Chapter 99

Judy’s POV

I have no idea what I’m getting myself into. This was probably the worst idea that I could possibly have. But I promised Nan that I would come with her to this party and that was exactly what I was going to do.

“Thanks for the ride, Leroy,” I told him as we got closer to the school.

“It’s my job,” he reminded me. “You don’t have to thank me.”

I shrugged.

“But still,” I murmured.

He grinned and glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

“Well, if you need me to pick you up early, let me know,” he told me. “I know how these parties are and I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to bail sooner than later.”

I nodded, appreciating him so much for that. As he parked the car, I thanked him one last time before leaving and walking towards the student lounge where I promised I’d meet Nan. We were planning on walking ot the party together.

When I didn’t see her, I waited. I sat on the stairway, not caring if I had dirtied my dress and I continued to wait for her for what felt like an hour. I glanced at the time with a frown; I thought she wanted to meet at 8. It was nearing 9.

Had she gone to the party without me?

Just as I was about to stand and walk to the frat house by myself, I heard my name being called.

I turned to see Nan rushing towards me. She was beautiful in her black dress; it was super short and showed off her legs and cleavage perfectly. It certainly put my simple dress to shame. Nan had always been beautiful and there was a part of me that was envious of it.

When she got closer, I saw that her eyes were a little red.

Had she been crying?

“Are you okay?” I asked her when she finally reached me.

She gave me a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Yeah,” she said breathlessly. “Sorry, I’m late. I ran a little behind tonight. I had to go shopping for this dress and got back a little later than I planned.”

I nodded thoughtfully and draped my arm through hers.

“It’s no problem,” I told her. “Let’s get this over with.”

She chuckled.

“That’s the spirit,” she said with a smile.

Together, we walked to the frat house. It was loud and there were so many people on the outside and inside. It was a nice night, so it didn’t surprise me that there were a ton of people hanging out outside as well.

The music was bumping, and it gave me a slight headache almost immediately.

We shimmied our way through the crowd and reached the front door. Nan kept a hold on my arm the entire time as she said hi to some of the guys she knew. They all looked her up and down and I could see their gazes darkening with lust. I made a mental note to keep an eye on Na tonight.

I didn’t trust any of these frat guys, especially not with my friend.

“Let’s get some beer!” She said.

I crinkled my nose.

“I hate beer,” I muttered.

“It’s a frat party, Judy. They don’t have much else,” she told me.

I sighed and followed her through the house, and we reached the kitchen. There were a ton of coolers set out filled with different types of beer. She grabbed one of the cans and handed me another.

When we cracked it open, she held up the can to me.

“To our first frat party!” she cheered.

I couldn’t help but laugh and clink my can with hers. We sipped the beer, and I nearly gagged at the taste. I truly hated beer, but maybe I could learn to love it.

The music was much louder in the living room; there were a bunch of people in the center of the room dancing. Most of them were already drunk. Some of the girls were grinding against some of the frat boys and they were soaking it up.

Nan and I laughed at the sight of it and we started to mock dance in return. It was fun to let loose with my best friend, especially because she was just as silly as I was.

We drank our beer and the more I drank it, the better it started to taste. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. Nan finished her beer first and she grabbed another one. She was also lightweight so she was getting tipsy off the one beer, I could only imagine how she would be after her second one.

“Beer bong outside!” One of the frat boys announced. It made everyone cheer and rush towards the back patio. Nan grabbed my arm and pulled me along with her. We joined the others around the beer bong table and when one of the frat boys asked who wanted to be his partner, I was surprised Nan volunteered.

“Nan, you’ve never played before,” I reminded her.

She laughed and shrugged.

“So what?” She said lightly. “There’s a first time for everything.”

She rushed towards the giant frat boy and high-fived him. He took one look at her and his brows raised; it was obvious he liked what he saw. He motioned for her to go first.

She missed the cup on her first try, making everyone, including her laugh. The guy on the other team got the ball in the cup on the first try and Nan was forced to drink. She chucked the entire cup of beer in one go and I was shocked by this.

The game continued on. Nan only got a couple of hits in, but for the most part, she lost pathetically. The guy on her team didn’t seem to mind though; he was enjoying the show of Nan jumping up and down and showing off her body.

By the end of the game, Nan was wasted, and I knew I was going to have to carry her out of there. I was a little tipsy too because I was on my second beer, but I wasn’t nearly as bad off as Nan. She could barely walk a straight line, and her words were all sloshed.

The guy on her team put his hand on her lower back and started to guide her away, whispering something in her ear. I frowned and followed after them, grabbing Nan’s hand and pulling her towards me.

