CHAPTER twenty-two
Much of the walk to the party was a blur of laughing, bumping into lamp posts, and high-fiving random strangers. The world was at a slanted angle for Ethan, and he took it in stride.
Or rather, in skip.
“Are you playing hopscotch?” Lorna asked. Everything was making her giggle tonight. Ethan sucked in his laughter until it came out as tears.
He didn’t remember how many shots they’d had. He’d stopped counting after four. They were in Lorna’s room for a few hours, talking about life before Browerton. There were some heart-to-heart moments in there, but they were a blur within the greater blur.
Ethan felt the alcohol plummet to the bottom of his stomach as they approached the frat quad. Ivy crawled across majestic brick buildings which overlooked the river. Were it not for the trash littering the area and stumbling students, this could be the cover of a catalogue. It was almost ironic to have such a stately block of buildings dedicated to decadence and mess.
“And here we are.”
The letters of Kappa Kappa Sigma were lit up on the building, and a guy in a pink polo stood watch over the entrance. Music pulsed from inside. Students Ethan had never seen before scattered around the outside. The sight intimidated him. He was not cool enough for this party, this quad, this hemisphere of campus.
“What if he doesn’t talk to me?”
“He will.” She tugged on his arm for support. They joined the line to enter.
“Do you think so?”
“Yes! I think.”
“Those are two contract…contradictionary…contradictation…con—you think I’m screwed.”
Lorna shrugged her shoulders. Now they were in front of pink polo bouncer guy. His chest was as wide as Lorna and Ethan smooshed together.
“Gilly!” Lorna screamed and threw her arms around the guy. He picked her up in a bear hug. Ethan exhaled. Gilly?
“I didn’t know you were coming tonight. I thought you’d go to Michelle’s.” Gilly had a deep voice. Puberty had sure gotten a hold on him. “How’s she doing, by the way?”
“You should CALL her and find out.” Lorna nearly exploded with perkiness and tossed her hair in a touch of flirtation. She knew how to calibrate herself to fit each person.
“Looks like you started the party early,” Gilly said.
“Gilly, this is my friend Ethan. He has never been to a frat party before. Mind if he comes in with me?” She batted her eyelashes and leaned forward, putting her cleavage in clear view. (Once they had decided to hit up the frat party, Lorna had promptly changed outfits into something more eye-catching.) “Are you a freshman?” Gilly asked Ethan.
“No, sir.” Sir? Well, when a guy looked and sounded like a weight room, it paid to be respectful. Especially when you had no upper arm strength of value. “I’m a sophomore.”
“Sophomore? And this is your first frat party?”
“Help me pop his cherry, Gilly.”
“Well, have fun, dude.” Gilly motioned for them to enter. He patted Ethan on the back, and Ethan fell to the ground. Balance when drunk required practice, he was discovering.
The party happened all around them. The living room had been converted into a dance floor, but that was just a starting-off point. People danced and talked and even hooked up in all the nooks and crannies of the house. Kegs were scattered in each room. It was actually a smart setup that prevented clogs of people in the hall.
Ethan kept his eyes focused on Lorna’s hair. She sent a text as soon as they got inside. The rush of coeds did not phase her.
He was too scared to look around. What if he saw Greg? And what if Greg saw him? What would happen then? Ethan wasn’t ready for that scenario. Not before he restocked on liquid courage.
“Shall we make our way upstairs?” Lorna asked.
“Sure.” She took a step, and Ethan grabbed her arm. “Actually, can we stop at the keg first?”
“You don’t want that. Sahil has top-shelf liquor in his room.”
An alarm blared in Ethan’s head. “We can’t go to Sahil’s room. That’s Greg’s room! They’re roommates!”
“No, they’re not. Sahil has a single.”
“Really?”
Lorna sized up Ethan and laughed. “You are trashed.”
He was. The music vibrated in his ears and hijacked his brainwaves. He stopped thinking about the moment and just lived it.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
Lorna leaned back and took a good look at him. Ethan bounced to the music, bobbing his head from side to side. He couldn’t help it. The beat overtook him, and he had to expound his nervous energy somehow.
Plus, it was fun.
Lorna joined in and grinded against him. Ethan went with it. He let the crowds and the sweat and the moving blue-and-red track lights carry him.
Once the song changed, Ethan stopped. “Okay, now let’s find some alcohol.”
Φ
Frats never put out the good stuff for parties. They got kegs to attract crowds, but they saved the top-shelf liquor and quality beer for each other. Thus, if you wanted a real drink rather than warmed-over keg crap, you had to know a guy in the frat. Luckily, Lorna did.
