Page 21 of Breaking Free
“It’s hennessy, rum, and lemon juice and some other shit. I don’t know.”
“Good god, man. That’s strong.”
“I take it you’re not used to drinking.”
“Nah. Not really.”
Bryant takes a sip out of his glass, looking at me with amusement in his eyes. “I learned the hard way, too. Don’t let Jay choose your drink. He had me stumbling home the first time we went out. I stick to my fruity, slushy drinks.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Ocean Blue. Pina Colada mix, coconut rum, pineapple juice, and probably splashes of some other stuff.”
By the time I’ve finished most of the drink Jay got me, the football guys show up and want to take another shot. This time it’s something called a bomb pop, which is pretty good.
“Tim, you’re buying us our next drinks,” Jay says.
“Why am I buying you a drink? I only made a bet with Dom.”
“Come on, man. Remember when I hooked you up with that one chick?”
They fall into a conversation as they wait for the bartender, so I walk over to where Bryant and Olivia are sitting.
“Feeling tipsy yet?” Olivia asks.
“Not yet,” I answer with a grin. “I’m pretty big. It’s gonna take a little more than two shots and one drink to have me drunk.”
I don’t miss her eyes skating over my biceps and chest, and then I find Bryant chewing on his bottom lip as he watches me.
“Definitely big,” she says. “So, what’s your story?”
“Is that everyone’s go-to question here?” I ask with a laugh.
She shrugs. “Sorry. Nosy, I guess.”
“It’s fine. I just transferred here from Grand Valley.”
She nods, taking a sip of her drink. “Mhm. And are you single, taken, gay, straight, something in between?”
I smile, enjoying her bluntness. “Single and gay.”
“Damn. Sucks for me. But Bryant’s gay,” she says, reaching out to squeeze his wrist.
My eyes flicker to Bryant’s pink cheeks. “Thanks, Liv,” he murmurs.
“I’m just saying,” she says, holding her hands up.
“You and Jay together or something?” I ask.
She tilts her head from side to side like she’s thinking. “Sometimes. We hook up from time to time.”
“No strings attached.”
“Exactly.”
Jay and the other guys come over, drinks in hand, and we all move to the room with the dance floor and get drunker and drunker as the hours go by. I end up losing track of how many shots I’ve had, and I dance with both Olivia and Bryant until Jay pulls her away. Shea and Tim find girls to dance with and buy drinks for, and then at some point we end up next to the damn mechanical bull.
We must’ve been extremely drunk, because somehow me and Jay both end up on the bull at the same time. We fall almost as soon as they speed it up, but then we get back on and try again.