to ask for.

Henry grabbed a red solo cup from the bar and began creating his concoction. His hands moved elegantly as he poured different types of liquor and juice, swirling the cup delicately. He would check the cup's level, add more of what he thought was appropriate, and swirl some more. He did this a few more times before taking a cherry from a bowl and placing it strategically in my cup. I don't know how he did it, but he managed to make a drink in a red solo cup look spectacularly fancy.

"Let me taste it real quick. I need to make sure it's perfect," I nodded, and he took a small sip. "Perfect." He grinned, handing me the drink.

Anxiety filled my body as I hoped I wasn't going to lose it and ruin my chances with him. One sip felt like nirvana, sending me to heaven for the second time today. I could barely taste all the alcohol I had seen him intricately blend a few minutes ago. Nothing changed physically or mentally, so I had assumed my mother was being a typical African mom, exaggerating everything.

"Liv!" I turned to see Elijah rushing to me. Ellie was nowhere in sight.

"Hey!" he hugged me a little too long before turning to Henry.

"Elijah?"

"Henry? I haven't seen you in forever," they proceeded to bear hug and do some complicated hand greeting.

"I'm guessing you know each other?" I asked, sipping on my drink some more.

"Yeah, we used to go to football camps together growing up. How've you been, man?" Henry asked.