“Great. Sahil says he’s got Patrón. We can do tequila shots!” Lorna said, putting away her phone.
“I love tequila shots!”
“Have you ever had tequila shots?”
“No.”
Upstairs was much quieter. People hung out in rooms. It was like a VIP area, and Ethan felt a rush of cool.
Sahil hung out on an ugly mustard-yellow couch in his room with two girls, while another wasted frat brother sat on a beanbag chair.
“Hola!” Sahil greeted her with a hug.
Ethan’s stomach clenched up when he entered, but Greg wasn’t there. Maybe he was downstairs. He hoped they would naturally and casually bump into each other. Oh, this is your frat? What a small world!
Ethan and Lorna shared a desk chair. Lorna did all the talking, and Sahil handed him the shot and lime.
“Now hold out your arm,” she instructed.
“Which one?”
“The one that you don’t hold the shot glass with.”
“Um, that was a lot of words. I’m confused.”
Lorna yanked his right arm and dabbed salt. He had an open wound (a paper cut) and yelped in pain.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Do you know how to do a tequila shot? Like have you ever seen one being done?”
He whipped his head from side to side, letting wisps of blond shuffle in front of his eyes.
Lorna went through the instructions, and Ethan wished he had a notepad. He didn’t understand why drinking had to be so complicated.
“So remember. Lick the salt, take the shot, suck on the lime.” Lorna spoke slowly. She would make a good teacher, he thought.
“Lick it. Take it. Suck it. Got it.”
“Ready? On the count of three. One…two…three!”
Ethan licked, took, and sucked. The shot was a bipolar rush of taste, but the three parts combined made everything go down fairly smooth. The tequila seared a hole in his stomach. He could feel himself rise two notches on the drunk scale. He sucked on the lime like a pacifier until the taste subsided.
“What are you doing?” Sahil’s booming voice asked them from across the room.
Ethan instantly put down the lime and stepped away from the alcohol. Sahil climbed over people on the floor. He grabbed the bottle of tequila. “When you do a shot in this room, it’s customary—nay, common courtesy—to ask the host to join.” And with that, Sahil poured the three of them another shot.
“What’s the punishment for breaking the rules?” Lorna dipped her finger into her shot and placed a drop on her tongue.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Maybe.”
“Whoa, get a room!” Ethan said.
“Well, I do have a room, and you’re in it.” Sahil held up his shot and lime. Lorna and Ethan followed suit.
“What are we toasting to?” Lorna asked.
“To living it up tonight. Woo!” Sahil yelled in Ethan’s ear and nearly blew out his ear drum. They cheers-ed.
Lick it. Take it. Suck it.
That one went down a little easier than the first, but Ethan would never not feel the burn.
“So be honest, Lorna, is this guy your boyfriend?”
Ethan couldn’t stop his blushing. Sahil knew how to catch him off-guard.
“Why? Jealous?” Lorna asked.
“Maybe just a little,” Sahil said with a smile that tried to hide some truth.
Ethan could’ve kept up the charade and laughed along, but here he was, drinking Sahil’s top-shelf liquor. Some parts of him didn’t need to remain private. He made a mental calculation and decided that Sahil wasn’t going to throw him out of his room and incur the wrath of Lorna.
“Actually, I’m gay,” Ethan said.
Lorna and Sahil’s head both swiveled to face him. The music kept going, but Ethan only heard deafening silence. He’d never seen Sahil this serious, and perhaps his calculations were off.
Sahil put down his shot glass and raised his arm. Ethan realized that he was waiting for a high-five.
“YEAH, RAINBOW!”
Ethan reluctantly high-fived back. He couldn’t tell if Sahil was genuinely happy or relieved that Lorna was still single.
“That’s awesome,” Sahil said. He went to pouring them another shot.
“Really?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah, dude.” Like it was no big deal, which apparently it wasn’t to Sahil. Maybe Greg had read him all wrong.
Or maybe he didn’t want me coming to the frat house. Ethan’s world spun in a slow circle. Partially thanks to the alcohol. Greg had lied about Sahil, and he’d lied about being roommates. He probably had a single. Bedrooms are so boring. They’re not us, he had told Ethan. He should’ve known that was code for, I don’t want my frat brothers to find out I’m a big homo.
Lorna sprinkled salt on Ethan’s arm. “You ready?”
“Hey, Sahil,” Ethan said. He cut limes for them. “Where is Greg’s room?”