I wake up next to Amaya, Kayla and, Luna on the L couch. Other people are sleeping on the floor and don't seem to move. I know TJ has passed out in one of the rooms upstairs with the chick he had been flirting and dancing all night. This is my last memory of TJ, seeing him taking the girl by the hand and taking her upstairs. My head is spinning from Aaron's drink, and for a moment, I want to throw up. Should I go upstairs and wake up TJ saying it is time to go home? It is eight-thirty in the morning with the big frat house a mess. There are plastic cups and garbage everywhere. The sink is full of plastic plates and leftover cake. 

"TJ?" II call him when I make my way upstairs. The house is huge, so I am not sure what bedroom he is in. I'd heard the house has more the twenty guys living in. The carpet is disgusted with wine spills and some food. I walk past the marijuana room, but the smell has been gone already. 

"TJ," I open the first door. 

"What the fuck?" I hear a girl screaming when she sees me coming inside. Through her blonde hair over the comforter, I recognize Meggie right away. Mike is sleeping next to her.

"Freak," I hear her shout.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." I close the door immediately while continuing my search for TJ. Another door opens before my hands touch the handle. I recognize the dark eyes. His dark deep eyes. He rubs his eyes as he looks at me. 

 "Have you seen TJ?" I feel my impatience boiling inside of me, and I know I can explode at any time.

"Yes, he is sleeping in the last bedroom. Are you sure you're going there? You should give him privacy."

"I need to go home," I snap at him.

He seems to ignore my words, "Let the guy have some fun. The girl is into him for a while."

"I came with him. In this case, I am walking home."

Denver looks surprised, "From here? It is like ten miles."

"I can handle it." I know that I am perfectly capable of walking ten miles in a normal situation, but now my head is spinning.

"Why don't you stay longer? Tomorrow is Labor Day, and people will cook some BBQ."

"Are you telling me the party will keep going?"

 "Of course, at least until tomorrow."

"Have you seen the mess downstairs?"

"We'll clean up. I didn't know you had OCD."

I roll my eyes with the thought of me having OCD. "Are you a party animal, aren't you?" The question comes out of my mouth. 

"I never told you I wasn't. But this doesn't mean I'm not ready to settle down with someone special."

"Cassidy?" I hear TJ's voice through one of the doors. "Is that you?" I hear the door opening at the end of the hallway and TJ's shadow. 

"Can we go home, please?" I ask him impatiently.

TJ gets out of the room shirtless while looking at Denver and me. His tone is calm, "Of course, Cassidy. You were the one who didn't want to go back home last night. I called you about three times. You laid on that couch downstairs and begged me to stay."

Denver looks at me with a smirk. The memory of me drunk and almost passed out last night on the couch comes fresh inside my mind. What else did I do?

"Hold on. I'll get my shirt." He smiles before disappearing back into the room. 

"You're probably wondering what else you did." Denver looks at me, and I feel his warm breath hitting my skin. Now I start to remember. After a few drinks, I'd pushed Denver against the fridge and kissed him in full force. How could I have something like that?

"I'll never forget that kiss." He tells me just when the memory hits me. 

"Shut up. I was drunk and barely remembered the things I'd done."

"I do remember, though." he smiles, showing his perfect teeth. He touches my arm with his fingers, and I feel the electricity invading my body. 

"Ready?" says TJ while shutting the door behind him. I follow him to the parking lot downstairs, with Denver coming after me. He waves from the door when they see TJ and I wearing our shoes and getting outside. TJ opens the passenger door, and I get inside, buckling the seatbelt around my chest.

"How was with the girl?" I ask him. 

"Fun, at least it made me forget about that one from the Dells." He says as he places the key inside the ignition. We hear the engine noise, but instead of the car roaring to life, it dies. TJ turns the key again, but we hear that dead noise as the battery is completely dead.

"I hope it is the battery," he says. "Damn it. I forgot the charger in the Dells. I'm going back inside to see if someone can give me a charger. You can wait here." He tells me.

I wait for about ten minutes and no TJ. He finally comes out with Aaron and Denver behind him. Aaron is the one who brings his truck and parks next to TJ's vehicle. He opens the hood, placing the cable on his truck, and connecting the other cable with TJ's vehicle. 

Nothing. 

"Man, it is time to get rid of this junk. Where did you buy this car?"

