~ Zoie's POV ~
The car ride to the party's venue was mostly filled with silence. Asher was driving the car, a black BMW that Zoie's dad had prepared. Zoie sat in the passenger seat and she'd occasionally steal glances at Asher. He didn't say a word to her all night long and there was a strange coldness in the air.
I wonder if he's mad at me?
"You know, if you don't feel like going to the party, you shouldn't have come. I can drive myself," Zoie said, breaking the deadly silence.
"I know that," he replied coolly.
"And do I need to remind you? We both agree this whole bodyguard thing was just a front for my dad, so you don't have to take it seriously,"
Asher let out a scoff.
"Trust me, I'm not doing anything I don't wanna do," he said without taking his eyes off the road.
Asher was acting super cold. Zoie was convinced there was something else going on here. She started backtracking, thinking of what went down before he went ice cold. And then she remembered. They almost just kissed before Miles interrupted them.
"Hey Ash," she said cautiously, gauging his reaction. "Do you wanna talk about what happened earlier?"
"What happened earlier?"
"You know, in the kitchen... you almost kissed me..."
"You thought I was gonna kiss you?" he scoffed again.
"Weren't you?"
"The hell I was!"
Asher let out a sinister laugh. For some reason, that kind of stung.
"But even I did try to kiss you, so what?" he continued.
"So what?" Zoie gaped. "That's not happening, Asher! No way!"
"You didn't seem this reluctant earlier," he taunted.
"So you did try to kiss me!" Zoie fumed, and Asher only laughed in response.
What the hell is going on with this man!? One minute he was hot, the next minute he was cold. One minute he was nice and cordial, the next minute he tried to kiss me! And he's totally unfazed by it either!
"Look, Ash, whatever game you think you're playing, cut it out! It's not funny!" she snapped.
"Actually, it is pretty funny watching you squirm and blush," he replied.
"Ugh! You're impossible!"
"-Ly charming and wonderful?"
Zoie could only glare at him.
"Oh, screw you!"
"Please do,"
Ah!!! I just can't win with him, can I?!
Zoie didn't have a better comeback except for a loud, irritated groan. She rolled her eyes so far back, they might've dropped to the back of her head.
"Oh, I think we're here," Asher said, still in that cool and calm tone. The GPS in the car was showing them that they've arrived.
Zoie quickly opened her eyes and scanned her surroundings. The car pulled up in front of this massive house where tons of other cars were already parked all around. There were throbbing LED lights coming from inside the house. And there were probably close to a hundred people there.
"Woah," Zoie gaped. "What is this place?"
It looks like someone's lake house or something...
"It's a frat house," Asher said simply. "A fancy one,"
A frat house...?
Zoie never saw one up close, but she's heard a million stories about them. Her ex-friends Emma and Bri told her all about their escapades at college parties. They swore that frat guys can throw the best parties. Full of alcohol, dancing, and a ton of good time.
If you know what I mean. Wink wink.
Asher parked the car a few feet away from the house's entrance. The moment Zoie opened the door and stepped out, she heard the loud music pumping and her heart started racing with excitement. Meanwhile, Asher lamely got up to his feet and looked at the house with a bored stare.
"You going in or what?" she beamed at the disinterested Asher.
"After you," Asher said as he pulled the short wooden gate open.
Not wasting any more time, Zoie turned to her heels and headed inside.
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~ Asher's POV ~
The lake house was huge and it was sprawling with college kids everywhere. As soon as they entered the house, all they could see were drunk, dancing, and laughing college kids. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Asher kept his guard up.
Zoie, on the other hand, had no guards up whatsoever. There were guys walking around with trays full of red cups, offering them to people. Without thinking at all, Zoie grabbed a cup and drank straight from it!
I mean, geez! They could've been laced with drugs and everything!
"Oh, no!" Asher moved quickly and grabbed the cup forcefully from her hand. "Rule number one, no red cups from strangers!"
"Asher!" she glared in protest as Asher threw the cup away.
"Actually, no red cups period. You're not even of legal age to drink," he continued.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"It's a public event, Zoie. You don't know who could be in here. There might be reporters, or worse, Republicans. I'm just looking out for your dad's image, alright?"
Zoie stared at him with that deadly, angry glare, but Asher kept his poise.
"Ugh, whatever!" she groaned and rolled her eyes, stomping away out of Asher's sight.
Asher kept his distance from Zoie, but he was watching every move she made. She was going to the drinks table and she poured herself some club soda.
Good girl.
"Ugh, I hate how all the cute guys here are already taken!" said a girl standing close to the drinks bar.
"I know, right? I wore this dress for nothing!" her friend replied, motioning to her short, skimpy red dress.
Zoie glanced at the two girls and decided to come closer.
"Not for nothing, you look great," she said.
"Aw, girl, thanks!" the girl in red dress replied.
"My name's Zoie," Zoie stretched her hand out.
"I'm Jo, short for Josephine," the red dress said. "This is my roommate, Karlie,"
"Hey, nice to meet you," Karlie, the blonde girl with short, curly hair smiled.
"You too," Zoie smiled back. "So are you guys freshmen?"
"No, we're actually sophomores,"
"Are you a freshman?"
"Yup,"
"Wait, who told you about the party?" Jo asked. "'Cause this is supposed to be like a secret welcome back party for the upperclassman,"
"Oh, well... Miles invited me actually,"
"Miles Serrano? The baseball star?"
"Um, I don't know his last name, but he's a sophomore... He studies mechanical engineering,"
"Yup, that's the guy," Karlie nodded her head.