“Hey!” The guy complained.

“Take a hike,” I ordered, pulling Nan along with me.

I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but she was murmuring something as I dragged her away from there.

“You need to lighten up!” The guy shouted from behind me. “It’s a party!”

I held up my middle finger, making the others howl with laughter. We got inside, which wasn’t as crowded as it was earlier because most of everybody was outside, watching the second game of beer bong.

I guided Nan to a couch and sat her down, sitting down beside her.

She looked completely out of it as she rested her head on my shoulder.

“What’s wrong with me?” She murmured, puckering her lips.

I chuckled.

“Nothing, Nan. You are just drunk…” I assured her.

“Why am I not good enough?” She asked, sighing.

I raised my brows; she was very drunk, but I wasn’t expecting that.

“What are you talking about? You are plenty good enough. You are too good,” I told her.

She let out a shuddering breath and that was when I felt moisture on my shoulder. I looked down at her.

“Nan, are you crying?” I asked her, my brows furrowed. I knew something was wrong earlier when I first saw her, but I thought maybe it was just a fluke. Nan wasn’t much of a crier…so this was alarming.

“I hate myself…” she whispered hoarsely.

“Nan, what’s going on?” I asked her. “What’s wrong?”

“He doesn’t want me…” she murmured.

“Who? The frat guy? Trust me, he wanted you…”

“No, not him,” Nan said, lifting her head up and looking at me. “That guy in the boutique… he didn’t want me. He left with her even after finding me… I don’t even know his name…”

“Who are you talking about?” I asked. I thought maybe she was just talking out of her drunken state, but when I looked into her eyes, I saw that they were serious and oddly focused. “Nan?” I asked her.

“I met my mate…” was the last thing she said before she doubled over and puked all over my shoes.

I groaned as I stood to my feet quickly; that was the last thing I expected her to say. But it was overshadowed by the fact that she just threw up on me and all over the ground at the frat house. I needed to take care of her before asking any questions. I helped her to her feet before she puked again and guided her to the bathroom. It was a struggle though because she was wiggling around and crying at the same time. Not to mention she was still kind of throwing up. I was desperately trying to avoid the puke streams.

Another strong pair of arms wrapped around Nan’s body, lifting her up. I looked to see one of the frat boys standing beside me.

“I saw what happened. I’ll help you get her to the bathroom,” he told me.

I smiled gratefully at him and nodded.

“Thanks,” I murmured.

True to his words, he carried her into the bathroom. He stayed outside while I helped Nan inside. When it was clear that she wasn’t going to throw up anymore, I left the bathroom and pulled out my phone to call Leroy and have him pick us up. Nan was resting on the bathroom ground, trying to recover.

Leroy assured me that he would be there as soon as he could, but traffic was pretty bad for some reason.

“Thanks for your help,” I told the guy.

He nodded and gave me a dimpled smile.

“It’s no problem. I had been watching you for most of the night. You are very beautiful,” he told me.

I blushed at the compliment.

“that’s kind of you to say,” I told him. “But you should know I’m not really looking for—”

“It was just a compliment,” he said, holding up his hand in defense. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not like those other guys.”

“But you're a frat boy?” I asked him.

“I am,” he said, shrugging. “But I’m different.”

I laughed and shook my head at him.

“I’m sure you are,” I said. “I think I’ve seen you around campus before. You’re Kyle, right?”

He nodded.

“Should I be flattered that you know my name?” he asked.

“Well, no,” I admitted. “You’re in my defense class.”

“Oh! That’s why you looked familiar,” he laughed. “You’re Judy Montague.”

I nodded.

“The one and only,” I told him.

“You are really good at defense,” he told me.

“You should see me in combat,” I replied. “Being a gamma is my goal.”

“Well, you’ll be a kickass gamma for sure,” he told me, nudging my shoulder. “I didn’t expect you to show up to a frat party.”

I shrugged and leaned against the wall.

“Nan wanted to come, so I agreed to go with her,” I admitted. “She’s my best friend.”

“I see,” he said thoughtfully. “Well, I’m glad I got to meet you officially.”

I smiled; it was nice to get attention. I needed it after last night, though I wasn’t entirely interested in this guy. It was still nice.

“Can I get you something to drink?” He asked, pointing to the kitchen.

“I think I’ve drunk enough,” I admitted.

“How about some water then?”

I thought about it for a moment; he looked harmless enough, so I nodded.

“Sure, water would be nice.”

He grinned.

“Perfect.”