“Are you going to ask her to come over?” Reg asked me.

“Who?”

“Alexa, you idiot. Who else? It’s obvious that you’re into her.”

“I don’t think she’ll want to. She’s pretty drunk and I bet there are a bunch of different parties for her to choose from,” I said as I rattled the ice in my glass.

Alexa doesn’t go for guys like me. I saw her dancing with Donny. He’s probably more her type. He’s an idiot, but he can join the family business and give her the life she deserves. I’m not even a college athlete anymore.

You could say I was surprised when I asked her to come over and she said yes. But in her defense, she was very drunk and just wanted to have a good time. When she put her arm around mine, I could smell her shampoo. It was more intoxicating than any of the drinks we had tonight, combined.

This is the night that every football player fantasizes about. You win the big game - the last game of your college career. You will forever be remembered, by your school and your fans, for how well you played in that last nail-biter of a game.

Then, you get to go to a crazy party where everyone is buying you drinks. I must have shaken a hundred fans’ hands at that bar. Everyone wants to take a picture with you. When you’re the star quarterback, you can get just about any girl you want. And it drives you crazy when there’s only one you want to be with, and she wants nothing to do with you.

But if she’s walking with me back to my place, there’s got to be a chance, right? This was happening way too quickly. I wasn’t prepared for this. I hadn’t planned any moves beyond asking her to come over, which I was sure wasn’t going to happen.

She’s pretty drunk, so I was pretty sure that she would make out with me. What if things went further? I thought about her delicate collarbone, the curve of her waist, and her muscular thighs.

I wanted to touch all of her. Would she let me? And what happened if she did? Would we be together, or would she regret it in the morning? I was getting way ahead of myself; we weren’t even out of the bar yet.

“You sure you’re alright?” I asked as she stumbled around the bar’s tables.

“Never been better,” she smiled up at me.

The second we got outside, she threw up all over the sidewalk.

“Oh, Alexa,” I said as I pulled her long hair out of the way. “Looks like someone can’t handle her liquor.”

She groaned.

“Alexa “Put it on my Tab” Hall, the girl who shut down the bar because she drank all of their alcohol,” I teased.

“Don’t laugh at me,” she whined.

I held back a chuckle. She was cute even when she was doing something so disgusting. My ideas for the rest of the night ended shortly after they began.

“Let’s get you home. No more party for you.”

“No, just leave me here. I’m going to sit on the curb and rest for a while. I’ll call for a cab in a little bit.”

“Not a chance, Alexa. Do you think you can walk the six blocks back to your dorm?”

She shook her head. We would be waiting forever for a cab. I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder. I put one hand on her toned back and another on the back of her legs. This was the closest I was getting to Alexa tonight.

“Slow down, you’re going too fast,” she mumbled.

“Don’t you dare throw up on me,” I called to her.

I thought about taking her back to my place. Maybe she’d sober up and want to fool around with me. I could tuck her into bed and make her pancakes in the morning. I wanted to spend more time with her.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“I told you, I’m taking you to your apartment and you’re sleeping this off.”

I knew that if she were in her right mind, she would be horrified to find herself in my apartment, in my bed, with my clothes on. I couldn’t do that to her. We would both be sleeping alone tonight.

I had to search through her purse to find her dorm key. It felt oddly personal, sifting through her private belongings. The keycard was wedged in the middle of a stack of credit cards. Credit cards that were billed to her parents. I bet they never even looked at the statements before they paid them.

When I opened the door, I saw Sasha and Reg sitting on their couch.

“Oh my God,” Sasha exclaimed when I entered the dorm. “What happened?”

I told them about all of the events that took place after they left the bar.

“Thanks for bringing her home,” Sasha said. “Just drop her in her bed. I’ll check up on her later.”

I wouldn’t have guessed that her room would look this way. She seemed like the kind of girl who would have fancy wooden furniture and a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

In reality, she had the same cheap furniture as everyone else. She had a massive book collection and homework assignments spread all over her desk. I pulled back the covers and laid her on the bed. I carefully removed her shoes.

“Hey,” she murmured with a sleepy smile on her face. “I’m home.”

“I know, I carried you here.”

“Do you know what?” she asked.

“What?” I responded.

“You’re not an asshole after all.”

“Thanks?”

“No, I don’t mean it like that. I just didn’t know you were so nice. I figured you were the type to take advantage of a drunk girl.”

I was both pleased and hurt by this. However, it confirmed that I made the right decision tonight. The more I thought about it, the more I was pleased with how tonight went. It was truly a great night.

“Goodnight, drunkie,” I teased. “I’ll see you around.”

She was already asleep, so I quietly left her room. I caught Sasha peeking around the corner.

“Just seeing if she was okay,” Sasha covered.

“She’s going to be pretty miserable tomorrow,” I said. “You might want to get her a glass of water.”

“Hey, Martin,” Reg said. “I’m going to walk home with you. I think I have a few more hours of partying in me.”

As we walked to our building, I couldn’t help but replay the events of the night on a loop. I was in Alexa Hall’s bedroom. I tucked her into bed. I wish I would have done other things with her in that bed, but maybe it was for the best.

We were two very different people with very different futures ahead of us. I must have looked sullen because Reg patted me on the back.

“Don’t worry man, there’s going to be girls lined up, waiting for you when we get back to the house.”

I gave a weak chuckle. “I suppose you’re right.”