The house party was dying down but the energy in the basement was still thick and electric. Bass from the upstairs speakers thumped through the floorboards.
Empty red cups littered the coffee table. Four of them were left me Sofia, my best friend Zara, her on-again-off-again guy Kai, and Kai's roommate Jace who always showed up looking like trouble in a black hoodie and that lazy smirk.
We'd been drinking since ten. Laughing too loud. Dancing too close. By two in the morning the flirting had turned blatant. Zara was sitting on Kai's lap grinding slow circles while he gripped her hips like he owned them. Jace was next to me on the couch, thigh pressed against mine, fingers brushing my bare knee every time he laughed at something stupid.
I was buzzed enough that every touch felt like fi
