the first one • j. hughes

25

Luke's freezing cold hands land on my knees and I nearly kick him right in the crotch. He knows, flinching and nearly slipping off me as his support while he bends over. "Look at me and listen."

"Listening," I say.

"Party."

"Party?"

He nods. "Party."

"Party," I echo.

* * * * *

"Luke!" I shout over the music blasting through the house. I'm not sure he could actually hear me. But he turns around regardless and instantly locks eyes with me. Dylan and I hold up shot glasses and Luke shakes his head.

Duker huffs, slamming the one he held up in offer to Luke onto the counter. "What a fucking buzzkill."

"Hey," a voice breaks through between us. In my own fit of instincts like Luke's, I turn and throw my arms around Jack. His arms go around my waist and he talks over my shoulder to Dylan. "I'll take one with you guys."

"You're my favorite Hughes!" I squeal out. This isn't my first of the night, in case that isn't obvious.

"No, I'm not and you gotta let go if you want to do this, Prez."

I do just that because I do want to do this. So badly I barely remember that Jack rejected going to this party with us. Telling us we should just go to a bar or something instead. He rolled his eyes when Luke explained he kind of got caught with his fake and so now he no longer has his fake. That's what was going on that day Jack and I went to Miss Lacy's apparently.

Dylan pours out the shots shakily. He spills a lot less than usual and I give him a sneaky high five behind Jack. He counts us down. I go a second earlier than them to recover from the burn of the alcohol before them. A quick and easy ego boost they'll never realize they're giving me as they clap me on the back for taking it so well.

"I'm going to go call Lukey out on his bullshit!" Dylan tells us. Then he's off, crossing the crowded kitchen to Luke who sticks out compared to the short-ass guys he's got around him.

Meanwhile, I elbow Jack playfully. "I thought you were above this."

"I am," he says as playful as my elbow jab.

"You totally got FOMO."

"Nah. Just figured you could use one more person making sure you stay out of trouble." Right then, Dylan lets out a loud yell that's heard clearly over the chatter and music. Jack laughs. "Or any."

"There's a few more guys running around here somewhere. The ratio of me to people who'll look after me is strong. You didn't have to worry."

"I always have to—"

"Kennedy!" Ethan, one of Luke's friends, is in the back doorway just behind us. Lu and I share plenty of friends. But it's like a Venn diagram for us, some people are in his circle, some people are in mine, a lot of people are in that middle oval. Ethan's on Luke's side and my side of a very special Venn diagram with no overlap. Hookups.

Jack pours another shot and takes it before starting on another one. I lean back against the counter. "What's up, E?"

"How competitive you feeling?" He crosses his arms and leans against the doorway. Once upon a time, the way his arms flexed with the action and his open unbuttoned shirt would affect me. Not tonight though. Not with Jack next to me.

"Let's think," I say. The soft clink of Jack's yet again empty shot glass sounds in my pause. "I wouldn't say very. I'll try my best to win."

He laughs. "You always do. Wanna be my partner for pong?"