Things Money Can't Buy (Discontinued)

Chapter 8

~*~

"Pick something for me," I said to Maddie, exasperated. Right now, I was sprawled out on my bed while Maddie was standing by my closet.

It was the following day, and we were getting ready for the party. I didn't want to go, but Maddie was insistent. After agreeing that I should probably do something over the weekend besides binge-watch TV shows, she rushed over to my apartment to help me.

Evan had texted me this morning to apologize for worrying me, promising to stop hanging out with his dumb friends. I wanted to believe him, but my heart knew it was unlikely to happen. I had to hope, though, for my own sanity.

Right now, Maddie was trying to help me pick out an outfit. She was ready, dressed in a black crop-top and ripped jeans. If only I had the confidence to pull off a crop-top... but I didn't.

Maddie was horrified when I suggested just wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Apparently, I needed to dress sexier. 

"Okay, fine. Let's see what you have." She started rifling through my closet. "You don't have anything sexy, Anna. What the heck? After this, we need to get you some sexy clothes. You're not going to turn any heads, especially not Jason's."

"I don't want to turn Jason's head."

Maddie put her hands on her hips and gave me a look. "You've been talking about him so much lately. It's clear that you like him."

I frowned. "No, I don't!"

Maddie rolled her eyes teasingly. "Okay, this is the best I can do with what I have to work with." She handed me a pair of my black leggings and a flowy, sleeveless blue shirt.

"Fine."

My makeup was already done, so once I put on the outfit, we were ready to go. We took an Uber there, so that way we didn't have to worry about driving back.

The party was a lot bigger than I expected. I didn't know Maddie's friend that was hosting, but the house was big and there were a lot of people there.

Maddie immediately headed over to the drinks. Following her lead, I took a few shots. The burn down my throat felt foreign. I couldn't even remember the last time I tasted alcohol, but instantly, it started to relax me. 

Maddie got really drunk and fast. "Sober Maddie doesn't have confidence," she explained.

We sat down on one of the couches. Immediately, a few guys came over to us. One of the guys seemed really interested in Maddie. She looked giddy, and I jabbed her with my elbow teasingly.

"Wow, you look hot as hell," he said to her. "What's your name?"

She smiled at him and flipped her hair a bit. He was definitely her type, so it was obvious she was interested. "Maddie. What's yours?"

After introducing himself, he sat down next to her on the couch, wedging himself in between me and her. This caused me to become squished against the armrest, much to my annoyance.

I rolled my eyes.

They continued talking, which quickly turned into flirting. Eventually, they started making out, which was definitely my cue to leave. 

I stood up from the couch, leaving them be. While I wasn't planning on going far, I didn't need to be right beside them as they were kissing.

A friend of the guy followed me. "Let's go get some more drinks while they're having fun," he said jokingly.

I shrugged, not having anything better to do. "Okay."

It was evident that he took my 'agreeing to get drinks' as a sign of me being interested. I didn't know him, so how could I be interested? My reason for going out tonight was mostly just to spend some time with Maddie and support her, not hook up with a guy. Most of the guys here weren't really my type, anyway.