As soon as Winter stepped into the white mansion through the front door, the flashing disco lights almost blinded her. The music was so loud that it made her skin tingle and her lungs felt like mush. There was a strong smell in the air, which she guessed was alcohol. And just like her high school, people were kissing and making out, only it was version 2, meaning grosser.
Winter scooted closer to her Zane and clung onto his arm like a lifeline.
Over the roar of music, she could hear a distant, hazy voice. Winter looked up to meet the familiar blue eyes, which were now reflecting with different colors. Her partner was saying something, but she couldn't make out any words. The song only seemed to get louder by each passing second.
"I can't hear you," Winter hollered.
Zane sighed and took her out to the swimming pool area. There were fewer people than in the hall room, and the music didn't sound as deafening as before.
"Don't leave my side, okay? There are a lot of creeps around here," Zane told her.
"Don't worry. I'm just here to drink," Winter said and waved in dismissal.
"You can do everything. Just don't wander off," he reminded.
"Can I dance too?" she asked, flashing him a puppy look. He couldn't help but melt and nod. Winter was about to rush to the ballroom but was interrupted by someone else.
"Oh, my God! I can't believe you actually came," squealed a feminine voice.
Before Winter could look up at the owner of the voice, she was pushed away to the side from Zane as he was pulled into a hug by a red-headed girl.
"Hey, Mel," he let out, returning the hug. For the few moments that she was in his arms, all Winter wanted was to run her over with her non-existent car as her chest felt like it was on fire.
"How long has it been since you attended my parties?" Melody chimed, pulling away from Zane, letting Winter get a good look at her face.
Winter almost gasped at how pretty she was. She had imagined Melody to look like a stereotypical high school bitch with a fake nose, plastic surgery, high-pitched voice, and tons of makeup on her face. Instead, Melody was gorgeous, even with light makeup, and her voice was actually worth her name.
While she was staring at Melody with huge eyes, she didn't pay attention to their conversations until Melody asked, "Who is she?"
"She is Winter, my partner," Zane introduced, and Winter flashed her a polite smile.
"It's nice to meet you," Melody said to Winter.
Winter tried her best to hide her distaste in her tone as she spoke, "Yeah, same." That was the end of their conversation. Being the introverted person Winter was, she was never good at continuing conversations. On the other hand, Melody was much more interested in Zane than anyone else.
Winter almost thought that Zane had forgotten about her while talking to his 'very close' friend. Just as she was about to storm away to give them some privacy, Zane held her wrist.
"Sorry, Mel. My partner here seems to be feeling like a third-wheel. I will talk to you at school," Zane said. The bright smile on Melody's face faded away at his inconsiderate words.
Winter felt bad for Melody, yet somehow she was happy. Zane was always very straightforward, so there was nothing to feel bad about, she told herself.
"Okay, then. I will go check on the others." With a last smile, Melody left the two of them alone. Winter peeked over her shoulder at Melody to find her wiping away a lone tear that fell on her cheek. She couldn't help but wonder if someday she would be crying like Melody.
Zane tugged at Winter's hand, grabbing her attention, and said, "Shall we go drinking then?"
A smile spread across her face as she nodded happily, making their way inside again, forgetting all about Melody—this was the problem with her nowadays. With Zane around, she couldn't think straight.
The two of them went to the counter. Winter eyed all of the bottles with curious eyes. "I want to taste all of them. But I want to try out Tequila first."
"Why Tequila?" Zane arched an eyebrow.
Winter laughed and said, "Because that's the only alcohol name I know."
Zane chuckled in disbelief and told the bartender, "Two shots of Tequila, please."
As they waited for their drinks, Winter let out fearfully, "Are you sure we won't get arrested for minor drinking?"
"I'm not a minor anymore, so I don't know." Zane shrugged.
"Sir, the legal drinking age is 21 in our state," remarked the bartender.
Winter burst out laughing as Zane narrowed his eyes at the bartender, who flashed him a big smile.
"That settles it. Everyone here is illegal to drink then. If I'm going down, I'm going to drown all of them," Winter announced.
Zane chuckled and placed his elbow on the counter, resting his cheek on his knuckles, scanning her every movement. "By the way, when are you becoming eighteen?"
"24th December, just before Christmas day," she replied, drumming her fingers on the counter. "When's your birthday?"
"9th July."
Winter was about to talk more but their drinks were ready by then. She gulped seeing the small tequila glass filled up. She was starting to have second thoughts. "What if I get drunk?" she asked Zane.
Zane placed his hand on top of hers and said, "I will take care of you." Just those few words of assurance were enough for her to pick up the glass and gulp it down in a go. It left a burning sensation in her mouth. It tasted like water with a burning, unpleasant, mildly bitter flavor.
"So?" Zane asked, eyeing Winter for any sign of changes. Since this was the first time she consumed alcohol, it was impossible to know what her alcohol tolerance was, which was getting him worried.
Her stomach began to heave in a sickly way and her head was spinning in a way that made no sense. It was like the whole house just got put on a carousel, slow at first but gaining momentum. The sight of the people dancing brought joy to her. "I want to dance," she said before getting up to join the dance floor.
Zane watched her stalk up to the dance floor and started swaying her hips confidently. He was amazed, to say the least. Right before getting out of the car, she wanted to run away because she was feeling too self-conscious about her outfit and makeup—which he thought she looked stunning in. Now that she was up on the dance floor, she looked even more radiant.
Zane couldn't keep count of how many times Winter had squished someone else's foot under her own. Still, she smiled brightly as he observed her fondly with his drink forgotten in his hand. He stared as her hair spun out and bounced more with each move and beat. This was perfect. He felt like that was all he ever wanted to do. Just sit and watch her forever.
His view was blocked by a red-dressed girl, a person he never wanted to see again. "Out of the way," he said.
The girl placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled brightly, letting red lipstick glow even more. "What are you doing here, sitting all alone, babe?"
Zane rolled his eyes and said, "Doing something better than dating you, Melissa."
"Baby, that's very mean," Melissa said in her sugary voice, batting her smoky eyelashes at him. He shoved away her hand from his shoulder and leaned back a little to create some distance between them.
Zane had the urge to hurl, seeing her behavior. Why did he even ever date this girl? Just what did he see in her? Was he blind until two years ago? How could he not detect her fakeness?
"I see that you have gotten more handsome over time." Melissa trailed her finger across his face. Before he could do anything to her, her hand was swatted by none other than Winter.
"Just what are you doing to my partner?" Winter spoke up, coming in between them.
"Who—"
"Why are you trying to sandwich my handsome Zane? Only I can do that." Winter's voice was slurry and drunken yet firm enough to make Melissa take a step back. With that, Winter pulled Zane up to the dance floor, much to his surprise.
As Melissa watched with her jaw dropped to the floor, Winter locked her arms around his neck, which reflexively made him place his hands on her hips. Wearing high heels did benefit her to match his height, otherwise, he would have to bend down and she would have to stay on her tiptoes.
As Winter pushed herself closer to him, Zane felt his heart pounding loudly in his chest. The smell of her strawberry shampoo was intoxicating. He could feel her slender fingers sensually touching the skin on the back of his neck. Normally, she would be different shades of red by now, but tonight, with the alcohol controlling her mind, she was bold with everything she did.
"You know, you should start wearing masks and big glasses all the time," she mumbled, placing her head on his shoulder.
"Why?" He was loving how affectionate she was being with him. If this was how she acted when she got drunk, he would rather her stay drunk for eternity.
Winter leaned closer to his ear and whispered seductively, letting her breath lingering on his skin, "Because you are too handsome for the world to see."
"So are you saying only you have the right to look at me?" he teased. He didn't expect her to nod in reply. Just as he was starting to lose up under her touch, she started tracing her fingers over his chest, underneath his black denim jacket.
"Yes, only mine to touch as well." She trailed her fingers from his chest down to his abdomen, feeling up the hard muscles. She giggled in delight.
"Winter, stop it," Zane breathed out, knowing it would be impossible for him to stay sane if she continued acting like this. Just like her, he wanted to touch her just as much. But unfortunately, he couldn't use the excuse of being drunk like her.
"I don't want to."
"Please."
"No." Winter placed a light kiss on his jawline before looking at him with a fire burning in her eyes—with a look that he had never seen before in her green eyes. The blaring music had stopped reaching his ears a long while ago, but now it was just the two of them in his eyes. "I want to keep touching you. I want to know all about you."
For a moment, Zane just wanted to give into his desires. But the next moment, when her feet staggered and she closed her eyes, feeling her vision getting blurry, he realized she was only drunk.
"I want to keep you all to myself," she slurred out before her vision darkened completely, giving up herself in his secure arms.
Zane knew it was just the alcohol spitting nonsense. But he couldn't ignore the fact that alcohol made a person acknowledge their deepest desires.