"Baraboo with a dealer who says junk cars."

"I suggest you leave your car here and take care of that after Labor Day."

"Do I have a choice?"

 Denver takes a quick look after turning the key in the ignition once again. "I am afraid it is the radiator," he points to the high temperature showing in the gauge. 

"That might cost me more than I can pay," says TJ. "Can you drive us back?"

"Do you know you can still have a DUI after only a few hours of sleep?" Aaron reaffirms.

"I can drive them," offers Denver. I haven't taken more than two drinks.

"Are you sick or something? But sure," says Aaron. 

"I didn't feel like drinking last night. I wanted to have full control of my whereabouts," Denver tells, his eyes on me. I notice Aaron and TJ's lips forming a smile when we exchange looks, and I know what they are thinking. As I enter the back of Aaron's truck, he seems to change his mind about Denver driving his vehicle. "Denver, you aren't paying car insurance, are you?"

"No, of course not. I don't have a car."

"That's what I figured. And about you, TJ? Can you drive?" TJ nods immediately. From Aaron's expression, I sense something is going on, something Denver never told me. But if TJ is driving me home with Aaron's truck, how is Aaron coming back?

Denver sits next to me in the back seat, his hands on the top of mine. I am silent during the drive, only listening to what the guys are talking about on the front: school, girls, football. Denver's fingers are soft over my skin, and I shiver.

"Sorry to put you through this man. You can rest at our house, or come over for a chat. At least you guys feel better to drive back." TJ invites him as we arrive in the parks in the lot.

"That's why I am going there. The floor wasn't comfortable for me." Aaron admits. 

"Of course, you are invited as well, Denver." TJ offers.

"Where would I go anyway?" he asks, a smile surfacing on the corner of his lips.

"You're right. I wouldn't leave you here on the streets, anyway."

Maybe I would. I think about it for a moment. And then I think back. No, I wouldn't leave Denver on the streets. TJ and Aaron take the stairs, as Denver suddenly stops me on the bottom.

"Are you going to tell me why you kissed me last night?"

"I don't know." I don't have a better answer. All I remember was seeing Denver talking to a girl in the kitchen, this time not his sister. The girl with olive skin and dark long hair wore a top and jeans, exposing her belly bottom with a piercing. Her high heels shaped her work out body, and anger took over me. Not the type of anger that would break things in the house or punch people in their face, but a knot on my stomach that made me lose control of who I am. After a few drinks, I know I acted funny, and I took the courage to do what I wanted to do in that room upstairs with Denver. I didn't care for the girl throwing herself on him, so I moved forward between them, pushed Denver against the fridge. The only thing I remember was the cup falling from his hands, and his drink spilling everywhere, and people's voices around us. I have no idea what happened to the girl who was chatting with him, but she might have left. Next, most people in the kitchen had seen what happened, including Danika, who probably spread more the gossip. They all clapped hands as Denver's eyes looked at me in surprise or astonishment.

"Let's go upstairs again," I asked him. 

He nodded.

In one of the rooms upstairs,  we made out some more. I don't know how long we have kissed, but then when he realized I was sleepy, he said it wouldn't be fair for him to sleep with me. He wanted our first night to be special.

"We can cuddle," I said, wanting more than I should.

"I will take you downstairs with my sister, Amaya, and Luna. I don't want you to sleep in this room by yourself. I don't trust some of the guys here."

Denver took me back downstairs. The music had been turned off, and people slept everywhere. Kayla hugged me and pushed me to the couch with her, covering with her blanket and a pillow. She'd promised Denver she would take care of me.

"Have a nice dream, my love," it is the last thing I heard him say before he kissed me one last time.

"What are you thinking?" Denver interrupts my thoughts, and I realize I'm still with him on the bottom of the stairs. Now I remember everything, and it is very embarrassing.

Suddenly, the door opens, Scarlet's messy hair all over her face. "Are you kidding, Cassidy? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at Sophie's since six in the morning."

I look at my phone I had placed in silence all night long—tons of missed calls from her and Sylvia.

Shit.

"I knocked at your door so many times today. I guess you slept somewhere else?" she looks at Denver and me with judgmental eyes. "I should have known better. I already had to deal with Jeff partying all night, someone's dog barking. Get your ass out of here to Sophie's. Sylvia is covering for you. Parties." she sighs before shutting the door at my face.