Breaking Free by Isabel Lucero

9

I endup meeting Jay and a few of his friends in front of the bar.

“You ate, right?” It’s the first thing he says when he sees me. When I raise my brows, he continues, “Because we’re about to drink our weight in alcohol!”

I laugh. “I ate, but I also drove here.”

He cuts his hand through the air. “Don’t worry about that. We have a DD.” Turning toward the two people to his right, he says, “This is Bryant and Olivia.” He gestures to me. “This is Dom.”

“You’re always making new friends,” Olivia says with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Dom.”

“You too.”

Bryant gives me a once over before lifting his chin and grinning. Definitely gay and definitely checking me out. He’s not too bad on the eyes either. Tall and thin, soft looking skin, and someone I could definitely see myself having some fun with.

Jay chuckles, slapping my shoulder as he catches me looking Bryant up and down. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s head inside. The guys will be here soon. Shea texted me that they stopped for food first.”

Inside, the place is dark with neon lights flashing from another room, and the lamps hanging above the bar are a mix of red, blue, and green. Loud laughter and cheering filters in from the left, a group of people crowding around something.

“Mechanical bull,” Jay says into my ear. “People go crazy for it, but you ain’t about to catch me on that thing. Just so you know.”

I laugh. “Me neither. I’d just embarrass myself.”

“Down to the right is a dance floor. They play a decent mix of music.” He struts ahead to the bar, passing the bull on our left. “Whatever you want, they got it. What do you normally drink?”

I don’t bother to tell him I hardly drink, but I definitely feel like forgetting some shit tonight, so I say, “Give me whatever you usually get.”

He watches me for a second, a smile growing. “You sure?”

“Yeah.”

With a laugh, he turns around and gets the bartender’s attention, and now I’m starting to wonder what the hell he usually drinks.

Olivia and Bryant stand to our left, placing their orders, and I spin around to check out the room. It’s definitely more spacious than I anticipated. Though there’s a lot of people here, it doesn’t feel crowded. Half the tables are full, but most of the customers are standing. Music blasts, making people sway even if they aren’t on the dancefloor.

“Here you go,” Jay says, handing me a glass with dark liquid in it and then passing me a shot glass. “We always take shots first.”

“What the hell is this?” I ask, inspecting the reddish drink.

“It’s Liv’s favorite,” he replies, shooting her a wink that makes her roll her eyes and smile. “Red-headed slut.”

I take in Liv’s red hair and wonder if that’s why. She shakes her head. “It’s not just because of my hair. It’s a good drink.”

We all clink our glasses together. “To new friends.”

After swallowing down the shot and placing the empty glass on the bar top, I take a sip of whatever drink Jay gave me and instantly regret taking such a huge sip.

“What the fuck is this?”

He chokes out a laugh, almost spitting out his drink. “It’s Between the Sheets.”

“That helps a lot,” I deadpan. “I don’t know names of drinks.”

“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.

Once we’ve failed a couple more times, we leave and watch the rest of our group attempt to hold on while we sit in a nearby booth.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” I admit to Jay, yelling over the music and voices.

“Yes! A fucking success. Now I need to get you laid, then I’ll have done my job.”

I laugh, falling into his side. We’re both so wasted, but I don’t miss the moment his eyes linger on my lips, and when our glassy eyes meet, it’s for a second too long, because I know where this could go.

Though I’m drunk, I’m still aware of Trevor’s plea to not hook up with his friend. It’s not that I don’t find Jay attractive. He definitely is, and I like him a lot, but I know that if we did anything, it would be a one-time thing. Something fun to do because we’re drunk. It would lead nowhere, and honestly, I want to see if this thing with Trevor escalates. He’s a challenge, and I want to win.

I laugh off our collision and pull away, taking another drink. Jay doesn’t take offense. He may not have even been aware that I was conscious of where his thoughts were. He simply laughs with me and then makes fun of Shea who was just thrown from the bull.

Olivia saunters over and sits in his lap, and I’m quickly forgotten as they begin to makeout.

We all stay until closing, which is two in the morning. I’m way too drunk to drive myself home, but true to his word, Jay had a DD figured out and this guy pulled up in a huge SUV and drove all of us home. Getting our cars will be something to figure out with a sober mind, but I’m not too worried about it right now.

I pass out around three and wake up at noon to a million notifications on my phone, but one that surprises me the most is from Trevor.