Page 37 of Cheap Shot

“You seem nice.” He laughed.

Her lips slowly curved into a smile. “Fair enough.”

I laughed and knew she liked him now.

“And what about you, Haley?” Jay asked.

“I’m undecided.” I didn’t really want to give him any more information about myself. He hadn’t done anything wrong, but I kept my guard up.

“Still taking generals?” He rolled the sleeves of his blazer up his arm.

“Yeah.” I hoped he’d leave it at that and not ask about me being a transfer.

Ella giggled, and I glanced over to see the guy whispering in her ear. Her head fell back, and she laughed while touching his chest. Oh wow. He hadn’t seemed like her type. He and Jay looked pretty similar, in that preppy college boy way. Generic. The opposite of my friend.

They took a step away, and Ella held up a finger. “We’ll be right back.”

“I should head back inside,” I said, turning back to the house.

“You don't have to run off.” Jay caught my hand.

“I want to keep dancing.” Not really, but I didn’t want to be alone with him.

“Why don’t we get some drinks first? That should help you cool down.” We got to the kitchen, and he took a cup from the tall stack on the counter and raised a brow.

“Water, please.”

He shifted toward the sink, and I scanned the room for any familiar faces.

“Here you go,” he offered me the cup before taking a beer from a cooler on the floor.

“Thanks,” I took a sip and realized I was thirstier than I realized. It was a bit sweet. Had he found lemonade too?

“Want more?” He asked.

I nodded and held out the cup and watched him fill it again from the tap.

“Feeling better?” he asked after I finished half of it.

I nodded and looked past him for the girls. I didn’t see them dancing, so I moved forward. Jay stayed with me as we made a circle around the room.

“Did we lose them?”

I shrugged. We agreed to stick together, and I broke that rule. If I didn’t start panicking, then we wouldn’t have split up. I needed to go find Ella.

“They’re probably out front.” He took my hand and led me through the hall.

Hands reached out and grazed me as we pushed through, and I grimaced. I hated this. Too many people. Too much grabbing. I pulled my hand away from Jay and went to the first stair to get a better view. He didn’t stop and continued deeper into the crowd.

I didn’t see Sadie, Krystal, or Cassie.

Where had they gone?

Someone shoved me into the banister, and I gasped. I needed to leave. This was too much. But I couldn’t just leave without telling anyone.

I scanned the room one more time and caught Jay staring at me. I didn’t like that look. Something in the back of my mind told me to get away. I jerked back and hurried up the stairs.

I didn’t have my phone. These pants didn’t have back pockets, and I could barely fit my dorm keycard into the front. It didn’t seem like it would be a problem since Krystal and Sadie had theirs, and we were going to stick together.