"He invited you?" Jo asked.
"Uh-huh,"
"Oh, okay, interesting," Jo and Karlie shared a knowing look.
"Is Miles still single?" Karlie asked.
"He's single, alright. But he's a tough nut to crack," Jo replied.
"Literally," Karlie laughed.
"What does that mean?" Zoie asked.
"Oh honey, you'll see," Jo answered cryptically.
"Okay, he's pretty uptight, but he's got a handsome smile though," Karlie said.
"That I agree with," Jo said as she raised her glass.
At this point, Karlie was noticing Asher looking in their direction. Asher quickly glanced away, pretending like he wasn't eavesdropping.
"Speaking of handsome smiles, who's the guy that came with you?" Karlie asked.
Zoie looked in Asher's direction. Though he was looking away, his ears were still glued to their conversation.
"Oh, he's Asher... my brother,"
Brother?!
"He's cute. Is he single?"
Zoie paused for a beat before answering, "I don't know. You can ask him,"
"Maybe I will," Karlie said as she threw another glance at Asher. Asher caught her eyes and she gave him the look.
"Hey, Zoie!"
Suddenly, a guy's voice was heard and Zoie turned around to find Miles. Wearing a baseball cap and a hoodie, he was smiling from ear to ear.
"Miles, hey!" Zoie smiled back.
"Glad you made it," he gave her a hug. And it lasted a second too long for Asher's liking.
"Yup, thanks for the invite,"
"Hey, Miles, thanks for saying hi to us too!" Jo interjected sarcastically.
"Hi Jo, hi Karlie," Miles said flatly as he rolled his eyes.
"Ha-ha, okay, I think that's our cue to leave," Karlie said as she pulled Jo away.
"Catch you later, Zoe," Jo said as she waved at Zoie.
"See you guys,"
Without those two girls, it was now just Zoie and Miles at the table. They stood rather awkwardly for a moment. He seemed nervous to talk to her, but very eager.
"Um, so, can I get you anything?" he asked. "A drink?"
She's got already got a drink, genius!
Asher threw Zoie a warning look.
Say no!
"Yes, please," Zoie completely ignored Asher and put her cup away. "Thank you,"
Damn!
"So, what is this place exactly?" she asked, turning her back to Asher to face Miles.
"It's the Kappa Alpha house. It's a pretty cool site, we're located right by Lake Lagunita," Miles explained and he pointed to the nearby window.
Zoie went to the window to see the view. It was dark out, but she could make out the lake and the surrounding trees.
"It must be really pretty in daylight," she commented.
"Totally," Miles came to her with a drink in his hand. "It's actually way nicer out on the boat. Fewer people. Less loud. Plus, you can actually see the stars,"
"The boat?" Zoie took the drink from Miles and had a sip.
"Yeah, there's a small speedboat outside. We can take it out for a spin if you want?"
Oh, hell no!
"That sounds nice," she nodded.
"Okay, gimme a sec. I'm just gonna get the key. I'll be right back," Miles said as he stepped away. The moment he was gone, Asher immediately stepped in.
"You're not going over there," Asher said matter-of-factly.
"What? Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?" Zoie scoffed.
"You're not going on some boat with some random stranger!" Asher pressed further, ignoring her accusation.
"Says who?" she challenged.
"Says me," he replied.
Zoie glared at him with angry eyes. Unfazed, Asher glared back.
"Look! I've had it with people telling me what to do my whole life! The point of coming here is so that I can do things on my own!" Zoie snapped. "You said you're gonna let me do that, Asher, so butt out!"
"But-"
"I can handle myself, alright?! If I need help, I'll let you know," she continued, pausing for a beat before adding, "Besides, he's not a random stranger. He's Miles. Our neighbor---"
"Zoie!" Asher cut her off. "I don't have a good feeling about him,"
"Based off what?" she scoffed again. "You saw him slip something into my drink?"
"Well, no, but-"
"I know what you're trying to do, Ash. Stop it,"
"What am I trying to do?"
"For some reason, you just love torturing me! You think it's fun to make those inappropriate jokes and cóckblock me all the time. Ever since we were kids, all you've been doing is make my life miserable and have a laugh about it. Well, it's not funny, alright?! This is my life, so stay out of it!"
Ouch.
"Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something?" Miles came in just as Zoie was finished with her spill.
"No, we're done," Zoie said coldly. Then she turned to Miles and said, "Let's go,"
Asher watched as Zoie walked out with Miles. His chest was burning with fire and rage. He wanted to get over there and pull her away, but that's just gonna drive her further away from him. The thought of that made his heart ache in pain.
All this time, she thought I'm just a big bully out to destroy her life... When all I wanted to do was care.
Asher walked slowly to the door and stopped at the back porch. He kept watching as Zoie and Miles get on that boat. Miles was giving his hand to her, helping her. She took it gladly, laughing and smiling.
"It doesn't seem like you're having fun out here,"
Suddenly, a voice was heard. Asher turned to his side. Karlie was standing next to him, a drink in her hand. She looked up at him and her eyes fluttered. Her lips curved into a smirk.
"Wanna get out of here?"
Asher didn't respond right away. He glanced at Zoie for a moment, looking at how happy she was. That sight made his chest ache again, so he turned away. He looked at Karlie and his eyes turned dark. He nodded his head and she smiled triumphantly, gesturing for him to follow her.
Sometimes you just gotta take your losses and go.
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- - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - - -