3. Sienna
CHAPTER 3
SIENNA
Oh shit. Please tell me I didn’t just throw up on Zander Donohue!
I’ve only been crushing on him since the first moment I saw him.
He’s only the hottest guy in Everett. Probably the hottest guy in Idaho. Correction: the world.
It’s not like I don’t dream about him every night and obsess over how I’m going to meet him.
I blink, my hazy brain struggling to comprehend what I’m seeing.
I think I’m looking at my puke on his shirt, which is now sticking to his extremely cut and muscly chest. He’s gaping down at the mess, and I’m just waiting for him to say, “You’re gross!” and walk away, never to speak to me again.
“I’m sorry,” I blubber, letting out a drunk hiccup and nearly upchucking all over again.
I slap a hand over my mouth and sway on my feet.
“Are you gonna be sick again?” He rests his hand lightly on my elbow.
I shake my head, still swaying like a stiff breeze could knock me over. Still holding a hand over my mouth and begging my body to behave.
Damn you, alcohol! I’m never drinking again!
“Come on.” Zander lightly takes my arm, turning to someone and asking, “Where’s the bathroom?”
“This way.” It’s a girl. I recognize her voice.
Olivia! It’s my new friend Olivia.
Save me! I silently beg her. I just puked on the guy I like! Help!
But she can’t hear me… probably because I’m not saying any of those words out loud.
Wait, am I?
I blink, shaking my head and tripping over in these heels.
Why am I even wearing heels?
“Whoa.” A strong arm catches me, securing me around the waist.
“I don’t feel very good,” I rasp.
“Yeah, I can tell.” His voice is deep and soft, kind of husky. My insides tremble. I’ve found my new favorite sound. “You ever been drunk before?”
“No.” I hiccup again, and he makes us walk a little faster.
“In here,” Olivia says.
I force my floppy head to look her way and give her a smile that I’m sure looks dopey. “Thanks, Livvy Lou.”
“Oh my gosh,” she mutters. “Seriously, how much did you drink, Sen? You’re such a lightweight.”
“I had to,” I whine.
“Okay. Here we go.” Strong hands direct me to the toilet, catching me when my ankle turns again. “I gotcha.” He slows my crumpling descent to the floor, catching my hair and holding it back as my next hiccup turns into a puke explosion.
“Oh, gross. I can’t.” Olivia starts dry heaving, spinning on her heel and rushing out of the bathroom.
A hand lightly rubs my shoulder. “It’s okay.” That soft, husky voice is in my ear again, and I shiver. “You cold?”
He doesn’t wait for my answer, shrugging his jacket off and draping it over my shoulders before passing me a wad of toilet paper.
“Let me get you some water.” He makes sure I’m steady before walking to the sink and grabbing a glass. “I think this is clean.” He inspects it under the light, giving it a quick rinse before filling it.
I’m not sure how I’m supposed to hold it, and nearly tell him that, but he crouches down in front of me, his smile gentle as he helps me drink.
He’s got nice lips. Luscious. Full. I bet they feel amazing.
I can’t take my eyes off his beautiful face as I sip down the cold liquid.
It dribbles off my bottom lip, and he swipes it with his finger.
How is he not running out of the room right now?
I glance at his shirt, my nose wrinkling.
“Yeah, let’s get rid of this mess,” he mutters, standing tall and stripping off his shirt. I gape at his naked torso.
Holy shit, I was right. He is Hercules.
My gaze tracks his perfect form, every ridge of his body chiseled to perfection. Olivia says he works really hard at the gym and on the field. Apparently he never eats sugar and is pretty serious about this whole football thing.
Whatever he’s doing, it’s working.
I watched him practice the other day, and I was impressed. Not that I know anything about football, but he was great at passing the ball—it went so far!—and I like how hot he looks in those football tights.
“Your body is beautiful,” I slur, drinking him in like I want to lick his skin off.
He smirks but looks kind of awkward, like he doesn’t know what to do with the compliment.
“I’m serious.” I blink up at him. “You’re, like, sooooo beautiful.” I reach up as if to touch him, maybe even brush my fingers across those pecs and down the line between his ab muscles.
But my hand kind of gives up, feeling nothing but thin air before flopping against my thigh.
Crouching back down, he brushes the hair back off my face. “So, not too great with your liquor, huh?”
I snicker and shake my head. “This is my first time drinking, really. I mean, Dad lets me have a few sips of his beer sometimes, but this party’s a free-for-all. I have no idea how many beers I’ve had. Plus, there were those little shot things Becky gave me. They burn.” I wince and then start giggling… or am I crying?
“Yeah, I bet.” His finger is soft as he tucks my hair behind my ear.
“I didn’t mean to get drunk,” I blubber.
Okay, so I’m crying, then.
This just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?
“But I was so nervous to be here,” I try to explain. “And then Liv dared me, and I needed some liquid courage.” My words tumble together. I’m not sure if he can even understand me, but he lets out a soft laugh.
“Liquid courage, huh? And why were you so nervous?”
“Because they dared me to talk to you.” My eyes go round, and I grip his forearm. “And that’s scary because I like you so much.”
“You do?” He blinks, obviously surprised.
I gape at him. “How could I not? You’re Zander. I’ve liked you for forever.”
His eyebrows wrinkle. “Didn’t you just move here?”
“I’ve been here like four weeks.” My words are lagging, and trying to talk is like dragging cotton balls out of my mouth, but for some reason, I just keep going. “I saw you in the mall my first week here, and I was like… he’s hot. And then I spotted you again at the movies, and I was like… yup, still hot. So I started looking for you everywhere I went… and you kept popping up.” I flick my finger through the air with a giggle. “It helps that I was looking in all the right places. Olivia knows your hangouts and where you guys practice.” I’m trying to point at him, but my hand is kind of droopy. I swing it back to point at me as I lay my head on the edge of the toilet seat. “So, Olivia knows that I’ve got, like, a mondo crush on you, and she was like ‘Let’s throw a party, and you can catch his eye and flirt and stuff.’ She tells me you’re nice, too, so you’re like the whole package, and I can tell. I’ve been watching you, Zander Donohue.” My lips curl into a tipsy smile. “And I like what I see.”
Zander lets out another laugh. “So, you threw this party for me, huh?”
“Of course.” My tongue feels thick and floppy as I lick my lips. “But I’m not very good at flirting, and I didn’t want to sound like an idiot or anything.” I rub my nose and blink. My eyelids feel heavy, my brain starting to float. “So, I thought I’d have a few drinks to take the edge off.”
“Maybe one too many, huh?”
“Yeah, maybe,” I murmur, then blink again, the world going fuzzy. “Do you think he’ll like me?”
“Who?” the husky voice asks.
“Zander.”
There’s a pause, and I open my eyes as wide as I can, the blurry image in front of me shifting as I start to fall forward.
Something solid catches me, and I let out a soft sigh, a black fog taking me away as I float into oblivion against something that’s both firm and gentle.